Another one of those days where I can't actually post my post because it is still yesterday at home. I have to sit on this for two hours and post it from the airport. Which we are leaving for in two hours. It is finally time to go fucking home.
Yesterday was seriously uneventful. I taught from 8-4, went to bed at 7. In between, I packed, and I ate. That's it. That was my day. A radius of about 100 feet. Whee.
B went out to say goodbye to her sisters and mom one last time, dropped off the truck with her grandfather, and then came back and did the same thing as me just slightly later. She went to bed around 9.
Home. Soon. Home.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Y7 D218
So close to going home. We will be at the airport in less than 24 hours. I have never been so excited in my whole life. Just one more day.
Yesterday was okay. I woke up with a headache but once I turned the heat off and took some advil that was better. I went down to breakfast, watched the Doctor Who Xmas Special, then started class. That damn xmas special. How is it Steven Moffat can pull your heart strings like he does? So annoying.
B came back around 11 while I was teaching. She basically hung out while I worked. She was going to see another friend yesterday during the day but he ended up flaking on her. One of the issues she would always complain about with him. I finished class around 3:30 and from there we just hung out until it was time to go to her old work Xmas party. We went to red robin first for dinner as the party was at a bowling alley with bad pizza and warm soda. We got to the party around 7:15 and hung out for an hour. Most people didn't know we were coming and they were surprised to see B. However the whole thing was really bad for her ego. Most of the girls there are catty bitches concerned with nothing more than getting married and pregnant. I now understand B's attitude when she first moved. Even she saw it and was surprised. We got back to the hotel around 9, read for a while, starting pre-packing, then bed around 11.
Today I teach, we pack, we sleep, we leave. Soon we be home.
Yesterday was okay. I woke up with a headache but once I turned the heat off and took some advil that was better. I went down to breakfast, watched the Doctor Who Xmas Special, then started class. That damn xmas special. How is it Steven Moffat can pull your heart strings like he does? So annoying.
B came back around 11 while I was teaching. She basically hung out while I worked. She was going to see another friend yesterday during the day but he ended up flaking on her. One of the issues she would always complain about with him. I finished class around 3:30 and from there we just hung out until it was time to go to her old work Xmas party. We went to red robin first for dinner as the party was at a bowling alley with bad pizza and warm soda. We got to the party around 7:15 and hung out for an hour. Most people didn't know we were coming and they were surprised to see B. However the whole thing was really bad for her ego. Most of the girls there are catty bitches concerned with nothing more than getting married and pregnant. I now understand B's attitude when she first moved. Even she saw it and was surprised. We got back to the hotel around 9, read for a while, starting pre-packing, then bed around 11.
Today I teach, we pack, we sleep, we leave. Soon we be home.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Y7 D217
I have a splitting headache this morning. Heat headache. It started snowing here finally and as a result the stupid heat would not shut off. I slept like shit as a result and this morning my head is pounding. I cannot wait to get home where this is not a problem. Two more days and I can finally head home.
Got up around 5 yesterday, went down to breakfast at 6, and then sat around until 10am when class started. East coast start times are a bitch. All of my students except for one are east coast as well. Upside is we agreed to start at 8 today and tomorrow. That will help. B left around 11 to hang out with her friend for the day. They also had a sleepover so I am alone right now. The snow did cause them a problem as she was in an accident yesterday. They hit a patch of ice on the freeway and slammed into the center divider. She is okay so don't worry. A little shaken up but no injuries. The weird thing is her friend almost got a ticket for 'fleeing an accident scene'. WTF? Where I am from if there are no injuries, no other vehicles, and minimal damage, you don't call the police. Apparently here you call no matter what. Weird.
They made it back safely to her friend's house and all is good on that front. She should be coming back today around 10 or so.
I finished up class around 5:20 and then ate leftovers for dinner. Watched some TV. I watched three episodes of Agent X. I found out they have cancelled the show but they must have known and the last episode was satisfying and closed the story nicely. If it were to be renewed they left it just open enough but otherwise they wrapped things up well. I don't feel cheated that it is gone.
Also read the bad news about Lemmy passing away. That's a real sad one. He has his 70th birthday on the 24th, gets told he has super cancer on the 26th, dies on the 28th. Fuck. I did download the entire studio discography of Motorhead last night in tribute. Too many people from my youth are dying off and it sucks.
Went to bed around 10. Not much else to report. Almost time to go home and have Christmas finally.
Got up around 5 yesterday, went down to breakfast at 6, and then sat around until 10am when class started. East coast start times are a bitch. All of my students except for one are east coast as well. Upside is we agreed to start at 8 today and tomorrow. That will help. B left around 11 to hang out with her friend for the day. They also had a sleepover so I am alone right now. The snow did cause them a problem as she was in an accident yesterday. They hit a patch of ice on the freeway and slammed into the center divider. She is okay so don't worry. A little shaken up but no injuries. The weird thing is her friend almost got a ticket for 'fleeing an accident scene'. WTF? Where I am from if there are no injuries, no other vehicles, and minimal damage, you don't call the police. Apparently here you call no matter what. Weird.
They made it back safely to her friend's house and all is good on that front. She should be coming back today around 10 or so.
I finished up class around 5:20 and then ate leftovers for dinner. Watched some TV. I watched three episodes of Agent X. I found out they have cancelled the show but they must have known and the last episode was satisfying and closed the story nicely. If it were to be renewed they left it just open enough but otherwise they wrapped things up well. I don't feel cheated that it is gone.
Also read the bad news about Lemmy passing away. That's a real sad one. He has his 70th birthday on the 24th, gets told he has super cancer on the 26th, dies on the 28th. Fuck. I did download the entire studio discography of Motorhead last night in tribute. Too many people from my youth are dying off and it sucks.
Went to bed around 10. Not much else to report. Almost time to go home and have Christmas finally.
Monday, December 28, 2015
Y7 D216
Yesterday was fun and crazy and full of CHRISTmas. Oh yeah, that's how the spell it where we went yesterday.
I got up around 6, went out around 7 and put gas in the truck and grabbed bagels for everyone. Got back, and once B was up, we started final packing. We decided to leave everything there until we got back from our day trip since I didn't want to leave stuff in the back of the truck where someone could steal it or it could get wet. We went out around 10:30 and first went over to her other grandparent's house to say goodbyes. We then picked up her friend and headed out to Frankenmuth. It's one of those Bavarian style towns with shops and 'authentic' stuff but the big draw is a store called Bronners. It's the world's largest CHRISTmas store. Emphasis theirs, not mine. They have so many Jesus displays it's ridiculous. They do ship so we bought some stuff and it is on the way. Should hit home around the same time we do.
We had 'world famous chicken dinner' around 1:30 which lasted until 3. It's an all you can eat affair with chicken and noodles and cottage cheese and pate and dessert and oh my I am going to explode. It was great but holy crap were we all full after. We then wandered around the shops for a while and headed back around 4. On the way back we stopped at the hotel and checked in. This way we didn't have to deal with check in with all our stuff and B's friend got to see where the hotel is located. They are hanging out all day today and she is picking her up here.
Dropped off friend, hit grandparent's house for luggage and goodbyes, headed back to the hotel. We got settled in around 6:30. We have a two room suite which should work for me for training. We shall find out in about 5 hours. Yes, I have to train from 10-6 est. I fucking hate those hours. Since everyone in my class but one is est I am going to see if we can bump it up a couple of hours.
Relaxed, finished a book, went to bed around 11. Only 3 more days.
I got up around 6, went out around 7 and put gas in the truck and grabbed bagels for everyone. Got back, and once B was up, we started final packing. We decided to leave everything there until we got back from our day trip since I didn't want to leave stuff in the back of the truck where someone could steal it or it could get wet. We went out around 10:30 and first went over to her other grandparent's house to say goodbyes. We then picked up her friend and headed out to Frankenmuth. It's one of those Bavarian style towns with shops and 'authentic' stuff but the big draw is a store called Bronners. It's the world's largest CHRISTmas store. Emphasis theirs, not mine. They have so many Jesus displays it's ridiculous. They do ship so we bought some stuff and it is on the way. Should hit home around the same time we do.
We had 'world famous chicken dinner' around 1:30 which lasted until 3. It's an all you can eat affair with chicken and noodles and cottage cheese and pate and dessert and oh my I am going to explode. It was great but holy crap were we all full after. We then wandered around the shops for a while and headed back around 4. On the way back we stopped at the hotel and checked in. This way we didn't have to deal with check in with all our stuff and B's friend got to see where the hotel is located. They are hanging out all day today and she is picking her up here.
Dropped off friend, hit grandparent's house for luggage and goodbyes, headed back to the hotel. We got settled in around 6:30. We have a two room suite which should work for me for training. We shall find out in about 5 hours. Yes, I have to train from 10-6 est. I fucking hate those hours. Since everyone in my class but one is est I am going to see if we can bump it up a couple of hours.
Relaxed, finished a book, went to bed around 11. Only 3 more days.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Y7 D215
Slept in pretty well this morning. Of course I finally start getting good sleep the day we are leaving this place and going somewhere else. Sheesh. Speaking of 'sheesh' that's where we ate dinner last night. Yes, that was really the name of the place.
We spent the day honestly doing absolutely nothing. B watched a marathon of 'the curse of oak island'. I read. We both did a test pack of all our stuff and got very pissed at everyone who didn't listen to us when we said no fucking presents. I ended up taking two boxes of stuff to FedEx and paying $40 to ship it home. It should arrive the same day we do. But now at least we won't stress at the airport.
B took a nap and I did some laundry around 2. She slept until 4 and then got ready. We went out to dinner with B's dad, his new wife, and her son. It was nice. They paid which is always nice. We ate so much food it wasn't even funny. I felt a little guilty because I planned on paying my share. If I had known they were paying, I would have ordered less.
Got back, socialized until around 11, went to bed.
Today we are off to "Christmas Town" about 1 1/2 hours away. Fun.
