Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Y8 D97

In roughly 24 hours we will be arriving at a dock in WA to board a ferry to go to Canada. Six days of time off. 5 days of vacation. I need it. Bad.

Finished day two of my class. One more day teaching. Today is a private training for a group in the Bay Area. I totally forgot it doesn't start until 8 instead of 7. Oh well. I am up anyway I guess. Finished my class around 2:30. I am trying to force myself not to nap so as to make sure I get a full night's sleep. We had to go to the mall which was good. B sent her jewelry in for its six month inspection about a week ago and they found a couple of loose stones on her bracelet. It wasn't expected back in until we got back. Somehow it made it back early. We headed off to the mall to pick it up. Nothing like driving to the mall around 3:30 on a weekday and coming back in 6pm traffic. Fun stuff.

When we got back she had a hankering to make cookies and make cookies she did. 38 of them. Don't know what we're supposed to do with 3 dozen cookies, but there they are. After she was done I made dinner. Pork chops. After dinner we watched some tv and I went to bed around 10.

Nothing exciting. What else is new?

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Y8 D96

While I am saddened at the loss of Gene Wilder, I am not that upset. He lived to 83 years old. This isn't another case of someone being taken too early in my mind. He had a wonderful life blessed with much joy which he brought to many of us. It is for sure a sad day but not as hard to take as some of the other losses we have suffered this year.

Taught my class, day one of two. Things went pretty well. No issues. Six students all of whom seem to be okay. One guy struggled at the beginning but it wasn't his fault. It was more due to work hardware being difficult. Once we got past that hurdle everything seemed fine.

Finished up class around 2:30 and I had a bunch of miscellaneous emails that had come in during the day to deal with. One of them was a bill from Avis for tolls incurred back in July while I was in PA. I don't know why they couldn't just charge the card on file. Whatever. Handled all those issues. B needed to run to the store to get a couple of things for our trip so we took care of that. In a little over 48 hours we will be on a ferry to Canada. Speaking of trips, I tried looking up some places for us to go for our anniversary in October. I was looking at HI, CA, and even Bozeman MT. It's the kind of place B would like to visit. It would actually be cheaper for us to go to MT than some other places. I can't believe the amount they charge for renting a car at the airport in some places. It was over $100 add on if we wanted to go to Monterey. Screw that. I'd rather walk!

Made chicken stir fry for dinner then settled in to watch Willy Wonka. I said I wasn't that upset I didn't say I was a heartless bastard. Some parts of it still bother me today. When I was a kid the fizzy lifting drink part scared the shit out of me. Still don't like it.

After the movie dinked around for a bit then went to bed. One more day of this class then a one day private and I am done for six days. Can't come soon enough.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Y8 D95

Was up at 4am. By 7:30 I had already gone to the grocery store, did laundry, mostly packed for our trip, and cleaned the house where I could without making noise. Of course this left me with nothing to do for the rest of the day.

We stayed in most of the day. Cleaned more. Took a ride to the store for some dinner stuff I forgot. I also got some new toothpaste. One without fluoride. I did too much reading yesterday thanks to someone posting a link about fluoride. Now I have a toothpaste that's free of that and other chemicals. I watch old twilight zones and see them smoking and drinking. I then look up actors and the majority who died before 70 is scary. Mostly lung cancer or some other cancer. Go figure.

Watched one of Amazon's new pilots. Watched The Tick. Not bad. A little rough, but much truer to the original source material than the other attempt they did at a live action version. I hope it gets picked up as a series. I would watch it for sure.

Made sloppy joes for dinner. We watched some tv, talked about some stuff bugging both of us. I have been stressed out lately obviously and needed to share. She too has been stressed and we talked it all out. Was a good conversation.

B's cousin came over yesterday. She will be cat sitting for us while we are gone. Give her something to do. She did manage to find a job but this will also help her get to know the area better. I swear they have done more in the month they have been here than we have in a year. Can you believe it's been a year? It was Labor Day weekend last year we moved. It's been a long but good year.

Today and tomorrow is a two day class, followed by a one day private class. Once done on Wednesday I go to bed so we can drive to Canada.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Y8 D94

The heat has finally broken. It was just around 84 yesterday. We had no AC on all day. Thank heavens. And it is supposed to stay broken for a while. Mid 70s all week and then in the 60s for us in Canada.

Is this what I am resigned to? Talking about the fucking weather?

Here's what's really going on - I am back in a depression cycle. I have felt this way since Thursday. I don't fucking know why. Maybe it was the negative feedback from the client. Maybe it is that I just got paid and it's already gone. I don't fucking know.

What I do know is I just am apathetic to everything and hate the human race. I don't want to talk to anyone, don't want to put on the smiling face. I wish I could drown myself in vodka and cigarettes but I can't do that any more. Not if I want to live to see 50. That doesn't help either. Fifty fucking years old almost. Just a couple of years away. A number I never thought I would see. I'm not where I thought I would be at 50 that's for damn sure. What do you want from life? Well you can't have that...

We went downtown yesterday. B wanted a book that was only at the big bookstore. She ended up getting four. I can't discourage or shoot down reading. Then we had lunch. The train was packed too. They are running fewer trains because of the construction. It was packed. It smelled bad.

Got home and she napped. Had Mexican for dinner. That was pretty good. Watched some TV. Went to fucking bed. This is your life. And it's disappearing one precious minute at a time.

Have to do laundry today. Might pack. Might not. Depends on how I feel. Might stick my head in the oven. Oh wait. We have electric.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Y8 D93

Slept in again. It's already 6:40. The heat has broken a little. It's down from 97 to 84 today. It will be nice to have a break from it.

Did quite a bit of work yesterday. Managed to get everything I needed done, done. Now I don't have to worry about coming back from Canada and having work waiting for me. I will be free and clear. I reworked 4 of our classes based on the feedback and issues I found this last week. It was the first time presenting new material and there were a few bumps. Things in the wrong order, little mistakes in the demos, stuff like that. I updated everything and will be testing the new version out this week. Took me until almost 2 to get everything done. Took a short nap. Around 5 we debated where to have dinner. We both were too hot to have anything hot or to cook. We ended up at BJs which was okay. It wasn't that good but it wasn't horrible either.

