It's hot, the cats are driving me crazy, there's something in my eye that's also driving me nuts, and we have to go out in a little while. B has a damn dentist appointment again this morning. $600 for this one. Fuck just let your teeth rot like the rest of us.
Taught class FUCK I CAN'T TYPE THIS MORNING. Heavy sigh. Anyway. Taught class, finished at 2:15. Went to the store. Made dinner. Had lamb shanks. Well I did. She had chicken satay. Watched some TV. Went to bed. Too fucking hot. Tossed and turned.
This is going to be a frustrating day. I can already tell.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Y7 D309
I was so out of my mind last night. I couldn't sit still. I was seriously distracted by everything. My tinnitus was acting up really bad. I was just annoyed, uncomfortable, and bored out of my skull. I cannot wait for next. Even if this first trip is only three days. I need it. I am now doing a local onsite the rest of that week too. I will be quite busy soon and I like it. Sitting around at night is driving me nuts. Made fish for dinner. Paced. A lot. Tried to watch TV. Didn't work out too well. Just can't take it any more.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Y7 D308
Taught my class. Had some technical issues but managed to get through it. This is a tough class with so many people. A couple of them are screaming along while some of them are struggling because their internet sucks. But one day down, two to go. I almost got roped into an onsite Thursday and Friday but I have things already scheduled. B has to go to the dentist and I have to bring the car in for service. Luckily we pushed it out to April. At least a week out.
After class I didn't do much of anything. We sat around and I made dinner. I was very antsy last night. Still am. We did end up watching a movie last night. That was about it. I went to bed at 10.
Man, I need to do something and soon. Going nuts.
After class I didn't do much of anything. We sat around and I made dinner. I was very antsy last night. Still am. We did end up watching a movie last night. That was about it. I went to bed at 10.
Man, I need to do something and soon. Going nuts.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Y7 D307
It was supposed to thunderstorm again yesterday but it barely even rained. The forecast was for non-stop rain from 11-9 but drizzle is a better word for it. Kind of sad actually. Weatherman, 50% wrong but still keep their jobs. Baseball too. You hit the ball half the time and it's considered really good. Silly.
Had a good Easter. B woke up around 10 and I had hidden eggs and some small gifts. Unfortunately one of those gifts was some glasses and one was broken. I sent the company a message but haven't heard back from them yet. Kind of sad. The glasses are tumbler glasses to match the ones I got her for Christmas. They are spring colors hence an Eater present. I got a Deadpool t-shirt and a new wallet from the Easter bunny. You go bunny.
We spent the day inside. I got us stuff to make a green bean casserole since it's her favorite. Had a semi traditional dinner of ham, casserole, carrots, salad, and biscuits. It was damn good. We finished season 1 of Scorpion. That's been our recent show. We both enjoy it and it's not like 10 seasons long. Heck, season 2 ends soon and we will be caught up for a season 3. Still need to finish Daredevil. Neither of us is getting into it this season. Just doesn't catch us like season 1 did.
Not a bad day. Went to bed around 10. Those tablets I mentioned yesterday did another outstanding job for me. No dry mouth at all. I slept better last night because of it.
Three days of class with 8 students. $16,000 week. March turned out to be a pretty decent month for us. I may actually get a bonus in April. Of course it will all go to B's teeth. Joy. I am hoping to not touch savings because I still don't know what my taxes look like. Worried about that. Am not about to have the same IRS troubles I had in the past. I am anticipating owing a couple thousand. We will see what the pain looks like soon.
Had a good Easter. B woke up around 10 and I had hidden eggs and some small gifts. Unfortunately one of those gifts was some glasses and one was broken. I sent the company a message but haven't heard back from them yet. Kind of sad. The glasses are tumbler glasses to match the ones I got her for Christmas. They are spring colors hence an Eater present. I got a Deadpool t-shirt and a new wallet from the Easter bunny. You go bunny.
We spent the day inside. I got us stuff to make a green bean casserole since it's her favorite. Had a semi traditional dinner of ham, casserole, carrots, salad, and biscuits. It was damn good. We finished season 1 of Scorpion. That's been our recent show. We both enjoy it and it's not like 10 seasons long. Heck, season 2 ends soon and we will be caught up for a season 3. Still need to finish Daredevil. Neither of us is getting into it this season. Just doesn't catch us like season 1 did.
Not a bad day. Went to bed around 10. Those tablets I mentioned yesterday did another outstanding job for me. No dry mouth at all. I slept better last night because of it.
Three days of class with 8 students. $16,000 week. March turned out to be a pretty decent month for us. I may actually get a bonus in April. Of course it will all go to B's teeth. Joy. I am hoping to not touch savings because I still don't know what my taxes look like. Worried about that. Am not about to have the same IRS troubles I had in the past. I am anticipating owing a couple thousand. We will see what the pain looks like soon.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Y7 D306
Two things: 1. Happy Easter. Or happy Lich King day if you prefer. 2. Oracoat Xylimelt tablets are the greatest thing ever. One tablet in the upper corner of your cheek before you go to bed and BAM no more dry mouth during the night. Babies don't sleep this well. Holy shit these little tablets are incredible.
Took a drive yesterday because I needed to get out of the house. First I went out in the morning to get something B needed that's only sold in one store around here. Then when B woke up we took a drive about 30 miles south of us to some outlet malls. They were super busy but not so bad we couldn't walk around and look at things. The only thing we ended up buying was a giant Hulk tsum tsum. We did look in a bunch of shops though. Headed back around 2. B ended up taking a nap and I went out to the store. I went to Best Buy to look and price a couple of things. Didn't buy anything, just figured out how much to budget and plan for in the future.
Talked to my sister. Glad I did. We are supposed to have lunch next Saturday and I remembered that's soap making day. Have to push lunch to later in the afternoon. All good, happy I thought about it though. I paid good money for this soap class and we are going dammit.
Came back home and around 6 we headed out for dinner. We had mexican food which was pretty good. Went to the store across to get some dessert. Came back home, dyed Easter eggs. Now I have to hide them this morning.
Pretty good day over all. I am still a little sad in the head, but doing okay. Not great. But okay. Okay isn't bad.
Took a drive yesterday because I needed to get out of the house. First I went out in the morning to get something B needed that's only sold in one store around here. Then when B woke up we took a drive about 30 miles south of us to some outlet malls. They were super busy but not so bad we couldn't walk around and look at things. The only thing we ended up buying was a giant Hulk tsum tsum. We did look in a bunch of shops though. Headed back around 2. B ended up taking a nap and I went out to the store. I went to Best Buy to look and price a couple of things. Didn't buy anything, just figured out how much to budget and plan for in the future.
Talked to my sister. Glad I did. We are supposed to have lunch next Saturday and I remembered that's soap making day. Have to push lunch to later in the afternoon. All good, happy I thought about it though. I paid good money for this soap class and we are going dammit.
Came back home and around 6 we headed out for dinner. We had mexican food which was pretty good. Went to the store across to get some dessert. Came back home, dyed Easter eggs. Now I have to hide them this morning.
Pretty good day over all. I am still a little sad in the head, but doing okay. Not great. But okay. Okay isn't bad.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Y7 D305
Taught my second day of class. No issues. Finished at 2:30. Got info on next week's class - 8 students. That's a $16,000 week. March may end up being a good month after all. Make up for Feb. May end up getting a few hundred in bonus in April. Good. I need it. And the thought of a mac mini is so off the table right now. B needs more dental work. $600. Whee. It's just one thing after another isn't it? Whatever. Cleaned the house yesterday. Did laundry. Cleaned my office. Stopped in at Costco for some snack for the week. Made pork chops for dinner. Went to bed. Is it April yet? Can I go on the road? Can I see something other than these four walls? I miss my friends. I miss the stupid drama of life. I miss drinking. I just want to drown. Doesn't matter. Garry Shandling is dead. Heart attack. Another one bites the dust. I fear looking at the news sites this morning. More will be dead probably. I was right. Earl Hamner dead. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But dead. Tin soldiers and Trump is coming. We're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming. Four dead in Ohio.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Y7 D304
The verdict is in; Ricardo (that's what we named the mini) is too slow. Sad panda. It just isn't fast enough to handle everything I need from a HTPC box. The final nail was I did a download on my current machine and on Ricardo and the speed difference was unsettling. Then I tried using it to transcode an mkv file and it failed. Just utterly failed. My concept and plan is still good, I just need to find a machine that can handle what I want. I will save up and for my birthday get a mac mini. It will eliminate all the samba issues, the speed issues, and the space issues. So you can have your mini back whenever you want.
Taught my new class. They're okay. A little quiet, but it's all good. We finished around 2:30 and I took an accidental nap until 4. When I got up I got confirmation on my Reno trip and booked the hotel. I will stay 16 nights in a hotel in April. Which comes out to about 20 nights on the road. That's the entire working month. Fun stuff.
B made chili for dinner. It was okay as well. Not as chili-esque as I am used to but it was good. Things like this just highlight our different taste profiles. I was looking for more of a smoky earthy taste and hers had more of a garlic chili powder taste.
