They need to start teaching technology classes in school. The number of people who don't know how to participate in a remote meeting is ridiculous. Yesterday was a severe clusterfuck in the morning.
First off, I was already tweaked from the whole beep beep beep shit. My classes yesterday were supposed to be two groups, one in the morning from 9-1 and then an afternoon one from 2 - 6. Well 9am comes and no one is connecting. At 9:15 I send everyone involved an email. Turns out these motherfuckers never sent the GTM info to the students. These are the most disorganized assholes in the world. Then they tried throwing ME under the bus saying how my message was unclear. I fucking went off. I sent them the info LAST Tuesday with explicit instructions. I even copied and pasted the exact words I sent from the thread. Simple answer is they didn't bother reading the entire email and wanted to blame me. Nope. No way.
My morning class ended up starting an hour late but I managed to get them through it. I went at a horrible pace AND to make it worse, I had six students, 3 were good at interacting, one was an idiot who kept unmuting, one was somewhere in between, and one never said a single word. I honestly don't even know if they were there. Whatever. I told them to spread the word to their coworkers of how things worked and what was expected. They must have because my afternoon group was much better EXCEPT for the fact that I had four students join who weren't on the list because the client didn't bother turning off registrations as they said they would. I need to know how many logins and what size server to have ready based on expected student count. It jumped from 9 to 14 for the afternoon. WTF?
And I still have 11 more days of teaching these people.
Add to this my coworker asking if we would be willing to give up our Saturday (because days don't matter any more according to him) to do a dry run of a new class. Sorry you don't have work to do right now buddy, but I am fully booked and there is no fucking way I am giving you 8 hours of a Saturday. Idiot.
Had leftovers for dinner and I was so exhausted I went to bed at 9:30. Literally fell right asleep too.
Okay. Let's do it again.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
Y11 D309
I am going to kill someone this morning. Since 2:45am there has been a beeping. I thought it was the smoke alarm in the hallway. I managed to fall back to sleep but that beeping was literally in every dream I had. I just got up, replaced the batteries AND IT IS STILL BEEPING. Turns out it was ALSO the CO2 beeping. Motherfucker. I unplugged that and one noise stopped. But the smoke alarm won't shut up. I just shoved it into the laundry room under a pile of clothes because I don't have time to deal with that shit right now.
ARGH.
Got a bunch accomplished yesterday. Moved one fish tank, spent time with B's sister, made steaks for dinner. Busy day. The weather was all over the map. One minute it was nice, the next it was a fucking wind storm and then it was rain. Whee.
Today starts 3 weeks of the TX client I was supposed to be done with already. At least I am working.
ARGH.
Got a bunch accomplished yesterday. Moved one fish tank, spent time with B's sister, made steaks for dinner. Busy day. The weather was all over the map. One minute it was nice, the next it was a fucking wind storm and then it was rain. Whee.
Today starts 3 weeks of the TX client I was supposed to be done with already. At least I am working.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Y11 D308
My back is killing me this morning. Don't know why, but it is. Luckily today is Sunday (right?) and I don't have anything to do. That I'm aware of at least.
My morning was hectic. I was up early so I could brave the grocery store. The big grocery store which used to be 24 hours is now 8am to 10pm. I got there at 7:45ish and there were at least 50 cars in the parking lot and about 20 people in line to get in. In the rain mind you. I waited until 7:55 and went and joined them. We mad dashed in and I was smarter than most by grabbing a wet cart from outside. It saved me a few precious seconds getting inside. Those seconds allowed me to get to the paper aisle quicker. Yeah, I know. But I got more toilet paper. Leave me alone. I also managed to get chicken, hamburger, and ribs. Things were moderately stocked but we were also the first ones through the door. I hate to think would be left for people showing up at 10am or later. I did manage to get 100% of everything on my list. Including toothpaste, all food items, bread flour (last one of those), and B's preferred flavor of a specific yoghurt. I rock. One thing I also picked up was a black light bar. We have decided to take the tarp off the couch downstairs but to do so we had to make 100% sure there was no remaining urine marks or smell. Hence the black light.
After being gone for over 90 minutes, made it back home with my bounty. Got everything put away and waited for B to get up. Once she was up we went down to the basement with the blacklight. What we found was a stain on the carpet from the previous owner. None of our cats have ever peed on a floor and it was so dried into the carpet it was invisible, except under the blacklight. Boom. Unfortunately I ran out of cleaning stuff and had to hit PetSmart. Not a bad trip. Was the only one in there and still got my 50% off deal. Got two gallons of cleaner for the price of 1. Also picked up another small cannister filter for the 36 gallon tank. We are moving that into my office and I need a silent filter for it. Got a $200 for $50 thanks to it already being on sale.