B wanted to go for a drive around 8:30 and we went to the park. There were some road closures because the park people were doing outdoor movie in the park. Kind of cool. On the grass by the library they were doing Star Wars. I didn't even mind the road closures. Got back around 9:30.

It was still too hot so B went in the bedroom and I went in the office. Played some video games and went to bed.

No plans for today but we may go downtown because she wants a book they only have downtown.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Y8 D92

Man did I sleep! I went to bed around 10:15 and look at me - a full 8 hours. I had a ton of dreams. I don't remember any of them now, but I don't recall having any bad ones either. Just normal dreams. I needed the sleep for sure.

Got up at 1am EST yesterday, headed to the airport at 3am, security opened at 3:30. Waited until 4 for the admirals club to open. Hung out in there until 6:50 then walked to my gate. I had an upgrade on my first flight so I didn't worry about getting to the gate too early. I meandered. Boarded, had a quiche on my flight. Behind me was the kind of person that makes me hate the east coast. A grumpy old white man who was complaining about 'the computer age' and telling someone 'look at the google they have yelpie reviews'. Go away old man. HE should be called grandpa, not me. Fucking old white people.

Got to Chicago and had about 90 minutes until my next flight. Hung out in the club, charged my devices, wandered to my gate. 14th on the upgrade list for that flight. While I was in between flights, my boss sent me an email. I know he was trying to be helpful, but it rubbed me the wrong way. He was making suggestions on how he traveled. How he used 'alternate airports' and 'it sucks for points, but makes travel easier' and 'take the last flight of the day to sleep in your own bed'. I was just in a shit mood when he sent that and my reply was 'i have other issues that make your suggestions not practical for me. i will simply keep any travel comments to myself in the future'. Yeah, I know. Dick response but he doesn't know some of my issues. Taking the last flight of the day causes me severe anxiety. Alternate airports? He lives in an area where there are at least 5 airport choices within a 60 mile radius. I have 1. The next major airport is 4 hours away. No, these are not practical ideas for me. Go away.

Boarded, got to PDX around 12:30. Went to get on the train only to be told there are track delays and I would need to take a shuttle to a different station, then another shuttle make my switch. It would add about 1 hour to my trip plus shuttle waiting. Um, no? I called my normal driver and made him come get me. I paid for it out of pocket so everyone can kiss my ass.

Finally got home at 2:30. I should also mention it was 93 degrees at this point and the thought of shuttles and non-ac trains was not appealing. Hence, the driver.

Once I unpacked and showered, B and I went over to office depot. Thanks to my contacts at corporate, I had $250 for a new chair. Found a nice new Serta chair with squishy bottom. It's a little taller than my old one, but I can deal with that. Went to Target for a few things and headed back home. It was already 5 at this point so we ordered a pizza. After we dyed my hair, rolled coins ($52 in change in our jar!) and then around 9 went out for froyo. That was about it for me.

Today I have to make changes that came up this week to my class. Then I am free for a couple of days.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Y8 D91

Finally past 3am and I can post. I have been up since 1am EST but didn't want another one of those too early posts that showed up for Wednesday instead of Thursday. I am currently sitting on the floor outside an Admiral's Club at Liberty Airport. I fucking hate the east coast. Yesterday was a big steaming pile of shit. Here's why:

First thing I get yelled at in the morning because I mentioned something about software pricing. All I was doing was quoting what is on the vendor's website. How am I to know that internally they tack on extra fees and charges to different departments. I got yelled at for essentially trying to create new business. Okay. Fuck up and shame number one. THEN I get an email saying that some feedback from day one was negative. Some of the students felt I was "too unprofessional". Fucking east coast fucktards. This always happens when I get sent to overly conservative clients. This client has been around since 1870 and they were probably upset at my piercings and that I wasn't wearing a tie. Sorry if I wasn't a boring straight lace butthole. Whatever. Don't have me back. See if I fucking care. I run a 90% approval rating on average through the year. I teach 1000+ students every year. So fuck you four or five people out of 30 who didn't like me. Yes, that's a high percentage for a small group, but in the bigger picture, they can kiss my ass.

Finished my day tired and pissed off at 5:15. We went late because they asked way too many useless fucking questions. On the way back I stopped at subway for a sandwich for dinner. That was fun. While the girl behind the counter was trying to be nice, she inadvertently insulted me and made me fell even worse about myself. She was saying how cool my piercings were and then asked if I had grandkids because I would be the coolest grandpa around. Well fuck you too. Telling me I look like a grandparent. Fuck off. I already feel horrible about myself. Thanks for pouring some salt into that wound. Walked back to my hotel feeling like shit and hid in my room.

I knew I would have to be up early so I printed my boarding passes, ate my dinner, and crawled into bed around 8. I then tossed and turned until 1 when I finally got up. I just want to go home. One more week and we are off to Canada. I can't wait.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Y8 D90

Slept better last night. Not good, but better. The AC unit in here is giving me a headache. The portable ones at home don't bother me as much as the wall ones do in hotels. Weird.

NOW this time I know I have the date right - Happy Birthday buddy! You're old.

Got onsite yesterday around 7. The security at this place is ridiculous. Xray machines, photos, bag scans. Fuck you. Talk about civil liberties violations. I am not happy about any of this. Pisses me off completely.  Got into the room about 7:15 and with the help of one of their folks got all 15 machines up and running. I did two sessions yesterday, each 4 hours long with 15 students. Today a mix of students from each group will be returning for a one day intermediate class.

Doing two sessions was a bit tiresome to say the least. Repeating myself, making sure I covered the same things, etc. This is how we're going to deliver these in the future too. Not a fan.

Finished at 5:15, headed back to the hotel, and on the way grab subway. There were two annoying people in subway wanting free samples of bread and being cheap. They ended leaving a half made sandwich when they were told it was $5. Assholes.