We spent the day honestly doing absolutely nothing. B watched a marathon of 'the curse of oak island'. I read. We both did a test pack of all our stuff and got very pissed at everyone who didn't listen to us when we said no fucking presents. I ended up taking two boxes of stuff to FedEx and paying $40 to ship it home. It should arrive the same day we do. But now at least we won't stress at the airport.
B took a nap and I did some laundry around 2. She slept until 4 and then got ready. We went out to dinner with B's dad, his new wife, and her son. It was nice. They paid which is always nice. We ate so much food it wasn't even funny. I felt a little guilty because I planned on paying my share. If I had known they were paying, I would have ordered less.
Got back, socialized until around 11, went to bed.
Today we are off to "Christmas Town" about 1 1/2 hours away. Fun.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Y7 D214
I have adjusted finally to the time zone I am in. I didn't wake up until 5 this morning. Went to bed at 11 which means my body is back to it's 'normal' six hour sleep cycle. I have been sleeping fairly well the last few nights. Not perfect, but not bad either. I am anxious to get back home into my own bed. Only 6 more days. Jesus. 6 more days on the road.
Yesterday was officially Christmas and we spent it with B's mom's side of the family. They are an interesting bunch. While there were physically less people, it seemed the volume level was higher. I get where she picked up her 'yelling' part of her. They just yell more and are angrier than her dad's side. Plus her two sisters are a bit wild for my taste. They were all over the place running and screaming and it was rough. We were there from about 11 until 6, then came back here to her grandparents (dad's side) and relaxed.
We did ask that everyone not get us presents and while most people respected that, we now have a blanket, a quilt, two ornaments, and some assorted other stuff I have to figure out how we're getting home. Sigh. The one thing everyone has done which is nice, is give us cash. We received around $400 in cash. Now that's my kind of gift. We are planning to go to Frankenmuth tomorrow which is a Christmas kind of town and now we can use the cash if we want anything. I am also hoping these people will ship anything we buy.
All in all it was a weird Christmas. I am not used to spending it away from home so there was that. Plus what the fuck is up with everyone eating at 3 in the fucking afternoon?!?! Ugh. Too many carbs too.
Almost home. Today we are doing nothing except a dry run of packing. Tomorrow we go to the christmas town, then check into the hotel. I have 6 fucking students next week. Don't these people have lives? Hopefully we will get a good room and I won't have any issues.
Yesterday was officially Christmas and we spent it with B's mom's side of the family. They are an interesting bunch. While there were physically less people, it seemed the volume level was higher. I get where she picked up her 'yelling' part of her. They just yell more and are angrier than her dad's side. Plus her two sisters are a bit wild for my taste. They were all over the place running and screaming and it was rough. We were there from about 11 until 6, then came back here to her grandparents (dad's side) and relaxed.
We did ask that everyone not get us presents and while most people respected that, we now have a blanket, a quilt, two ornaments, and some assorted other stuff I have to figure out how we're getting home. Sigh. The one thing everyone has done which is nice, is give us cash. We received around $400 in cash. Now that's my kind of gift. We are planning to go to Frankenmuth tomorrow which is a Christmas kind of town and now we can use the cash if we want anything. I am also hoping these people will ship anything we buy.
All in all it was a weird Christmas. I am not used to spending it away from home so there was that. Plus what the fuck is up with everyone eating at 3 in the fucking afternoon?!?! Ugh. Too many carbs too.
Almost home. Today we are doing nothing except a dry run of packing. Tomorrow we go to the christmas town, then check into the hotel. I have 6 fucking students next week. Don't these people have lives? Hopefully we will get a good room and I won't have any issues.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Y7 D213
Happy Christmas to everyone. May your day be full of joy. Yesterday mine was full of noise. I was very overwhelmed by the sheer number of people here. More than I have experienced ever with X1's family. They started coming at 9 and didn't leave until 10pm. All day dozens of children, dozens of adults. It was crazy. I got so flustered at one point I had to go upstairs. I meant to just take a short break and read, but I ended up falling asleep for an hour. When I came back downstairs, I did my best to integrate and be social. I think I did okay. They opened presents and while we explicitly instructed people not to get us anything, B's grandmother made us a quilt, and her grandfather handed me an envelope with $150 in cash. Okay. I can handle that kind of gift. Small and usable everywhere. Works for me.
There was food all day, small talk all day, and then finally we went to bed around 10:45. It was a long ass day.
And guess what? Today we get to do it with the other side of the family. Oh joy.
Can I fucking go home yet? I do need to go home because I had a bit of an issue yesterday. I went to look up a new doctor for when we get home and I was created with a message on UHC's site about how my policy is canceled. Um... I ended up getting responses back from people around 10am saying everything was fine and that they website wasn't updated yet. Okay, sure. It better be when I get home.
Can someone please turn this heat off?
There was food all day, small talk all day, and then finally we went to bed around 10:45. It was a long ass day.
And guess what? Today we get to do it with the other side of the family. Oh joy.
Can I fucking go home yet? I do need to go home because I had a bit of an issue yesterday. I went to look up a new doctor for when we get home and I was created with a message on UHC's site about how my policy is canceled. Um... I ended up getting responses back from people around 10am saying everything was fine and that they website wasn't updated yet. Okay, sure. It better be when I get home.
Can someone please turn this heat off?
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Y7 D212
The sheer quantity of people here is starting to get to me. I did manage to sleep in a bit today which was nice, but I am so ready to be away from all of this. We will not do this every year regardless of what B might think. She is welcome to come back, but not me. Sorry. I can't do this for this long. A couple of day fine, but I am just fucking tired of being away from home and having my routines disrupted.
We picked her sisters up yesterday morning around 8 as B agreed to watch them for the day while her mom worked. We took them to the mall and got them Build a Bear and then for whatever reason they hadn't seen Santa yet. We waited in the line from hell and took pictures with Santa. The package we picked came with one 5x7 and we were straining to decide who gets the big one until finally we said fuck it, we're keeping it. Got back to the house and the girls played. I took a nap and then B took one. They had dinner at 4:30 because they're old and they have too many children here. I politely declined dinner.
I did get hungry - at 8pm. I took a drive and went to White Castle. Shit was good. I enjoyed it that's for sure. Came back and B's cousin and boyfriend from IN arrived. They too are staying here. Whee. More fucking people. We all at around 9:30 headed out to B's stepmom's holiday party at a bowling alley. Such fun.
Finally got home and got in bed around midnight. Only a couple more days of this shit.
We picked her sisters up yesterday morning around 8 as B agreed to watch them for the day while her mom worked. We took them to the mall and got them Build a Bear and then for whatever reason they hadn't seen Santa yet. We waited in the line from hell and took pictures with Santa. The package we picked came with one 5x7 and we were straining to decide who gets the big one until finally we said fuck it, we're keeping it. Got back to the house and the girls played. I took a nap and then B took one. They had dinner at 4:30 because they're old and they have too many children here. I politely declined dinner.
I did get hungry - at 8pm. I took a drive and went to White Castle. Shit was good. I enjoyed it that's for sure. Came back and B's cousin and boyfriend from IN arrived. They too are staying here. Whee. More fucking people. We all at around 9:30 headed out to B's stepmom's holiday party at a bowling alley. Such fun.
Finally got home and got in bed around midnight. Only a couple more days of this shit.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Y7 D211
I have a bit of a headache this morning. That two bottles of wine with dinner last night is coming back to haunt me this morning. No, I didn't drink them all by myself, but I probably had a good bottle to myself.
We took B's grandparents and their best friend (affectionately known as an "aunt") to a place called Mad Hatter Bistro last night. The whole place is done in an Alice in Wonderland theme and was incredible. Some of the best food I have had in a while. Plus everyone had a great time. The whole family enjoyed themselves, wine was a flowing, I didn't have to drive so I was able to relax and enjoy myself. And B's aunt is a hoot. She is a wild crazy thing who would do wonderfully living near us. We were out from 6-10:30 it was that great of a time.
During the day we didn't do much. Hung around, had lunch with B's friends who are very nice. Everyone here is so nervous meeting me and I am like "why??" but whatever. We came back from lunch, did laundry, then I took a nap.
It was one of the best days I have had while here. Today more family is coming in prep for tomorrow and we are taking B's sisters for the day. This should be interesting.
(Quick shoutout to my friend and her husband who are in Vegas. They are celebrating their 15th date-a-versary. You two are too damn cute. Stop it.)
We took B's grandparents and their best friend (affectionately known as an "aunt") to a place called Mad Hatter Bistro last night. The whole place is done in an Alice in Wonderland theme and was incredible. Some of the best food I have had in a while. Plus everyone had a great time. The whole family enjoyed themselves, wine was a flowing, I didn't have to drive so I was able to relax and enjoy myself. And B's aunt is a hoot. She is a wild crazy thing who would do wonderfully living near us. We were out from 6-10:30 it was that great of a time.
During the day we didn't do much. Hung around, had lunch with B's friends who are very nice. Everyone here is so nervous meeting me and I am like "why??" but whatever. We came back from lunch, did laundry, then I took a nap.
It was one of the best days I have had while here. Today more family is coming in prep for tomorrow and we are taking B's sisters for the day. This should be interesting.
(Quick shoutout to my friend and her husband who are in Vegas. They are celebrating their 15th date-a-versary. You two are too damn cute. Stop it.)
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Y7 D210
I want to go home now. I am done with the whole family thing. I have seen enough people and made enough small talk I need to go. What do you mean 9 more days? Um, no. Ugh. I wish I had a choice. I would be happy to go home right now. See my cats, see my bed.
Yesterday I got up at 4 and I worked like mad. I was the only one up until at least 9 and man did I earn my time off. I got all of the remaining demos done, I got everything uploaded, and I was done by 10am. Bam. I am now free the rest of the week. I am good to go.
B's grandparents had some people come over. Yes, it's the midwest at holiday with old people. They all just get together and fucking socialize constantly. We sat here smiling politely and then finally just bailed. B needed to get a card and a couple of last minute gifts. We then met her friend for dinner at a BJs kind of place. Imagine if BJs wasn't a chain. More homey but still 100 different beers, that kind of place. It wasn't bad.