Got back, cleaned, and took care of some other cleaning around the house. B's sister came over in the afternoon. The 10 year old. We have agreed to help out by taking ONE child at a time to reduce stress and give them time apart. Made BBQ chicken with mac and cheese for dinner. After dinner, we watched Onward. CUTE AF. I had no expectations going into it and really enjoyed it. Finished the movie and played some games for a while. We played Set and Bananagrams.
Sent the kid to bed and unwound. Around 10:30 she wasn't feeling well and had a little hork moment. All was good and everyone went to bed.
Again, no plans for today. Might move the fish tank, but that's about it.
My morning was hectic. I was up early so I could brave the grocery store. The big grocery store which used to be 24 hours is now 8am to 10pm. I got there at 7:45ish and there were at least 50 cars in the parking lot and about 20 people in line to get in. In the rain mind you. I waited until 7:55 and went and joined them. We mad dashed in and I was smarter than most by grabbing a wet cart from outside. It saved me a few precious seconds getting inside. Those seconds allowed me to get to the paper aisle quicker. Yeah, I know. But I got more toilet paper. Leave me alone. I also managed to get chicken, hamburger, and ribs. Things were moderately stocked but we were also the first ones through the door. I hate to think would be left for people showing up at 10am or later. I did manage to get 100% of everything on my list. Including toothpaste, all food items, bread flour (last one of those), and B's preferred flavor of a specific yoghurt. I rock. One thing I also picked up was a black light bar. We have decided to take the tarp off the couch downstairs but to do so we had to make 100% sure there was no remaining urine marks or smell. Hence the black light.
After being gone for over 90 minutes, made it back home with my bounty. Got everything put away and waited for B to get up. Once she was up we went down to the basement with the blacklight. What we found was a stain on the carpet from the previous owner. None of our cats have ever peed on a floor and it was so dried into the carpet it was invisible, except under the blacklight. Boom. Unfortunately I ran out of cleaning stuff and had to hit PetSmart. Not a bad trip. Was the only one in there and still got my 50% off deal. Got two gallons of cleaner for the price of 1. Also picked up another small cannister filter for the 36 gallon tank. We are moving that into my office and I need a silent filter for it. Got a $200 for $50 thanks to it already being on sale.
Got back, cleaned, and took care of some other cleaning around the house. B's sister came over in the afternoon. The 10 year old. We have agreed to help out by taking ONE child at a time to reduce stress and give them time apart. Made BBQ chicken with mac and cheese for dinner. After dinner, we watched Onward. CUTE AF. I had no expectations going into it and really enjoyed it. Finished the movie and played some games for a while. We played Set and Bananagrams.
Sent the kid to bed and unwound. Around 10:30 she wasn't feeling well and had a little hork moment. All was good and everyone went to bed.
Again, no plans for today. Might move the fish tank, but that's about it.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Y11 D307
Yesterday was rough. I mean like really rough. I felt like I was getting pulled in 12 different directions. I was dealing with my students who were half paying attention, I had B working on one of our E-Learnings, I had the client for the next three weeks wants attention, marketing sending me emails, and cats whining. All at the same time. I was very stressed out all day long. The hardest part is having coworkers who normally would be busy, having free time on their hands and just bugging the shit out of me. I am sorry I am still focused and working but leave me the hell alone.
Oh man. I had the weirdest dream last night. Me, B, and the kid were all at some like outdoor flea market heading to a restaurant for dinner when all of sudden the moon just decided to crash into earth. Yeah, that was fun.
At this point though, it wouldn't surprise me.
Had turkey taco bowls for dinner. Watched Jumanji Next Level. Not bad for a sequel. Not as good as the first, but not bad. Danny DeVito added to it.
Trying to hit the grocery store this morning. Wish me luck. Need to strap on my gear and head out. Should I bring the crossbow or the shotgun? Oh wait. That's Doom. Or is it?
Oh man. I had the weirdest dream last night. Me, B, and the kid were all at some like outdoor flea market heading to a restaurant for dinner when all of sudden the moon just decided to crash into earth. Yeah, that was fun.
At this point though, it wouldn't surprise me.
Had turkey taco bowls for dinner. Watched Jumanji Next Level. Not bad for a sequel. Not as good as the first, but not bad. Danny DeVito added to it.