We did have one issue last night. I ordered something off Amazon that B needed and I even paid the extra $4 to have it here overnight. It was supposed to arrive by FedEx by 8pm. At 8:02, I sent amazon an email saying I want my $4 back. They responded about an hour later apologizing and refunded me $5 for my trouble. Cool. Still want the package to arrive though. Hopefully it will come today. I just checked and it just left Memphis about 4 hours ago. Not cool.
Watched some TV, worked on Ricardo, went to bed around 10. Day two of class today followed by a whole lot of nothing. Easter this weekend. Egg dying tomorrow then a nice ham dinner on Sunday.
Taught my new class. They're okay. A little quiet, but it's all good. We finished around 2:30 and I took an accidental nap until 4. When I got up I got confirmation on my Reno trip and booked the hotel. I will stay 16 nights in a hotel in April. Which comes out to about 20 nights on the road. That's the entire working month. Fun stuff.
B made chili for dinner. It was okay as well. Not as chili-esque as I am used to but it was good. Things like this just highlight our different taste profiles. I was looking for more of a smoky earthy taste and hers had more of a garlic chili powder taste.
We did have one issue last night. I ordered something off Amazon that B needed and I even paid the extra $4 to have it here overnight. It was supposed to arrive by FedEx by 8pm. At 8:02, I sent amazon an email saying I want my $4 back. They responded about an hour later apologizing and refunded me $5 for my trouble. Cool. Still want the package to arrive though. Hopefully it will come today. I just checked and it just left Memphis about 4 hours ago. Not cool.
Watched some TV, worked on Ricardo, went to bed around 10. Day two of class today followed by a whole lot of nothing. Easter this weekend. Egg dying tomorrow then a nice ham dinner on Sunday.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Y7 D303
I know now why my buddy was unhappy with this little mini box. It's slow. Like excruciatingly slow. I put linux on it dammit. The least amount of overhead needed by an OS ever. I almost want to buy a mac mini instead and use that. But that would set me back $500 and it's not worth it. I will test this little box out this week and see just how bad it is. If it can't transcode fast enough to send things over the network then I will rethink my plans. I did manage to get everything I needed installed on it. The fun of linux was doing most of it at the command line. Whee. In the end it worked, even with some graphic glitches. I just don't know if it can keep up.
Worked on a new class yesterday and was able to finish it. We are splitting up our Tableau training into multiple chunks and I needed to dissect our current class, add some stuff, and see how it's all going to play out. Got it all done.
I finished all my electrical work too. We moved the light which had been in the dining room to the front entrance to give more light there, took that light and move it to the front room as there was only a small spot there before. We now have a ton of light everywhere. Makes me happy.
Made chicken for dinner. Watched our Wednesday TV, then went to bed around 10. B decided to give me a manicure while we were watching stuff. I must admit, my nails look better even if they are too short for my taste. She is a bit crazy about nails and cuts them down to the bone. That drives me nuts. I like a little nail there thank you. In her world she would pull all of hers out.
Pretty good day overall. Two more days of teaching the same class I taught earlier this week. But only four students instead of 12. I did talk to the group in Reno yesterday and it looks like that is going to be confirmed. Once it's confirmed I need to book hotel, arrange for cat sitting, and plan out the week. April is almost here and it's going to be crazy.
Worked on a new class yesterday and was able to finish it. We are splitting up our Tableau training into multiple chunks and I needed to dissect our current class, add some stuff, and see how it's all going to play out. Got it all done.
I finished all my electrical work too. We moved the light which had been in the dining room to the front entrance to give more light there, took that light and move it to the front room as there was only a small spot there before. We now have a ton of light everywhere. Makes me happy.
Made chicken for dinner. Watched our Wednesday TV, then went to bed around 10. B decided to give me a manicure while we were watching stuff. I must admit, my nails look better even if they are too short for my taste. She is a bit crazy about nails and cuts them down to the bone. That drives me nuts. I like a little nail there thank you. In her world she would pull all of hers out.
Pretty good day overall. Two more days of teaching the same class I taught earlier this week. But only four students instead of 12. I did talk to the group in Reno yesterday and it looks like that is going to be confirmed. Once it's confirmed I need to book hotel, arrange for cat sitting, and plan out the week. April is almost here and it's going to be crazy.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Y7 D302
Many things happened yesterday. Bit of an adventure for a Tuesday to be honest. It involved home improvement, new jeans, Linux installations, and an animal adventure (none of ours thank goodness). The day started off pretty normal. Taught day two of my class without any major issues. Got through all the material and everyone seemed very happy with the class. On our last break I braised and prepped a little tri-tip to go into the slow cooker. I only cooked it for four hours and honestly I think it could have used another hour.
The other day when we were out B bought a new pair of jeans and she really loves them. She gave them to me to try on and they really our nice jeans for the price she paid. They were only $36 and I have been looking for a second pair of jeans to have for day to day wear. I found the same ones on amazon for the same price including next day shipping. Ordered those while teaching class. They should be here by 3 today. Score.
While I was teaching a thought occurred to me. I have this little mini box from my buddy and originally the plan was to use it as a media server in the living room plugged directly into the TV. That was going to be a bit of a hassle and that's when we ended up buying the new Apple TV and using it with Plex. That has been working great but then I realized, I don't need a big giant box dedicated to doing that. I can use this little mini box in the office feeding Plex to the front room. That would free up the 24" iMac to use in the bedroom as a baby TV when B wanted to watch something while relaxing in bed. So if you're reading this right now, you're probably not getting this baby box back any time soon. Sorry.
Before I could work on that though, I needed to finish my other project - the new ceiling fan. Got that mounted and installed pretty quickly. B is very happy as am I with how it came out. Some nice air flow in that area now. When summer comes around we're going to be doing okay. When that was done, I ran to the store to get a salad for dinner, some eggs and dye for Sunday, and a couple of miscellaneous things. Came back, and started reformatting the mini. Got Ubuntu on it after a couple of little glitches. Issues with lightdm and needed to reconfigure at the terminal. But in the end I got it working. Now I just need to go to the thrift store and grab a cheap ass mouse, KB, and possibly a monitor. I really only need the monitor for installation and config so I may opt out of that. I can SSH into it once it is all connected and use SMB to transfer files to it.
Had dinner and as we were doing the dishes B noticed out the window there were some cops at the little strip mall behind us. I went to the window to see if I could see anything and that's when I saw what I believe to have been a small dog running across the street. In traffic. Yes, a car dinged him. I thought they ran him over but when she got out to look the animal was gone. B and I of course were worried it was hiding somewhere injured so we went out in the dark and started walking through muck and mud to find it. Didn't find it, but also didn't see any blood in the street or anything. I think it was stunned and ran home back into the house across the street. We were both worried and concerned about the poor thing.
After all that excitement we settled in to watch some TV and then I went to bed around 10:30. Conference call today at 9, then document writing. Tomorrow and Friday is more teaching. Getting close to April and my non-stop month. Whee.
The other day when we were out B bought a new pair of jeans and she really loves them. She gave them to me to try on and they really our nice jeans for the price she paid. They were only $36 and I have been looking for a second pair of jeans to have for day to day wear. I found the same ones on amazon for the same price including next day shipping. Ordered those while teaching class. They should be here by 3 today. Score.
While I was teaching a thought occurred to me. I have this little mini box from my buddy and originally the plan was to use it as a media server in the living room plugged directly into the TV. That was going to be a bit of a hassle and that's when we ended up buying the new Apple TV and using it with Plex. That has been working great but then I realized, I don't need a big giant box dedicated to doing that. I can use this little mini box in the office feeding Plex to the front room. That would free up the 24" iMac to use in the bedroom as a baby TV when B wanted to watch something while relaxing in bed. So if you're reading this right now, you're probably not getting this baby box back any time soon. Sorry.
Before I could work on that though, I needed to finish my other project - the new ceiling fan. Got that mounted and installed pretty quickly. B is very happy as am I with how it came out. Some nice air flow in that area now. When summer comes around we're going to be doing okay. When that was done, I ran to the store to get a salad for dinner, some eggs and dye for Sunday, and a couple of miscellaneous things. Came back, and started reformatting the mini. Got Ubuntu on it after a couple of little glitches. Issues with lightdm and needed to reconfigure at the terminal. But in the end I got it working. Now I just need to go to the thrift store and grab a cheap ass mouse, KB, and possibly a monitor. I really only need the monitor for installation and config so I may opt out of that. I can SSH into it once it is all connected and use SMB to transfer files to it.
Had dinner and as we were doing the dishes B noticed out the window there were some cops at the little strip mall behind us. I went to the window to see if I could see anything and that's when I saw what I believe to have been a small dog running across the street. In traffic. Yes, a car dinged him. I thought they ran him over but when she got out to look the animal was gone. B and I of course were worried it was hiding somewhere injured so we went out in the dark and started walking through muck and mud to find it. Didn't find it, but also didn't see any blood in the street or anything. I think it was stunned and ran home back into the house across the street. We were both worried and concerned about the poor thing.
