We finally got some good news last night. The kid's house is still standing! The town is covered in ash and smoke and she really shouldn't be going back in yet, but at least they have somewhere to go back to when it's better. Now we can get them insurance. Sheesh what a nightmare few days this has been. Thank goodness we got some good news.
I taught all day. One student so things went at a quicker pace. I have day two with him today and expect to finish around 1. That will be nice. After class I had to deal with those fuckers in SoCal. Once again having issues with them. Same guy I had problems with before too. "Can you call me?" No fucker I have told you before I don't use the phone. I may have to make two trips this month to SoCal because they can't get remote access working right. Dumbfucks. Worked on that shit until 4:30.
The heat is also supposed to finally break tonight. Thank the heavens.
My clothes that I left behind in the hotel should finally be here today too. Which means I can do laundry and pack for FL. Joy.
We ate random last night. Too hot to cook anything proper. I was so hot I gave up around 9:15 and just collapsed on the bed. Next thing you know, it's 4am. Go figure.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
Y10 D65
No updates on the kid. Her dumbass BF is going to try and go back to the house today. He has really pissed me off during this situation. His way of coping is not working well for her and of course that angers me. I don't want to get into it right now, but man he is a dumbass.
We got rid of the two angry boys yesterday. They now have a 30 gallon tank all to themselves at the fish shop. That was a battle getting them out and into the travel bucket. Buttholes. That was our big adventure out. It got to 106 yesterday at one point. Fuck. That. Shit. I really really hate heat. Couple more days and it breaks. I can do it.
Other than that sojourn, no leaving the house. We made tacos for dinner, watched some tv, played some games, went to bed. I was asleep and at 11 B shook me awake. She 'felt' something. She thinks the whole building shook. I think she was having a dream. I then couldn't fall back to sleep for like a half hour. Fun times.
Full week this week. 2 day class today and tomorrow, 3 day the rest of the week. Then on Sunday I leave for FL. Ugh. At least there will be humidity.
We got rid of the two angry boys yesterday. They now have a 30 gallon tank all to themselves at the fish shop. That was a battle getting them out and into the travel bucket. Buttholes. That was our big adventure out. It got to 106 yesterday at one point. Fuck. That. Shit. I really really hate heat. Couple more days and it breaks. I can do it.
Other than that sojourn, no leaving the house. We made tacos for dinner, watched some tv, played some games, went to bed. I was asleep and at 11 B shook me awake. She 'felt' something. She thinks the whole building shook. I think she was having a dream. I then couldn't fall back to sleep for like a half hour. Fun times.
Full week this week. 2 day class today and tomorrow, 3 day the rest of the week. Then on Sunday I leave for FL. Ugh. At least there will be humidity.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Y10 D64
Here's what we know so far:
- 84,000 acres burned
- No one getting in to most parts of the city
- Power still off for most parts
- Water being controlled and rationed for fire fighter use
- 5 dead
- 5% contained as of this morning
- More winds and 111 degree weather expected today
We still don't know if their house is standing. It's very unlikely and that increases every hour the fire keeps burning.
Good news:
- They are safe and staying with her old roommate
- She can go to work tomorrow so they won't lose income from her at least
- The pets are safe
That's about it for good news. Please, sacrifice a chicken, conjure up an old god, light a candle - do whatever feels right for you, but please keep my daughter in your thoughts. This is a seriously traumatic time for her and a life experience I never wanted her to have. The stress and emotional burden is getting to her. Hopefully they will make headway over the next 24-48 hours and they will be able to go back in and see the damage.
As for us, we went out early to avoid our time in the sun. We are taking two of our six fish to a local good fish shop to re-home them. We've decided to only maintain one tank on the trip across country. It would be too difficult a journey for these two particular fish. We went and talked to the shop with whom we have done business over the last year and they have the room and the ability to take them. We're going to head back today to drop them off. We had to get a bucket, larger net, etc. We also stopped and got popsicles from our favorite Latino ice cream place. They do the best handmade fruit bars around. Pricey, but worth it. Soursop, Passion Fruit, Mango - they have the best flavors.
After that we came back and locked ourselves inside. I spent the day trying to get Elder Scrolls to play on my mac. Man, what an adventure. Yes, I felt like playing Skyrim, leave me be. Took all day but I got it to work. I tried Wine, PlayOnMac, PlayOnLinux, Parallels all with no luck. I finally broke down and did a Boot Camp to Win 10. That did the trick. I now have a working Windows machine on my mac playing Skyrim. Yeah I know. But hey, it's fun.
We did fruit and vegetable platters for dinner since it was too hot. The heat should break by Wednesday. 3 more days.
Went to bed a little after 10. No big plans today other than the fish. And worrying about my kid.
- 84,000 acres burned
- No one getting in to most parts of the city
- Power still off for most parts
- Water being controlled and rationed for fire fighter use
- 5 dead
- 5% contained as of this morning
- More winds and 111 degree weather expected today
We still don't know if their house is standing. It's very unlikely and that increases every hour the fire keeps burning.
Good news:
- They are safe and staying with her old roommate
- She can go to work tomorrow so they won't lose income from her at least
- The pets are safe
That's about it for good news. Please, sacrifice a chicken, conjure up an old god, light a candle - do whatever feels right for you, but please keep my daughter in your thoughts. This is a seriously traumatic time for her and a life experience I never wanted her to have. The stress and emotional burden is getting to her. Hopefully they will make headway over the next 24-48 hours and they will be able to go back in and see the damage.
As for us, we went out early to avoid our time in the sun. We are taking two of our six fish to a local good fish shop to re-home them. We've decided to only maintain one tank on the trip across country. It would be too difficult a journey for these two particular fish. We went and talked to the shop with whom we have done business over the last year and they have the room and the ability to take them. We're going to head back today to drop them off. We had to get a bucket, larger net, etc. We also stopped and got popsicles from our favorite Latino ice cream place. They do the best handmade fruit bars around. Pricey, but worth it. Soursop, Passion Fruit, Mango - they have the best flavors.
After that we came back and locked ourselves inside. I spent the day trying to get Elder Scrolls to play on my mac. Man, what an adventure. Yes, I felt like playing Skyrim, leave me be. Took all day but I got it to work. I tried Wine, PlayOnMac, PlayOnLinux, Parallels all with no luck. I finally broke down and did a Boot Camp to Win 10. That did the trick. I now have a working Windows machine on my mac playing Skyrim. Yeah I know. But hey, it's fun.
We did fruit and vegetable platters for dinner since it was too hot. The heat should break by Wednesday. 3 more days.
Went to bed a little after 10. No big plans today other than the fish. And worrying about my kid.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Y10 D63
No update from the kid on wether their house has burned down or not. But based on everything I have read about the fire, it seems very unlikely they have a home any more. A fire tornado was created due to the winds, it jumped the river, wiped out an entire town nearby, was only 3% contained as of yesterday morning, and the list of tragedy goes on. I have never felt emotion like this before. She is about to lose EVERYTHING. Her art, her clothes, her life. This is one of the most tragic things that's ever happened to us as a family. And before you ask, no, they don't have renter's insurance. Yeah, I know. I nearly drove down and strangled her fucking boyfriend. He 'doesn't believe in insurance'. I bet you do now you stupid motherfucker. You can tell a person's character by how they behave in adverse situations. He has not impressed me these last two days. I even offered to pay for a year premium. HER MOTHER offered to split it with me. When have X1 and I EVER been on the same page in the last 10 years?? I am so mad. He doesn't get it. Yesterday I was sitting here trying to get her to write up a policy thinking to myself 'was I this stubborn at his age?'. The answer of course is yes. I too thought I new everything. Look at me. Shows how fucking wrong I was. He is learning too but he's doing it at my daughter's expense and I am not pleased. He needs to grow the fuck up. Right now they are in a cheap motel trying to figure out where to live. They managed to get their animals into a friend's house. Hopefully we will get some news today.
Speaking of news - I got the monies. As of right now, the holding period begins. We let the money sit through August and September, then in October, B flies back and looks at houses. This is happening people. Within the next six months, I will be a Michigander. Yep, that's what they are called. Fuck me. But I will be in a house before I am 51. Not quite met my goal, but pretty damn close. I am not moving again either. This is it. Bury me babies.
Did some work, participated in a webinar, went grocery shopping. Heat has't broke yet. Not until Wednesday. Still have to survive the weekend. I have a full week of training next week which is going to be rough, but I will do it.
Today we have a couple of errands to run, but otherwise no plans for the weekend other than stay inside and hide from the heat.
Go light a candle for my kid will ya?
Speaking of news - I got the monies. As of right now, the holding period begins. We let the money sit through August and September, then in October, B flies back and looks at houses. This is happening people. Within the next six months, I will be a Michigander. Yep, that's what they are called. Fuck me. But I will be in a house before I am 51. Not quite met my goal, but pretty damn close. I am not moving again either. This is it. Bury me babies.