Trying to hit the grocery store this morning. Wish me luck. Need to strap on my gear and head out. Should I bring the crossbow or the shotgun? Oh wait. That's Doom. Or is it?
Friday, March 27, 2020
Y11 D306
We're starting to run low on a few little things and I am dreading going to the grocery store. I won't go tomorrow. Come hell or highwater, I am not going on a Saturday. Maybe early Sunday morning, but not tomorrow. Something tells me all these idiots will be out tomorrow. We had one client cancel a class because there employees don't seem to know how to work from home. I can empathize with that as I had one guy yesterday who has 4 children under the age of 8 running around his house. And people wonder why I make them stay muted.
That was my day. Teaching until almost 5. Had salmon for dinner.
Watched Birds of Prey last night. It was okay. It's not a bad movie, but it's also not good. The acting was fine, the actors were fine, but the story was meh. Disjointed, rambling. Just not interesting enough to keep my attention.
That was it. That was my day. I normally don't care about it being Friday, but today I do. I am done with this whole week.
That was my day. Teaching until almost 5. Had salmon for dinner.
Watched Birds of Prey last night. It was okay. It's not a bad movie, but it's also not good. The acting was fine, the actors were fine, but the story was meh. Disjointed, rambling. Just not interesting enough to keep my attention.
That was it. That was my day. I normally don't care about it being Friday, but today I do. I am done with this whole week.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Y11 D305
We think our 'neighbors' are drug dealers. More specifically, they are running some kind of grow house. A little backstory first. The house to the right of us went up for sale back in like November. It sold pretty quickly but no one 'moved' in. Since then we only see the occasional truck or work van parked in the driveway. Every now and then there's either an Escalade or a CTX parked in the driveway. We figured that someone was redoing the house to flip it because the house hadn't been updated. But yesterday we noticed something odd. The house is the same size as ours. It had one central ac unit outside a little smaller than our is. Well now they have that one PLUS one our size AND two more larger ones. Um, why do you need FOUR AC units on a house this size? It's not logical. Either you're covering the smell of something, working with chemicals, or?? I don't know if I should report it or not. If they're making meth or bombs there, I want to know. I don't want my house blowing up because of them. I also don't want shady people coming in and out all the time. Drive down my house value, I don't think so. But if they're just pot growers, well then meh. I don't care. It's a quandry.
Had one of the worst groups ever yesterday. Some people just don't know how to work from home. They don't have the right equipment or temperament for it. Plus 4 of my 15 didn't belong in the class. Period. They didn't take the prerequisite class and it showed. We went 5 minutes over which always pisses me off.
Had hamburger helper for dinner because why not. Don't worry, having salmon tonight to make up for it. Have to plan a new menu for next week to see if I need to hit the grocery store or not. I am trying to wait until next Wednesday. I have a doctor's appointment that day and was going to go to the store the same time. One trip out of the house instead of multiple. Things seemed a little calmer outside yesterday. But I am truly fed up with people saying it's okay if people die if the market needs it. Fuck your market.
I have been playing animal crossing like everyone else and I have paid off the loan you get for a house. If only in real life I could pay my mortgage off by selling tree branches and seashells. Man the world would be a better place.
Tried watching Birds of Prey. I say tried because I am like 45 minutes it and ugh, the story is just awful. Acting fine, filming fine, story stupid. I don't know if I will finish it or not. We will see.
Two days of a different group of five starts today. Let's hope they are better than yesterday's group.
Had one of the worst groups ever yesterday. Some people just don't know how to work from home. They don't have the right equipment or temperament for it. Plus 4 of my 15 didn't belong in the class. Period. They didn't take the prerequisite class and it showed. We went 5 minutes over which always pisses me off.
Had hamburger helper for dinner because why not. Don't worry, having salmon tonight to make up for it. Have to plan a new menu for next week to see if I need to hit the grocery store or not. I am trying to wait until next Wednesday. I have a doctor's appointment that day and was going to go to the store the same time. One trip out of the house instead of multiple. Things seemed a little calmer outside yesterday. But I am truly fed up with people saying it's okay if people die if the market needs it. Fuck your market.
I have been playing animal crossing like everyone else and I have paid off the loan you get for a house. If only in real life I could pay my mortgage off by selling tree branches and seashells. Man the world would be a better place.
Tried watching Birds of Prey. I say tried because I am like 45 minutes it and ugh, the story is just awful. Acting fine, filming fine, story stupid. I don't know if I will finish it or not. We will see.