After all that excitement we settled in to watch some TV and then I went to bed around 10:30. Conference call today at 9, then document writing. Tomorrow and Friday is more teaching. Getting close to April and my non-stop month. Whee.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Y7 D301
Wow. Complete mental block. I have been staring at this blank page for like 2 minutes without typing. Am I just not awake yet? Just totally spacing out. Taught my class. It went fine. Surprisingly well to be honest. 12 students is always a challenge. There were a couple who violated the mute rule but not so bad that it was a problem. Day two today. We'll see if they are still as good.
Finished class around 2:40 and we went over to Lowe's. We decided to replace the light fixture in the dining room with a ceiling fan to get some more airflow in preparation for summer. Buy it now while it's cheap. For example, I saw gloves on sale at the store over the weekend that were 80% off because it's off season. Buy off season when you can. We got a really nice fan for only $75. Down from like $149. Off season.
Came back, started the installation but didn't finish it. The circuit that the light fixture is on will turn off more than I want it to and I need to make sure all the computers are off, that everything is safe before flipping the circuit breaker. I will do it after class today.
Made chicken stir-fry for dinner. Watched some tv. Went to bed around 10:30. Whee. I can't wait for April. I need some change of scenery. Going a bit stir crazy which is also what led to me wanting to change out light fixtures. Need to do something.
One more day with this group, then a break, then I teach the same class to a different group. Oh boy. I get to repeat everything twice in one week. Joy.
Finished class around 2:40 and we went over to Lowe's. We decided to replace the light fixture in the dining room with a ceiling fan to get some more airflow in preparation for summer. Buy it now while it's cheap. For example, I saw gloves on sale at the store over the weekend that were 80% off because it's off season. Buy off season when you can. We got a really nice fan for only $75. Down from like $149. Off season.
Came back, started the installation but didn't finish it. The circuit that the light fixture is on will turn off more than I want it to and I need to make sure all the computers are off, that everything is safe before flipping the circuit breaker. I will do it after class today.
Made chicken stir-fry for dinner. Watched some tv. Went to bed around 10:30. Whee. I can't wait for April. I need some change of scenery. Going a bit stir crazy which is also what led to me wanting to change out light fixtures. Need to do something.
One more day with this group, then a break, then I teach the same class to a different group. Oh boy. I get to repeat everything twice in one week. Joy.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Y7 D300
Only 66 days to go. It's a leap year, remember?
Got up, did my morning stuff, went to the store, came back, waited for B to wake up. She went to bed early because she wasn't feeling well, but I knew it wouldn't last. She ended up getting up at around midnight and staying up until 4. I knew she had gotten up because she made herself eggs during the night and the cats decided to use the shells she left in the sink as toys. They were on the kitchen floor when I got up.
She got up around 11 and we decided to go the mall to get out of the house. We wandered around for a while. Found a new t-shirt for both of us and she found a new pair of jeans. Got home at 4 only to realize they left the security tag on hers. I drove all the way back to the mall to get it removed. 57 minutes there and back. Joy.
Made ahi for dinner then we watched a little tv and read. Went to bed around 10:30.
Today starts my two day private class.12 students, challenging class material. This is going to be fun. Yeah right.
Got up, did my morning stuff, went to the store, came back, waited for B to wake up. She went to bed early because she wasn't feeling well, but I knew it wouldn't last. She ended up getting up at around midnight and staying up until 4. I knew she had gotten up because she made herself eggs during the night and the cats decided to use the shells she left in the sink as toys. They were on the kitchen floor when I got up.
She got up around 11 and we decided to go the mall to get out of the house. We wandered around for a while. Found a new t-shirt for both of us and she found a new pair of jeans. Got home at 4 only to realize they left the security tag on hers. I drove all the way back to the mall to get it removed. 57 minutes there and back. Joy.
Made ahi for dinner then we watched a little tv and read. Went to bed around 10:30.
Today starts my two day private class.12 students, challenging class material. This is going to be fun. Yeah right.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Y7 D299
I started doing it again last night when I went to bed - talking in my head in narrative form. I was thinking about the day and what I wanted to write this morning. Not much to be honest. We had a very uneventful day.
I got up, ran a couple of errands, came back, and waited for B to get up. She finally woke up around 11, we went and had some lunch, drove around a little bit just for the fun of it, then came back home. I took a nap from 1-2, we cleaned the house a little, and dealt with an ant problem in her bathroom. Just a few of them. But we cannot for the life of us figure out where they are coming in at. We went and grabbed some traps and tried to isolate the entry point to no avail.
We both read for a while then decided to watch a movie. We watched John Wick because we love it. Watching Daredevil for whatever reason reminded us of Wick and we decided to watch it. After B wasn't feeling well and started falling asleep. I went in the other room and played Borderlands 2. Steam had it on sale for ridiculously cheap and I never played it when it came out so screw it.
Finally heard back from my tax guy. He is going over everything right now and going to let me know how bad it is in the next couple of days. I am not expecting good news because of the move and having to pay two different state taxes.
Went to bed around 11. Woke up with another pressure headache. The weather is changing again. Raining right now. I need to leave the windows open again at night. Only way I will be able to breathe.
Today is laundry day. Whee.
I got up, ran a couple of errands, came back, and waited for B to get up. She finally woke up around 11, we went and had some lunch, drove around a little bit just for the fun of it, then came back home. I took a nap from 1-2, we cleaned the house a little, and dealt with an ant problem in her bathroom. Just a few of them. But we cannot for the life of us figure out where they are coming in at. We went and grabbed some traps and tried to isolate the entry point to no avail.
We both read for a while then decided to watch a movie. We watched John Wick because we love it. Watching Daredevil for whatever reason reminded us of Wick and we decided to watch it. After B wasn't feeling well and started falling asleep. I went in the other room and played Borderlands 2. Steam had it on sale for ridiculously cheap and I never played it when it came out so screw it.
Finally heard back from my tax guy. He is going over everything right now and going to let me know how bad it is in the next couple of days. I am not expecting good news because of the move and having to pay two different state taxes.
Went to bed around 11. Woke up with another pressure headache. The weather is changing again. Raining right now. I need to leave the windows open again at night. Only way I will be able to breathe.
Today is laundry day. Whee.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Y7 D298
Writing this blog for so many years has messed me up a little bit. I sometimes find myself thinking in narrative. I am experiencing or thinking about something and it pops into my head in a way that would work better on paper. I have a feeling many writers experience this. To much writing makes everything feel like a page from a book. Not a big deal, just an observation. Because what is life but observations, narratives, and stories.
Went to the store in the morning yesterday to get some basic groceries. Paid some bills. Worked on my docs for work. Made some headway. Not as much as I would have liked, but I made some. Enough I don't feel guilty. So good enough.
Daredevil 2 was released yesterday and that was our big plans for the night. Pizza and marathon tv. We made it through 5 episodes which is not bad. I'm not like B where I can't watch an entire season of something in one day. I start getting antsy. Five episodes is really good for me. I am hoping we can finish it up this weekend 4 tonight, 4 tomorrow.
No real plans for the weekend which is okay. Next weekend is easter. The weekend after that starts our crazy time. The minute April hits I won't have time to breathe and I am going to enjoy all the time I have right now. Have to get cat food today and some other random stuff. But otherwise I don't have any real reason to leave the house.
Good and bad.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Y7 D297
Apparently I needed some sleep. I just woke up a few minutes ago which is crazy for me. I woke up at 3:30 yesterday and went until 10:30. Thank goodness I didn't have to get up early again today.
I left the house a few minutes earlier yesterday hoping to catch a less crowded train. I missed it by like 5 minutes. I was on the same crowded commuter train as Wednesday. Oh well. Got to their offices and waited until almost 8 until someone showed up to let me in and work. I managed to get everything I need to get done by around 1 and headed home.
Before I had left I prepped a corned beef. All B had to do was wake up at 9 and turn it on. Yes, I was worried. I got a text from her around 9:05 saying "corned beef started back to bed". Ok. As long as you turned on the food.
Got home and we went out to Best Buy. In the last week both of our headphones have broke. My Nakamichi bluetooth ones cracked on both sides. Granted I take them everywhere and beat the hell out of them, but I only got 17 months out of them. B's only BT headphones were ones her dad sent her from Christmas last year and they were dollar store specials. We went to BB to audition new ones. We both ended up with Sony headphones. Mine are the 950BT hers the 650BT. The real difference is the size of the ear cups. Hers are more on ear where as mine are over hear. Both of them have excellent sound and noise canceling.
Got home, had our dinner, watched some TV, went to bed. Today I have docs to work on as a result of everything else this week. But luckily I got everything from their network that I needed. I can make it through today. We may go into Vancouver on Sunday to a Bernie rally. It will be the first time in my life I have seen a presidential candidate. Might be fun.
I left the house a few minutes earlier yesterday hoping to catch a less crowded train. I missed it by like 5 minutes. I was on the same crowded commuter train as Wednesday. Oh well. Got to their offices and waited until almost 8 until someone showed up to let me in and work. I managed to get everything I need to get done by around 1 and headed home.