Did some work, participated in a webinar, went grocery shopping. Heat has't broke yet. Not until Wednesday. Still have to survive the weekend. I have a full week of training next week which is going to be rough, but I will do it.
Today we have a couple of errands to run, but otherwise no plans for the weekend other than stay inside and hide from the heat.
Go light a candle for my kid will ya?
Friday, July 27, 2018
Y10 D62
There's so much going on right now I don't know where to start. Let's go with the most important one and the one that kept me up all night:
The kid had to evacuate at 10pm last night. Yeah, you read that right. She is in the line of a bad fire and they had to get out. It was close enough for them to see. They got out and made it to the next town over where they had to check in to a shitty motel because it was all that was left. Here I am worrying about stupid things and she could lose everything. They grabbed the cats and the snake and piled into the car and drove. Welcome to life, the most fucked up thing ever. I am so scared and worried for her it's not even funny. I barely slept waiting for texts and phone calls. They got checked in at 1am. Fucked up shit right now. Don't be surprised if you see emails from me asking for donations to help replace everything they lose. Fucking fires.
Next on the list is my money isn't in the bank yet. It was supposed to be there Wednesday. Our moving is 100% contingent on this money being there and it isn't. Plain and simple. I need to follow up with my boss today to see what the hell is going on with that. He better not be backing out, because if he is then everything is shot to hell. All this time and energy wasted.
Which brings us to the fight B and I had last night. She is trying to plan moving and packing and I got her upset when I said WHY??. For me until the money is there this isn't real. For her it's happening. I am stressed out about being able to do it and she's already moving in her head. We're both right, but it's just not pretty.
Then there's work. Fuck work. I may have to work at midnight tonight to do more recordings because it's going to be 100 today and I can't do this shit during the day in that heat.
And fuck this heat. Heat advisory in effect until TUESDAY. We won't survive the weekend. It is going to be hell.
Then there's this fun fact nugget: I figured out last night I have never in my entire life lived anywhere more than 5 years. Ever. In 50 years on this planet, I have never had a 'home' for more than 5 years. Fun shit huh?
Sigh.
I am so tired. Just let it be over. All of it. Please?
The kid had to evacuate at 10pm last night. Yeah, you read that right. She is in the line of a bad fire and they had to get out. It was close enough for them to see. They got out and made it to the next town over where they had to check in to a shitty motel because it was all that was left. Here I am worrying about stupid things and she could lose everything. They grabbed the cats and the snake and piled into the car and drove. Welcome to life, the most fucked up thing ever. I am so scared and worried for her it's not even funny. I barely slept waiting for texts and phone calls. They got checked in at 1am. Fucked up shit right now. Don't be surprised if you see emails from me asking for donations to help replace everything they lose. Fucking fires.
Next on the list is my money isn't in the bank yet. It was supposed to be there Wednesday. Our moving is 100% contingent on this money being there and it isn't. Plain and simple. I need to follow up with my boss today to see what the hell is going on with that. He better not be backing out, because if he is then everything is shot to hell. All this time and energy wasted.
Which brings us to the fight B and I had last night. She is trying to plan moving and packing and I got her upset when I said WHY??. For me until the money is there this isn't real. For her it's happening. I am stressed out about being able to do it and she's already moving in her head. We're both right, but it's just not pretty.
Then there's work. Fuck work. I may have to work at midnight tonight to do more recordings because it's going to be 100 today and I can't do this shit during the day in that heat.
And fuck this heat. Heat advisory in effect until TUESDAY. We won't survive the weekend. It is going to be hell.
Then there's this fun fact nugget: I figured out last night I have never in my entire life lived anywhere more than 5 years. Ever. In 50 years on this planet, I have never had a 'home' for more than 5 years. Fun shit huh?
Sigh.
I am so tired. Just let it be over. All of it. Please?
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Y10 D61
One of the things I am having to do to make this move is mentally come to terms with living not on the west coast. Part of that is finding things around here to nitpick and hate on. This will make it a 'grass is greener' situation in my head and will help me accept that I am moving away. Right now? That is not a hard thing to do. I have a splitting headache from the AC units, it's hot as fucking balls, the noise outside the window thanks to fucking ODOT, and a dozen other things are making me want to move right fucking now. Forget October, let's go NOW.
Let's start with ODOT doing construction at 2am right outside our window and using the street right by us as the place they park their fucking trucks. Douchebags.
Then there's the heat and lack of air circulation. While it was hot in MI, there was some humidity which I like. Fuck you people and your dry heat. I fucking hate dry heat. It gives me headaches, makes it so I can't breathe, and just is stale and dead. Fuck. That. Give me wet any day. I can handle that.
Taught yesterday. Two students for two days. Not great, but it pays the bills. I have one more day with them today. They're okay. It's a rough class material wise. The last time I taught it was August of last year. Very niche class. We finished around 2:10, took a nap, then we went to Target for B. Got some food on the way back, came home, sweated to death.
Went to bed around 9:30 as I am still readjusting. One more day ought to do it. Today is day two, then nothing planned in the evening.
Let's start with ODOT doing construction at 2am right outside our window and using the street right by us as the place they park their fucking trucks. Douchebags.
Then there's the heat and lack of air circulation. While it was hot in MI, there was some humidity which I like. Fuck you people and your dry heat. I fucking hate dry heat. It gives me headaches, makes it so I can't breathe, and just is stale and dead. Fuck. That. Give me wet any day. I can handle that.
Taught yesterday. Two students for two days. Not great, but it pays the bills. I have one more day with them today. They're okay. It's a rough class material wise. The last time I taught it was August of last year. Very niche class. We finished around 2:10, took a nap, then we went to Target for B. Got some food on the way back, came home, sweated to death.
Went to bed around 9:30 as I am still readjusting. One more day ought to do it. Today is day two, then nothing planned in the evening.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Y10 D60
Hello. I am back in OR and it sucks right now. Came home to 90+ temperatures. God bless my buddy who was watching the cats while we were gone. He turned on the AC before he left and we were able to come into a cool place. You're the best.
We left for the airport around 4:45am EST, dropped the car off, and hit the terminal around 5:45am. The lines were insane. One of the reasons was the automatic self service kiosks for some of the airlines were down. We had to try five of them before we found one that worked. This resulted in backed up lines at the counter and security. Thank goodness we had pre. We only had about 5 people in front of us in line. We got through security and got to our gate around 6:15am. At our gate was a flight to Seattle that was scheduled to leave at 6:35am but the poor gate agent was stressing. He was missing like 40 people. Same thing a couple gates over. For the whole time we sat there, clumps of would come running from where security was. I am sure some folks ended up missing flights as a result. I am not going to be a fan of this airport. At least not in that respect. I will enjoy the number of direct flights I can catch, but not the people or the lines.
Our flight was delayed slightly, but we made the time back up. We were scheduled to land at 10:40 and managed to get out of the plane at 10:50. Not bad. Got home at 11. We immediately had to go back to the car dealer. There was a problem with the new vehicle and we were there until 3 dealing with it. In the end it all worked out and while we ended up having to swap vehicles, it's all good. We have the same features, but in a different color. All good.
When we got home B collapsed. I did my unpacking stuff, dealt with emails, paid bills, the standard stuff. Made us some food around 7 and then B went right back to bed. I managed to last until almost 9. Time changes are the worst.
Was woken up at 2 by the damn construction going on outside our window. This better be done soon. Otherwise I will be driving to ODOT's offices and having some choice words with them. Today I have a two day class with two students. Not great, but it pays the bills. Hopefully they won't suck.
We left for the airport around 4:45am EST, dropped the car off, and hit the terminal around 5:45am. The lines were insane. One of the reasons was the automatic self service kiosks for some of the airlines were down. We had to try five of them before we found one that worked. This resulted in backed up lines at the counter and security. Thank goodness we had pre. We only had about 5 people in front of us in line. We got through security and got to our gate around 6:15am. At our gate was a flight to Seattle that was scheduled to leave at 6:35am but the poor gate agent was stressing. He was missing like 40 people. Same thing a couple gates over. For the whole time we sat there, clumps of would come running from where security was. I am sure some folks ended up missing flights as a result. I am not going to be a fan of this airport. At least not in that respect. I will enjoy the number of direct flights I can catch, but not the people or the lines.
Our flight was delayed slightly, but we made the time back up. We were scheduled to land at 10:40 and managed to get out of the plane at 10:50. Not bad. Got home at 11. We immediately had to go back to the car dealer. There was a problem with the new vehicle and we were there until 3 dealing with it. In the end it all worked out and while we ended up having to swap vehicles, it's all good. We have the same features, but in a different color. All good.