Two days of a different group of five starts today. Let's hope they are better than yesterday's group.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Y11 D304
As I feared, very little has changed outside. In a two minute window I counted 17 cars go past on the street outside. You can't tell me they're all "essential". Don't get me wrong, I figure they are going to work but the question is, what kind of work? I am disgusted at how people in this country are willing to sacrifice people's lives in order to make a profit. 1.5 trillion can be found for wall street, but not for blue collar and service industry people? Seriously? People talking about workers going back by the 13th. Once again I have to remind everyone, there's no magic date. It's not like all the little virus clusters are just going to vanish on 4/13. Every single CEO, politician, and the like should be ashamed of themselves for their behavior. "We don't want the cruise ship industry to fail!" Well why the fuck not? Why do they deserve money but my friend who literally works at a hardware store, can't have paid time off? These people cause my stomach to hurt.
I spent the day recording. Finished up my stuff around 2. We had leftover soup for dinner. I have meals planned through Saturday. We have enough food to go at least another week+ without having to go to the store.
Around 8 (of course), B got an itch to do shit in the basement. She started ripping out pieces of wall in the laundry room/her cave. She is not dealing with 'doing nothing' as well as I am. Her whole generation needs to just chill the fuck out.
I am tired and frustrated today. And I have 15 students to teach from 9 to 5. Good times.
I spent the day recording. Finished up my stuff around 2. We had leftover soup for dinner. I have meals planned through Saturday. We have enough food to go at least another week+ without having to go to the store.
Around 8 (of course), B got an itch to do shit in the basement. She started ripping out pieces of wall in the laundry room/her cave. She is not dealing with 'doing nothing' as well as I am. Her whole generation needs to just chill the fuck out.
I am tired and frustrated today. And I have 15 students to teach from 9 to 5. Good times.
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Y11 D303
Well, as of 6 hours ago, MI has joined the SIP club. That's Shelter In Place for those few of you who are living in a free state still. We are confined until 4/13. Three weeks. I have enough food and supplies. Hopefully we will only need to go to the store once or twice in that time for some basics. Gonna change my name to Gordon Freeman and start a revolution. Let's see if these idiots take things a little more seriously now. Unlikely, but we shall see. When I go upstairs in a few to shower, I am going to peek outside and count how many cars. How many people think they are out there being 'essential'.
B did leave the house yesterday and while I didn't go, I understand why she did. Her sister's birthday is Friday which is now ruined. I know that if my 14th birthday got ruined like this I would be pretty pissed off. They had a SMALL impromptu celebration at B's mom's house. Everyone stayed 6 ft away from each other too. B gave her a print out of the MCR tickets. I have a video of it. She nearly has a panic attack. She couldn't believe it was real. Gave the kid some hope to make it through all this bullshit. Last night was supposed to be Billie Eilish for B so seeing her sister happy helped ease that annoyance.
I spent the day recording. Almost through this class. So very close. I should finish today. I also got full confirmation that starting next Monday I will be teaching for a minimum of 4 weeks straight. That takes care of my needs for a while. I will have salary coming in for at least the next month.
That was my day. B broke down on the way home and brought taco bell since it will be the last time she can have it for a while. Speaking of things like that, I was pondering last night how many smokers, addicts, etc are going to be going through some forced withdrawals. Plus since apparently liquor stores are essential, how many domestic abuse cases will there be? How many people will die because they're trapped in a house with an abuser and potentially a drunk abuser who has no place to go and nothing to do but beat their partner and kids? Fun times.
Welcome to the true Republic of Fear and Loathing. Thank goodness we have competent leadership in charge. Oh wait. We're fucked.
B did leave the house yesterday and while I didn't go, I understand why she did. Her sister's birthday is Friday which is now ruined. I know that if my 14th birthday got ruined like this I would be pretty pissed off. They had a SMALL impromptu celebration at B's mom's house. Everyone stayed 6 ft away from each other too. B gave her a print out of the MCR tickets. I have a video of it. She nearly has a panic attack. She couldn't believe it was real. Gave the kid some hope to make it through all this bullshit. Last night was supposed to be Billie Eilish for B so seeing her sister happy helped ease that annoyance.
I spent the day recording. Almost through this class. So very close. I should finish today. I also got full confirmation that starting next Monday I will be teaching for a minimum of 4 weeks straight. That takes care of my needs for a while. I will have salary coming in for at least the next month.
That was my day. B broke down on the way home and brought taco bell since it will be the last time she can have it for a while. Speaking of things like that, I was pondering last night how many smokers, addicts, etc are going to be going through some forced withdrawals. Plus since apparently liquor stores are essential, how many domestic abuse cases will there be? How many people will die because they're trapped in a house with an abuser and potentially a drunk abuser who has no place to go and nothing to do but beat their partner and kids? Fun times.