We stopped at her mother's for some more socializing then got back here around 7:30. I decided I needed ice cream (truth - I needed out of this fucking house and to be alone for a while) and went to the store. Got back, hung out, read, and went to bed at 11.
Managed to sleep in until 7 again. I think it's really just the time difference and not some improvement in my schedule.
EDIT - The big thing we did yesterday was sign B up for insurance. $230 a month but at least now she is covered. I am making her go to the damn doctor every month to make sure we get our money's worth. Or I don't know, she could get a job and make $250 a month...
Yesterday I got up at 4 and I worked like mad. I was the only one up until at least 9 and man did I earn my time off. I got all of the remaining demos done, I got everything uploaded, and I was done by 10am. Bam. I am now free the rest of the week. I am good to go.
B's grandparents had some people come over. Yes, it's the midwest at holiday with old people. They all just get together and fucking socialize constantly. We sat here smiling politely and then finally just bailed. B needed to get a card and a couple of last minute gifts. We then met her friend for dinner at a BJs kind of place. Imagine if BJs wasn't a chain. More homey but still 100 different beers, that kind of place. It wasn't bad.
We stopped at her mother's for some more socializing then got back here around 7:30. I decided I needed ice cream (truth - I needed out of this fucking house and to be alone for a while) and went to the store. Got back, hung out, read, and went to bed at 11.
Managed to sleep in until 7 again. I think it's really just the time difference and not some improvement in my schedule.
EDIT - The big thing we did yesterday was sign B up for insurance. $230 a month but at least now she is covered. I am making her go to the damn doctor every month to make sure we get our money's worth. Or I don't know, she could get a job and make $250 a month...
Monday, December 21, 2015
Y7 D209
I fucking hat wind chimes. I am hearing ones right now outside the window. I am currently sitting at the dining room table of B's grandparents with two laptops open. They have no clue what I am doing or what I do. It's the same story always. Whether it's X1's, X2's, or B's family or most of my friends for that matter - they have no idea what it is I do. It can be a bit annoying because all last night everyone kept trying to worry about it me. I fucking hate it when people worry about me. Just leave me alone, let me have this little corner of the world and I will do what I need to do. I don't need fancy space, I don't need everyone to be quiet. You're all making me feel more self conscious than I need to feel.
So yesterday - I woke up around 7 which while it seems late, it really is 4am at home so I was right on my normal schedule. Go figure. Right now it's 4:25am EST so yeah. Anyway, got up, showered, meandered around while everyone else slept. B and her grandfather both got up around 9. We went out around 10 to do some last minute shopping. There were a couple of people we didn't get gifts for because we couldn't bring them with us and we didn't want to ship them. We went and got some $20 things for people. We went to a couple of different stores, had lunch at a place B likes (they have this thing called 'almond cheese' and it is most definitely not cheese), and then got back around 2. We wrapped presents and socialized and then went back out at 4:30.
We were having dinner with B's mom's family last night. Her mother, her mother's boyfriend, grandmother and grandfather, great grandmother, and her two sisters. 9 of us. We met up at a mexican restaurant and it was okay. Very chain and midwest but it wasn't awful. After dinner we went back to her mom's house to socialize. I am just not used to this and it is taking its toll on me. I am not used to this many people, this much family, etc. I am very used to being by myself. I was getting cranky and on the way back B and I got into an argument.
She wants to hang out with one of her friends and she doesn't want him to feel awkward because I am around and he doesn't know me and etc. The bottom line is she was planning on going out tonight around 10pm to go hang out with him and some other friends and that just rubbed me the wrong way. You're going to leave your husband home alone asleep to go hang out with a bunch of stoners. Whatever. Needless to say that was a fun discussion.
Went to bed around 11 after more fucking socializing. I don't know if I can take this for another 10 fucking days. Thank god we are going to a hotel in a few days.
So yesterday - I woke up around 7 which while it seems late, it really is 4am at home so I was right on my normal schedule. Go figure. Right now it's 4:25am EST so yeah. Anyway, got up, showered, meandered around while everyone else slept. B and her grandfather both got up around 9. We went out around 10 to do some last minute shopping. There were a couple of people we didn't get gifts for because we couldn't bring them with us and we didn't want to ship them. We went and got some $20 things for people. We went to a couple of different stores, had lunch at a place B likes (they have this thing called 'almond cheese' and it is most definitely not cheese), and then got back around 2. We wrapped presents and socialized and then went back out at 4:30.
We were having dinner with B's mom's family last night. Her mother, her mother's boyfriend, grandmother and grandfather, great grandmother, and her two sisters. 9 of us. We met up at a mexican restaurant and it was okay. Very chain and midwest but it wasn't awful. After dinner we went back to her mom's house to socialize. I am just not used to this and it is taking its toll on me. I am not used to this many people, this much family, etc. I am very used to being by myself. I was getting cranky and on the way back B and I got into an argument.
She wants to hang out with one of her friends and she doesn't want him to feel awkward because I am around and he doesn't know me and etc. The bottom line is she was planning on going out tonight around 10pm to go hang out with him and some other friends and that just rubbed me the wrong way. You're going to leave your husband home alone asleep to go hang out with a bunch of stoners. Whatever. Needless to say that was a fun discussion.
Went to bed around 11 after more fucking socializing. I don't know if I can take this for another 10 fucking days. Thank god we are going to a hotel in a few days.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Y7 D208
I am sitting in the dark in a strange kitchen at 7:25am. I did managed to actually sleep in until almost 7. But when you think about that, it's really 4am PST so I got up at the same damn time I would at home. Sigh.
Yesterday was a long long day. I got up at 12:30am CST, headed to the airport at 2:30am, and was at my gate by 3. It was dead at security EXCEPT for the 1000+ military people. Surrounded by sheep. A sea of bald headed order taking mindless clones. I would say that coach on my flight from STL to Chicago was 50% military. It was crazy. I luckily was up in front. Even though it was a short flight, it was still nice being up in the front away from everybody. I sat and read.
Got to Chicago at 6:30, hung out in the club until 7:45, went to my gate, boarded at 8:15. I almost had an issue with my bag. This was one of those stupid RJ planes and I had to really shove my bag in there. It was close as wether the door would close. Got to DTW and B picked me up. We then went to her mother's house to say hello, then went to her grandparent's house where we are staying. We pretty much hung out here for the rest of the day. Her dad and his wife came over for dinner which her grandpa and I split. We had boston market. I made queso de muerto in the evening for everyone while B helped her grandmother wrap presents.
Went to bed around 11:30. Full day of socializing. I don't believe we have anything on the table for today. I do need to get some work done tomorrow, but today everyone can kiss my ass.
Yesterday was a long long day. I got up at 12:30am CST, headed to the airport at 2:30am, and was at my gate by 3. It was dead at security EXCEPT for the 1000+ military people. Surrounded by sheep. A sea of bald headed order taking mindless clones. I would say that coach on my flight from STL to Chicago was 50% military. It was crazy. I luckily was up in front. Even though it was a short flight, it was still nice being up in the front away from everybody. I sat and read.
Got to Chicago at 6:30, hung out in the club until 7:45, went to my gate, boarded at 8:15. I almost had an issue with my bag. This was one of those stupid RJ planes and I had to really shove my bag in there. It was close as wether the door would close. Got to DTW and B picked me up. We then went to her mother's house to say hello, then went to her grandparent's house where we are staying. We pretty much hung out here for the rest of the day. Her dad and his wife came over for dinner which her grandpa and I split. We had boston market. I made queso de muerto in the evening for everyone while B helped her grandmother wrap presents.
Went to bed around 11:30. Full day of socializing. I don't believe we have anything on the table for today. I do need to get some work done tomorrow, but today everyone can kiss my ass.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Y7 D207
I am writing this at 12:44am CST. I have to wait an hour before I can actually post it though. Otherwise it will show up as yesterday. I hate time zones.
First off, if I ever get my hands on the son of a bitch who called my room at 7:33pm last night, I will strangle them. I went to bed at 6:30 because I had to be up now and I was so soundly asleep and having dreams and then the fucking phone went off. Motherfucker. I was too disoriented to answer it. By the time I was fully awake and able to figure out what was going on it had stopped ringing. No message either. Assholes. I then laid there for another hour trying to fall back to sleep.
The day was pretty boring. Taught my class from 9 until about 4:15. Packed everything up except for what I need this morning, then hung out in the lounge for a while. Got back to the room around 5:30 and finished up any last minute organization.
Today I leave for Chicago, then Detroit. The next 12 days will be spent in Detroit "on vacation". Yeah right. I have to work at least Monday and Tuesday. Then the following week I have three says of teaching from another hotel room.
Whee.
First off, if I ever get my hands on the son of a bitch who called my room at 7:33pm last night, I will strangle them. I went to bed at 6:30 because I had to be up now and I was so soundly asleep and having dreams and then the fucking phone went off. Motherfucker. I was too disoriented to answer it. By the time I was fully awake and able to figure out what was going on it had stopped ringing. No message either. Assholes. I then laid there for another hour trying to fall back to sleep.
The day was pretty boring. Taught my class from 9 until about 4:15. Packed everything up except for what I need this morning, then hung out in the lounge for a while. Got back to the room around 5:30 and finished up any last minute organization.
Today I leave for Chicago, then Detroit. The next 12 days will be spent in Detroit "on vacation". Yeah right. I have to work at least Monday and Tuesday. Then the following week I have three says of teaching from another hotel room.
Whee.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Y7 D206
Spent the whole day in the room with the exception of leaving for breakfast and leaving for dinner. So much fun. I even had room service bring me up lunch. That's how exciting my day was. I will say I am very glad I bought this Chromebook. It was perfect as a second machine while I was teaching. I could use it to check mail and other issues while having the students viewing my main screen. For $250 it is a perfect secondary machine. It does exactly what I need it to do. It is in essence a tablet on steroids, but that's okay with me.