Had my dinner, watched some tv, went to bed. That's about it.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Y8 D89

Whee time changes. It's 1:42 at home but here, I am up and ready to start the day. Yesterday was a travel day so you all know the drill. Nothing really exciting. No lightning strikes this trip. A couple of delays though which didn't get me to NJ until almost 6:30pm EST. Pretty crazy as I was up at 2am PST, left at 4. I did send my boss an email while sitting on the tarmac at DFW to please make it that on trips over 1500 miles or more than one direct flight we do three days minimum. This is another one of those trips where I will travel more than actually teach. That's annoying as heck. I seriously will have spent more time in airports and planes than being in person at a client. I don't mind if I am going to SFO or LA that it's only a two day class, but going all the way to the other side of the country to just do two sessions is a little much.

I did get one upgrade but I got it last minute. I was already in my seat when someone came on at the end saying they had my seat. They upgraded me at the end and I had to move. Embarrassing but whatever. Luckily there was room for my bag. I did get one email that I have an upgrade home on one of my two flights already. I will take it.

In other news, I exploited my connections yesterday. Remember how I tried to deal with Office Depot and get my chair replaced? The local store manager blew me off and told me I had to deal directly with the vendor. It just so happens that last week I taught a private class for you guessed it, Office Depot. I explained to them what was going on and one of my students asked me to send her the details. She sent it up the food chain to a senior executive customer relations person. As of right now I have a $250 gift card in my email for a brand new chair. According to their records the chair is worth $229.99 so she sent me 250 to cover tax. I explained I lived in a no tax state and needed just $229. She complimented my honesty and said to keep the extra $20. Will do! Now I can look at a chair a little more if I want. When I get home on Thursday, new chair shopping time! I did take to social media explicitly praising them for this service. Well deserved.

Had dinner in my room last night. I took a cab from the airport as I didn't want to deal with shuttles or the like. I was too tired. It was $20 so whatever. But by the time I got here it was too late to iron, unpack, etc and try to find some place to eat. Tonight I will take my time. I have a friend in Manhattan and I am debating whether to take the train into the city to see them. I told them it depended on what time I finish. We'll see how that goes. I am right across from Penn station so it's not too bad, but I also don't know if I feel like going out. The time change is about to hit me I can tell. Had dinner, did all my stuff, and watched some tv until 10. Had a rough night sleep, but I did sleep. I am afraid to look at the fitbit data. According to it, I slept for 5hr 56m which for me is a good. BUT I had 20 times awake. That's bad. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Y8 D88

Been up a while, trying to get all the last minute things packed, like toiletries, etc. About to head out to the airport soon. Ah monday travel. Better than Sunday.

The heat finally broke yesterday. We tried to take a little advantage of it, but not much. B had a dentist appointment at noon but it was downtown on the weekend so we had to leave at 10:30. Finished up there around 1 and headed home. She napped, I packed and stressed about today. Around 5 we walked next door to the thai place for dinner. I intentionally ordered something I knew I couldn't finish to make sure she had leftovers for tonight at least. I also just made sure she has money in her account.

Went to bed at 8:30, up at 1:30. Time to go.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Y8 D87

I had an okay day. I am mad at myself for something that happened late last night though. I decided around 9 that it was time to switch the AC unit in the front room with the one in the office. I couldn't do it during the day because it would have been too hot and we would have died even in that short amount of time. As it was, I was sweating profusely before we were done. The difference was immediate. The front room finally started getting cooled off and with the door closed the office was just fine. I just paid a $100 PGE bill, who knows how bad next month's will be. Regardless, once everything was set up, I accidentally knocked over one of my disney statues. A Walk in the Park. The size I have is no longer made and Minnie's arm snapped off. Shattered in a few pieces. I tried glueing it the best I could but it's trashed. It looks like hell now. I looked up on eBay and there's only one being sold. He wants $350 to start with a buy it now of $500. Fuck me. Oh well. Only can be angry at myself. Just not very happy about it. Not money I have or can spend on something like that.

The rest of the day was a lot less eventful. It was over 100 here and we did little outside. We ran a couple of errands before noon, had lunch, then came back and basically hid in the house. I made pork chops for dinner. Packed my stuff for tomorrow's trip. We watched a little TV but otherwise not much else because it was too hot. I am looking forward to the low 80s of New Jersey next week. Then soon we will be off to Canada! 10 days. Where it is supposed to be low 60s. Thank goodness.

I am up today to check in for my flight. I may go back to bed because B had me awake at 3 thanks to a panic attack. Sucks too because I was sleeping seriously sound. I was having dreams about getting ice cream too.

Today B has a dentist appointment. Yes, her dentist works on Sundays. I am telling you, she has the greatest insurance ever.

Side note - to everyone I don't call enough, text enough, see enough - I think about you. I know you're out there and I hope everything is good with you. I am just a bad friend sometimes. Doesn't mean I don't care. I do think about you. I hope you have a good day today too.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Y8 D86

Don't worry, I'm not dead. I just actually slept in. Granted, I didn't go to bed until almost 1 and I was up at 3 because B blew a fuse, but I did sleep in late for me. I got 6h 3m which is not too bad given my average to this point was 4 something.

Taught day two of my private training. Finished up around 2 on the dot. Took a brief nap for about 45 minutes. We had chicken for dinner then decided to suck up the mall's free AC. B needed to bring in her jewelry for a 6 month inspection anyway. We stayed at the mall until almost 9. Stopped at the park on the way home, drove around for a little while collecting pokestops, and got home about 10:15. I had the wild idea to start laundry since I wasn't tired yet. 2.5 hours later, laundry is done! One less thing I need to do today. The heat will be at its worst today. 100 forecasted. But tomorrow is supposed to be 17 degrees cooler and 22 on Monday. Just need make it through today and wait for the pause of tomorrow. Of course, I leave on Monday. No other plans for today. I wish B was already awake as I would say let's go to the coast NOW before the traffic starts. But no, she didn't go to bed until after 3. She won't be awake for a little while at least.

One more day until travel day.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Y8 D85

Another day of being up early. This time because my class started at 6am. Of course most of the people showed by 6:05. Whatever. This training is a private class for Office Depot. They happen to be in my least favorite state in the world. Even more so, they are in my least favorite city in my least favorite state. I am just glad this wasn't onsite. My luck I would have run smack dab into X2 walking around somewhere. No thanks. I will do this one remote regardless of how many miles I could have made.