Before I had left I prepped a corned beef. All B had to do was wake up at 9 and turn it on. Yes, I was worried. I got a text from her around 9:05 saying "corned beef started back to bed". Ok. As long as you turned on the food.
Got home and we went out to Best Buy. In the last week both of our headphones have broke. My Nakamichi bluetooth ones cracked on both sides. Granted I take them everywhere and beat the hell out of them, but I only got 17 months out of them. B's only BT headphones were ones her dad sent her from Christmas last year and they were dollar store specials. We went to BB to audition new ones. We both ended up with Sony headphones. Mine are the 950BT hers the 650BT. The real difference is the size of the ear cups. Hers are more on ear where as mine are over hear. Both of them have excellent sound and noise canceling.
Got home, had our dinner, watched some TV, went to bed. Today I have docs to work on as a result of everything else this week. But luckily I got everything from their network that I needed. I can make it through today. We may go into Vancouver on Sunday to a Bernie rally. It will be the first time in my life I have seen a presidential candidate. Might be fun.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Y7 D296
I don't know how people do a commute every day. Yesterday was awful for me. I left the house at 6:20am and didn't get home until 5:45pm. The ride in was horrible. Squished in a tin can like sardines on their way to the store. Hot, crowded, smelly. Got to the client around 7:30, had to wait until someone got there at 8 to let me in, then I worked straight from 8:30 to 4:30 with no breaks at all. I wanted to get things done. Turns out the client and I have different opinions on what "done" is. I was trying to minimize the amount of time I need on site with them, and he misinterpreted that as me saying I was done completely. I was done with what I wanted to do onsite. But that led to a string of emails last night where it went back and forth as to whether I would be going back today. In the end my boss and I decided one of his requests was not out of line so I am going back in this morning to address that, then sit there for a while to see if he wants any other specific changes. I don't expect to be there all day, but who knows.
Being in their office is no picnic either. I was shoved into a random office with a lousy chair and the world's worst guest network. I couldn't check any of my own emails all day.
When I got home I was so tired but had to play nice with B, eat dinner, read emails, deal with the back and forth emails, and iron another shirt for today. Such fun. I collapsed around 10:30 and went to bed.
I don't know what to expect today. I might get turned away at the doors for all I know. Whatever. I will do my best.
Being in their office is no picnic either. I was shoved into a random office with a lousy chair and the world's worst guest network. I couldn't check any of my own emails all day.
When I got home I was so tired but had to play nice with B, eat dinner, read emails, deal with the back and forth emails, and iron another shirt for today. Such fun. I collapsed around 10:30 and went to bed.
I don't know what to expect today. I might get turned away at the doors for all I know. Whatever. I will do my best.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Y7 D295
Did you stop and think about how busy this week is? DST, Primaries, PI Day, Ides of March, and St Patrick's Day all in one week. Wow. That's kind of crazy. The only one truly bugging me is the primaries. Trump v Clinton. I now officially live in a scary fucking world. Not too happy about how things are looking for this country. Amsterdam?
Taught my 1 on 1 class and finished as expected around 11. Gave me time to work on this custom class we are doing. I am heading into their local office today to get things hopefully finished. My goal is to do as much onsite today as I can to avoid having to go back tomorrow. But if I need to, my day is open. I did have a call with the guy leading this and we settled on a delivery date as well. April 4th in Loas Angeles. And when I say LA I mean right in the middle of downtown. It doesn't get any more LA than where I am going to be. It's going to be a turn-around kind of class. I fly out Sunday, teach Monday, back home Tuesday. I found a hotel .3 miles from them so no need for a car. This means I will be on the road every week in April. Thanks to weekend travel I am booked 110% for the month as well. Only 3 days total at home. Good? Bad? I don't know other than I am looking forward to being out of the house for sure. I am not even minding today seeing as I have to take the train downtown and work in a strange office all day.
We had leftovers for dinner, watched some TV, and I went to bed around 10. B was up until 3. I know this because I woke up a couple of times to see the light in the front room still on. Whatever.
Taught my 1 on 1 class and finished as expected around 11. Gave me time to work on this custom class we are doing. I am heading into their local office today to get things hopefully finished. My goal is to do as much onsite today as I can to avoid having to go back tomorrow. But if I need to, my day is open. I did have a call with the guy leading this and we settled on a delivery date as well. April 4th in Loas Angeles. And when I say LA I mean right in the middle of downtown. It doesn't get any more LA than where I am going to be. It's going to be a turn-around kind of class. I fly out Sunday, teach Monday, back home Tuesday. I found a hotel .3 miles from them so no need for a car. This means I will be on the road every week in April. Thanks to weekend travel I am booked 110% for the month as well. Only 3 days total at home. Good? Bad? I don't know other than I am looking forward to being out of the house for sure. I am not even minding today seeing as I have to take the train downtown and work in a strange office all day.
We had leftovers for dinner, watched some TV, and I went to bed around 10. B was up until 3. I know this because I woke up a couple of times to see the light in the front room still on. Whatever.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Y7 D294
I have a horrible pressure headache this morning. Changes in the weather pressure is bugging me. Add to that the heat on in the house because it got down into the 30s last night and it's a recipe for headaches and snoring. Poor B was on the couch this morning when I woke up because of me not being able to breathe.
Taught my one person class yesterday. He was scheduled for two days of class and we got through 1 1/2 days of the material. We should only have a half day today. Which is good because my custom class guy finally got his shit together and sent over some changes he needs. In addition he got local resources taken care of and I will be going onsite tomorrow and possibly Thursday to finish up their custom work. I have to actually leave the house and be a commuter. Ew. Put on real clothes and act professional. Fuck that.
After class we went to Costco to pick up a few things. Big mistake. The time change is still screwing with both of us as we thought it was earlier and the traffic getting back home was a nightmare. We had a pot roast we got for dinner. Pretty damn good. Spent more there than I wanted but that's what happens when you go to Costco.
Watched some TV. Day 3 of the ATV+Plex test still in progress. Last night was the first night I didn't convert or rename anything. Just copied it to the folders. Worked like a charm. I did find yesterday some stuff that was mislabeled or that it didn't read. I looked into it and it needs it to be named and organized a very exact way. Not a big deal. I just need to make sure I clean things up in that respect. Still a lot less work than before.
Day two, ironing, reviewing custom training changes. Mild day ahead.
Taught my one person class yesterday. He was scheduled for two days of class and we got through 1 1/2 days of the material. We should only have a half day today. Which is good because my custom class guy finally got his shit together and sent over some changes he needs. In addition he got local resources taken care of and I will be going onsite tomorrow and possibly Thursday to finish up their custom work. I have to actually leave the house and be a commuter. Ew. Put on real clothes and act professional. Fuck that.
After class we went to Costco to pick up a few things. Big mistake. The time change is still screwing with both of us as we thought it was earlier and the traffic getting back home was a nightmare. We had a pot roast we got for dinner. Pretty damn good. Spent more there than I wanted but that's what happens when you go to Costco.
Watched some TV. Day 3 of the ATV+Plex test still in progress. Last night was the first night I didn't convert or rename anything. Just copied it to the folders. Worked like a charm. I did find yesterday some stuff that was mislabeled or that it didn't read. I looked into it and it needs it to be named and organized a very exact way. Not a big deal. I just need to make sure I clean things up in that respect. Still a lot less work than before.
Day two, ironing, reviewing custom training changes. Mild day ahead.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Y7 D293
Day one of the Apple TV 4 + Plex experiment has been a 75% success. The ATV itself is working well so far. Including the new remote being able to control both the TV and the soundbar. That was an unexpected bonus. One tiny remote to control everything is a big plus. The only hiccup was Plex having their servers crash for about 2 hours yesterday afternoon. I looked over their status logs (they have a dedicated site to server status) and this is the first time there has been in an issue in months. Just our luck it happens while we are evaluating it for our needs. Both of us though are very happy with the new interface.
We ran a couple of errands yesterday. Nothing major just a quick trip to the store to get her sister a birthday card and gift card. Plus some ingredients for dinner. I made a rack of slow cooked ribs but B was in the mood for chicken tenders as she is not a fan of ribs. It's all good as I now have leftovers for the week.
We both were thrown off by the time change though as we made dinner later than usual since the damn sun was still out at 6. I use the word sun loosely in this case because it did rain 90% of the day yesterday. We were supposed to have thunderstorms but they never materialized. Kind of sad about that. Was looking forward to the spectacle.
That's everything from yesterday. While cooking we had a little grease fire (hey it happens when you're deep frying chicken tenders) which of course freaked B out and sent her anxiety spiraling. She spent the majority of the night putting together a list of emergency information. I don't think she is crazy to be doing that as it needed to be done some time anyway. Her level of detail in these documents is debatable but overall it wasn't a bad project for her.
This week I have two classes, one on Monday and Tuesday, the other Thursday and Friday. Both of them have one student each which should be interesting. Financially this makes for a pretty shitty week for us but at least it keeps me off the radar. One student or ten, teaching a class is teaching a class.