Taught my class. For the most things went fine. I had one guy on though that nobody can figure out what he is doing. This is the 3rd time he is supposed to have taken this class, but the first time he had technical issues, the second time he was sick, and this time he stayed on for 90 minutes. Nobody seems to know what his issue is.
B traveled yesterday. She did okay. Only a few messages throughout the day of stress. Stupid people freaking her out by being stupid people. Her luggage taking forever. Basic stuff. She arrived at 6pm EST last night. I will be there in about 27 hours. I watched a new show last night - The Magicians. Not bad. I read up on it and found the books it was based on and grabbed those to read. The show doesn't start regular airing until 1/25 so I have some time to read the books.
My niece was supposed to arrive at our place some time last night and she was supposed to text me but no response. I just sent her a text asking if she made it okay. Let's see if she responds. I need - correction - I did just check in for my flight tomorrow. No upgrade but whatever. These are two little 90 minute hoppers. I think I can handle it.
I did bring a check with me for the second to last payment for my tax guy. I sent it out from the hotel and I have asked him to please let me know when it arrives as I am paranoid about shit like this. Mailing it from a weird place always worries me. I hate mailing things in general.
Breakfast, packing, teaching, sleeping, then off to Detroit. That's my day.
Taught my class. For the most things went fine. I had one guy on though that nobody can figure out what he is doing. This is the 3rd time he is supposed to have taken this class, but the first time he had technical issues, the second time he was sick, and this time he stayed on for 90 minutes. Nobody seems to know what his issue is.
B traveled yesterday. She did okay. Only a few messages throughout the day of stress. Stupid people freaking her out by being stupid people. Her luggage taking forever. Basic stuff. She arrived at 6pm EST last night. I will be there in about 27 hours. I watched a new show last night - The Magicians. Not bad. I read up on it and found the books it was based on and grabbed those to read. The show doesn't start regular airing until 1/25 so I have some time to read the books.
My niece was supposed to arrive at our place some time last night and she was supposed to text me but no response. I just sent her a text asking if she made it okay. Let's see if she responds. I need - correction - I did just check in for my flight tomorrow. No upgrade but whatever. These are two little 90 minute hoppers. I think I can handle it.
I did bring a check with me for the second to last payment for my tax guy. I sent it out from the hotel and I have asked him to please let me know when it arrives as I am paranoid about shit like this. Mailing it from a weird place always worries me. I hate mailing things in general.
Breakfast, packing, teaching, sleeping, then off to Detroit. That's my day.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Y7 D205
Had a rough night sleeping last night. Couldn't get comfortable, couldn't find a good temperature, kept tossing and turning. Didn't fall asleep until after 11. Not sure why either. It's not like I napped or something. I just was having a hard time.
I did have something happen last night that I found sad and interesting at the same time. I can't imagine what it must be like for women. I say that because last night I was leaving the executive lounge after dinner and got into the elevator. I got in the same time as this women did. She had already pushed the button to my floor so I looked and didn't push anything, just kind of moved to the back of the elevator. The minute I didn't push a button I could feel her tension. It was something palatable in the air. Then when the elevator opened, she got out first and I followed. Unfortunately from the elevator to the rooms is a very narrow hallway. I was right behind her in this hallway. I was trying to slow my pace to not put her on the defensive, but it did the opposite. Her was some guy following her to her room from the elevator. At least that's what it must have felt like in her mind. She stopped and pretended to look at something out of the window to let me go by and to watch where I was going to make sure I was really going into a room. What the fuck is wrong with society when a woman has to be on the defensive and worried about someone when they are in a public, well lit hotel? I felt like such a horrible person because I am male and made this woman feel uncomfortable. It's a sad society we live in when you have to deal with things like that. Always on guard, always wondering if the guy in the elevator is going to follow you to your room and rape you. I apologize to every woman out there who has ever had to feel that way. It's a fucked up situation.
Other than that, the day was uneventful. Finished my class around 4:20, headed back to the hotel, and was upset to find that at 4:50pm, housekeeping had yet to show up. I did bitch on Twitter about it and it was done by the time I got back from dinner, but still. Of course I had to run into one of the housekeepers on the way back who told me someone went home sick. Sorry? Not my issue? I just want to come back to a clean room.
Watched part 2 of Childhood's End. Wow. They have done an excellent job with this. Part 3 is on the agenda for today and I am excited to watch the conclusion. It is a really good mini-series. Excellent work.
Dealt with B being anxious about her trip today. Every little thing was prompting a question - does your niece know where to park? Does the driver know what terminal? Will he be here on time? You paid him, right? Yes, yes, and yes. Breathe. She is already up and waiting for her driver. He will be there in an hour and then even more stress as she flies. I did help her out yesterday by stopping class for 5 minutes while I checked her in and sent her boarding passes. I managed to move her up to a better seat and to get her priority boarding. Anything that will help her stress I will do. Just easier for me in the long room.
That's about it. Today and tomorrow I am teaching a class from the room. This should be interesting.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Y7 D204
Two more weeks and this year is over. Wow. 2016. Things I never thought I would see for $1000 Alex. It's so weird when you think about it. I have lived almost 5 decades. That's a long bloody time. Another 5 to go please.
Taught my class. 14 students, 13 of whom are doing just fine. 1 is not quite suited for this and a couple more were on the fence in the morning, but they pulled through by the end of day. Finished up class a round 4:20 and got back to the hotel about 4:30.
Changed, went to the executive lounge for dinner. It's not really meant to be dinner quantity food, but free food is free food. I am trying to keep expenses down to a minimum. So far I have about $10 in expenses. Not too shabby. Realistically I could spend about $50 a day without concern but it's the end of year and I don't want to listen to anyone bitch.
Got back to the room a little after six and watched some shows. Watched the first episode of Expanse. On the fence with that one. Have three more episodes to go before I make a decision. What I did watch which I really enjoyed was Childhood's End. Excellent adaptation of the book. Part one was really well done with an excellent cast. Part two came down last night and I am really looking forward to watching it today.
Went to bed around 9:45. Talked to B briefly as she was having trouble with the garage door opening. She is stressed about her trip tomorrow, I can tell. I can hear it in her voice and from her emails. This is a big long trip and we both have our concerns.
Another day of onsite training followed by two more in the room.
Taught my class. 14 students, 13 of whom are doing just fine. 1 is not quite suited for this and a couple more were on the fence in the morning, but they pulled through by the end of day. Finished up class a round 4:20 and got back to the hotel about 4:30.
Changed, went to the executive lounge for dinner. It's not really meant to be dinner quantity food, but free food is free food. I am trying to keep expenses down to a minimum. So far I have about $10 in expenses. Not too shabby. Realistically I could spend about $50 a day without concern but it's the end of year and I don't want to listen to anyone bitch.
Got back to the room a little after six and watched some shows. Watched the first episode of Expanse. On the fence with that one. Have three more episodes to go before I make a decision. What I did watch which I really enjoyed was Childhood's End. Excellent adaptation of the book. Part one was really well done with an excellent cast. Part two came down last night and I am really looking forward to watching it today.
Went to bed around 9:45. Talked to B briefly as she was having trouble with the garage door opening. She is stressed about her trip tomorrow, I can tell. I can hear it in her voice and from her emails. This is a big long trip and we both have our concerns.
Another day of onsite training followed by two more in the room.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Y7 D203
Was up at 1am yesterday morning. Got ready and was out the door for the last time for 17 days at 2:45. While I was waiting for my driver, I saw a shooting star which was kind of cool. I must admit, we have a lot less light pollution where we live now and it's nice to look up in the sky and see all the stars. When it's not raining of course. Got to the airport at about 3:30, checked in, and got to use TSA Pre for the fist time. Literally two minutes through security. Nothing out of my bags, no belt off, no shoes off. It was such a nice treat. Was at my gate by 3:50. We boarded at 4:30. While I didn't get an upgrade on either of my flights, in both cases I was lucky enough for no one to be sitting next to me in the middle seat. Got to St Louis around 3:15 and was at the hotel by 4. Checked in and was pleasantly surprised by my room. I have the only suite on the floor. A full two room suite which is nice. Especially since I saw in the room next to me is an entire family. I don't know how they are fitting 4 people in a room half this size. Ate dinner in the executive lounge then relaxed in the room. Went to bed around 10.
Today and tomorrow I teach on site then Thursday and Friday I teach from the room. Not much else going on around here.
Today and tomorrow I teach on site then Thursday and Friday I teach from the room. Not much else going on around here.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Y7 D202
Up and stressed already. Been up for almost 45 minutes. Went to bed at 8:30. Very boring day yesterday. Most of it centered around getting ready to leave. Last minute packing, trip to target for toothpaste, etc. I was also on the hunt for a new jacket to wear. This reminds me of the time in 2004 when I had to go to Canada and didn't have anything appropriate to wear then. If the weather gets bad while I am in MI, I am going to freeze to death.
We watched the rest of HPDH1 and all of HPDH2 yesterday. I am through all of the damn movies now. There's 3.5 hours of the day gone. Not much else went on. We got all of the stuff ready for my niece, cleaned out the fridge, and basically didn't do anything.
Okay, time to go.
We watched the rest of HPDH1 and all of HPDH2 yesterday. I am through all of the damn movies now. There's 3.5 hours of the day gone. Not much else went on. We got all of the stuff ready for my niece, cleaned out the fridge, and basically didn't do anything.
Okay, time to go.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Y7 D201
My ear is feeling a little better today. It's still a bit clogged up, but it is better. I am also mentally feeling better. I wrote out a long email to B yesterday morning just dumping everything that is on my chest and it felt good to unload. It's one thing to write in here where I know at least 4 or 5 of you are reading it, but it's another thing to write it or talk to the person you are right next to all day long. Plus it's the person I have been taking all my anger and frustration out on so that person deserves an explanation of just what the hell is eating at you.
I got all the laundry done by 7. I went out to the vape shop around 9 to get some coils for my tanks. I am giving B's mom one of my batteries and tank while we are in MI and I wanted to make sure she has a clean coil so she doesn't get the burnt taste of a used coil.