We finished up around 1:45 and I took a brief nap. When I got up we went and ran a couple of errands. I needed to return something to Best Buy and then we went back into the sleep number store. We have been debating whether to invest in one and we still had a few questions. With all the options and add-ons, we're looking at $4000 for a bed and we want to make sure we have all the information. This is a serious investment. One bed is about 5 times what my first car cost me. That's not something you buy lightly. We got all our questions answered and headed home.

I did a corned beef in the slow cooker and we had that for dinner. It was too hot to go anywhere after dinner so we sat around watching some TV. B decided she wanted to try out a recipe and we did have to go to the store for a couple of things. She ended up making homemade honeycomb. You know like the type of filling in a violet crumble bar. It came out really good. I am seriously impressed.

While this was all going on, I had a phone call with my boss. Him and I were both livid at something the sales group is trying to do. If we lived closer to one particular guy, he'd be in deep trouble. We are both ready to strangle him. He keeps trying to create these webinars and is not running them by us. This time he updated his material to a newer version of the software which we aren't planning to do until the end of year. We now have a huge discrepancy between our offerings. We are so pissed off about this it isn't even funny.

Went to bed around 9:45 as I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Had a decent night sleep at least. One more day of this private 6-2 training, then I am off to NJ.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Y8 D84

Left crazy early again. Got there at 5:02 this time. Sat until 6, went inside, sat some more. Started class at 8, finished at around 4:30. Took me almost an hour to get home which is horrendous as it is only 14 miles to the client. I couldn't do that every day. Couldn't sit in that shit. I would go insane.

When I got home B had made a doctor appointment. She has some kind of infection or something in the back of her mouth. I love her insurance. 6:45 appointment? No problem. We were in and out too. She does in fact have something back there. They were able to prescribe an anti-biotic but we also have to go to her dentist on Sunday to see what else is up. Fun. At least they're open on a Sunday. Had dinner after and I needed to go to Best Buy to get an adaptor. We got back home around 8:30. Putzed around and went to bed around 10:30. Another 4.5 hour sleep night.

Today and tomorrow is a private training for an east coast client. We are scheduled to go from 6-2 my time. It's got way too many people in it though for an effective online class. I am not looking forward to the next two days. On top of that, triple digit heat for the next three days. So much fun.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Y8 D83

I left super early yesterday and I am glad I did. Same thing today. When I got the client site they are doing construction on the street where I usually park. I had to park about 2 blocks away and walk. If I had gotten there any later I would have been struggling to find parking. I sat for two hours waiting for someone to arrive, but it was worth it in my mind.

My client arrived 10 minutes before class was to start. That pissed me off. As it turns out, we did have a problem in the morning too. I forgot to bring one of my adaptor cables and we couldn't use their projector. We had to scramble to find a replacement projector. Ended up using this tiny projector screen all day. That sucked.

Finished class around 4 and headed home. Traffic wasn't too bad. It also wasn't blistering hot yet. That's to start today and continue through the weekend. Got home around 4:40 and then around 5:30 started a quiche for dinner.

After dinner we went to the park to stock up on supplies. Got back around 9:30. We watched a little TV and then I went to bed a little after 10. Pretty much the same schedule for today. Got to get moving so I can be out of here in the next hour.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Y8 D82

I was in a melancholy funk yesterday morning. Wasn't feeling it. Was just sad and upset and couldn't pinpoint why. It happens. Not like it used to, but it happens still. Because mental issues don't just magically go away. You just learn to cope with them better. Learn to push them down and figure out how to move forward. I moved forward. Still not all here but I have to be as I am going on site in a couple of hours. Have to turn on the old magic for an in person show. Sigh.

Did all my morning stuff including making jump drives with files for the next two days for my students, ironing my clothes, and making my car reservation. Had everything done by 9am. Not too shabby but then again, I was up at 4am.

While I was ironing I noticed my pants were pretty beat up. Too many cheap irons in hotel rooms. They had some iron burn marks and just looked drab. I decided to go to the mall and see if I could find an inexpensive replacement. B was just waking up and I decided to go on my own. Got pants, a pretzel for B, some shampoo, cat food, and she wanted a Kinder egg. Okay done. Back home by noon.

Dealt with a few emails surrounding the next couple of days and then decided I was going to bake. B also was in the mood for some kind of treat and we decided on salted caramel apple rolls courtesy of the British Bake Off. Went to the store and got the ingredients needed. Made a pork roast for dinner then around 7 started baking. With dough rising time and prep time, the rolls weren't done until almost 10. This is why even though I am up at 3, I didn't go to bed until almost 11. They came out alright. The taste was there but the visual was lacking. My roll was uneven and I cut them a little thin. Flavors are good especially the caramel.

Enough yapping, need to shower and leave. I don't need to be there until about 7:30 but with traffic I am getting out of here at 5. This way I can be sure of a parking place. It packs up quickly where I am going today and I don't feel like dealing with it.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Y8 D81

Don't feel good this morning. Had a rough night trying to sleep (5hr 6m) and am have stomach issues. I think it's heat related. Yes, I know all I do is bitch about the heat but it was 95 in here yesterday again. It should break in another, oh I don't know, week or so. So yeah, you get to here me bitch about the weather for another week. Sorry. That's the most pertinent and immediate issue in my life. Not a horrible thing either. Nothing else exciting is going on so I can complain about the heat. "Someone out there is praying for the things you take for granted". Remember that.

Ran errands in the morning including finding B a new backpack because her purse is causing her shoulder to hurt too much. She needed something to wear over both shoulders to distribute the weight more evenly. Speaking of pain, her ear was still hurting and we made a doctor's appointment for her. I swear, when open enrollment comes around, I am so signing up for her insurance. Open on weekends? Check. Friendly? Check. Zero dollars out of pocket for a routine visit? Check and check. No fighting, no arguing with them. Pay your premium, see a doctor. So fucking straight forward it's ridiculous. Their headquarters are 2.6 miles from our house. If there were ever a company I would consider going to for work, it's them. I even thought about writing their CEO and seeing if he could use my skills. I'm serious. They seem that good of a company.