Welcome to the true Republic of Fear and Loathing. Thank goodness we have competent leadership in charge. Oh wait. We're fucked.
Monday, March 23, 2020
Y11 D302
Are you kidding me? I wake up this morning to find the outside world COVERED IN SNOW. Seriously? Snow?? Because there isn't enough going on right now? Nah fam we need some snow to deal with too because why not! Snow. JFC.
Well we stayed in yesterday as planned. Didn't leave the house once. Unlike our neighbors across the street who, like last Sunday, had 10 cars in their driveway. My bet is it's some church thing. They can't go to regular church right now so they all go over and prey, er I mean pray.
Not us thank you very much. I made ham and bean soup which took 8 hours of soaking and 2.5 hours of simmering. Came out really good. I was pleased with it. And it resulted in at least 2-3 days of leftovers. I feel like I have actually lost some weight these last couple of weeks from eating at home and eating healthier. That's a plus. I know our dining out spend has gone down. Our grocery has seriously gone up, but it will flatten out over the course of April. We shouldn't have to spend much more in April except on a few small things and still not leaving the house. I feel like people think there's a magic date where everything will just be back to normal but I don't think that will be the case. I think this will just linger on for a while. I estimate it will be late April before we start seeing some 'normalcy' in the world.
What else did I do yesterday? Played video games. Cleaned the floors. Prepped for this week. I have 2 days of recording and 3 days of teaching this week. Then starting next week I have 4 days for three weeks straight of teaching. M-Th. Teaching my Texas folks. So a few hundred students. Fun times.
Fucking snow. What the hell?
Well we stayed in yesterday as planned. Didn't leave the house once. Unlike our neighbors across the street who, like last Sunday, had 10 cars in their driveway. My bet is it's some church thing. They can't go to regular church right now so they all go over and prey, er I mean pray.
Not us thank you very much. I made ham and bean soup which took 8 hours of soaking and 2.5 hours of simmering. Came out really good. I was pleased with it. And it resulted in at least 2-3 days of leftovers. I feel like I have actually lost some weight these last couple of weeks from eating at home and eating healthier. That's a plus. I know our dining out spend has gone down. Our grocery has seriously gone up, but it will flatten out over the course of April. We shouldn't have to spend much more in April except on a few small things and still not leaving the house. I feel like people think there's a magic date where everything will just be back to normal but I don't think that will be the case. I think this will just linger on for a while. I estimate it will be late April before we start seeing some 'normalcy' in the world.
What else did I do yesterday? Played video games. Cleaned the floors. Prepped for this week. I have 2 days of recording and 3 days of teaching this week. Then starting next week I have 4 days for three weeks straight of teaching. M-Th. Teaching my Texas folks. So a few hundred students. Fun times.
Fucking snow. What the hell?
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Y11 D301
None of these people here are taking any of this shit seriously. I went out twice yesterday. One was an essential trip and the other was supposed to be no contact. In both cases, the sheer number of people out was astounding. But worse were the number of businesses still open. NON-ESSENTIAL businesses. Things like a fucking bakery. For wedding cakes. Liquor stores. LUMBER LIQUIDATORS. Flooring is not essential people. My essential trip? Pet store for food for the idiot fish. We didn't realize we were out of worms. The second trip? We went to Lumber Liduidators because in the back they have palletes they throw away that people can have. I didn't expect them to still be fucking open. On the road people were coming and going like it was a nomal Saturday. These were old people too. The ones who should be staying inside. B's grandmother is still working. At a grocery store. WTF?
Other than that small trip outside, I didn't leave. I stayed in and played video games. Like a lot of people, I purchased 2 video games on Friday. One for the PC, one for the Switch. These games couldn't be more different. On one, it's brightly colored and soothing. The other is literally Hell on Earth. Oddly enough, I'm enjoying both.
Made slow cooked ribs yesterday. They came out perfect. I was extremely pleased.
Today I am making ham and bean soup and not leaving the goddamn house. At all.
Other than that small trip outside, I didn't leave. I stayed in and played video games. Like a lot of people, I purchased 2 video games on Friday. One for the PC, one for the Switch. These games couldn't be more different. On one, it's brightly colored and soothing. The other is literally Hell on Earth. Oddly enough, I'm enjoying both.
Made slow cooked ribs yesterday. They came out perfect. I was extremely pleased.
Today I am making ham and bean soup and not leaving the goddamn house. At all.