Came back and then B and I went out for lunch. We were both craving burgers and the need of getting out of the house for something other than errands. We got back from lunch and both took a nap. When we woke up I started packing. All done. I can't believe how much I managed to fit into one bag. I will have enough for the full 17 days I am gone. While B was napping I went to the bank to get cash to leave for my niece. There's an envelope with $160 in it for her. $100 upfront for watching the house, $60 for food. Plus there's a ton of food still in the freezer and pantry she can eat.
Throughout all of this, I worked on my docs. I managed to get 27 of 31 demos completed. It's a huge weight off my shoulders to be that close to done. I can finish the remaining for demos next week while in MO. One demo a night and I will have it done by Thursday. Then it will be off my plate until January and I won't have to work as much while we are in MI.
We ate our leftover burgers for dinner, watched Top Chef, played some video games, then we settled into to watch HPDH1. We got about 1/2 way through before I started falling asleep. It was almost 11 and seeing as I had been up since 3 with only an hour nap, I was done. We are going to finish it and HPDH2 today.
Right now I need to check in for my flight and do final packing. Then I have to go to the store to get B some stuff. I will be going to bed around 8 tonight as I have to be up at 1 for my flight. Travel time, here I come.
I got all the laundry done by 7. I went out to the vape shop around 9 to get some coils for my tanks. I am giving B's mom one of my batteries and tank while we are in MI and I wanted to make sure she has a clean coil so she doesn't get the burnt taste of a used coil.
Came back and then B and I went out for lunch. We were both craving burgers and the need of getting out of the house for something other than errands. We got back from lunch and both took a nap. When we woke up I started packing. All done. I can't believe how much I managed to fit into one bag. I will have enough for the full 17 days I am gone. While B was napping I went to the bank to get cash to leave for my niece. There's an envelope with $160 in it for her. $100 upfront for watching the house, $60 for food. Plus there's a ton of food still in the freezer and pantry she can eat.
Throughout all of this, I worked on my docs. I managed to get 27 of 31 demos completed. It's a huge weight off my shoulders to be that close to done. I can finish the remaining for demos next week while in MO. One demo a night and I will have it done by Thursday. Then it will be off my plate until January and I won't have to work as much while we are in MI.
We ate our leftover burgers for dinner, watched Top Chef, played some video games, then we settled into to watch HPDH1. We got about 1/2 way through before I started falling asleep. It was almost 11 and seeing as I had been up since 3 with only an hour nap, I was done. We are going to finish it and HPDH2 today.
Right now I need to check in for my flight and do final packing. Then I have to go to the store to get B some stuff. I will be going to bed around 8 tonight as I have to be up at 1 for my flight. Travel time, here I come.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Y7 D200
I paid $166 for doctors to tell me there's nothing fucking wrong with me, yet I can't hear out of my left ear, my head is throbbing, and I can't sleep. Gee thanks for nothing.
I have to pack today. But before I can pack I need to do laundry. But it's 3:30 in the morning. I can't start the washing machine this early or I will wake up the dead.
Had a shitty day yesterday. My class was filled with the most boring fucking people ever. I didn't feel like doing anything after class either. I didn't get any more done on my new class I need to finish. I have to work on it today and tomorrow. I am so close to having all the demos done.
Our big Friday adventure? We powered through Jessica Jones. Pretty good show to be honest. We watched every single episode yesterday. I did wish Kilgrave had turned purple like he was supposed to be.
Went to bed around 11.
That's it. That's my life. Pain. Inane shit. Horrible sleep. Death.
I have to pack today. But before I can pack I need to do laundry. But it's 3:30 in the morning. I can't start the washing machine this early or I will wake up the dead.
Had a shitty day yesterday. My class was filled with the most boring fucking people ever. I didn't feel like doing anything after class either. I didn't get any more done on my new class I need to finish. I have to work on it today and tomorrow. I am so close to having all the demos done.
Our big Friday adventure? We powered through Jessica Jones. Pretty good show to be honest. We watched every single episode yesterday. I did wish Kilgrave had turned purple like he was supposed to be.
Went to bed around 11.
That's it. That's my life. Pain. Inane shit. Horrible sleep. Death.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Y7 D199
Well so much for sleeping to an alarm. Back up at 3:30. Whee.
I did the world's easiest memory upgrade last night. It took me less than 15 minutes to upgrade both of my macs. The media server now has 4gb and this machine now has 16gb. All I needed to do on one machine was unscrew a bottom plate and on the other push a button to expose the memory bay. I don't know why I didn't do this before. Both machines feel brand new in their performance. Especially the media server. It's a Christmas miracle ya filthy animals!
Taught yesterday. The world's most boring group of students. This particular class doesn't necessarily attract the most exciting of people to begin with, but man were they just like dead. I really did feel in part like I was talking to myself. Whatever. We finished around 2 and have one more day to go. I also worked on my other docs for about 2 hours yesterday. I got 2 more demos done taking me up to 21 total out of 32. I would like to get another 5 or six done before Sunday. If I do 3 each of the next three days that will get me very close to having it completely done.
We waited for the mail to arrive until about 6 last night. I am not happy with the mail people right now. Showing up late. Packages not moving. I have at least three things I would like to arrive before I go and I think they should all arrive today, but I don't have much faith in the mail carriers. I know it's holiday time but jeez, do what everyone else does and hire some holiday people.
After the mail arrived we went to the mall. B's need for boots has reached desperation stage. She really does need them for her trip and we are down to the wire. Luckily she found a pair reasonably priced that work. Mission accomplished. We had a nice seafood dinner while we were out. I had a stuffed salmon that was really good. She had coconut shrimp with a chicken caesar salad.
Got home around 9 and watched some TV. Big Bang was hilarious last night. I have found you either love or hate that show with no in between. I love it and so does B. Screw the haters. I also yesterday started watching Jessica Jones. There's a show with some controversy. I won't give away any more than what's out there already, but I can see how for victims of abuse and rape it is a hard show to watch. The first episode was deep as hell. Excellent, but deep.
Went to bed around 10:30. One more day of class, some doc writing, then it's laundry and packing time. Two more days at home.
I did the world's easiest memory upgrade last night. It took me less than 15 minutes to upgrade both of my macs. The media server now has 4gb and this machine now has 16gb. All I needed to do on one machine was unscrew a bottom plate and on the other push a button to expose the memory bay. I don't know why I didn't do this before. Both machines feel brand new in their performance. Especially the media server. It's a Christmas miracle ya filthy animals!
Taught yesterday. The world's most boring group of students. This particular class doesn't necessarily attract the most exciting of people to begin with, but man were they just like dead. I really did feel in part like I was talking to myself. Whatever. We finished around 2 and have one more day to go. I also worked on my other docs for about 2 hours yesterday. I got 2 more demos done taking me up to 21 total out of 32. I would like to get another 5 or six done before Sunday. If I do 3 each of the next three days that will get me very close to having it completely done.
We waited for the mail to arrive until about 6 last night. I am not happy with the mail people right now. Showing up late. Packages not moving. I have at least three things I would like to arrive before I go and I think they should all arrive today, but I don't have much faith in the mail carriers. I know it's holiday time but jeez, do what everyone else does and hire some holiday people.
After the mail arrived we went to the mall. B's need for boots has reached desperation stage. She really does need them for her trip and we are down to the wire. Luckily she found a pair reasonably priced that work. Mission accomplished. We had a nice seafood dinner while we were out. I had a stuffed salmon that was really good. She had coconut shrimp with a chicken caesar salad.
Got home around 9 and watched some TV. Big Bang was hilarious last night. I have found you either love or hate that show with no in between. I love it and so does B. Screw the haters. I also yesterday started watching Jessica Jones. There's a show with some controversy. I won't give away any more than what's out there already, but I can see how for victims of abuse and rape it is a hard show to watch. The first episode was deep as hell. Excellent, but deep.
Went to bed around 10:30. One more day of class, some doc writing, then it's laundry and packing time. Two more days at home.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Y7 D198
For the first time in weeks I actually slept through the night and woke up to an alarm. Amazing. Of course now I feel rushed which I haven't felt in a while. I still have 2 hours and 20 minutes until the start of class but for whatever reason I feel like there's not enough time.
Went to the doctor yesterday. Kind of pissed off about it and really don't like insurance. I would say I don't like doctor's but there's nothing the doctor can do about the prices because of insurance companies. I woke up yesterday with massive pain in both ears sweating like crazy. I went online and made an appointment at the same place B has been going. I managed to get a 4pm appointment which is crazy to me. Same day appointments at a doctor is just weird. But I wasn't going to complain.
I managed to teach all day even though a couple of times I had to just stop talking because I felt like I was going to pass out. I got through class and we finished around 2. After class we went to Target before hand because B needed some stuff for her trip and to kill time before my appointment. Got into the doctor's at 3:30 and sat until 3:50. Not a bad wait and technically they saw me early.
Bottom line according to the doctor is I have a cold coming on and instead of waiting to the last minute like I usually do, I was catching it early. Hopefully by doing so I will reduce the symptoms and healing time. Unfortunately since it's just a damn cold (aka virus vs bacterial) there wasn't much they could do for me. That part sucked. They did give me some numbing drops for my ears which helped, but I am still sweating and still having pain. I am also at the point where my left ear is about to close up on me. I hate this part.
We watched some TV, played some video games, and I went to bed around 10:15. Today I have a two day class starting with 5 people. I should have a couple of packages coming today too. Some memory for my media server is the big one. I realized the stupid thing only has 2gb of memory in it the other day when I was playing around with Plex. I couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to do some things. For $40 I was able to pick up two memory chips to at least take it to 4gb. Unfortunately due to the age of that machine, that's the max I can put in it. But even that will help. I remember when 2gb was a lot of memory. Now I can barely function on it. My laptop has 16gb and some days that even pisses me off.
Time to shower and get ready for class. Two more days of teaching, packing, then off to three crazy weeks on the road.