We ran a couple of errands yesterday. Nothing major just a quick trip to the store to get her sister a birthday card and gift card. Plus some ingredients for dinner. I made a rack of slow cooked ribs but B was in the mood for chicken tenders as she is not a fan of ribs. It's all good as I now have leftovers for the week.
We both were thrown off by the time change though as we made dinner later than usual since the damn sun was still out at 6. I use the word sun loosely in this case because it did rain 90% of the day yesterday. We were supposed to have thunderstorms but they never materialized. Kind of sad about that. Was looking forward to the spectacle.
That's everything from yesterday. While cooking we had a little grease fire (hey it happens when you're deep frying chicken tenders) which of course freaked B out and sent her anxiety spiraling. She spent the majority of the night putting together a list of emergency information. I don't think she is crazy to be doing that as it needed to be done some time anyway. Her level of detail in these documents is debatable but overall it wasn't a bad project for her.
This week I have two classes, one on Monday and Tuesday, the other Thursday and Friday. Both of them have one student each which should be interesting. Financially this makes for a pretty shitty week for us but at least it keeps me off the radar. One student or ten, teaching a class is teaching a class.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Y7 D292
Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there. It's that horrible time of year again when we change the stupid clocks. No one likes it, there's no goddamn farmers that rely on it, why the hell do we keep doing it? I woke up at "6:20" this morning which should have been 5:20. At least in today's age of electronics, everything update automatically for me. Except of course for the microwave, stove, and 30 watches in the house. The car probably isn't updated either. I will check that later.
Had a good day yesterday. Sort of. The morning was a little stressful. I have been wearing a pair of B's Mickey earrings because one of the holes in my ears was closing up and I wanted to see if I could re-open it. I woke up yesterday and one was missing. It fell out while sleeping but of course I freaked out because I lost one of her good earrings. These are ones we got at the park, are real, and were her birthday present. I was thinking all this when I went out to the store. Did my grocery shopping, got up to the line, realized I forgot my wallet. I had them hold the cart while I hauled ass back home. 7 minutes round trip. Got that done, then went to one location of another store as I needed some stuff not at the first store, only to find that location didn't have what I wanted and had to drive to the other location. Sigh. The morning shopping trip was way more stressful than it should have been.
Got back, B woke up, vacuumed, and then we did laundry. My friend came by around noon and dropped off a mini-computer for me to check out as a viable media server. I started playing with it, but B was hungry. We went to a local burger place (which was pretty good), but as we were leaving we discovered an old woman had slipped and fallen behind our car. We were then stuck there until the ambulance, fire department, and eleventy billion lookie loos dispersed. Finally got back home, napped, then I started playing with the device. In the end, it isn't going to work out for me. I would have to get too many extra components, the video card isn't supported by the OS I was hoping to use, and my remote isn't compatible. Darn. It was a nice try.
I made tikka masala chicken for dinner then after dinner, we decided screw it, let's by the Apple TV 4 and see how we like it. There's a Plex app for it as well as VLC now. I have been considering a Pi kit, but this would definitely be an easier route. We were just worried about the interface. Placed an online order and we headed to the mall. It only took them 20 minutes to process the order and let me know it was ready. Got that, a birthday present for a friend, some stuff from bath and body, and golden egg for me from Lush.
Returned and setup the new ATV. First off, no changes were needed to the remote or the power cable which was nice. Unplugged one hockey puck, plugged the other in. Grabbed the Plex app and BOOM everything we have been wanting to do. The interface to Plex is great, no more running iTunes, no more converting MKV or AVI files. The issue has been resolved.
All that took a while and didn't go to bed until 11:30. Not sure what we have if anything planned for today. We shall see.
Had a good day yesterday. Sort of. The morning was a little stressful. I have been wearing a pair of B's Mickey earrings because one of the holes in my ears was closing up and I wanted to see if I could re-open it. I woke up yesterday and one was missing. It fell out while sleeping but of course I freaked out because I lost one of her good earrings. These are ones we got at the park, are real, and were her birthday present. I was thinking all this when I went out to the store. Did my grocery shopping, got up to the line, realized I forgot my wallet. I had them hold the cart while I hauled ass back home. 7 minutes round trip. Got that done, then went to one location of another store as I needed some stuff not at the first store, only to find that location didn't have what I wanted and had to drive to the other location. Sigh. The morning shopping trip was way more stressful than it should have been.
Got back, B woke up, vacuumed, and then we did laundry. My friend came by around noon and dropped off a mini-computer for me to check out as a viable media server. I started playing with it, but B was hungry. We went to a local burger place (which was pretty good), but as we were leaving we discovered an old woman had slipped and fallen behind our car. We were then stuck there until the ambulance, fire department, and eleventy billion lookie loos dispersed. Finally got back home, napped, then I started playing with the device. In the end, it isn't going to work out for me. I would have to get too many extra components, the video card isn't supported by the OS I was hoping to use, and my remote isn't compatible. Darn. It was a nice try.
I made tikka masala chicken for dinner then after dinner, we decided screw it, let's by the Apple TV 4 and see how we like it. There's a Plex app for it as well as VLC now. I have been considering a Pi kit, but this would definitely be an easier route. We were just worried about the interface. Placed an online order and we headed to the mall. It only took them 20 minutes to process the order and let me know it was ready. Got that, a birthday present for a friend, some stuff from bath and body, and golden egg for me from Lush.
Returned and setup the new ATV. First off, no changes were needed to the remote or the power cable which was nice. Unplugged one hockey puck, plugged the other in. Grabbed the Plex app and BOOM everything we have been wanting to do. The interface to Plex is great, no more running iTunes, no more converting MKV or AVI files. The issue has been resolved.
All that took a while and didn't go to bed until 11:30. Not sure what we have if anything planned for today. We shall see.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Y7 D291
I keep forgetting to mention something cool that happened this week. We received our voter registration cards in the mail! We are officially able to vote here. Now to be honest, I am probably not going to vote in the general election, just the primaries. I am too jaded to believe that the popular vote actually means anything. Once the primaries are decided it's up to the electoral college to do their job. I do feel my vote counts before then though.
Taught my class and finished around 2:40. I do enjoy teaching this class especially now that I am certified and can answer other questions that come up. I would stumble more in the past on different things but now I have the confidence to address these questions. Makes a world of difference.
One additional side benefit is that a local client who has sent people to me in the past now knows I am certified and wants to do an onsite training in the near future. While the first few months of this year have been a bit slow, things are really picking up for April and May. INCLUDING a trip to Reno for the week of April 12th. Onsite, 4 days. The downside is I will got from NV, to OK, to CA over a three week period with only a day in between each. I will make some good hotel points and air miles off this but April will be a bit stressful.
Paid some bills after work. Only a few left for the month. That feels good. Some months my pay schedule frustrates me but I am for sure in a better place with that than I was 5 years ago.
Went to Walgreens after class to pick up a prescription, stopped at the vape shop for a bottle of juice, and came home to make chicken curry. Came out really well. Watched some TV and relaxed.
Only negative thing that happened yesterday was B was feeling amorous later in the evening and I was just too damn tired. It was around 9 and she didn't get up until almost 11 yesterday. She had only been up for 10 hours where I had been up for 17. Makes a difference. We did talk about it and we are going to see what we can do to adjust her sleep schedule, and mine, to line things up better.
Today I am going to the grocery store shortly, laundry, time sheet, and house cleaning. Errand day essentially.
Taught my class and finished around 2:40. I do enjoy teaching this class especially now that I am certified and can answer other questions that come up. I would stumble more in the past on different things but now I have the confidence to address these questions. Makes a world of difference.
One additional side benefit is that a local client who has sent people to me in the past now knows I am certified and wants to do an onsite training in the near future. While the first few months of this year have been a bit slow, things are really picking up for April and May. INCLUDING a trip to Reno for the week of April 12th. Onsite, 4 days. The downside is I will got from NV, to OK, to CA over a three week period with only a day in between each. I will make some good hotel points and air miles off this but April will be a bit stressful.
Paid some bills after work. Only a few left for the month. That feels good. Some months my pay schedule frustrates me but I am for sure in a better place with that than I was 5 years ago.
Went to Walgreens after class to pick up a prescription, stopped at the vape shop for a bottle of juice, and came home to make chicken curry. Came out really well. Watched some TV and relaxed.
Only negative thing that happened yesterday was B was feeling amorous later in the evening and I was just too damn tired. It was around 9 and she didn't get up until almost 11 yesterday. She had only been up for 10 hours where I had been up for 17. Makes a difference. We did talk about it and we are going to see what we can do to adjust her sleep schedule, and mine, to line things up better.
Today I am going to the grocery store shortly, laundry, time sheet, and house cleaning. Errand day essentially.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Y7 D290
Stupid fucking cats drive me up a wall in the morning. Calm your shit felines. Nobody got time for you running around killing each other. Ugh.
Taught my class yesterday, finished around 2:30. Went to the store to get some stuff for dinner. I need to do real grocery shopping tomorrow morning. Have just been waiting until I got paid. Also have to pay some bills this morning. Nothing like payday responsibilities. Whee.
Watched some tv, had a nice steak for food. Bed at normal time. Not really a whole lot going on.