The doctor confirmed there's nothing wrong with her ear other than the piercing is making it sensitive and she needs to stop blasting the saline into it. Otherwise, she's fine.

Made really nice steaks for dinner. I marinated them all day in a citrus concoction. They came out really well. That made me happy at least. We were going to go the park but it was too much outside. Hide behind our AC units thank you.

Today is a prep day. Make car arrangements, setup flash drives, iron. I have enough to keep me busy for at least 1/2 the day. Tomorrow is onsite.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Y8 D80

Slept in this morning. Felt good. Got over 6 hours of sleep. For me that's pretty good. This week I have averaged 5 hours and 40 minutes. I will take anything over six hours.

Had a fun day yesterday. Got away from the heat. We went over to the beach with B's cousin and BF. They move slower than I would like in the morning, but it wasn't bad. Got up, went to the store, made B some breakfast then we sat and waited for them to get up and come over. In my world, I know going to the beach on a hot day is going to be a bitch for traffic reasons. But they're young and dumb and on a Saturday they don't get up until 10am. Damn kids. It was almost 11:30 by the time they got to our place. Here's the funny part - I also know growing up where I did that the beach is going to be significantly colder than inland because of the mountains. It was 95 here yesterday and they showed up where shorts, bikini, etc. B and I laughed and tried to convince them to put on more clothes. But it's the beach! It will be warm! Um, sure. Okay. B brought some extra clothes and I put an extra t-shirt in the car because we knew the truth.

Got on the road and as expected the hour and fifteen minute drive took two hours and ten minutes. We crawled for the first hour. One lane roads through the mountains. Whee. I was watching the temperature gauge as we were going and it was slowly dropping down. When we got on the other side it was 63 degrees. 32 degrees colder. When we parked and got out of the car they were both freezing. Listen to your elders people. We walked up and down the beach where there was a major volleyball tournament going on. They wanted to go in the water and the like so we left them and went off to have a late lunch. Best food ever. We had a great time at lunch. Wasn't too expensive and was really freaking good. We all met up after lunch where we got taffy and ice cream. Fun time for all. We did some good hunting and as we were going back to the car B's back started spasming. Luckily she had some muscle relaxers in her purse. Downside is she fell asleep for the whole ride home. That was hard because everyone was sleepy and I had to do my best to stay awake.

Got home around 7 where it was still in the high 80s. Oh how I missed the beach already. We relaxed and watched a bunch of the Great British Bake Off. We both love that show. So proper and polite. Much different than American cooking shows. No one is trying to kill each other. I think one of the big differences is they don't compete for TONS O MONEY AND PRIZES! Nope. Just a cake plate engraved with their name. Much different mindset. Most of them are there to learn and improve their skills which is great.

Went to bed around 11. No plans for today. Laundry. Marinating steaks for dinner. That's about it. This week I am onsite locally for two days then doing a custom training for Office Depot the last two. A good filled week without too much stress.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Y8 D79

Happy birthday to my sister today. That one I know I got right. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Sever heat warning in effect for today. One for yesterday too. It got to 101 here yesterday. Thank god for this AC unit. It saved me. I would have been dying otherwise. Not only that but every machine in this room would have melted. Fuck heat. Be done will ya? Come on cold weather. Hurry up and arrive.

It was a good day for B yesterday. She finally got a letter from DTE saying they have concluded their investigation and she does not nor has she ever had an account with them. They admitted their records were wrong, and they will be updated the credit bureaus with their findings. That's a big win. We have been fighting that for almost two years. It is so hard to get shit like this cleared up. The companies don't care if they're ruining lives. They trust their stupid fucking computers and are lazy about helping people. In a couple of months we're going to rerun a credit report for her and see what it looks like. We should be on our way to clearing up her report. Huge huge win. On top of that, I got her a new necklace she adores. She wanted me to order a state necklace for her cousin to remind her of back home and when I did that, I ordered an OR one for B. She already had a MI one and had the OR one on her wishlist. When I ordered the IN for her cousin, I slipped the other one in too. But wait, there's more! We stopped at the mall last night and she found four pairs of pants for cheap. It was a good day.

For me it wasn't bad either. I finished day 3 of my class and everyone seemed happy. After class one of my students stayed on to talk about his situation and get some advice. He's had contractors out there for 11 months and they have accomplished shit. We talked about what they've done and if some of their stuff has been reasonable. End story was no, they are talking out of their asses, and I could have done the job for half the price twice as fast with better results. I am hoping that this leads to some onsite work before the end of the year as a result. We shall see.

Paid bills yesterday morning. Everything went out. Just a couple left to pay before the end of the month. A couple of next month's already paid too. Man, that is one of the biggest things I am most proud of over these last 8 years. I am able to pay my bills and still have enough to buy my woman a necklace, pants, groceries, etc. My shit is slowly coming together. Makes me feel good.

After class we went over to her cousin's. Her bf wasn't feeling well and we brought him B's vape pen. He has a degenerative back problem where things are fusing together and some days he's in some serious pain. Even though B's vape is almost empty, he needed it more than she did. They have both been trying to get jobs since they got here, but nothing solid yet. They have some money saved but his student loans haven't come through yet. They are living lean until that happens.

The three of us went out nearby for some walking and hunting while he stayed home and rested. It was too hot though. We all were cranky and tired walking in the heat. We did have some decent Hawaiian food dinner. Dropped her off around 7 and headed back. That's when we decided to stop at the mall. It's on the way home from their house and it had free AC. We found pants galore on sale. And by pants I mean linen and cropped. Summer stuff they're trying to get rid of because it's fall don't you know. I love this in between time for sales. Stores trying to stock for winter but it's still 100 degrees outside. I got a pair of linen pants and shorts for $30 and B got 4 pairs of casual pants for another $26. We both scored. Got back home around 8 and we needed some more steps. I have upped mine to 12,000 a day and was just about 700 shy. She was about 1000 of her goal. Around the neighborhood we went.

Both of us hit our goal. Yay!