Went to the doctor yesterday. Kind of pissed off about it and really don't like insurance. I would say I don't like doctor's but there's nothing the doctor can do about the prices because of insurance companies. I woke up yesterday with massive pain in both ears sweating like crazy. I went online and made an appointment at the same place B has been going. I managed to get a 4pm appointment which is crazy to me. Same day appointments at a doctor is just weird. But I wasn't going to complain.
I managed to teach all day even though a couple of times I had to just stop talking because I felt like I was going to pass out. I got through class and we finished around 2. After class we went to Target before hand because B needed some stuff for her trip and to kill time before my appointment. Got into the doctor's at 3:30 and sat until 3:50. Not a bad wait and technically they saw me early.
Bottom line according to the doctor is I have a cold coming on and instead of waiting to the last minute like I usually do, I was catching it early. Hopefully by doing so I will reduce the symptoms and healing time. Unfortunately since it's just a damn cold (aka virus vs bacterial) there wasn't much they could do for me. That part sucked. They did give me some numbing drops for my ears which helped, but I am still sweating and still having pain. I am also at the point where my left ear is about to close up on me. I hate this part.
We watched some TV, played some video games, and I went to bed around 10:15. Today I have a two day class starting with 5 people. I should have a couple of packages coming today too. Some memory for my media server is the big one. I realized the stupid thing only has 2gb of memory in it the other day when I was playing around with Plex. I couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to do some things. For $40 I was able to pick up two memory chips to at least take it to 4gb. Unfortunately due to the age of that machine, that's the max I can put in it. But even that will help. I remember when 2gb was a lot of memory. Now I can barely function on it. My laptop has 16gb and some days that even pisses me off.
Time to shower and get ready for class. Two more days of teaching, packing, then off to three crazy weeks on the road.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Y7 D197
I woke up this morning sweating like crazy with pain in my left ear. I just made an appointment for 4pm for the doctor. I cannot travel like this. I need to make sure I am 100% healthy.
Taught all day, finished around 2, took a very brief nap, then I worked on my docs until 5. That filled my day up. After work we had dinner; B made broccoli cheddar soup. It was pretty good. I wasn't in a good enough mood to appreciate it though. This pain in my ear was already starting and it was making me cranky as hell. She too wasn't feeling well and around 9 she took two excedrin PM and went off to bed. I followed shortly after around 10.
The only other thing to go on yesterday is me being extremely pissed off at USPS. Things are days late, stuff was delivered to the office at 5:47pm, and I didn't find out until 6:30pm. They are just doing a shit job up here when it comes to delivery. I am not happy with USPS at all. One of the things I am waiting for is a gift for someone that really needs to get here before I leave. In addition, I have a Chromebook on order that I want to take with me on this trip.
Yes, I ordered a Chromebook for myself. B and I have been talking about how I don't really use my laptop as a laptop when I am. She will sometimes say to me "just bring your laptop out here" when I ask her to look things up on hers. The problem is, my laptop is big, powerful, and plugged into a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. Moving my laptop is a huge pain. Hence, the need for a 'real' laptop or as my friend called it, a tablet plus. It weighs like 3 lbs, has a 14" screen, and will be perfect for the things I want it for. I also wanted it for this trip. I have to teach while on the road and I use two machines when I teach. One for the presentation for the class, one for me to read for notes. I have done it before with a tablet, but it was hard to read. This way I can have it in the hotel room with the presentation available for me. This is very similar to what I did in 2009 when I had that little netbook that I took to Europe. Not as powerful as a big one, but perfect for email, web surfing, quick docs, etc. But if USPS keeps fucking up, it won't get here in time and that will piss me off.
I am probably crankier about this than I should be because of my ears, but whatever. Another day of teaching followed by the doctor. Let's go.
Taught all day, finished around 2, took a very brief nap, then I worked on my docs until 5. That filled my day up. After work we had dinner; B made broccoli cheddar soup. It was pretty good. I wasn't in a good enough mood to appreciate it though. This pain in my ear was already starting and it was making me cranky as hell. She too wasn't feeling well and around 9 she took two excedrin PM and went off to bed. I followed shortly after around 10.
The only other thing to go on yesterday is me being extremely pissed off at USPS. Things are days late, stuff was delivered to the office at 5:47pm, and I didn't find out until 6:30pm. They are just doing a shit job up here when it comes to delivery. I am not happy with USPS at all. One of the things I am waiting for is a gift for someone that really needs to get here before I leave. In addition, I have a Chromebook on order that I want to take with me on this trip.
Yes, I ordered a Chromebook for myself. B and I have been talking about how I don't really use my laptop as a laptop when I am. She will sometimes say to me "just bring your laptop out here" when I ask her to look things up on hers. The problem is, my laptop is big, powerful, and plugged into a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. Moving my laptop is a huge pain. Hence, the need for a 'real' laptop or as my friend called it, a tablet plus. It weighs like 3 lbs, has a 14" screen, and will be perfect for the things I want it for. I also wanted it for this trip. I have to teach while on the road and I use two machines when I teach. One for the presentation for the class, one for me to read for notes. I have done it before with a tablet, but it was hard to read. This way I can have it in the hotel room with the presentation available for me. This is very similar to what I did in 2009 when I had that little netbook that I took to Europe. Not as powerful as a big one, but perfect for email, web surfing, quick docs, etc. But if USPS keeps fucking up, it won't get here in time and that will piss me off.
I am probably crankier about this than I should be because of my ears, but whatever. Another day of teaching followed by the doctor. Let's go.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Y7 D196
I got a lot accomplished yesterday. Was up early, and started right in on the new training class. I managed to get a bunch of demos done and we now have 16 out of 31 complete. I plan to work a couple of hours each night after class this week to get even more done. The goal by the end of the week is have at least 25 of the demos done. Some will be easier than others and I think I can do it.
In addition to all that I managed to do a 2 hour mentoring session with a former client, go to the eye doctor and make an appointment for January, hit Target for a couple of things, and have my eye lashes tinted. Hey if I have to meet B's family in a couple of weeks, I need to look good dammit.
I finished working around 5:30 and we had dinner. I slow cooked a pork roast and made stew out of it which turned out pretty good. I was happy with how it turned out. Nothing good on TV last night so we watched Half Blood Prince. Only two more movies to go. I am not hating the movies, but they are pissing me off. So much is being left out from the books. Crucial plot points. Major character arcs are being glossed over. I would have rather seen HP the Series with 7 season each with 8 episodes where they would have had the time to really do the books justice. This is why I can't watch movies sometimes.
Speaking of books I got B interested in one of my favorite books - I am Legend. She saw a post about it and was asking if I have ever read it. When I finished laughing ten minutes later, I said yes, about 50 times. Now she is intrigued and plans on reading it.
We finished the movie around 10 and I went to bed shortly thereafter. I have full classes the next four days which is good for us as a company financially but it's going to be a stressful few days. I am worried I will have some not so bright people to contend with, especially today as it's an intro class to a topic.
One more week and I am gone.
In addition to all that I managed to do a 2 hour mentoring session with a former client, go to the eye doctor and make an appointment for January, hit Target for a couple of things, and have my eye lashes tinted. Hey if I have to meet B's family in a couple of weeks, I need to look good dammit.
I finished working around 5:30 and we had dinner. I slow cooked a pork roast and made stew out of it which turned out pretty good. I was happy with how it turned out. Nothing good on TV last night so we watched Half Blood Prince. Only two more movies to go. I am not hating the movies, but they are pissing me off. So much is being left out from the books. Crucial plot points. Major character arcs are being glossed over. I would have rather seen HP the Series with 7 season each with 8 episodes where they would have had the time to really do the books justice. This is why I can't watch movies sometimes.
Speaking of books I got B interested in one of my favorite books - I am Legend. She saw a post about it and was asking if I have ever read it. When I finished laughing ten minutes later, I said yes, about 50 times. Now she is intrigued and plans on reading it.
We finished the movie around 10 and I went to bed shortly thereafter. I have full classes the next four days which is good for us as a company financially but it's going to be a stressful few days. I am worried I will have some not so bright people to contend with, especially today as it's an intro class to a topic.
One more week and I am gone.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Y7 D195
Guess what it did here all day? Rain. Then it rained some more. Just for fun it rained even more after that. Oh and it's still raining. Mind you, I am not complaining. Just the opposite. I love it. Makes me very happy actually.
We didn't leave the house at all yesterday. We worked on a puzzle, played video games, took a nice nap, slow cooked a corned beef for dinner, and watched Order of the Phoenix. A great way to spend a Sunday. I even worked a little on my work stuff to get it closer to completion. I really don't have much to talk about today and it's for good reasons, not bad. We just really didn't do anything. Spent a lazy Sunday inside watching the rain.
This is my last week at home until January. I am going to savor it. I have a bunch of stuff to do before the weekend though. Need to figure out three weeks worth of laundry, make an eye doctor appointment, get a lash tint, and tell the office we will be gone and someone else will be staying here. I should probably make a checklist. I also am stressing about the few things still out in the ethos known as USPS. Hopefully they will all come before I leave. Otherwise I will stress all week.
Today I have a mentoring session from 7-9, then I have to work like a madman on these demos. I am hoping to get 13 done today. Wish me luck.
We didn't leave the house at all yesterday. We worked on a puzzle, played video games, took a nice nap, slow cooked a corned beef for dinner, and watched Order of the Phoenix. A great way to spend a Sunday. I even worked a little on my work stuff to get it closer to completion. I really don't have much to talk about today and it's for good reasons, not bad. We just really didn't do anything. Spent a lazy Sunday inside watching the rain.
This is my last week at home until January. I am going to savor it. I have a bunch of stuff to do before the weekend though. Need to figure out three weeks worth of laundry, make an eye doctor appointment, get a lash tint, and tell the office we will be gone and someone else will be staying here. I should probably make a checklist. I also am stressing about the few things still out in the ethos known as USPS. Hopefully they will all come before I leave. Otherwise I will stress all week.