I don't have much to say any more. My life isn't that exciting. Sigh.
Taught my class yesterday, finished around 2:30. Went to the store to get some stuff for dinner. I need to do real grocery shopping tomorrow morning. Have just been waiting until I got paid. Also have to pay some bills this morning. Nothing like payday responsibilities. Whee.
Watched some tv, had a nice steak for food. Bed at normal time. Not really a whole lot going on.
I don't have much to say any more. My life isn't that exciting. Sigh.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Y7 D289
I had a good day yesterday. I received a number of emails from coworkers congratulating me in regards to my passing the Tableau test. That made me feel pretty wanted as an employee which I need right now. I even got a personal response from one of the founders who very rarely replies to anything any more. But the bigger news came a little later in the day.
I taught my two students and because of their abilities and the fact it was just two students, we finished at 1:30 in the afternoon. A full 90 minutes early. At 3:30 I left for my hearing test. I have been feeling lately like my hearing is having trouble, specifically when I am watching TV at night. I don't want to turn it up out of fear of pissing off our annoying neighbor. Since Costco offers free tests I figured fuck it, I will go in. I was braced to have to buy some kind of hearing aid. Those fucking things are cheap. This is why I spent Monday on the phone with insurance. If I did have to buy something I wanted to know if I would get anything back. Of course the answer was no, but at least I checked.
I arrived and was taken into the booth fairly quickly. The woman doing my testing was really nice and made me feel better about the whole process. We started the first set of tests and she was said "we don't need to do all of the rest, your hearing is fine, no aids recommended". We then went over my results and with a little drop off on the left ear in the high range, everything is well in the normal spectrum. YES! The left ear is the one that suffers from tinnitus and it makes sense that there would be some dropping of high notes in that ear. But even the drop off was not significant enough for her to say I needed anything. She told me to look into "tv ears" if it would make me feel better and make TV watching easier. Done and done. I will look them up today.
Got back and shared the good news with B. In the mail we received a package from D23 which included a nice new book and a coupon to see Zootopia for free! We may go tonight. I have to look and see how you redeem the coupon. She made slow cooker chicken soup which turned out really good. We watched a little TV and then I played fallout while she crocheted. I managed to get two levels, find a bobblehead, finish a nasty side quest, and move forward on the main quest. One of my better sessions with that game.
I also watched something during the day in between my class, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. Man, they did a good job of adapting that. The WB/DC animated movies are some of the best. I can't wait for Killing Joke later this year. It has both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill in it. It should be excellent.
Went to bed around 10:30 feeling pretty accomplished and alright in the head. New class today, with two students. Tableau. And this time I can proudly tell my students they are being taught by a certified instructor.
I taught my two students and because of their abilities and the fact it was just two students, we finished at 1:30 in the afternoon. A full 90 minutes early. At 3:30 I left for my hearing test. I have been feeling lately like my hearing is having trouble, specifically when I am watching TV at night. I don't want to turn it up out of fear of pissing off our annoying neighbor. Since Costco offers free tests I figured fuck it, I will go in. I was braced to have to buy some kind of hearing aid. Those fucking things are cheap. This is why I spent Monday on the phone with insurance. If I did have to buy something I wanted to know if I would get anything back. Of course the answer was no, but at least I checked.
I arrived and was taken into the booth fairly quickly. The woman doing my testing was really nice and made me feel better about the whole process. We started the first set of tests and she was said "we don't need to do all of the rest, your hearing is fine, no aids recommended". We then went over my results and with a little drop off on the left ear in the high range, everything is well in the normal spectrum. YES! The left ear is the one that suffers from tinnitus and it makes sense that there would be some dropping of high notes in that ear. But even the drop off was not significant enough for her to say I needed anything. She told me to look into "tv ears" if it would make me feel better and make TV watching easier. Done and done. I will look them up today.
Got back and shared the good news with B. In the mail we received a package from D23 which included a nice new book and a coupon to see Zootopia for free! We may go tonight. I have to look and see how you redeem the coupon. She made slow cooker chicken soup which turned out really good. We watched a little TV and then I played fallout while she crocheted. I managed to get two levels, find a bobblehead, finish a nasty side quest, and move forward on the main quest. One of my better sessions with that game.
I also watched something during the day in between my class, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns. Man, they did a good job of adapting that. The WB/DC animated movies are some of the best. I can't wait for Killing Joke later this year. It has both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill in it. It should be excellent.
Went to bed around 10:30 feeling pretty accomplished and alright in the head. New class today, with two students. Tableau. And this time I can proudly tell my students they are being taught by a certified instructor.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Y7 D288
I am doing really good this morning. I crushed my test yesterday. I am now a Tableau 9 Desktop Qualified Associate. Boom. Scored a 91% on the test. All that studying I did paid off. I also managed to finish the test in 90 minutes this time. Talk about an ego boost. There's only 34 questions on the test but they are weighted to come out to 70 points and I got a 64 out of 70. Means I only missed 2, maybe 3 total. Man that feels good. I am only one of two people in my company with this certification and so far have the highest score of both of us. This is the kind of thing that looks really good on a resume for sure. But speaking of that, I did talk to my boss via email yesterday and he told me that while it seems things are slow right now we actually as a group had the best January in years. Go figure. He told me the only reason I should be considering leaving is if I am unhappy and if I am to talk to him first. That also made me feel better. Both of these things helped to ease my mind a considerable amount. Still stressed about money, bills, the future, my hearing, my eyesight, etc but at least these two worries are off the table.
Taught my class yesterday. Both of my students are repeat students this made for a casual day. We spent at least a good hour talking about tv shows, movies, and just life in general. Both of them are near my age - one older by a couple years, the other the reverse - and we are able to share similar experiences. We have one more day together today and I expect us to finish super early. I do have a hearing test today at 4 so I am not complaining about finishing up early.
Since my test was from 4:30 - 6 last night we just had a random dinner. Ate a bunch of leftovers to clean out the fridge. Watched some TV and went to bed around 10:30.
Need to pay some bills today too. That will dampen my good mood a little bit but not too much. I am going to enjoy this feeling for a while hopefully.
Taught my class yesterday. Both of my students are repeat students this made for a casual day. We spent at least a good hour talking about tv shows, movies, and just life in general. Both of them are near my age - one older by a couple years, the other the reverse - and we are able to share similar experiences. We have one more day together today and I expect us to finish super early. I do have a hearing test today at 4 so I am not complaining about finishing up early.
Since my test was from 4:30 - 6 last night we just had a random dinner. Ate a bunch of leftovers to clean out the fridge. Watched some TV and went to bed around 10:30.
Need to pay some bills today too. That will dampen my good mood a little bit but not too much. I am going to enjoy this feeling for a while hopefully.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Y7 D287
I screwed up yesterday. I booked my appointment to take my test for 4:30 because I had a 3pm conference call and that was the only time that didn't overlap. Except I didn't look closely at the date and I scheduled it for today instead of yesterday. At 4:30 I was already to take the test and the proctor gets online and is like, you're scheduled for tomorrow buddy boy, bye bye. Fuck me. I spent the morning getting prepped by reviewing more videos. I felt (feel) much better about taking the test this time but man it's going to make for a long day today. I teach and then after class have to take the test. Oh well.
I did have that conference call which resulted in me getting two students in an upcoming class this month which should add a few thousand more to quarter one. Plus we discussed an onsite visit in April. April right now is shaping up to offset Feb and March at least. Spend three weeks on the road if this happens, but it will be totally worth it.
Before all of this, I spent my morning making phone calls and trying to track down some insurance info. When I log into our insurance portal it kept saying I was expired. After multiple calls and transfers I got it resolved and now can log in and see my right coverage. Not that it helps because my coverage essentially sucks ass. The whole reason for doing this was to make an appointment to get a hearing test. I wanted to use Costco as if I do need any kind of hearing aid, they have the best prices. Well they are not 'in network' but in the end it doesn't matter because while I do get $2500 a year towards hearing devices, that's AFTER my $2000 deductible so 90% of anything I buy will be out of fucking pocket anyway.
I ended up making an appointment for today but then the whole test fiasco happened and I had to move it to Wednesday. I will know then how my hearing is doing. This should be interesting. 30 years plus of concerts and headphones. Yeah, this won't be good. Speaking of concerts, was talking to the kid yesterday and she told me about a show she is going to - Rob Zombie + Korn. That should be an interesting show. They don't have a date close to me unfortunately. I would love to go to that but the nearest venue is 3 hours away.
Time to get ready for class. And my test. Wish me luck on both.
I did have that conference call which resulted in me getting two students in an upcoming class this month which should add a few thousand more to quarter one. Plus we discussed an onsite visit in April. April right now is shaping up to offset Feb and March at least. Spend three weeks on the road if this happens, but it will be totally worth it.