When we got home B collapsed. I did my unpacking stuff, dealt with emails, paid bills, the standard stuff. Made us some food around 7 and then B went right back to bed. I managed to last until almost 9. Time changes are the worst.
Was woken up at 2 by the damn construction going on outside our window. This better be done soon. Otherwise I will be driving to ODOT's offices and having some choice words with them. Today I have a two day class with two students. Not great, but it pays the bills. Hopefully they won't suck.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Y10 D59
More big news! Yesterday we had a meeting with the finance person B's mom used. As of 11am EST yesterday, we have a pre-approval letter in our hands for $250k. Now for some of you that doesn't seem like a lot. You darn west coasters. But here that buys a pretty decent sized house. Here's an example:
You see? 250 will go a long way and keep our mortgage right around where our rent is right now. And while those may not seem so big, something I have to remember is all of them have basements. You get 75-80% of the upper square footage back as basement. So that 1200 one is really more like 2000 square ft which is just fine for us. Plus in 2 years the debt consolidation loan will be paid and I can place part of that as extra mortgage payment and turn a 30 into a 20.
No what's going to happen is we will get home, let all of our monies sit for 30-60 days, send B back in October, she will be our eyes and ears on the ground, we start putting offers in mid-October, close some time in November, move in December. Be settled and start 2019 in a new place.
Man how my life has changed in the last 10 years. Insane.
I have been talking to the kid about all this and she is fine with it. She knows it needs to happen.
In the afternoon we went over to B's mom's for her sister's birthday party. Stayed there until about 8. Came back, went to bed even though both of us struggled to fall asleep. We leave for the airport in about an hour. Get back to OR at 10:40, home by noon, then we have to go to the car dealer. There's an issue with the new car we have to deal with if possible. I will elaborate more on that when I know the details.
This has been one hell of a trip.
You see? 250 will go a long way and keep our mortgage right around where our rent is right now. And while those may not seem so big, something I have to remember is all of them have basements. You get 75-80% of the upper square footage back as basement. So that 1200 one is really more like 2000 square ft which is just fine for us. Plus in 2 years the debt consolidation loan will be paid and I can place part of that as extra mortgage payment and turn a 30 into a 20.
No what's going to happen is we will get home, let all of our monies sit for 30-60 days, send B back in October, she will be our eyes and ears on the ground, we start putting offers in mid-October, close some time in November, move in December. Be settled and start 2019 in a new place.
Man how my life has changed in the last 10 years. Insane.
I have been talking to the kid about all this and she is fine with it. She knows it needs to happen.
In the afternoon we went over to B's mom's for her sister's birthday party. Stayed there until about 8. Came back, went to bed even though both of us struggled to fall asleep. We leave for the airport in about an hour. Get back to OR at 10:40, home by noon, then we have to go to the car dealer. There's an issue with the new car we have to deal with if possible. I will elaborate more on that when I know the details.
This has been one hell of a trip.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Y10 D58
It was a very long day yesterday. We got up in Lansing, went downstairs for breakfast, and I did something I never do. I forgot things in the hotel room. Worst part is I didn't discover this until 9 last night. I will get back to this in a minute.
We left the hotel and headed back to B's grandparents. It was about an hour and half drive. Got back, relaxed for a little while, then met up with a local realtor. The same one her mom used. We looked at two houses not because we were really interested in the houses but to establish the relationship. Plus to give them a timeline and give them some details. It ended up being a good use of time. Long, but a good use of time. We came back to the house for a while and then went and visited her mom and sisters. We stayed there for a while and came back. This was around 9pm.
This is when I discovered I left stuff in the hotel. Clothing. In a drawer; specifically my sweatpants and my dress pants. Lovely. I was able to reach someone at the hotel and luckily no one had checked into that room and the clothes were still there. They are going to ship them to me today. I should have them sometime next week. Hopefully.
Birthday party for B's sister tonight, then we go home (thank god), tomorrow. Be home sometime in the early afternoon.
We left the hotel and headed back to B's grandparents. It was about an hour and half drive. Got back, relaxed for a little while, then met up with a local realtor. The same one her mom used. We looked at two houses not because we were really interested in the houses but to establish the relationship. Plus to give them a timeline and give them some details. It ended up being a good use of time. Long, but a good use of time. We came back to the house for a while and then went and visited her mom and sisters. We stayed there for a while and came back. This was around 9pm.
This is when I discovered I left stuff in the hotel. Clothing. In a drawer; specifically my sweatpants and my dress pants. Lovely. I was able to reach someone at the hotel and luckily no one had checked into that room and the clothes were still there. They are going to ship them to me today. I should have them sometime next week. Hopefully.
Birthday party for B's sister tonight, then we go home (thank god), tomorrow. Be home sometime in the early afternoon.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Y10 D57
Just woke up. The time change is getting to me. I stayed up until 1am and now look at me up at 8:30am. Plus we're in a hotel room and I am finally in a decent bed. The bed at B's grandparent's is a full and when you're used to a king, forget it. Tiny beds suck.
We didn't do much in the morning. B needed most of it to get ready for the wedding. This is the whole reason we came this weekend.
OH! Before I forget - THANK YOU. That goes out to my three friends who did unexpected and awesome things for me yesterday. You know who you are and what you did. One went out of their way and the other two showed how much they care. Thank you all for what you did.
Anyway back to the wedding. It was about a 90 minute drive to the hotel. We got here around 2, got some food and arrived at the venue at 3:30. B's mom and grandparents were annoying the whole night. It was a weird wedding though. It was at a country club outside for the ceremony which they rushed because not more than 30 minutes after it was over it rained for the rest of the night. But inside they did things in a weird order. Cake cutting before dinner. Toasts before food. Just odd.
But B had a good time and we left at like 11:30. She was happy to see her family. I was out of my element but got through it. Now today we go look at houses.
We didn't do much in the morning. B needed most of it to get ready for the wedding. This is the whole reason we came this weekend.
OH! Before I forget - THANK YOU. That goes out to my three friends who did unexpected and awesome things for me yesterday. You know who you are and what you did. One went out of their way and the other two showed how much they care. Thank you all for what you did.
Anyway back to the wedding. It was about a 90 minute drive to the hotel. We got here around 2, got some food and arrived at the venue at 3:30. B's mom and grandparents were annoying the whole night. It was a weird wedding though. It was at a country club outside for the ceremony which they rushed because not more than 30 minutes after it was over it rained for the rest of the night. But inside they did things in a weird order. Cake cutting before dinner. Toasts before food. Just odd.
But B had a good time and we left at like 11:30. She was happy to see her family. I was out of my element but got through it. Now today we go look at houses.
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Y10 D56
Had a much better day than Thursday. Thursday was just an awful clusterfuck once I got here that it needs to be erased. It was just bad all around, which is why I glossed over it.
Now yesterday was better. We saw B's sisters. Drove around and look at some houses. Yes, that's right. This is the news I have been sitting on. I spoke with m boss yesterday and we have figured out a way for me to get $5000. With that money we will have over $12,000 in savings which means we can look at houses. In a place where they are still reasonably priced. Which means no CA, no OR. We could look in WA or ID, BUT if we're going to move to a place like that, why not move where at least one of us has a strong network of friends and family? Sorry Sis, but having just you and your husband doesn't equal out to mother, father, 2 sets of grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. It's the opposite of when B moved to CA so many years ago. This time it's me getting instant family and social network. So yeah, we may be moving to MI in the next year. We shall see.
We had a nice dinner, checked out another area, had some ice cream, and came back around 10. My clock is off a bit so I didn't get tired until nearly midnight. Oh well.
Today we are off to Lansing for a wedding, the whole reason we came here. Too bad it's raining. BWAHAHAHA. B doesn't really like this cousin so the fact her wedding may be rained out, cest la vie baby. We are stopping at the hotel first as we're staying the night. We will be back here some time tomorrow afternoon or evening.
This is going to be an interesting day.
Now yesterday was better. We saw B's sisters. Drove around and look at some houses. Yes, that's right. This is the news I have been sitting on. I spoke with m boss yesterday and we have figured out a way for me to get $5000. With that money we will have over $12,000 in savings which means we can look at houses. In a place where they are still reasonably priced. Which means no CA, no OR. We could look in WA or ID, BUT if we're going to move to a place like that, why not move where at least one of us has a strong network of friends and family? Sorry Sis, but having just you and your husband doesn't equal out to mother, father, 2 sets of grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. It's the opposite of when B moved to CA so many years ago. This time it's me getting instant family and social network. So yeah, we may be moving to MI in the next year. We shall see.
We had a nice dinner, checked out another area, had some ice cream, and came back around 10. My clock is off a bit so I didn't get tired until nearly midnight. Oh well.