Today I have a mentoring session from 7-9, then I have to work like a madman on these demos. I am hoping to get 13 done today. Wish me luck.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Y7 D194
Had a great day yesterday. I am in a better place. I know I pissed off our neighbor yesterday morning though. I woke up at 3. Tried to fall back to sleep and ended up getting up at 3:20. I really wasn't paying much attention to things and decided to start laundry. At 3:20 in the morning. You don't realize just how loud a washing machine is until there's no other sounds going on. When it hit the spin cycle I was sure she was going to come bounding up the stairs to chew me out. I then tried to put the first load in the dryer and man was that even louder. I swear there's a small airplane in the laundry room. I then went into the bathroom to buzz my hair and that too apparently decided to be the loudest thing in the world. But I did get at least one load of laundry and my hair completed by 4:30am. At 6:50 I went to the store to get a couple of things that we weren't able to get at the grocery store on Friday.
I have often noticed something about stores early in the morning on weekends. Yesterday proved no different, and that is how many men are at a store right when it opens on the weekend. It's like we're all up and just want to get shit done. The store I went to yesterday morning was 99% male shoppers.
Got back around 7:15 and figured it was late enough to finish laundry. Had it all done by the time B got up around 8. Once she was up we went to the thrift store to see if we could find a mate to a soup bowl/mug she found there on Friday. Unfortunately it was gone. I however found two shirts for $10. We then went to Old Navy as I wanted to see about finding a couple more shirts. See I don't have very many casual long sleeve shirts. I either have short sleeve t-shirts or dress shirts and not much in between. That's what happens when you're a Californian all your life and live where the coldest it gets is 40 on the worse days. Managed to find a couple of shirts on sale for less than $25 total which made me happy.
Got back home, put away laundry, and took a nap. We had plans to go out to dinner with this couple we met a while back. We have been horrible at being able to keep social obligations due to my schedule and we knew we had to keep this one.
When we got up I played around with Plex some more. I managed to get one directory scanned in and need to figure out why it sees 243 out of 252 directories. It's got to be a naming thing and I need to figure out why. I think I figured out one directory. Also my friend did some tests on his Apple TV for me and they still haven't fixed the damn problem of multiple season shows collapsing in the list. I don't need 10 entries of Friends when I try to scroll through the tv show list thank you.
I also did some work stuff to help knock out some stuff I have to do tomorrow.
We went out around 5:50 and got to the restaurant around 6:45. We had a great dinner of Mexican food right on the river and then we all went for ice cream afterwards. We got home around 10, hung about for a while trying to play some HP but we both were too tired.
Nothing on the agenda for today. The wind is howling and the weather is awful. I figure we will be staying inside most of the day which is fine by me.
I have often noticed something about stores early in the morning on weekends. Yesterday proved no different, and that is how many men are at a store right when it opens on the weekend. It's like we're all up and just want to get shit done. The store I went to yesterday morning was 99% male shoppers.
Got back around 7:15 and figured it was late enough to finish laundry. Had it all done by the time B got up around 8. Once she was up we went to the thrift store to see if we could find a mate to a soup bowl/mug she found there on Friday. Unfortunately it was gone. I however found two shirts for $10. We then went to Old Navy as I wanted to see about finding a couple more shirts. See I don't have very many casual long sleeve shirts. I either have short sleeve t-shirts or dress shirts and not much in between. That's what happens when you're a Californian all your life and live where the coldest it gets is 40 on the worse days. Managed to find a couple of shirts on sale for less than $25 total which made me happy.
Got back home, put away laundry, and took a nap. We had plans to go out to dinner with this couple we met a while back. We have been horrible at being able to keep social obligations due to my schedule and we knew we had to keep this one.
When we got up I played around with Plex some more. I managed to get one directory scanned in and need to figure out why it sees 243 out of 252 directories. It's got to be a naming thing and I need to figure out why. I think I figured out one directory. Also my friend did some tests on his Apple TV for me and they still haven't fixed the damn problem of multiple season shows collapsing in the list. I don't need 10 entries of Friends when I try to scroll through the tv show list thank you.
I also did some work stuff to help knock out some stuff I have to do tomorrow.
We went out around 5:50 and got to the restaurant around 6:45. We had a great dinner of Mexican food right on the river and then we all went for ice cream afterwards. We got home around 10, hung about for a while trying to play some HP but we both were too tired.
Nothing on the agenda for today. The wind is howling and the weather is awful. I figure we will be staying inside most of the day which is fine by me.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Y7 D193
I'm doing better. I let go a little bit in my head and it helped to wash away some of the anger and sadness that was building up. I am a little more at peace. Got up yesterday morning and did bills. Always a fun way to start the day. I am trying to pay off as much as possible for the month before we go to MI for the end of year. I don't want us stressing at all while we are there and I know that if I have everything paid off then there's nothing coming out of the check on the 18th and that will help reduce any potential stress. I know we're going to have to pick up at least one dinner or lunch for someone and I want to be ready. I hate when you're watching your bank balance and the numbers don't line up to what you have because things haven't posted and you're just like well that number is wrong. So I am watching things like a hawk right now.
Upside to being gone for the last three weeks of the year is no mileage on my car. I figured it out and we are averaging 600 miles a month. That breaks down to 7200 a year which is well below the allowance and the average. If I turn this thing in with 20,000 miles it will be a great resell for the dealer and give me a good value. Bright side.
Worked on my docs yesterday as much as I could. Demo writing is a challenge. It's not the easiest thing. I have 30 demos in this class and I managed to get 5 done. I will probably work today and get a couple more done. My goal for EOD Monday is at least to have 20 done. We shall see how I do. If I get to 20 then I can work a couple of hours after teaching every day next week to finish up the remaining. That way I won't have very much to do while on the road.
Went grocery shopping in the afternoon. I still need my niece to tell me what she wants for food in the house while we are gone. I want to make sure there's some stuff in here for her. I am going to leave money, but I also want her to have stuff too. I got more than enough to last us until we leave and some leftover. We played HP Lego last night. Got to 94% completion. We will hopefully finish it today. We watched a little TV and then we both were tired and went off to bed.
I did wake up at 3:15 this morning. I have already taken out the trash and started laundry. Look at me go.
Upside to being gone for the last three weeks of the year is no mileage on my car. I figured it out and we are averaging 600 miles a month. That breaks down to 7200 a year which is well below the allowance and the average. If I turn this thing in with 20,000 miles it will be a great resell for the dealer and give me a good value. Bright side.
Worked on my docs yesterday as much as I could. Demo writing is a challenge. It's not the easiest thing. I have 30 demos in this class and I managed to get 5 done. I will probably work today and get a couple more done. My goal for EOD Monday is at least to have 20 done. We shall see how I do. If I get to 20 then I can work a couple of hours after teaching every day next week to finish up the remaining. That way I won't have very much to do while on the road.
Went grocery shopping in the afternoon. I still need my niece to tell me what she wants for food in the house while we are gone. I want to make sure there's some stuff in here for her. I am going to leave money, but I also want her to have stuff too. I got more than enough to last us until we leave and some leftover. We played HP Lego last night. Got to 94% completion. We will hopefully finish it today. We watched a little TV and then we both were tired and went off to bed.
I did wake up at 3:15 this morning. I have already taken out the trash and started laundry. Look at me go.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Y7 D192
My night ended with learning about the death of Scott Weiland. Dead at 48 on a tour bus in Minnesota. Shitty way to go in a shitty place. Makes not seeing him in October even sadder. 48. That's me in months. Dead. Of course, I am not doing crack or heroin every day so odds are I am okay. Still makes you think doesn't it?You get past a certain age and everyone is dying around you. Lovely. I got to share this news with kid at 10pm last night. She wasn't too thrilled with the news either. Lousy way to end a lousy day.
Jumped in to my documents early in the morning just like I will today. I managed to get through all of the slide content by around 3. Today I start adding demos. I expect that to take me 2-3 days. I should be able to have this finished before we leave for MI. That's the goal at least.
I made two stops in the morning. One to get my meds from Walgreens, the other to pick up glue to hopefully repair my statue. I haven't touched him since 8:30am yesterday and in 3.5 hours I will see if it is cured. After working I took a nap as I was still in a lousy mood. Watched the season premiere of Top Chef season 13. I stopped watching the show after season 8 as they started doing too many weird ones like All Stars and Masters. I figured what the heck, let's give it a shot. I forgot how much I enjoy watching real chefs work.
I also continued my research into new media servers. Based on everything I read, Plex it seems is the best option for me. I am still investigating Kody but it has too much configuration options for what I need. I just need a simple interface and Plex is winning. I will play with it more this weekend and see what it does.
I was still in a crappy mood yesterday. Between bills, work, travel, my broken statue, and just life in general, I couldn't shake it. I am starting to feel better today. I do appreciate that when these moments hit I don't respond like I used to and go out drinking or being stupid. Yes, I may shut down and be unresponsive, but at least I won't end up like Scott Weiland.
Jumped in to my documents early in the morning just like I will today. I managed to get through all of the slide content by around 3. Today I start adding demos. I expect that to take me 2-3 days. I should be able to have this finished before we leave for MI. That's the goal at least.
I made two stops in the morning. One to get my meds from Walgreens, the other to pick up glue to hopefully repair my statue. I haven't touched him since 8:30am yesterday and in 3.5 hours I will see if it is cured. After working I took a nap as I was still in a lousy mood. Watched the season premiere of Top Chef season 13. I stopped watching the show after season 8 as they started doing too many weird ones like All Stars and Masters. I figured what the heck, let's give it a shot. I forgot how much I enjoy watching real chefs work.
I also continued my research into new media servers. Based on everything I read, Plex it seems is the best option for me. I am still investigating Kody but it has too much configuration options for what I need. I just need a simple interface and Plex is winning. I will play with it more this weekend and see what it does.