Before all of this, I spent my morning making phone calls and trying to track down some insurance info. When I log into our insurance portal it kept saying I was expired. After multiple calls and transfers I got it resolved and now can log in and see my right coverage. Not that it helps because my coverage essentially sucks ass. The whole reason for doing this was to make an appointment to get a hearing test. I wanted to use Costco as if I do need any kind of hearing aid, they have the best prices. Well they are not 'in network' but in the end it doesn't matter because while I do get $2500 a year towards hearing devices, that's AFTER my $2000 deductible so 90% of anything I buy will be out of fucking pocket anyway.
I ended up making an appointment for today but then the whole test fiasco happened and I had to move it to Wednesday. I will know then how my hearing is doing. This should be interesting. 30 years plus of concerts and headphones. Yeah, this won't be good. Speaking of concerts, was talking to the kid yesterday and she told me about a show she is going to - Rob Zombie + Korn. That should be an interesting show. They don't have a date close to me unfortunately. I would love to go to that but the nearest venue is 3 hours away.
Time to get ready for class. And my test. Wish me luck on both.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Y7 D286
I slept until almost 6 today! Went to bed around 11 so that's 7 hours of sleep. Can't seem to do that on a weekend but do it on a Monday. Man I would not be able to handle going back into a regular office environment. But it may be more of a possibility than I want to admit. Today is resume day. Need to update that sucker and be ready to send it out.
We went on another adventure yesterday. This time to a new mall. It's also near where we will be taking our soap class in a couple of weeks. We decided to explore the area now that way we'll be ready when class time cones. Plus it got us out of the house. I liked the area we were in while B was a little apathetic to it. The mall itself was okay. It reminded us both of when we lived in Hell and had to drive to the mall. We also discovered Dave's Killer Bread and their "breadquarters". Yes, that's what they call it.
B took a nap when we got back and I went out to check out something. We pass this one furniture store all the time when we're on the freeway and I decided to check it out. As I was going out I was attacked by the downstairs neighbors yippy dog. Fucking thing bit me! Didn't break skin, but it hurt. Ankle biting piece of shit. I swear if that thing ever comes near me again it's dead.
Made chicken for dinner, watched a little TV, and relaxed.
Today I have a conference call and then I am retaking my certification test. I feel MUCH better this time around. I spent about 2 hours watching more videos and will be watching even more today. I will be ready for this thing this afternoon. I am very confident this time. As I am watching the videos I am having "duh" moments about things I did wrong the first time.
That's all that's going on here.
We went on another adventure yesterday. This time to a new mall. It's also near where we will be taking our soap class in a couple of weeks. We decided to explore the area now that way we'll be ready when class time cones. Plus it got us out of the house. I liked the area we were in while B was a little apathetic to it. The mall itself was okay. It reminded us both of when we lived in Hell and had to drive to the mall. We also discovered Dave's Killer Bread and their "breadquarters". Yes, that's what they call it.
B took a nap when we got back and I went out to check out something. We pass this one furniture store all the time when we're on the freeway and I decided to check it out. As I was going out I was attacked by the downstairs neighbors yippy dog. Fucking thing bit me! Didn't break skin, but it hurt. Ankle biting piece of shit. I swear if that thing ever comes near me again it's dead.
Made chicken for dinner, watched a little TV, and relaxed.
Today I have a conference call and then I am retaking my certification test. I feel MUCH better this time around. I spent about 2 hours watching more videos and will be watching even more today. I will be ready for this thing this afternoon. I am very confident this time. As I am watching the videos I am having "duh" moments about things I did wrong the first time.
That's all that's going on here.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Y7 D285
As expected we did nothing yesterday. Ran errands. Mailed a birthday present to her friend in MI. Picked up some groceries. She wanted a burger so we went to Five Guys. God they are awful. I tried them once in NJ and thought they were the worst In N Out clone I have ever been to in my life. Yesterday was no different. I do always find it amazing that everyone one of their "awards" and accolades that they have on their walls are from the east coast. Sorry you people don't know what good burgers taste like. The cheese is disgusting, the buns are plain, the fires are too big and taste too much like peanuts. Just not an enjoyable meal in any way. Picked up B's prescriptions. That went better than expected. Her new insurance is pretty damn good when it comes to meds. $20 for three different meds. No complaints there. Played some fallout. Got through some decent quests and found some new weapons. Only thing I am having trouble with is finding decent armor. I am loading up pretty good on weapons at least. The power armor cores go too quickly so I try not to waste that. I am amazed at how many areas there are in this game. Very detailed world. Went to bed at 10.
Today I watch videos. I only have 4 students next week for a $5000 week. Stressing me out. I am worried I will need to find a new job this year. I hope things pick back up soon but I may work on a resume this week just to be safe. I have almost a full month of vacation left if I were to leave. It would give me a buffer between checks. I dread the thought of having to go into a job every day but I have to do what I have to do. Sucks.
Plus it makes me worry. I have worked hard to get back on my feet and I don't need to be knocked back down again.
Today I watch videos. I only have 4 students next week for a $5000 week. Stressing me out. I am worried I will need to find a new job this year. I hope things pick back up soon but I may work on a resume this week just to be safe. I have almost a full month of vacation left if I were to leave. It would give me a buffer between checks. I dread the thought of having to go into a job every day but I have to do what I have to do. Sucks.
Plus it makes me worry. I have worked hard to get back on my feet and I don't need to be knocked back down again.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Y7 D284
Happy birthday to my friend who I believe still reads this thing. Hope you have a great day!
We had an adventure yesterday. Was really fun. The day started off with me having to go the pet store and get some Nature's Miracle odor remover. It seems someone missed the box a little when they peed and it hit the wall and the backside of the carpet. All we could smell in the closet was pee. It was horrible. Right at 9 when the store opened I went off to get the spray. After that was taken care of, we set off on our adventure.
We drove to the OR coast where the Tillamook cheese factory is located. They have shops, a cafe, a free tour, free samples, and an ice cream counter. We ate so much it was crazy. Bought some souvenirs for friends when we go visit next, and toured the factory. We got to watch them slice and package up cheese. Brought home some cheese for ourselves as well. We also stopped at the Tillamook meat company which makes 2 foot beef jerky sticks! Drove through some of the little towns on the coast, saw the ocean, took a ton of pictures, then headed back home.
While all this was going on B got back the results of her blood tests. It looks like a vitamin D deficiency is the main culprit. Like bad enough that the doctor called in a prescription to get her levels back up. We'll see if this helps her have a little more energy. She almost collapsed on the way home at 2 and had to sleep until 5 when we got home.
It's the kind of thing that's hinted at before you move to a place like this; less sun, rain all the time, it can get to a person. I am so messed up that nothing like that bothers me. At least I don't think it does. I am sure it's taken its toll on me too.
We watched some TV, had random stuff for dinner, then B was craving pork buns. I went out around 8 and got her some from whole foods. While I was there I talked with the kid. We talked about our upcoming trip and how she might want us to pick her boyfriend up on the way. It is actually on our way so it's not the end of the world.
I also picked up a blacklight while I was out. We wanted to use it to check the floor to make sure we didn't miss any pee. We found some on the baseboard we had missed. Blacklights are fun and cool for things like this.
Played some Fallout then went to bed around 11.
Nothing on the agenda for today. B wants to clean so I will stay out of her way. It's what I do best.
We had an adventure yesterday. Was really fun. The day started off with me having to go the pet store and get some Nature's Miracle odor remover. It seems someone missed the box a little when they peed and it hit the wall and the backside of the carpet. All we could smell in the closet was pee. It was horrible. Right at 9 when the store opened I went off to get the spray. After that was taken care of, we set off on our adventure.
We drove to the OR coast where the Tillamook cheese factory is located. They have shops, a cafe, a free tour, free samples, and an ice cream counter. We ate so much it was crazy. Bought some souvenirs for friends when we go visit next, and toured the factory. We got to watch them slice and package up cheese. Brought home some cheese for ourselves as well. We also stopped at the Tillamook meat company which makes 2 foot beef jerky sticks! Drove through some of the little towns on the coast, saw the ocean, took a ton of pictures, then headed back home.
While all this was going on B got back the results of her blood tests. It looks like a vitamin D deficiency is the main culprit. Like bad enough that the doctor called in a prescription to get her levels back up. We'll see if this helps her have a little more energy. She almost collapsed on the way home at 2 and had to sleep until 5 when we got home.
It's the kind of thing that's hinted at before you move to a place like this; less sun, rain all the time, it can get to a person. I am so messed up that nothing like that bothers me. At least I don't think it does. I am sure it's taken its toll on me too.
We watched some TV, had random stuff for dinner, then B was craving pork buns. I went out around 8 and got her some from whole foods. While I was there I talked with the kid. We talked about our upcoming trip and how she might want us to pick her boyfriend up on the way. It is actually on our way so it's not the end of the world.
I also picked up a blacklight while I was out. We wanted to use it to check the floor to make sure we didn't miss any pee. We found some on the baseboard we had missed. Blacklights are fun and cool for things like this.
Played some Fallout then went to bed around 11.
Nothing on the agenda for today. B wants to clean so I will stay out of her way. It's what I do best.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Y7 D283
As expected the client flaked on me. He got me part of what I needed yesterday but not everything. No going on site today. Probably not until the end of the month. Which means I did diddly yesterday. Although all my studying to retake the test paid off. I was able to answer a question that got sent to our knowledge group yesterday and impressed the shit out of everyone because of how well I knew the answer. That actually felt pretty good.