Today we are off to Lansing for a wedding, the whole reason we came here. Too bad it's raining. BWAHAHAHA. B doesn't really like this cousin so the fact her wedding may be rained out, cest la vie baby. We are stopping at the hotel first as we're staying the night. We will be back here some time tomorrow afternoon or evening.
This is going to be an interesting day.
Friday, July 20, 2018
Y10 D55
I'm here. I had two flights yesterday. They weren't very exciting. We had food. It wasn't very exciting either.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Y10 D54
Okay, it's after midnight. I leave for the airport in 2 hours so I am up and ready to go shower. I made a decision earlier and I am partially regretting it. Instead of trying to go to bed at 7 and wake up now, I went to sleep after class for 5 hours. I have been up ever since. Smart? I don't know, but I am awake and that's all that matters.
I am worried about the heat while we are gone. Buddy, if you're reading this, please turn on the AC in the front room while you're here or the fans or the windows or something to get some air flow and make sure the cats don't overheat. I left a big extra bowl of water out for them.
My sister has surgery on Friday. What can I say about that other than oy. Here's hoping all goes smooth for her.
Taught a frustrating class. 15 people with the combined technical skills of an eggplant. A moderately functional eggplant, but still, eggplant.
Dealt with some emails. I may be going back to SoCal in August. Lovely. I hate those people to be honest and they know it. But yet, they want me back. Okay. Be that way.
Ate a frozen pizza and a handful of granola because food options are lacking right now.
Talked to B. I can't wait to get there and see her. Fuck everything else we have to do in the next 3 days. I just want to be there with her. I am not cut out to be alone for too long. We all know this. Everything gets on my nerves. AC units, traffic, cats. You name it. I need her to ground me. 14 hours and I will be good again.
I am worried about the heat while we are gone. Buddy, if you're reading this, please turn on the AC in the front room while you're here or the fans or the windows or something to get some air flow and make sure the cats don't overheat. I left a big extra bowl of water out for them.
My sister has surgery on Friday. What can I say about that other than oy. Here's hoping all goes smooth for her.
Taught a frustrating class. 15 people with the combined technical skills of an eggplant. A moderately functional eggplant, but still, eggplant.
Dealt with some emails. I may be going back to SoCal in August. Lovely. I hate those people to be honest and they know it. But yet, they want me back. Okay. Be that way.
Ate a frozen pizza and a handful of granola because food options are lacking right now.
Talked to B. I can't wait to get there and see her. Fuck everything else we have to do in the next 3 days. I just want to be there with her. I am not cut out to be alone for too long. We all know this. Everything gets on my nerves. AC units, traffic, cats. You name it. I need her to ground me. 14 hours and I will be good again.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Y10 D53
So I bought a thing yesterday. Technically I leased a thing. The lease on my car was just about up and it's been making me paranoid about taking care of it. I decided yesterday that if the Nissan dealer could make me a good deal, I was going to take care of it before I left. 6 hours at the dealership and it was done. Yes, six hours. Not because it was a rough time or a bad deal either. Almost 3 of that was procuring the vehicle and an hour was washing and prepping it. Realistically it only took me two hours, but unfortunately I was there for six. Here's what happened:
I texted the salesperson I have been working with since April and gave him the details of my current vehicle and what I thought was the trim model of the vehicle I wanted. That's where I screwed up. I gave him the wrong trim level. He said I have it, come on down. Okay. I get there and go that's not the right model. Realized my mistake. We then had to figure out the right trim model based on features and packages. Once we got that situated, we realized he didn't have one on the lot. His manager then had to track one down. He managed to find one at a reasonably close other dealer. While he negotiated with them, I started in on paperwork. Finally they came to a deal with the other dealership and got the vehicle sent over. It was coming from downtown in rush hour. There's the big delay. Sigh. All in all though, I had the first pleasant car buying experience I have had in 30 years of buying cars. It came down to this:
-- I had a decent down, $2500
-- My current vehicle was worth more than owed. First time EVER for that. I got $1600 towards the new vehicle
-- My credit score came back at 775
All of those factors made this transaction smooth and easy. I got the car I wanted at the price I wanted at the monthly I wanted. I am now saving $125 a month. Over the course of the lease that's $4500 saved over my previous vehicle. More features than the last one too. I know it's going to sit in the garage for the next week, but it's done. Oh, I ended up getting a 2018 Nissan Rogue SV AWD. All the bells and whistles and then some. Things I like, for example, the mirrors tilt down when you put it in reverse, it has a full panoramic roof that is fully adjustable, the bag section has a cargo net and cover - little things like that. OH and it has the cool no touch rear door. Just wave your foot under and boop it opens right up. Neat!
We did find a little tiny scratch/dimple on the car and they agreed to fix it. I have to bring it back in on the 27th for repair. No worries. Best dealership I have ever dealt with hands down.
During the day I worked on getting stuff done around the house. But since I lost from 3-9 I didn't get as much done as I wanted. That part sucked. I have to scramble today after class and I am not happy about that. Is what it is. I have to check in for my flight in an hour too. Still have to do a bunch of last minute things around here. It's going to be a busy afternoon. Then I leave at 2:30am tomorrow. Off to the Detroit. Now to deal with 15 students today. Fun times.
I texted the salesperson I have been working with since April and gave him the details of my current vehicle and what I thought was the trim model of the vehicle I wanted. That's where I screwed up. I gave him the wrong trim level. He said I have it, come on down. Okay. I get there and go that's not the right model. Realized my mistake. We then had to figure out the right trim model based on features and packages. Once we got that situated, we realized he didn't have one on the lot. His manager then had to track one down. He managed to find one at a reasonably close other dealer. While he negotiated with them, I started in on paperwork. Finally they came to a deal with the other dealership and got the vehicle sent over. It was coming from downtown in rush hour. There's the big delay. Sigh. All in all though, I had the first pleasant car buying experience I have had in 30 years of buying cars. It came down to this:
-- I had a decent down, $2500
-- My current vehicle was worth more than owed. First time EVER for that. I got $1600 towards the new vehicle
-- My credit score came back at 775
All of those factors made this transaction smooth and easy. I got the car I wanted at the price I wanted at the monthly I wanted. I am now saving $125 a month. Over the course of the lease that's $4500 saved over my previous vehicle. More features than the last one too. I know it's going to sit in the garage for the next week, but it's done. Oh, I ended up getting a 2018 Nissan Rogue SV AWD. All the bells and whistles and then some. Things I like, for example, the mirrors tilt down when you put it in reverse, it has a full panoramic roof that is fully adjustable, the bag section has a cargo net and cover - little things like that. OH and it has the cool no touch rear door. Just wave your foot under and boop it opens right up. Neat!
We did find a little tiny scratch/dimple on the car and they agreed to fix it. I have to bring it back in on the 27th for repair. No worries. Best dealership I have ever dealt with hands down.
During the day I worked on getting stuff done around the house. But since I lost from 3-9 I didn't get as much done as I wanted. That part sucked. I have to scramble today after class and I am not happy about that. Is what it is. I have to check in for my flight in an hour too. Still have to do a bunch of last minute things around here. It's going to be a busy afternoon. Then I leave at 2:30am tomorrow. Off to the Detroit. Now to deal with 15 students today. Fun times.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Y10 D52
What a day we had yesterday huh kids? My sister broke her ankle and the president committed treason. Woo! Fun times for all.
My boss fucked up yesterday and sent a reply all when he should have hit reply and pissed off a vendor. That was fun. Nice to see other people are human sometimes and have to eat crow. I've been there one too many times myself.
Worked on CBT stuff including finding a new piece of software so we can bring this in house and not have to worry about pissing off external vendors. I need to find one more piece of software to allow us to really do everything in house, but that's a bit more expensive right now.
The heat hasn't abated. Still hot. Still dying. Talked with B. Her mother closed on her new house yesterday and they spent quite a bit of time there.
Not much else going on. Today I have some more work to do in the above stuff, then I have to finish packing, clean the house, clean the fridge, and do laundry. Tomorrow is a 6am-2pm class and I won't have time to do much else before having to go to bed. Pickup on Thursday is 2:30am which is going to kill me. Sigh.
My boss fucked up yesterday and sent a reply all when he should have hit reply and pissed off a vendor. That was fun. Nice to see other people are human sometimes and have to eat crow. I've been there one too many times myself.
Worked on CBT stuff including finding a new piece of software so we can bring this in house and not have to worry about pissing off external vendors. I need to find one more piece of software to allow us to really do everything in house, but that's a bit more expensive right now.
The heat hasn't abated. Still hot. Still dying. Talked with B. Her mother closed on her new house yesterday and they spent quite a bit of time there.