I have been watching the Twilight Zone recently. I am about 10 episodes into season 1 and man, the smoking. Everyone, everywhere. I look up some of the actors and actresses in these episodes and many of them have died from lung cancer. No shock given how much smoking they do. Weird to think you could smoke in places like ice cream shops or movie theaters. I literally remember being able to smoke in movie theaters. That was only 30 years ago. Fuck I am old. Ugh.

Went to bed around 11 and managed to get 7 hours of sleep last night. First time in a week over 6 hours.

Today we are going to try and drive to the beach with her cousin. I say try because everyone and their mother is also going to be going that way. It will be stressful but it will also be 20 - 30 degrees cooler over there. The forecast for here is 97. For there it's 71. Yeah, I will sit in traffic for that.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Y8 D78

B had a nightmare this morning. She woke up gasping. At least she had the decency to it 4 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. She started to apologize for waking me up and it's like, nah we good. I had to be up anyway.

I now have a portable AC unit in this room. It once again got over 90 in here yesterday and I couldn't take it. $300 spent but this time I made my work pay for it. Since this room is spent doing work and if we had offices there would be AC I figured it was appropriate they pay for it. My boss agreed. It's a little noisy, but if I run it at breaks and lunch it will be a lot better in here today than it has been. The week's forecast is 97, 94, 89, 88... I needed it. If it got over 100 in here today I would die. It's a small room and this one should be okay.

I finished OITNB yesterday. Man. What a great season. Best season yet I feel. I then decided to watch the Twilight Zone. All 159 episodes. Why? Why not.

Got through day two of class. Finished around 2:30. I wanted to nap but avoided it so as not to screw up my sleep cycle. Instead I went and got this AC unit. Spent the time setting it up then made dinner. Made chicken stir fry. We then watched some Great British Bake Off. Love that show. So proper and British.

Talked to the kid. She's having a great time in Ireland. Getting to see a lot of the country. Mostly tourist stuff, but who cares. She's having the time of her life. That's what travel is all about. She's going to take this experience with her her whole life. I am so glad she went on this trip. She deserves it and will be a better person for it.

Paying bills today. Lovely. Nothing like a good bill pay day. But things are okay. Not as good as I would like, but okay. We've spent a little too much on random stuff lately. Need to reign that in a bit. Keep focused on the bigger long term goals. We will get there. Eventually.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Y8 D77

I woke up early this morning. Too late to go back to sleep, too early to be up. Up wins though. I would rather be up a little early and be awake versus trying to fall back to sleep and fuck up and oversleep. Oh well.

Taught day 1 of 3 yesterday. Good group. Three of them are from the same company and have actually taken the class before. They are here because it's been two years and they forgot everything. That's what happens when you take a class then don't get to apply any of it. Heck, I would be in the same boat if I tried to use any of the stuff I learned 3 years ago in the SPSS class I took. I never used or applied any of it. Most of it is gone from my head. The fourth student is one I know from teaching his other people. Remember when I went to Ohio 3 times in two months? That client. He and I talked offline and they are basically still at ground zero from when I was there two years ago. Management changes, priority shifts, etc have left them no farther along than they were back then. This is why I don't work in the corporate world. Nothing ever gets fucking done. Years go by and you're still at square one. That shit drives me up a wall.

After class I watched OITNB. I am almost done. The second to last episode of season 4 was a mind fucker. I won't spoil it for anyone, but that whole cast deserves a damn Emmy for that episode. I have never been so moved for fictional characters. B made meatballs and egg noodles for dinner. After dinner we went to one park and it was deserted. Like scary empty. We went to our other and there were only 40 people there compared to 85-90 just a couple weeks ago. I think with the bugs in the game people are getting frustrated. We're holding on and going to keep playing. For me it's the OCD part of me having to 'catch them all'. You know how I get. I can't just put it aside until I have done everything in my power to try to accomplish the goal.

Came back around 9, and we discovered that evil bitch lady's old apartment was unlocked. We did some tests. We both took turns being in the apartment and walking around, flushing toilets, etc. What we discovered is we're not noisy, the cat is. When she runs from one end to the other you can totally hear it. You can also hear the toilet flush and kitchen cabinets. Things to be mindful of in the future. No one is moving in yet but now we know. We can be conscious of our noise level. Weird standing in essentially our own place but empty.

Went to bed around 10. Heat is coming today. Hopefully we'll be okay.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Y8 D76

The heat is scheduled to return over the next fews days. Fuck that noise. Can it be winter yet? Or at least fall? No more 90 degree days please.

Watched a lot of OITNB yesterday waiting for emails. That's how I spent my day. They finally came at 4pm of course. Then I ended up in a flurry of emails from 4-6. Ugh. But I now have the next two weeks laid out for me. Onsite downtown for one client, private session for another, then off to NJ. That takes care of me for two weeks where I won't have to worry about anyone bugging me. I am okay with that.

Helped B with her project yesterday. She completed the refinishing of a medicine cabinet. It looks pretty good. Some streaks in some places but overall it looks good. She did make a right mess of the garage. We ended up having to go buy a push broom to clean it out. That was a fun time. We went out for a walk to do some hunting. Nothing exciting there. We've reached the point where it's getting harder to find what we need. I knew this would happen in the game but what are you going to do? First major update is scheduled for December. Until then we have to keep plugging away. Just not as much fun as it was.

Made a beef macaroni thing she found on the internet last night. It was okay. It generated a ton of leftover so guess what I am eating for lunch the next three days. It is Wednesday, right? Yeah. I think so.

Remember when I used to forget what day it was because I had been out drinking the night before? Don't miss those days for sure. Now I forget because I am teaching weird times. Better I guess.

We tried to see her cousin last night but they were having a rough day. They had job interviews already and we don't know if they went well or not. I respect that they have been here less than a week and their first focus was to get jobs. Good for them. Mid-west mind set I guess.

Nothing else to report. Time to make the donuts.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Y8 D75

I have been up for a while, but been working on things and almost forgot to post. Sheesh. I am getting slow in my old age. Speaking of old age, I incorrectly wished my friend a happy birthday. I was about two weeks off. It was driving me nuts whose birthday it really was until I remembered it's my stupid ass father's birthday yesterday. No birthday wishes for him! Bah! I do know of one more this weekend though which I won't forget.