I had to take B to the doctor yesterday. She has been feeling pretty lethargic lately and well fuck it we have insurance and that's what it's there for. They drew four vials of blood and are running them for a shit load of things like thyroid, liver, and kidney issues. Hopefully we will hear back today on what's going on. That ate up a big chunk of the day yesterday.
Neither of us wanted to cook so I got a chicken from the store last night. We watched some TV then I went to bed around 10:30.
Today I am taking the day off because of my stupid client and we are going on an adventure which you will all hear about tomorrow.
I had to take B to the doctor yesterday. She has been feeling pretty lethargic lately and well fuck it we have insurance and that's what it's there for. They drew four vials of blood and are running them for a shit load of things like thyroid, liver, and kidney issues. Hopefully we will hear back today on what's going on. That ate up a big chunk of the day yesterday.
Neither of us wanted to cook so I got a chicken from the store last night. We watched some TV then I went to bed around 10:30.
Today I am taking the day off because of my stupid client and we are going on an adventure which you will all hear about tomorrow.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Y7 D282
I had a decent day. I was mean to my sister without trying to be and I hope I didn't piss her off. For Christmas we bought her something she needed. For the first time I actually thought about what someone else wanted and instead of getting a gift card or nothing at all, I bought a gift. Unfortunately my niece with whom we entrusted said gift, misplaced it. She says we never gave it to her, we know for a fact it's not in this house. I asked my sister to look for it probably a little more direct than I should have. I just want her to have her gift you know? It was a gift that I put some thought into and it sucks she didn't get it. Hopefully she will forgive my brusqueness.
Got as much done for the client as I could without being on their network. I am 50% done with their custom training. He was supposed to send me stuff Tuesday morning and here it is Thursday. I cannot move forward without stuff from him. I hate when clients have no hard date. I would rather have the urgency of getting things done than "oh I will get those to you" and then have to wait.
I did manage to rearrange my desk. I like it. I moved some machines around and it freed up quite a bit of desk space. The machines are a little closer together but so far this is not an issue. It's much cleaner and a better use of space.
Made chicken for dinner. B is working on a blanket and is happily crocheting away at night. We watched a little tv, read a bit, and went to bed around 10. My eyes were really bothering me yesterday and I had to take my contacts out early.
I did do something kind of fun in the morning. Here in OR you can easily recycle bottles and cans. They have self service machines everywhere. I took all of ours for the first time to one of these places. Pretty cool. I ended up only making $2 and change, but it was enough that the asparagus I bought was only .11. Yay me.
We also made plans for a trip in April. Our friend is having her 39th birthday and we are going to drive down to surprise her. I told her husband we are coming but not to tell his wife. This should be a fun time. We will get to see a lot of people in one shot in one location. We're leaving early Saturday and coming home late Sunday. A bit of a whirlwind trip, but worth it.
Today I wait for the documents I need and see if I will be going into their local office tomorrow. The waiting game is the worse game ever.
Got as much done for the client as I could without being on their network. I am 50% done with their custom training. He was supposed to send me stuff Tuesday morning and here it is Thursday. I cannot move forward without stuff from him. I hate when clients have no hard date. I would rather have the urgency of getting things done than "oh I will get those to you" and then have to wait.
I did manage to rearrange my desk. I like it. I moved some machines around and it freed up quite a bit of desk space. The machines are a little closer together but so far this is not an issue. It's much cleaner and a better use of space.
Made chicken for dinner. B is working on a blanket and is happily crocheting away at night. We watched a little tv, read a bit, and went to bed around 10. My eyes were really bothering me yesterday and I had to take my contacts out early.
I did do something kind of fun in the morning. Here in OR you can easily recycle bottles and cans. They have self service machines everywhere. I took all of ours for the first time to one of these places. Pretty cool. I ended up only making $2 and change, but it was enough that the asparagus I bought was only .11. Yay me.
We also made plans for a trip in April. Our friend is having her 39th birthday and we are going to drive down to surprise her. I told her husband we are coming but not to tell his wife. This should be a fun time. We will get to see a lot of people in one shot in one location. We're leaving early Saturday and coming home late Sunday. A bit of a whirlwind trip, but worth it.
Today I wait for the documents I need and see if I will be going into their local office tomorrow. The waiting game is the worse game ever.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Y7 D281
Hi. I am just a bit out of it this morning. Have a slight headache and don't know why. No, no alcohol was involved. It's more a pressure headache. Sinus type. It's weird weather right now. The wind was blowing as much as 50mph yesterday. Major pressure in the air. Plus I can't open the window right now because there's the smell of skunk outside. It's horrible.
Got up yesterday, waited for B to get up, then around 8:30 we headed out for her dentist appointment. She was scared and nervous which I can understand to some degree. Nobody likes going to the dentist. She had two cavities to be filled and she was dreading it. We got there about 9:15 and waited until 9:30 to go in. They didn't see her until closer to 10. While she was in there, I went for a walk to the vape shop a couple of blocks away. Came back and she was done by 11. Headed home and waited for this client to send me stuff. He finally emails me around 8:30 with only part of what I need. It also looks like they won't be able to give me network access until late Thursday. This means I will have to go into their local office on Friday. There goes my plans.
While I was waiting I went to best buy and got a new power strip. I need to redo all the plugs in here. I have too many little baby plugs connecting each other and want to replace it all with one big strip. The trick is going to be shutting everything down long enough to do it. I am dreading that part.
Made pork roast for dinner and we watched some TV. I played some fallout and went to bed around 11.
Today's plans depend on how long it takes this guy to get me what I need. He promised it to me yesterday but we shall see.
I am still in a mood. Just a bit out of sorts. Hopefully things will right themselves in the next day or two.
Got up yesterday, waited for B to get up, then around 8:30 we headed out for her dentist appointment. She was scared and nervous which I can understand to some degree. Nobody likes going to the dentist. She had two cavities to be filled and she was dreading it. We got there about 9:15 and waited until 9:30 to go in. They didn't see her until closer to 10. While she was in there, I went for a walk to the vape shop a couple of blocks away. Came back and she was done by 11. Headed home and waited for this client to send me stuff. He finally emails me around 8:30 with only part of what I need. It also looks like they won't be able to give me network access until late Thursday. This means I will have to go into their local office on Friday. There goes my plans.
While I was waiting I went to best buy and got a new power strip. I need to redo all the plugs in here. I have too many little baby plugs connecting each other and want to replace it all with one big strip. The trick is going to be shutting everything down long enough to do it. I am dreading that part.
Made pork roast for dinner and we watched some TV. I played some fallout and went to bed around 11.
Today's plans depend on how long it takes this guy to get me what I need. He promised it to me yesterday but we shall see.
I am still in a mood. Just a bit out of sorts. Hopefully things will right themselves in the next day or two.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Y7 D280
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in...
Sometimes the universe hears your stress. I was worried about the holes in my schedule and now I am assigned to build and deliver a custom training program to a client. It has enough custom stuff to fill all the holes for this month. I should have a 95-100% billable March as a result. I can handle.
Started yesterday off by watching videos to retake my test. I then got the word about the custom class and switched gears. I had a meeting with the client to kick off the work and have a good idea of where to take it over the next couple of days.
I actually worked quite a bit yesterday and finished up around 4. I made a roast for dinner served with cauliflower mash on the side. The cauliflower came out really good. I was surprised and impressed. We watched some TV, played a little Fallout, and went to bed around 11.
Today I continue on the class and take B to the dentist. She is tripping balls on this dental appointment. We're doing two cavities on this trip and she is worried. She'll be fine but you know how going to the dentist can fuck someone up.
I dropped off our voter registration cards yesterday. We are now able to vote here. I have no plans on voting but if I do, it will be because B dragged me to the polls. I am too cynical about the electoral college and the whole process. Plus when Trump is president we'll want to kill ourselves anyway.
Sometimes the universe hears your stress. I was worried about the holes in my schedule and now I am assigned to build and deliver a custom training program to a client. It has enough custom stuff to fill all the holes for this month. I should have a 95-100% billable March as a result. I can handle.
Started yesterday off by watching videos to retake my test. I then got the word about the custom class and switched gears. I had a meeting with the client to kick off the work and have a good idea of where to take it over the next couple of days.
I actually worked quite a bit yesterday and finished up around 4. I made a roast for dinner served with cauliflower mash on the side. The cauliflower came out really good. I was surprised and impressed. We watched some TV, played a little Fallout, and went to bed around 11.
Today I continue on the class and take B to the dentist. She is tripping balls on this dental appointment. We're doing two cavities on this trip and she is worried. She'll be fine but you know how going to the dentist can fuck someone up.
I dropped off our voter registration cards yesterday. We are now able to vote here. I have no plans on voting but if I do, it will be because B dragged me to the polls. I am too cynical about the electoral college and the whole process. Plus when Trump is president we'll want to kill ourselves anyway.
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