Not much else going on. Today I have some more work to do in the above stuff, then I have to finish packing, clean the house, clean the fridge, and do laundry. Tomorrow is a 6am-2pm class and I won't have time to do much else before having to go to bed. Pickup on Thursday is 2:30am which is going to kill me. Sigh.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Y10 D51
I won't complain about the heat. You know it happened, you know I hate it. Enough said.
I didn't leave the house yesterday except for a short walk to the convenience store next door. That turned out to be eventful in that I ran into my neighbor. I planned on offering him and his fiancee the extra AC unit we had in the garage. I had gone over there on Thursday I think it was and no one answered the door. Nor had I seen them walking their dog for a few days. Okay, so they're out of town. Well as I went out he happened to be coming out. I asked him if they had been gone.
"I was"
"oh, well I knocked and no one answered"
"Yeah XXXX left me and took the dog"
WTF? Turns out she had been demanding he change jobs the minute they got married because he has a screwy schedule like me and she didn't like it. Plus she wanted to be pregnant like the night they got married AND he has a job opportunity for six months in New Zealand where he can make some serious cash and she told him he couldn't take it. When he pushed back she left. These apparently were deal breakers for her. A four year relationship just done. Some juicy gossip there. He was doing okay. He seemed sad but not sad. More pissed off that she would leave like that without any discussion. Can't say as I blame him.
In other news, it took me all day but I have like 5000+ ROMs on the Pi. I had to get the ROMs on one machine, zip them, put them on Google Drive, then download them, unzip them, then move them to the USB from the SD. Needless to say, the one thing the Pi is not is fast on file transfers. It was about 10gb total and it really did take ALL day to finish. Now today I can do the final piece - hooking it to the TV. I have my HDMI switch out which will let me go between the PS4, the Switch, and the PI. Nerd heaven baby.
Went to bed around 11 but was too hot and tossed and turned all night. This is going to suck on Wednesday and Thursday as I have to be up early those two days. No playing around. I have to make sure I go and try and sleep early enough both days.
Today I have some odds and ends to deal with for work and that's about it.
I didn't leave the house yesterday except for a short walk to the convenience store next door. That turned out to be eventful in that I ran into my neighbor. I planned on offering him and his fiancee the extra AC unit we had in the garage. I had gone over there on Thursday I think it was and no one answered the door. Nor had I seen them walking their dog for a few days. Okay, so they're out of town. Well as I went out he happened to be coming out. I asked him if they had been gone.
"I was"
"oh, well I knocked and no one answered"
"Yeah XXXX left me and took the dog"
WTF? Turns out she had been demanding he change jobs the minute they got married because he has a screwy schedule like me and she didn't like it. Plus she wanted to be pregnant like the night they got married AND he has a job opportunity for six months in New Zealand where he can make some serious cash and she told him he couldn't take it. When he pushed back she left. These apparently were deal breakers for her. A four year relationship just done. Some juicy gossip there. He was doing okay. He seemed sad but not sad. More pissed off that she would leave like that without any discussion. Can't say as I blame him.
In other news, it took me all day but I have like 5000+ ROMs on the Pi. I had to get the ROMs on one machine, zip them, put them on Google Drive, then download them, unzip them, then move them to the USB from the SD. Needless to say, the one thing the Pi is not is fast on file transfers. It was about 10gb total and it really did take ALL day to finish. Now today I can do the final piece - hooking it to the TV. I have my HDMI switch out which will let me go between the PS4, the Switch, and the PI. Nerd heaven baby.
Went to bed around 11 but was too hot and tossed and turned all night. This is going to suck on Wednesday and Thursday as I have to be up early those two days. No playing around. I have to make sure I go and try and sleep early enough both days.
Today I have some odds and ends to deal with for work and that's about it.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Y10 D50
Triple digits and a heat advisory in effect for today. Sigh. Well I guess I am not leaving the house.
Luckily I did the errands I wanted to do yesterday. I got up early and took a drive to Fry's. I picked up some little things for the retro pie. I got a game controller, some cheap speakers, and a flash drive to store ROMs on. I am just about done configuring it. Right now I have N64, ColecoVision, and SNES games on there. Late last night I finished getting ROMs for more SNES, Atari 2600, GBA, Sega Genesis, Megadrive, and 32x. I want to add those plus NeoGeo today to finish it up. Once those are all added, I will move it to main TV.
That was my only excursion outside yesterday. Otherwise I stayed in. I dyed my hair, worked on the pi, made fish tacos, watched some tv, and didn't leave the house for the rest of the day. Talked to B. She went to the movies yesterday with her friend then spent the evening cleaning her grandparent's house. She has the whole house to herself right now as they are all at the lake. But that ends tonight or tomorrow. They will be coming back to bug her.
That's all that's going on with me. Not much else to report.
Luckily I did the errands I wanted to do yesterday. I got up early and took a drive to Fry's. I picked up some little things for the retro pie. I got a game controller, some cheap speakers, and a flash drive to store ROMs on. I am just about done configuring it. Right now I have N64, ColecoVision, and SNES games on there. Late last night I finished getting ROMs for more SNES, Atari 2600, GBA, Sega Genesis, Megadrive, and 32x. I want to add those plus NeoGeo today to finish it up. Once those are all added, I will move it to main TV.
That was my only excursion outside yesterday. Otherwise I stayed in. I dyed my hair, worked on the pi, made fish tacos, watched some tv, and didn't leave the house for the rest of the day. Talked to B. She went to the movies yesterday with her friend then spent the evening cleaning her grandparent's house. She has the whole house to herself right now as they are all at the lake. But that ends tonight or tomorrow. They will be coming back to bug her.
That's all that's going on with me. Not much else to report.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Y10 D49
It was too hot here yesterday. I was dying. Heat bad. Cold good. It really should be some kind of building code that places 10 years old or less have central air if there are more than two weeks of weather in the 95+ range. Yesterday is how people die.
I got my RetroPie setup! I am so proud of me! I built the pi, then had to manually install things from a command line. I love this little box. It's the cutest thing ever. I am taking a ride to Fry's this morning to see about getting a little controller and some cheap speakers for it. Nothing fancy. Like $5 speakers. The goal is to put it on the TV which will use the soundbar so this is more of a temp solution. I still need to add ROMs to it too. Before I do that I want to move the install files off the SD card and onto a USB. That's my other thing I want at Fry's. The biggest, cheapest I can find. These little pi boxes are really useful. They aren't fast or fancy but shit for using it as a front end for Kodi or RetroPie, they're perfect.
I also made some food with the goal of cleaning out the fridge. I made a mexican casserole type dish which used up a number of items.
I sweated. A lot. That was fun for no one. I think I will dye my hair today too. I am cranking through my to do list and that's one of the items. Got to look good before I get to MI on Thursday.
I got my RetroPie setup! I am so proud of me! I built the pi, then had to manually install things from a command line. I love this little box. It's the cutest thing ever. I am taking a ride to Fry's this morning to see about getting a little controller and some cheap speakers for it. Nothing fancy. Like $5 speakers. The goal is to put it on the TV which will use the soundbar so this is more of a temp solution. I still need to add ROMs to it too. Before I do that I want to move the install files off the SD card and onto a USB. That's my other thing I want at Fry's. The biggest, cheapest I can find. These little pi boxes are really useful. They aren't fast or fancy but shit for using it as a front end for Kodi or RetroPie, they're perfect.
I also made some food with the goal of cleaning out the fridge. I made a mexican casserole type dish which used up a number of items.
I sweated. A lot. That was fun for no one. I think I will dye my hair today too. I am cranking through my to do list and that's one of the items. Got to look good before I get to MI on Thursday.
Friday, July 13, 2018
Y10 D48
Sorry for the delay in today's post. I have been up almost an hour already but been paying bills, making car reservations, sending birthday wishes, etc. Big wheel keeps on turning.
I had an extraordinarily busy days yesterday. I got quite a bit accomplished. By staying up as late as I did, I was able to get a lot done for work, then I slept for 3 hours, and kept it going. I ended up completely cleaning my office closet, the patio storage, got rid of the old couch we had in the garage, recycling, and replacing our Apple TV with a Roku. That last one is interesting. The ATV we have is a 4th generation but we have been having issues with it. Especially on MKV files of 720 or higher. It does the decode on the fly and it struggled with some file types. Just not powerful enough to handle a 1GB+ file decode as rapidly as we'd like. Apple just hasn't kept up when it comes to the ATV. Not to mention the selection of available content. They are so focused on wanting you to buy shit from iTunes that they miss out on so much free content or content from other providers. Like it was a struggle to get Amazon video on there. Roku being more open has a lot more channels and options. I set up Plex, Netflix, and Hulu right away, but then also set up Amazon Video and Google Play video. Not to mention a number of free channel sources. So far I am happy with it and I like the interface better. The real test will be how B likes it.