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Y11 D300
The revolution came
but not with a bang, only a weak whisper
the people afraid accepted whatever they were told
'Stay inside! Stay away! It's for your own good'
But while they were cowering, others had plans
They laughed behind closed doors and said
'Now's the time for us to do what we want!'
So they plotted and schemed and told the people
'It's for your own good we must have control! We must stop the enemy! We must have power to help you!'
And the people who were afraid saw saviours not devils.
'But we are hungry and there is no food.' they cried
And the rich threw crumbs out the windows from between the bars and proclaimed
'Are we not good? We share with you our scraps so you can eat!'
The people rejoiced to have the scraps because this must be all there is they thought
'No one would hoard or keep the basics from us in these trying times, that would be insane. No human is that cruel'
But what they didn't know was that these weren't humans.
And after throwing the scraps the demons laughed mightily.
And they hid not in the shadows anymore.
They laughed in the bright light and plain view.
They prayed to Bacchus as they drank their wine
and the Old Gods as they ate at their tables laid out with delacies.
For they cared not what they people thought any more.
The revolution had come.
And we lost.
but not with a bang, only a weak whisper
the people afraid accepted whatever they were told
'Stay inside! Stay away! It's for your own good'
But while they were cowering, others had plans
They laughed behind closed doors and said
'Now's the time for us to do what we want!'
So they plotted and schemed and told the people
'It's for your own good we must have control! We must stop the enemy! We must have power to help you!'
And the people who were afraid saw saviours not devils.
'But we are hungry and there is no food.' they cried
And the rich threw crumbs out the windows from between the bars and proclaimed
'Are we not good? We share with you our scraps so you can eat!'
The people rejoiced to have the scraps because this must be all there is they thought
'No one would hoard or keep the basics from us in these trying times, that would be insane. No human is that cruel'
But what they didn't know was that these weren't humans.
And after throwing the scraps the demons laughed mightily.
And they hid not in the shadows anymore.
They laughed in the bright light and plain view.
They prayed to Bacchus as they drank their wine
and the Old Gods as they ate at their tables laid out with delacies.
For they cared not what they people thought any more.
The revolution had come.
And we lost.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Y11 D299
I didn't go to bed until after 2am last night. I've had about 5 hours of sleep. Partially by choice, partially because fuck people. In the morning I went to Petsmart where I picked up a few things we had missed. So I was there right at 9 when they opened and back home by 9:30. I then had a couple of hours to kill until class. Class went until 7ish. After I satrted setting up the new cannister filter. I don't think it's working quite right. I think my hoses are too long and it can't get the push it needs. I have to cut them today and see if it works better. Now, instead of going to bed at a decent time, B and I had the wonderful idea we would try late night grocery shopping. On one hand it was a smart thing. Starting today, the big grocery store by us, which is normally 24 hours, will be closed from 10p - 8am so they can actually restock shelves. A smart deicsion on the part of the store. No complaints on that. But the store itself was fucking packed. We got in line at midnight and there were four people ahead of us. TWO of them had multiple baskets. We didn't get out of there until 12:50. Almost an hour in line. And there were a good 10 people behind me. We got 80% of what we needed. I need to hit the little store next to me to see if they have the remaining couple of things. I will head over there shortly. After I pay bills and the like.
The kid got some news. She is one of the very few who gets to keep part of her job. She is on half hours for the future but she does get to claim unemployment. Assuming the government can keep up, she should get about 85%-90% of her normal pay. But last night her whole state is now on shelter in place. No leaving the house for anything short of an emergency.
WTF is happening? I have never been through anything this crazy. Part of it is the leadership of course. "Chinese virus". Fucking moron. Racist asshole. Frankly they're the one people who have the best chance of helping us. They probably already have a vaccine but why would they share it with a cunt like him? Again, anyone I know who still stands behind this administration is dead to me. Plain and simple. You're dead to me.
I have recordings to do today. Next week I have three days of confirmed classes, then I start 3 weeks for folks in Texas. Then 2 weeks for folks in Sacramento. So six weeks of work for sure. After that, who knows. I am really hoping the world is a better place in six weeks. God save us all.
The kid got some news. She is one of the very few who gets to keep part of her job. She is on half hours for the future but she does get to claim unemployment. Assuming the government can keep up, she should get about 85%-90% of her normal pay. But last night her whole state is now on shelter in place. No leaving the house for anything short of an emergency.