I was still in a crappy mood yesterday. Between bills, work, travel, my broken statue, and just life in general, I couldn't shake it. I am starting to feel better today. I do appreciate that when these moments hit I don't respond like I used to and go out drinking or being stupid. Yes, I may shut down and be unresponsive, but at least I won't end up like Scott Weiland.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Y7 D191
Yeah, I am still in a shitty mood. Whatever. Taught. Finished at 2, took a nap until 3:15, went to Walgreens to get a prescription filled and of course they fucked it up so I have to go back at 8am and pick it up even though it was promised to me at 4pm yesterday. I would act shocked and surprised, but I'm not. I can't count on anyone or anything these days except myself so fuck it.
Got back, made chicken for dinner, watched iZombie, fucked around on the computer for a while. I am doing one thing interesting. I am finally trying out some alternatives to using iTunes and the Apple TV. I downloaded and installed Plex to see how it works. There's a Plex client available for my TV which means I don't need a dedicated box plugged into the TV. They also have a plug in for the new Apple TV models which might be worth looking at. I may work this weekend on playing around with it. If anyone knows of something better than Plex, tell me. Here's the catch - I have to be able to install it on one of my servers and stream to my TV. I can't have a dedicated box in the front room. All the other ones I have looked at require you to have a box plugged into the tv itself. Plex is one of the few fully robust ones that streams. But I am open to suggestions.
Went to bed around 10. Today and tomorrow are heads down document development. No breaks no interruptions. I have to get this done. I want to have all the content in place by Friday and then start doing demo additions on Monday. That will be the last day I have to work on it until the 21st of the month.
Why am I still pissed off? Life in general. No other reason.
Got back, made chicken for dinner, watched iZombie, fucked around on the computer for a while. I am doing one thing interesting. I am finally trying out some alternatives to using iTunes and the Apple TV. I downloaded and installed Plex to see how it works. There's a Plex client available for my TV which means I don't need a dedicated box plugged into the TV. They also have a plug in for the new Apple TV models which might be worth looking at. I may work this weekend on playing around with it. If anyone knows of something better than Plex, tell me. Here's the catch - I have to be able to install it on one of my servers and stream to my TV. I can't have a dedicated box in the front room. All the other ones I have looked at require you to have a box plugged into the tv itself. Plex is one of the few fully robust ones that streams. But I am open to suggestions.
Went to bed around 10. Today and tomorrow are heads down document development. No breaks no interruptions. I have to get this done. I want to have all the content in place by Friday and then start doing demo additions on Monday. That will be the last day I have to work on it until the 21st of the month.
Why am I still pissed off? Life in general. No other reason.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Y7 D190
Yesterday was a really shitty day. I am still not over my sadness and anger from yesterday either. I don't expect today to be much better.
First off my class was awful. One guy was 30 minutes late, then he disrupted everyone for 15 minutes so he could be caught up on everything he missed. We got past that and then while I was working I get a hangout from B. While cleaning she broke one of my Disney statues. One that is retired and no longer available. One that they only ever produced 250 units. She broke the ear off my large Oswald statue. She then tried to unsuccessfully glue it which just made a mess and stained the resin. Needless to say I was not very happy. I tried not getting mad, but that didn't work. Of course this sent her into anger and then sadness. But the worst part is how I felt about it. I feel stupid for having these things. Why does a grown man even have this crap? I could be in a house right now if I hadn't wasted money on most of the crap I am surrounded by every day. I stare at these pin boards and wonder how much that would bring in towards debt and the future if I were to sell them tomorrow. She thinks I am mad about the statue but it's more that I am depressed about how useless I am.
This obviously put a damper on the whole day. I am still not feeling any better. I don't feel much like writing let alone do another day of training. Time to put on my mask and make sure it doesn't slip.
First off my class was awful. One guy was 30 minutes late, then he disrupted everyone for 15 minutes so he could be caught up on everything he missed. We got past that and then while I was working I get a hangout from B. While cleaning she broke one of my Disney statues. One that is retired and no longer available. One that they only ever produced 250 units. She broke the ear off my large Oswald statue. She then tried to unsuccessfully glue it which just made a mess and stained the resin. Needless to say I was not very happy. I tried not getting mad, but that didn't work. Of course this sent her into anger and then sadness. But the worst part is how I felt about it. I feel stupid for having these things. Why does a grown man even have this crap? I could be in a house right now if I hadn't wasted money on most of the crap I am surrounded by every day. I stare at these pin boards and wonder how much that would bring in towards debt and the future if I were to sell them tomorrow. She thinks I am mad about the statue but it's more that I am depressed about how useless I am.
This obviously put a damper on the whole day. I am still not feeling any better. I don't feel much like writing let alone do another day of training. Time to put on my mask and make sure it doesn't slip.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Y7 D189
Happy Christmas 1st!
I have a bit of a headache this morning. I think it is a sinus pressure headache. The weather here has been weird in the last 24 hours. Basically I froze my ass off yesterday. No matter what I did, I could not get warm. It was no more than 35 or so all day. Then in the evening it started to warm up and rain. All over the place.
It was a busy day yesterday. I had my TSA appointment in the morning. My appointment wasn't until 10, but I didn't want to sit in traffic so I left the house at 5:45. Yeah, I know. But I brought some TV shows with me on the laptop and figured it would help kill a few hours. The place for the interview opened at 7:30 and I got there at 6:30. I did watch a couple of shows while I was waiting and at 7:32 I took a chance and went inside. Luckily I picked a slow day. They saw me at 7:40. I was done and back home by 8:45. This was really good as I needed to power through a new class we are delivering in January. I got a LOT done yesterday too. I do have a bit of motivation to have it done by 1/5 and let me explain why.
While I was driving yesterday I called American. I am currently at 41,000 miles. I have 5200 booked between now and year's end. I am going to finish up about 4k short of Platinum. I called to ask them what I could do. Turns out since I am so close, I can pay an upgrade fee to get to the next level. Awesome, except it's $600 to do this. I have to debate whether it's easier and cheaper to just spend a whole day flying to get the 4,000 miles or pay the fee. When I mentioned this to my boss yesterday, he is so wanting this class done, that he agreed to let me expense the fee if I get this class done early. Done and done. I will have it done before the first. If I can spend 2016 as Platinum you're damn right I am going to work long and hard getting this class done. The problem is how many free days I have to do this. We ended up making the decision to cancel my Thursday/Friday class. There was only one person and we moved them to a January class. Score. That gives me two more days this week to get a shit ton done. Very happy about this change of events.
Around 3, the bed people came. The new bed is huge. Sigh. We both love it, but it's just so big and takes up a huge chunk of the room. We now need to figure out how to replace the dresser and nightstands to rearrange the room. This is going to be painful.
After they left, I went back to doc writing and then we went out for a quick errand. B spent the day cleaning her old laptop off to give to her sisters for Christmas. We needed to get a mouse. I tore apart boxes trying to find an extra mouse to no avail. We ended up having to go to Target and Fred Meyer to find one cheap enough to give away. While we were at the store we grabbed a roast chicken for dinner.
Got back home, had dinner, then settled in for the 4th HP movie. These movies just keep pissing me off with how much they are leaving out. Some movies would do better as TV shows because you'd have more hours to tell the story. I would have rather seen one book per season and have them spend 8-10 hours doing story development than try to cram all of it into 2.5 hour movies. My opinion.
Finished up around 10:30 and went to bed. Today I have 3 students, tomorrow 2, then back to my doc writing. I must finish!
I have a bit of a headache this morning. I think it is a sinus pressure headache. The weather here has been weird in the last 24 hours. Basically I froze my ass off yesterday. No matter what I did, I could not get warm. It was no more than 35 or so all day. Then in the evening it started to warm up and rain. All over the place.
It was a busy day yesterday. I had my TSA appointment in the morning. My appointment wasn't until 10, but I didn't want to sit in traffic so I left the house at 5:45. Yeah, I know. But I brought some TV shows with me on the laptop and figured it would help kill a few hours. The place for the interview opened at 7:30 and I got there at 6:30. I did watch a couple of shows while I was waiting and at 7:32 I took a chance and went inside. Luckily I picked a slow day. They saw me at 7:40. I was done and back home by 8:45. This was really good as I needed to power through a new class we are delivering in January. I got a LOT done yesterday too. I do have a bit of motivation to have it done by 1/5 and let me explain why.
While I was driving yesterday I called American. I am currently at 41,000 miles. I have 5200 booked between now and year's end. I am going to finish up about 4k short of Platinum. I called to ask them what I could do. Turns out since I am so close, I can pay an upgrade fee to get to the next level. Awesome, except it's $600 to do this. I have to debate whether it's easier and cheaper to just spend a whole day flying to get the 4,000 miles or pay the fee. When I mentioned this to my boss yesterday, he is so wanting this class done, that he agreed to let me expense the fee if I get this class done early. Done and done. I will have it done before the first. If I can spend 2016 as Platinum you're damn right I am going to work long and hard getting this class done. The problem is how many free days I have to do this. We ended up making the decision to cancel my Thursday/Friday class. There was only one person and we moved them to a January class. Score. That gives me two more days this week to get a shit ton done. Very happy about this change of events.
Around 3, the bed people came. The new bed is huge. Sigh. We both love it, but it's just so big and takes up a huge chunk of the room. We now need to figure out how to replace the dresser and nightstands to rearrange the room. This is going to be painful.
After they left, I went back to doc writing and then we went out for a quick errand. B spent the day cleaning her old laptop off to give to her sisters for Christmas. We needed to get a mouse. I tore apart boxes trying to find an extra mouse to no avail. We ended up having to go to Target and Fred Meyer to find one cheap enough to give away. While we were at the store we grabbed a roast chicken for dinner.
Got back home, had dinner, then settled in for the 4th HP movie. These movies just keep pissing me off with how much they are leaving out. Some movies would do better as TV shows because you'd have more hours to tell the story. I would have rather seen one book per season and have them spend 8-10 hours doing story development than try to cram all of it into 2.5 hour movies. My opinion.
Finished up around 10:30 and went to bed. Today I have 3 students, tomorrow 2, then back to my doc writing. I must finish!
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