While doing all of that, I also managed to answer numerous emails, work on a problem for a client, and cook a roast. Fucking renaissance man am I. I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. Oh wait. I wonder how many of you remember that song and the commercial. Enjoli - the 8 hour fragrance for the 24 hour woman. God, I'm old.
Finally relaxed around 10 and went to bed at 11. I still have a number of things left on my todo list for today. But it will be at a much slower pace. I am sore from everything I did yesterday. The goal is to get as much done as possible to let me have the weekend to myself. So far on track. Now to go make some mac and cheese for dinner...
I had an extraordinarily busy days yesterday. I got quite a bit accomplished. By staying up as late as I did, I was able to get a lot done for work, then I slept for 3 hours, and kept it going. I ended up completely cleaning my office closet, the patio storage, got rid of the old couch we had in the garage, recycling, and replacing our Apple TV with a Roku. That last one is interesting. The ATV we have is a 4th generation but we have been having issues with it. Especially on MKV files of 720 or higher. It does the decode on the fly and it struggled with some file types. Just not powerful enough to handle a 1GB+ file decode as rapidly as we'd like. Apple just hasn't kept up when it comes to the ATV. Not to mention the selection of available content. They are so focused on wanting you to buy shit from iTunes that they miss out on so much free content or content from other providers. Like it was a struggle to get Amazon video on there. Roku being more open has a lot more channels and options. I set up Plex, Netflix, and Hulu right away, but then also set up Amazon Video and Google Play video. Not to mention a number of free channel sources. So far I am happy with it and I like the interface better. The real test will be how B likes it.
While doing all of that, I also managed to answer numerous emails, work on a problem for a client, and cook a roast. Fucking renaissance man am I. I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. Oh wait. I wonder how many of you remember that song and the commercial. Enjoli - the 8 hour fragrance for the 24 hour woman. God, I'm old.
Finally relaxed around 10 and went to bed at 11. I still have a number of things left on my todo list for today. But it will be at a much slower pace. I am sore from everything I did yesterday. The goal is to get as much done as possible to let me have the weekend to myself. So far on track. Now to go make some mac and cheese for dinner...
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Y10 D47
I am running on about 3 hours of sleep right now. I didn't go to bed until after 2am. Why? Because I was actually working all night long. Yesterday the folks who are doing the final assembly of our CBT files found an error in two of the recordings. One of them happened to be one of the longer demos. Most demos come in around 4-5 minutes. This one is 16 minutes. Thrice the size of anything else. So of course that's the one where they find a fuck-up. Well, by the time they sent me the message saying it was fucked up, it was too late in the day to re-record due to heat and noise. Since B landed at 2am my time, I figured I would kill two birds with one stone - finish all my work including the re-records and stay up until she landed. I got home from dropping her off around 8pm and started in on my work. The plan worked well except that I want to get other stuff done today and that means I don't have time right now for sleeping. Oh well.
Spent the day working on my new class in the morning, then taught a 1/2 day session. When that was done I did take a nap in prep for my all nighter. At around 6:30 we left for the airport. There's a lot of summer construction work going on around here and we decided to take the back way to the airport. Smartest decision ever. It took about an hour, but I didn't sit in traffic for one second. We got to the airport relaxed and calm. I dropped her off at 7:20 and I was back home at 8:15 taking the same way back. From now on, I will only go that way. It was great. Three years and I finally learn how to go the back way. FML.
She is at her dad's right now sleeping. I don't expect to hear from her until at least noon. Me, I have shit to do.
Spent the day working on my new class in the morning, then taught a 1/2 day session. When that was done I did take a nap in prep for my all nighter. At around 6:30 we left for the airport. There's a lot of summer construction work going on around here and we decided to take the back way to the airport. Smartest decision ever. It took about an hour, but I didn't sit in traffic for one second. We got to the airport relaxed and calm. I dropped her off at 7:20 and I was back home at 8:15 taking the same way back. From now on, I will only go that way. It was great. Three years and I finally learn how to go the back way. FML.
She is at her dad's right now sleeping. I don't expect to hear from her until at least noon. Me, I have shit to do.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Y10 D46
I woke up at 2 knowing full well it wasn't a full sleep but I had been having an annoying dream and my brain wanted out of it. I fell back to sleep eventually but the second cycle wasn't long enough and I am groggy right now.
Got up yesterday and focused on my new class before my other class started. I wanted to get work done before, not after so I could have the afternoon. Doing the same thing today. I have about six demos left to build in the new class and I would like to get 3 done today and 3 tomorrow to leave me Friday free for edits and changes.
At 10 started my class. 9 out of 12 students were okay. One left abruptly (rude af), one had technical issues, and one was just not following. Thank goodness these are only half day classes. But I know some them will be back for the next full day session. Hopefully they will be sharper. Today I have another group, 15 total. We shall see how they do. Luckily though no technical issues or problems this time around.
Finished class at 2 on the dot and relaxed. Around 4:30 we decided we wanted pizza for dinner/leftovers tonight. We placed an order, went to the store while we waited, got our food and came home. I got some supplies at the store to help me clean my office closet while B is gone. I want to pack up some the clothes I don't wear, get the boxes I don't touch out of there, clean my cable box, etc. It's a big project but will help keep me distracted while she is gone. I made a to do list of things and have already begun knocking stuff off.
Got back and started in on some of the above. Hung some hooks in the office for my hats, started moving stuff around, you know, little stuff. Nothing fancy.
Dinner was good. We have found a new good pizza place we really like. Not cheap, but quality pizza is worth paying for in our opinion. It's fresh, good size, nice flavor. We like it. They have about 5 locations so not too big.
Went off to bed around 10:30 after checking B in for her flight. I managed to get her into 1st. This way we both get a first flight there and can suffer together in coach on the way home. She leaves tonight at 9pm, I leave next Thursday at 3am. She likes the overnight flight better. Not for me. Since she decided to use Alaska, she has a direct flight at least. I am hoping they feed her breakfast. We shall see. At least she will have a large seat to get comfy in. There are a lot of road closures right now and as a result traffic is sucking. I am planning on allowing 1 hour and 10 minutes at least for the drive tonight. I am also taking the back way to avoid freeways and traffic. Wish me luck on that. Coming home may be a bit rough too, but we shall see.
Got up yesterday and focused on my new class before my other class started. I wanted to get work done before, not after so I could have the afternoon. Doing the same thing today. I have about six demos left to build in the new class and I would like to get 3 done today and 3 tomorrow to leave me Friday free for edits and changes.
At 10 started my class. 9 out of 12 students were okay. One left abruptly (rude af), one had technical issues, and one was just not following. Thank goodness these are only half day classes. But I know some them will be back for the next full day session. Hopefully they will be sharper. Today I have another group, 15 total. We shall see how they do. Luckily though no technical issues or problems this time around.
Finished class at 2 on the dot and relaxed. Around 4:30 we decided we wanted pizza for dinner/leftovers tonight. We placed an order, went to the store while we waited, got our food and came home. I got some supplies at the store to help me clean my office closet while B is gone. I want to pack up some the clothes I don't wear, get the boxes I don't touch out of there, clean my cable box, etc. It's a big project but will help keep me distracted while she is gone. I made a to do list of things and have already begun knocking stuff off.
Got back and started in on some of the above. Hung some hooks in the office for my hats, started moving stuff around, you know, little stuff. Nothing fancy.
Dinner was good. We have found a new good pizza place we really like. Not cheap, but quality pizza is worth paying for in our opinion. It's fresh, good size, nice flavor. We like it. They have about 5 locations so not too big.
Went off to bed around 10:30 after checking B in for her flight. I managed to get her into 1st. This way we both get a first flight there and can suffer together in coach on the way home. She leaves tonight at 9pm, I leave next Thursday at 3am. She likes the overnight flight better. Not for me. Since she decided to use Alaska, she has a direct flight at least. I am hoping they feed her breakfast. We shall see. At least she will have a large seat to get comfy in. There are a lot of road closures right now and as a result traffic is sucking. I am planning on allowing 1 hour and 10 minutes at least for the drive tonight. I am also taking the back way to avoid freeways and traffic. Wish me luck on that. Coming home may be a bit rough too, but we shall see.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Y10 D45
I really despise the latest spam email scam that these scumbags are using these days. It appears to be an email asking you to confirm your un-subscription from a mailing list. Which we all know is going to confirm the exact fucking opposite. I fucking hate spam with all my being. Robo-calls, spam, unwanted scam phone calls, spoofing - all of it disgusts me. Do your fucking job FCC.
The fame pieces arrived yesterday to fix our damaged HP poster. Dropped that off. It should be back and ready by Thursday. That's a good piece of news.
Worked on my doc yesterday. I got approval to continue it and finish it this week. I should have plenty of time to take care of that. I have 1/2 a day today and tomorrow, then all of Thursday and Friday. I don't see any issues. But then again who knows what might crop up in the next couple of days.