WTF is happening? I have never been through anything this crazy. Part of it is the leadership of course. "Chinese virus". Fucking moron. Racist asshole. Frankly they're the one people who have the best chance of helping us. They probably already have a vaccine but why would they share it with a cunt like him? Again, anyone I know who still stands behind this administration is dead to me. Plain and simple. You're dead to me.
I have recordings to do today. Next week I have three days of confirmed classes, then I start 3 weeks for folks in Texas. Then 2 weeks for folks in Sacramento. So six weeks of work for sure. After that, who knows. I am really hoping the world is a better place in six weeks. God save us all.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Y11 D298
Yesterday was bad. Like really bad. The biggest news is that the kid is being furloughed. She doesn't know for how long or if she will lose 100% of her hours. She got a company wide email last night and was told each employee would be called individually. As of 11:30pm last night my time, she hadn't been called. Luckily she can file unemployment and she as 5 figures of savings. But still, this is fucked up. It also makes me feel a little guilty. Because here we are in the middle of everything doing a house refi to be able to take advantage of the situation. My loan guy got back to me yesterday and says he can save me $200 a month. People around us our losing their jobs and what is this fucking administration doing? Nothing. I swear to god, if anyone tells me they vote for this motherfucker in 2020, I will no longer speak to them. This administration needs to be taken out and shot for their behavior. I don't want to hear "my vote doesn't matter" from anyone ever again. I see people defending this turd and can't comprehend their brains.
Also yesterday, two of my students were late and while we were waiting one guy was like "oh bad earthquake in SLC". I'm like wait, what? The two students missing? In UT. Seriously. Right in the middle of it. One other one managed to join and was like yeah my coworkers have no power. He then got evacuated right around lunch because of aftershocks.
What the fuck is going on? Mom's coming round to put back the way it ought to be? Wipe the human scourge off the earth?
Learn to swim.
Also yesterday, two of my students were late and while we were waiting one guy was like "oh bad earthquake in SLC". I'm like wait, what? The two students missing? In UT. Seriously. Right in the middle of it. One other one managed to join and was like yeah my coworkers have no power. He then got evacuated right around lunch because of aftershocks.
What the fuck is going on? Mom's coming round to put back the way it ought to be? Wipe the human scourge off the earth?
Learn to swim.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Y11 D297
This self imposed exile is wreaking havoc on B's sleep schedule. She's napping at odd times, staying up until 3am, etc. Which isn't a problem until I need her to be up at a certain time to go somewhere. Then of course I'm the bad guy. To me this is just like being on the road. Keep normal schedules, don't deviate. Because when you do, you get screwed. I wonder how many people who've never worked from home or had to stay in the house are struggling too. I went to the store early yesterday and the number of people on the road surprises me. Who is still going to work? Are there that many service related, retail, or essential workers in this area? Or do you all think you're impervious to getting ill? Had another upcoming appointment canceled yesterday. No eyelashes for me. Today I am calling the doctor to see if my April 1st appointment is still on. I would say it's a 50/50 shot at this point. As for my work, I have three clients all competing for weeks of my time. One wants three weeks straight, the other 2. With current commitments, that puts me into May as far as having shit to do. Not a bad thing.
I spent the day recording. Got 3 of 8 modules completed. I should get through the remainder on Friday. Today and tomorrow I have to break to teach a group of 7 some other stuff.
Had corned beef for dinner because duh. Also it made leftovers for at least two days.
I need to learn how to drywall. We were discussing some things we want to do in the basement last night and none of them are extreme changes, but they require putting up some walls. Adjust the walls in the laundry room, make me a new office so we can turn this into a bathroom, and wall off the movie area. A large chunk of that could be easily completed if I new how to drywall. Or I wait until B's dad has had his work dry up and he finds himself with free time. Come over and keep yourself busy drywalling my basement.
My back hurts. I need to go soak it before class starts in 4.5 hours. Ugh. Yeah these two days are 11:30-7:30 again. Bleh.
I spent the day recording. Got 3 of 8 modules completed. I should get through the remainder on Friday. Today and tomorrow I have to break to teach a group of 7 some other stuff.
Had corned beef for dinner because duh. Also it made leftovers for at least two days.
I need to learn how to drywall. We were discussing some things we want to do in the basement last night and none of them are extreme changes, but they require putting up some walls. Adjust the walls in the laundry room, make me a new office so we can turn this into a bathroom, and wall off the movie area. A large chunk of that could be easily completed if I new how to drywall. Or I wait until B's dad has had his work dry up and he finds himself with free time. Come over and keep yourself busy drywalling my basement.