Spent the morning working on some updates to my docs. Came out really well what I created. I am very happy with it and can't wait to use it with clients. I think they will really appreciate it. I can also use it as a time filler if needed in other classes. Multi-purpose.

B needed some help with her project and she ran out of paint at one point. It felt like a very long day yesterday. I was up at 4 and didn't go to bed until midnight. No real reason, just wasn't tired.

Made chicken and dumplings for dinner - oh yeah, that's what I did first thing in the morning - went grocery shopping. That's why my bank account was off this morning. Duh. I am an idiot. But I got us a good amount of food for the next couple of weeks. Be able to eat in for the next few days.

We went to two different parks last night hunting. Stayed out until almost 10:30. Late for us. I did hit over 14,000 steps yesterday too. I swear, I am walking my ass off but not losing any weight. I need to stop eating too I think. Just live off air. I'm an airitarian now dammit.

Played some Diablo. Season 7 started the other day and I am halfway through chapter 2 of the new challenges.

I also rearranged some stuff on my desk. Technically I should never need to be directly on the media server. It should be doing just that - serving. So I moved it around and put the laptop closer and the server to the side. Let's see how that works out for me. I think it should be better. My desk is a little less cluttered at least.

Not sure what to work on today. I have exhausted all the doc writing I can do. I do teach the rest of the week but have nothing scheduled for today.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Y8 D74

I know I already sent you a text, but happy birthday buddy. May your day be boring and uninteresting.

Went out in the morning to home depot. B got the DIY bug in her. We went and got some sandpaper, paint, and knobs so she can restore and refinish a medicine cabinet we found at a thrift store. That was her project all day. I did laundry while she worked on that. Had pot roast for dinner. Went to the park after dinner for a walk and some hunting. All in all not a bad day. The planes came again. REALLY scary this time. I sent the people responsible a very harsh email saying that they should be warning local neighborhoods if this shit was going on. It was bad. Like wife crying and cats freaking out bad. Stuff falling off shelves and car alarms going off bad. This whole "ooo look at the planes" bullshit can go. No thank you.

That's it for our day. Nothing major. I have three days of classes this week. 4 students, Weds-Fri. I can handle that. $8,000 week for me.

Side note - does anyone actually care about the olympics? Why is this still a thing? Never understood the point of them. Just me probably but it's a lot of time and money spent seeing who can be better than everyone else. Meh.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Y8 D73

We had a rough night. B woke up at 2:30am from a nightmare screaming and then couldn't go back to sleep. Every noise she heard was freaking her out. I turned on the fan to try and block out the noise but it didn't help. Didn't fall back to sleep until 3:30 and we didn't go to bed until 11. Hopefully she will sleep in this morning.

We had a good long day. A very fulfilling Saturday to be sure. We were up at 4, out the door at 5:20. We met our friend at his hotel at 5:30. Off we went to his Spartan race. That was one of the most interesting things I have ever attended. We got there around 6:30 and there were already a few hundred people. His group, "elite men", started at 7:30. We walked around, checked out the course, looked at some of the booths set up, and waited for him to start. His group has 300 men total. It was 4.2 miles of some hard ass shit. We watched at different checkpoints to take pictures and watching these people perform this course was crazy. The intensity and determination was insane. Personally it is not for me. I am not into it, but I respect the punishment these people put themselves through. It was very cool watching them. We got some great pictures too of our friend. He ended up finishing 174th out of 15,000 total. He was down on himself because he had been hoping for a time around 1 hour and he finished with 1 hour and 21 minutes. We tried to give him some perspective which is hard when you are doing something like this. I made him look 10 above and 10 below and there was no more than 3 minutes in variance. That made him feel a little better.

We had a farewell lunch with him and he headed off to the airport around 11. We headed home and B took a nap. Around 4, we went over to her cousin's new place. They are still in that moving disarray which is compounded by them having drove for 4 days to get here. We brought them a couple of nightstands, two lamps, a crockpot, and an umbrella. The last one was a joke as it was in the car already.

Their place is not bad. A little out of the way for me, but it's not bad. It's definitely nicer than anything they would have had back in the midwest. Not much furniture yet, but they're young. As a welcome gift and as a pay it forward for what people did for us when we moved here, we treated them to a dinner out. We went to Claimjumper's which was really freaking good. Side motive - they are owned by Landry's and I got double points. I ended up with a $25 credit on my account because of it. Not going to argue about that.

After dinner we came back to our place for a while and relaxed. We played some CAH, then drove them home around 10. Got back home and hit the sack at 11.

Today I am hoping we just stay inside away from people. It was a busy last few days and I am okay not talking to anyone right now. The blue angels are at it again though. They flew overhead yesterday while B was napping and I thought she was going to explode. We may go to the mall from 12 on to be out of the house while they do their last day of flying. Less stressful that way.

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Y8 D72

Up way too early for a Saturday but we promised we would go cheer our friend on. Stupid decision on our part. Oh well.

Taught my class, finished at 2. Our friend came over and we hung out for a while. He didn't want to walk around too much because of his race today but we did go to the zoo for a little while. We went on a concert night and there was this whole group of old people all getting in line to see Pink Martini. Yeah, I don't know them either. We just wanted to walk the zoo and we were able to walk around all of them.

We did sushi for dinner then came back home. He took off to get an early bed time. B got really tired and laid down around 8. I played season 7 of D3 and went to bed around 11.

Her cousin did in fact arrive. She tried to go see her yesterday but when she went out a major anxiety attack happened and she had to turn around and come home. I don't blame her. There's a blue angels air show about 2 miles from us this weekend and they were flying REALLY fucking low yesterday. Completely interrupted my class. Like shake the whole building interruption. It freaked her out to no end. That went on for about an hour. They are doing more today and tomorrow which is going to suck.

In other news, Satan is finally in the end stages of moving out it would seem. She has been taking more loads at night and it looked like she had a truck come by yesterday to give her a quote or check out what she has. I am hoping when we get back this morning we will find a truck in the driveway. Soon the evil will be gone.