Grilled some burgers last night even though the weather did a 180 and it was raining at 7pm. Not complaining mind you, just can't keep up. Today is supposed to be back in the 80s then jumping into the 90s the rest of the week. Eww. I did setup the AC units already and am ready for it, but eww. Fuck summer. It's a beautiful 51 in Melbourne right now. Winters in Portland, summer in Australia. I can handle that.
Watched some tv, went to bed around 10. That is all.
The fame pieces arrived yesterday to fix our damaged HP poster. Dropped that off. It should be back and ready by Thursday. That's a good piece of news.
Worked on my doc yesterday. I got approval to continue it and finish it this week. I should have plenty of time to take care of that. I have 1/2 a day today and tomorrow, then all of Thursday and Friday. I don't see any issues. But then again who knows what might crop up in the next couple of days.
Grilled some burgers last night even though the weather did a 180 and it was raining at 7pm. Not complaining mind you, just can't keep up. Today is supposed to be back in the 80s then jumping into the 90s the rest of the week. Eww. I did setup the AC units already and am ready for it, but eww. Fuck summer. It's a beautiful 51 in Melbourne right now. Winters in Portland, summer in Australia. I can handle that.
Watched some tv, went to bed around 10. That is all.
Monday, July 9, 2018
Y10 D44
Back to normal wake up times. I have two back east classes this week, tomorrow and Wednesday but I need to get back to getting up early out of habit. I also have bad indigestion this morning which makes no sense since I had chicken and rice for dinner. Nothing that should cause this kind of problem. Weird.
I baked yesterday. Made cornmeal upside down strawberry things. They came out well. They too shouldn't be causing indigestion but whatever. Time for me to live off mush and applesauce? More gruel sir?
The kid confirmed my present is on its way. I don't know if I mentioned what she got me or why I am so excited. She got me a raspberry pi 3 which I am going to use to make a retro pie gaming console. Yeah boy. All the games on one little box. I am very excited. I wish I had a wood working shop so I could build a cabinet for it and have my own arcade machine. Some day I will have rom for that.
Speaking of projects, I did some work in the garage yesterday. Soldered and repaired this metal hair thing B has. I got a torch and solder and the whole nine yards to fix it. Came out pretty good I think. I need to sand down some sharp edges, but otherwise not bad for someone who has never done metal jewelry work before.
I also swept and cleaned the garage floor while I was down there. It needed it. All the leaves in the world had decided to move into our garage.
Watched some TV, relaxed, went to bed around 11.
I baked yesterday. Made cornmeal upside down strawberry things. They came out well. They too shouldn't be causing indigestion but whatever. Time for me to live off mush and applesauce? More gruel sir?
The kid confirmed my present is on its way. I don't know if I mentioned what she got me or why I am so excited. She got me a raspberry pi 3 which I am going to use to make a retro pie gaming console. Yeah boy. All the games on one little box. I am very excited. I wish I had a wood working shop so I could build a cabinet for it and have my own arcade machine. Some day I will have rom for that.
Speaking of projects, I did some work in the garage yesterday. Soldered and repaired this metal hair thing B has. I got a torch and solder and the whole nine yards to fix it. Came out pretty good I think. I need to sand down some sharp edges, but otherwise not bad for someone who has never done metal jewelry work before.
I also swept and cleaned the garage floor while I was down there. It needed it. All the leaves in the world had decided to move into our garage.
Watched some TV, relaxed, went to bed around 11.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Y10 D43
Look at me starting my 50s by sleeping in. Go me. I got almost a full 8 hours of sleep. Well us old people, we need our sleep don't you know.
Had a good day yesterday. Thanks to all who wished me well. B's decorations were a big hit. As presents she got me some fun stuff including a cheese gun. A what? Yep. You take cheese and load it into this chamber then you use it to build or decorate. It's awesome.
We had a lovely dinner and didn't have to go downtown for once. It's nice to know there's a fine dining establishment in town. Dessert had a candle in it, but that was the extent of the festivities which is just fine with me.
Other than that, didn't do much at all which is okay. Today the plan is the same. Not much going on. B leaves in a few days and we may have to go to the store to make sure she has everything she needs. Toiletries and the like. Like last night she realized she was out of toothpaste and on the way home, while still dressed fancy, we popped into the store for travel toothpaste. That must have looked interesting.
The kid had to wait for payday to send my gift which means I will get something this week which is fine by me. Don't need her stretching herself for me. Not that important. And heck, my gift was going to Australia and that's a little hard to beat.
Had a good day yesterday. Thanks to all who wished me well. B's decorations were a big hit. As presents she got me some fun stuff including a cheese gun. A what? Yep. You take cheese and load it into this chamber then you use it to build or decorate. It's awesome.
We had a lovely dinner and didn't have to go downtown for once. It's nice to know there's a fine dining establishment in town. Dessert had a candle in it, but that was the extent of the festivities which is just fine with me.
Other than that, didn't do much at all which is okay. Today the plan is the same. Not much going on. B leaves in a few days and we may have to go to the store to make sure she has everything she needs. Toiletries and the like. Like last night she realized she was out of toothpaste and on the way home, while still dressed fancy, we popped into the store for travel toothpaste. That must have looked interesting.
The kid had to wait for payday to send my gift which means I will get something this week which is fine by me. Don't need her stretching herself for me. Not that important. And heck, my gift was going to Australia and that's a little hard to beat.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Y10 D42
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday dear me
Happy Birthday to me
I stayed up until midnight. Thanks to all who also did. B decorated while I slept. So many balloons. It looks really nice. It was a nice thing to wake up to for sure.
Didn't do much yesterday which is okay. I took it as an official day off so no issues there. Played video games, had tacos for dinner. Didn't leave the house except to get some groceries.
Dinner tonight. Looking forward to it. Just us.
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday dear me
Happy Birthday to me
I stayed up until midnight. Thanks to all who also did. B decorated while I slept. So many balloons. It looks really nice. It was a nice thing to wake up to for sure.
Didn't do much yesterday which is okay. I took it as an official day off so no issues there. Played video games, had tacos for dinner. Didn't leave the house except to get some groceries.
Dinner tonight. Looking forward to it. Just us.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Y10 D41
This is it. I am in the home stretch. The final hours of my 40s. What a decade this has been. I have done more in my 40s than my 20s and 30s combined I feel. Or at least things of more substance and depth. Yet, also of more stupidity because of the way my life turned out. Experimentation. Playing. Traveling. In my 20s I was a parent with responsibilities. A baby at home. A wife (who was sleeping with half the world mind you, but still). While I was still a parent in my 40s, it was different. Lots of things were different. I will miss my 40s. It was a period of discovery and acceptance. Of realizations about the world around me. About myself. I am coming out of them stronger in many ways. Softer too. A little less chip on my shoulder. Wiser? Maybe. Broader thinking that's for sure. But that's in part due to the experiences of the last few years too. Where do we go now sweet child?
Side note - to add on to my rant yesterday about stupidity: Facebook removes parts of declaration from a newspaper's account for 'hate speech'. Doomed to repeat. That's all we are. Doomed to repeat. May god have mercy on our souls.
Spent the day trying to finalize my new class. I sent it off for review to the group. Nothing back yet. I was not in a good mood yesterday and ended up getting in a fight with B last night. It was all my fault because my brain was not where it should have been and I was being annoying. I don't want to talk about it.
I am taking today off. Why? Because I want/need to. No other reason.
Tomorrow.
Side note - to add on to my rant yesterday about stupidity: Facebook removes parts of declaration from a newspaper's account for 'hate speech'. Doomed to repeat. That's all we are. Doomed to repeat. May god have mercy on our souls.
Spent the day trying to finalize my new class. I sent it off for review to the group. Nothing back yet. I was not in a good mood yesterday and ended up getting in a fight with B last night. It was all my fault because my brain was not where it should have been and I was being annoying. I don't want to talk about it.
I am taking today off. Why? Because I want/need to. No other reason.
Tomorrow.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Y10 D40
I'm not going to waste anyone's time by rehashing the past and elaborating on why yesterday night sucked. You all know already. Same shit different year.
I will say this however, I had a slight moment where I wondered why my attitude about this and so many other things has changed dramatically over the past few years. Alcohol. Or more specifically the lack thereof. Amusingly I had a dream about some drug people selling designer flavors of heroin. Weird. Anyway, I used to have more enjoyment of some stuff because everything is funny when you're drunk. Sober up and realize, shit isn't funny. Nothing is funny anymore.
Life is a piece of shit, when you look at it...
My dinner turned out pretty good. Steaks. Mashed. Corn. Traditional, simple cuisine for a summer day. The weather this far hasn't been horrible. Other than the bedroom, no AC units out and about. Although that steak may be over. It's up into the 90s by next week.
Tried sleeping around 10:30 but the noise kept me up until midnight. Fun stuff.
Going to try and finish my work today. Should make some progress. Two more days until my birthday.
I will say this however, I had a slight moment where I wondered why my attitude about this and so many other things has changed dramatically over the past few years. Alcohol. Or more specifically the lack thereof. Amusingly I had a dream about some drug people selling designer flavors of heroin. Weird. Anyway, I used to have more enjoyment of some stuff because everything is funny when you're drunk. Sober up and realize, shit isn't funny. Nothing is funny anymore.
Life is a piece of shit, when you look at it...
My dinner turned out pretty good. Steaks. Mashed. Corn. Traditional, simple cuisine for a summer day. The weather this far hasn't been horrible. Other than the bedroom, no AC units out and about. Although that steak may be over. It's up into the 90s by next week.
Tried sleeping around 10:30 but the noise kept me up until midnight. Fun stuff.
Going to try and finish my work today. Should make some progress. Two more days until my birthday.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Y10 D39
Well here it is, one of those days that is dreaded more than any other in our house. Boom boom day. The day the redneck white trash of this area come out to play and light themselves on fire. It already started last night. From 9:30 on they were out there popping and cracking. Idiots.
Spent the day working on the new class. Got quite a bit finished actually. I might have a good rough draft ready by Monday. I am happy about this. We went to the store in the evening. Been eating leftovers the last couple of days. Trying to clean the fridge out before we go. I did take care of renting a car at least for the time I am in MI. We debated whether to just use her grandfather's truck like we normally do, but since we have to drive to the wedding and it's an overnight trip and I get into the airport late and and and, I said screw it. I had a bunch of Avis points and it only ended up costing me $130 for a Ford Escape for 6 days. Not too bad. Most of that was taxes. The actual vehicle charge was $60. Fucking ridiculous.
That's about it. Only a few days left until my birthday. Boo.
Spent the day working on the new class. Got quite a bit finished actually. I might have a good rough draft ready by Monday. I am happy about this. We went to the store in the evening. Been eating leftovers the last couple of days. Trying to clean the fridge out before we go. I did take care of renting a car at least for the time I am in MI. We debated whether to just use her grandfather's truck like we normally do, but since we have to drive to the wedding and it's an overnight trip and I get into the airport late and and and, I said screw it. I had a bunch of Avis points and it only ended up costing me $130 for a Ford Escape for 6 days. Not too bad. Most of that was taxes. The actual vehicle charge was $60. Fucking ridiculous.
That's about it. Only a few days left until my birthday. Boo.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Y10 D38
When I lay down at night I think of all sorts of witty, complex things to write in the morning. By the time I wake up, they're gone. I need to start drafting these things right before going to bed maybe to capture all the wit and reflection so I don't end up with posts saying 'hurp dee durp'.
B and I read an article yesterday that got us into a very cool discussion about the state of the world. It was talking about how once again some baby boomer was complaining about technology. This time their wrath was aimed at things like Alexa and Google home. Let me summarize it for you:
"durr hburr! Technology Bad! Fire Scary! Edison was a witch!"
Look, I am sorry if your tiny feeble brain can't keep up. Just because YOU don't understand or can't see the broader application of a technology does not mean it's ruining today's youth. The irony of course is lost on them of how their parents swore rock n roll was the devil and all the tech of their days was ruining them. Fucking old people. Just die off already. Adapt or die bitches, adapt or die.
Worked on some issues for clients. One was fine, the other was fucking annoying. For the record, she is a baby boomer who doesn't want to learn anything but wants someone to do the work for her. I send her a sample solution and she complains because I didn't give her step by step instructions. Fuck off lady. I sent you a solution, break it apart. Non-analytical minds shouldn't be in analytical positions.
Also started work on a new class. I have three days to get it fleshed out and mostly done. I want to do the bulk today so I can goof on Thursday and Friday. At least Friday.
Worked with a framer and the people in Vegas on getting a framing job repaired. Wait, did I even tell you about our new HP poster? The place where we buy them had a new one come in and they emailed me while we were in Australia asking if we wanted it. 10 signatures, HPDH1 and 2, single poster. Um yeah we want it. Unfortunately it arrived with some damage to the frame. They are shipping a frame to a local framer and paying to have it redone for us. Spent some time on the phone and in email getting that arranged.
Leftovers for dinner. Same tonight. Marinated steaks for tomorrow.
Bed around 10:30.
B and I read an article yesterday that got us into a very cool discussion about the state of the world. It was talking about how once again some baby boomer was complaining about technology. This time their wrath was aimed at things like Alexa and Google home. Let me summarize it for you:
"durr hburr! Technology Bad! Fire Scary! Edison was a witch!"
Look, I am sorry if your tiny feeble brain can't keep up. Just because YOU don't understand or can't see the broader application of a technology does not mean it's ruining today's youth. The irony of course is lost on them of how their parents swore rock n roll was the devil and all the tech of their days was ruining them. Fucking old people. Just die off already. Adapt or die bitches, adapt or die.
Worked on some issues for clients. One was fine, the other was fucking annoying. For the record, she is a baby boomer who doesn't want to learn anything but wants someone to do the work for her. I send her a sample solution and she complains because I didn't give her step by step instructions. Fuck off lady. I sent you a solution, break it apart. Non-analytical minds shouldn't be in analytical positions.
Also started work on a new class. I have three days to get it fleshed out and mostly done. I want to do the bulk today so I can goof on Thursday and Friday. At least Friday.
Worked with a framer and the people in Vegas on getting a framing job repaired. Wait, did I even tell you about our new HP poster? The place where we buy them had a new one come in and they emailed me while we were in Australia asking if we wanted it. 10 signatures, HPDH1 and 2, single poster. Um yeah we want it. Unfortunately it arrived with some damage to the frame. They are shipping a frame to a local framer and paying to have it redone for us. Spent some time on the phone and in email getting that arranged.
Leftovers for dinner. Same tonight. Marinated steaks for tomorrow.
Bed around 10:30.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Y10 D37
One thing I have noticed in the last few days, is that I have been sleeping VERY soundly. Very vivid dreams as well. Dreams I can remember clearly. Like last night, I remember being in a bar with a very tiny person and having the ability to control the amount of light around me. After which I was trying to use a word processor in the rain. I know. Bizarre stuff. The light controlling thing though was really cool. Basically cast a shadow around me that was as light or dark as I wanted. Blend in. Kind of nifty.
Stayed inside for the most part yesterday. Did go out briefly in the morning to do a tank swap. I wanted to take care of it before everyone else did. I plan on grilling a couple of steaks on Wednesday mostly 'because I can' not because of any love of the day or what it stands for. Especially not this year. Riot downtown last night because of, call them what they are, piss ass white boy nazi wannabes. Fuck this country to be honest. I just want to make a steak.
Did slow cooked pork ribs for dinner last night. 4 hours at slow cook. They came out alright. Not entirely happy with the sauce, but it worked.
6 days. Whee.
Stayed inside for the most part yesterday. Did go out briefly in the morning to do a tank swap. I wanted to take care of it before everyone else did. I plan on grilling a couple of steaks on Wednesday mostly 'because I can' not because of any love of the day or what it stands for. Especially not this year. Riot downtown last night because of, call them what they are, piss ass white boy nazi wannabes. Fuck this country to be honest. I just want to make a steak.
Did slow cooked pork ribs for dinner last night. 4 hours at slow cook. They came out alright. Not entirely happy with the sauce, but it worked.
6 days. Whee.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Y10 D36
Didn't really do anything yesterday. We stayed inside for the majority of the day. I hate this keyboard sometimes. The space key sticks and it sits too far back. But I digress. I went out in the morning to get groceries and then we went out for sushi for dinner. That was our big outside adventure. The weather has been holding steady at mid 70s allowing us to get away without putting the AC units out. I plan to do it while B is gone before I head to MI. This way they are ready for when we get home together on the 24th. The longer I can avoid it, the better.
I had the most bizarre dreams last night. Alternate timelines. Dead people. Aliens. All in one dream. It was a full on movie. I woke up at 2:30 from it wide eyed and just shook. I still remember quite a bit of it too which is always weird.
Nothing planned for today. Okay. I am also hoping that since fireworks day falls on Wednesday the idiots around here can keep it together until then before lighting off their illegal crap. One can hope. No way we can go out of town this year.
I had the most bizarre dreams last night. Alternate timelines. Dead people. Aliens. All in one dream. It was a full on movie. I woke up at 2:30 from it wide eyed and just shook. I still remember quite a bit of it too which is always weird.
Nothing planned for today. Okay. I am also hoping that since fireworks day falls on Wednesday the idiots around here can keep it together until then before lighting off their illegal crap. One can hope. No way we can go out of town this year.
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