Time to go watch someone run through mud. Whee.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Y8 D71

We hurt ourselves yesterday a bit. Walked over 6 miles in the heat. But we did get outside and managed to get some good hunting in. Our friend has been really excited because he gets to see a lot of different things than what's in his area. But it was a bit stressful. Mostly because of the heat. Which is going away as of today. It's supposed to be a good ten degrees cooler today. Good. Another day of that heat would kill us.

Taught day one of my class. Both my students are pretty good. One I have taught before, the other is new but both of them are smart. We finished around 1:45 because they both knew what the hell they were doing which is nice. It's always good when I have smart students. Makes the day more pleasant for everyone.

After class our friend came over and then we took the train downtown. Had an early dinner at Rogue brewery which was much better than anticipated. We walked around Powell's books for a while, then walked the waterfront. Took the train back around 7. B was tired but we needed a couple things at the store. We headed out and grabbed some stuff including some dessert. Came back, had dessert and socialized for a while. He took off around 9:30. I was so tired from walking I fell asleep at 9:45. It was a long day.

B's cousin and boyfriend arrived yesterday too. We got a text from them around 9 asking where to buy an AC unit. They were dying. They have a dog and three ferrets which made the need to cool off even more urgent for them. All the animals were over heating. B is going over to see them today while I teach.

After class today we are going to the zoo. Tomorrow we are getting up early to go to our friend's race, then drive to the coast for an art gallery opening. That should be fun.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Y8 D70

Back to up early. And I have no servers for my class today. I fucking hate this. We keep telling my boss to put the images under a public account so we don't stress out but he doesn't listen. Yeah yeah I'll get to it. Well don't be pissed when I start calling you at 5am buddy.

Saved the day yesterday thanks to some of the work I have been doing this week. My fellow instructor couldn't get something to work for her class yesterday and I had just run into the same issue on Tuesday and managed to fix it. She almost cancelled her class but luckily I showed her what to change and boom, she was off and running. One crisis averted. Now it's my day I guess.

Around 5 we headed out to meet up with our friend. He didn't listen to me when he was planning his trip and ended up at a shitty hotel. I told him to let me book it under my name and get him into a nice Hilton, but he didn't listen. Oh well.

We went and had Mexican food for dinner, followed by ice cream. Then we walked about 4 miles on a nature trail where we found some new hunting grounds. Some good stuff popped. He got at least 5 new ones he didn't have before.

Got home around 9:30 and did end of day stuff. Went to bed around 10:30. Tonight after class (assuming it happens) we are taking him downtown for some sight seeing and hunting. I have to remember to buy tickets for his thing on Saturday. Need to do that now.

Please wake up and get my servers dude. Stressing.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Y8 D69

Been up for a few but have been in the bathroom. Not feeling well this morning. Not sure what I ate that's doing it, but something is not happy in my stomach. What a lovely way to start the day.

Spent the day doing installations and fighting SQL Server. I am still not done as it is being seriously stupid. Hopefully I can fix the issue today.

Went to the store for dinner stuff. Went to the park in the evening. Not much else. Quiet day.

Our friend comes in today and that means a busy next few days. Between teaching tomorrow and Friday and showing him around, it will be whirlwind. On Saturday he has a Spartan race which we agreed to attend to cheer him on, then we are driving to the beach to go to an art gallery opening. Our quiet time will go away. Enjoy this while I can.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Y8 D68

There are very few movies I will sit through multiple times, let alone go back to a theater and see a second time. Finding Dory is one of those rare movies. We went to the movies last night and saw it again. We went to a new theater (for us) and we're glad we did. At least I was. They have assigned seats and leather reclining chairs. Nice comfy chairs. Plus it means the theater can only hold a small number of people. There were 8 of us in the movies last night. I say I did because B had one issue. The ushers come in during the film with these pink flashlights to check things and it distracts her. I don't really pay attention to it, but it throws her off. Small complaint really. Otherwise, seeing a movie on a Monday night is a fun thing to do.

During the day, I worked on documents and we went out to the store to get some stuff for dinner. That was our big adventure out for the day. Starting Thursday I go back to full on teaching for days straight and I am not going to complain about this downtime. Can you believe it's August already? The good news is winter is coming. Cold days are on their way. Hurry up.

We had quiche from Costco for dinner. Not bad. A little too filling but not bad. When we got back from the movies we went for a walk. B didn't have enough steps in for the day and she wanted to try and make more. I hit 11,000 yesterday. Lighter than usual but still okay. I would like to be at 20,000 or more if I can. That's my goal.

More of the same today.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Y8 D67

For a day with no plans, I sure did a lot. My biggest accomplishment was rearranging the office. I finally figured out how to turn my U shaped desk into an L shaped desk without messing up the integrity of the work surface. I had to remove just the right screws and brackets to do it. But now, the office feels SO much larger and less cramped. I was able to move the dressed and the bookcases around as well. It's a huge difference. Night and day. As B put it, 'I can do a cartwheel in here!'. Yes, you could. I also before breakfast, also washed all the windows on the car. The insides were filthy. I was getting that horrible glare when you drive in direct sun. Not any more. Clean clean clean.

We went out in the morning to the outside mall to see if we could do some new hunting. While there I found a new bag for every day use, B got a book, and we got a few thousand steps in. On the way home we stopped at a thrift store where I found a perfect little cabinet for $1.99 that helps to replace some of the desktop space I lost.

Also did laundry, cleaned the house, and made a pork roast for dinner. I'm telling you, it was a productive day. Around 7 we went out to our normal park where we talked with new people and enjoyed being outside. The weather is supposed to be nice and mild all week except for Thursday. I can handle one hot day amongst good. Can it be winter yet though? Some nice cold air.

We also worked on the pics B had taken while back in MI. The photographer gave her all 900 shots at full resolution and we needed to download and organize them so she can figure out which ones to print. We also found a cool 9 picture frame at the thrift store for $4. Need 9 pictures now though to put in it.

I have a class later in the week. Today is a bunch of document stuff. Then our friend arrives Wednesday. It will be nice to see someone up here. Fun stuff.