My back hurts. I need to go soak it before class starts in 4.5 hours. Ugh. Yeah these two days are 11:30-7:30 again. Bleh.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Y11 D296
Bah I don't know what to say this morning. I am in a blah kind of space right now. No, it has nothing to do with being at home. I mean, it does, but because I was supposed to be on week three of texas this week not because of stupid COVID. My boss finally sent a message about things last night. My coworker is worried about layoffs. She has every right to be worried but in my mind the people who will go first are the ones where you have to ask "what do you do all day?". We have a few of those where I don't think the impact of losing them would be all that bad. If I were to get laid off, I would be at the end of the list. Not saying it wouldn't happen, but I wouldn't be in the first round or two.
Spent the day recording. Got all of the slide audio tracks down. Over 200 slides laid down. My other coworker has one client who wants me onsite but won't say when. Um, dude, your area just went into fucking lockdown. I am not traveling anywhere. All domestic flights are about to be shut down. Just do it remote like everyone else is you potato.
Grilled cheese and soup last night. Tonight is of course corned beef. Tis the day.
I don't know what else is going on. The world is falling to shit. Old people are trying to pass through sneaky ass legislation. Good job all of you who put this administration in office. Hope you enjoy your non-ecrypted data. Welcome to the Police State for real. I do love how other countries are starting to defer mortgages, reduce bills, but not here. Nope. Here we are trying to strip away freedoms under "protection" acts. Here we just plow through like bulls in a fucking china shop. I dread reading the news each morning now because I can't handle whatever atrocities this administration has created overnight. Good times.
It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine.
Spent the day recording. Got all of the slide audio tracks down. Over 200 slides laid down. My other coworker has one client who wants me onsite but won't say when. Um, dude, your area just went into fucking lockdown. I am not traveling anywhere. All domestic flights are about to be shut down. Just do it remote like everyone else is you potato.
Grilled cheese and soup last night. Tonight is of course corned beef. Tis the day.
I don't know what else is going on. The world is falling to shit. Old people are trying to pass through sneaky ass legislation. Good job all of you who put this administration in office. Hope you enjoy your non-ecrypted data. Welcome to the Police State for real. I do love how other countries are starting to defer mortgages, reduce bills, but not here. Nope. Here we are trying to strip away freedoms under "protection" acts. Here we just plow through like bulls in a fucking china shop. I dread reading the news each morning now because I can't handle whatever atrocities this administration has created overnight. Good times.
It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Y11 D295
"Social distancing". What a phrase. We used to call it 'stay the fuck home' but I guess that's too intense for today's society. The fed dropped rates to .25 yesterday. WTF? UK implemented draconian police state measures. The dystopia is upon us kids. Of course we're one of the few countries where bills aren't being waived or there's leniency. Oh no. Big corp still needs their fucking blood money. Can't work? Tough. We will hit you with a fine and ruin your credit. That's life. Sucks to be you.
Thank GOD I have a job where demand my actual go up. For now. I think those who are smart will realize the importance of needing accurate data more than ever. Could be our saving grace. We shall see. I am happy this all calms down as we get through April. Again, we shall see.
No, we didn't leave the house yesterday. We stayed in and practiced our social distancing. I did wonder how many idiots gathered in churches yesterday. Pray the sick away! Because they're magical buildings you know. I saw the neighbors across the street had like 10 cars out in front of it. How much you want to bet it's because they're all there to pray?
Here we did little. I played Diablo because season 20 started. B worked on her future backyard plans. Made sloppy joes for dinner. Seriously not much to report when you don't leave the house. Expect a week of that kind of update.
Thank GOD I have a job where demand my actual go up. For now. I think those who are smart will realize the importance of needing accurate data more than ever. Could be our saving grace. We shall see. I am happy this all calms down as we get through April. Again, we shall see.
No, we didn't leave the house yesterday. We stayed in and practiced our social distancing. I did wonder how many idiots gathered in churches yesterday. Pray the sick away! Because they're magical buildings you know. I saw the neighbors across the street had like 10 cars out in front of it. How much you want to bet it's because they're all there to pray?
Here we did little. I played Diablo because season 20 started. B worked on her future backyard plans. Made sloppy joes for dinner. Seriously not much to report when you don't leave the house. Expect a week of that kind of update.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Y11 D294
In all the hub-bub going on yesterday I almost forgot it was PI DAY! A happy belated pi day to all of you. I did remember in time to get some pie for dessert. Crisis averted. Now I wish you a 'happy' Ides of March! Whee.
28 degrees outside. It snowed briefly from about 10 until midnight last night. Not enough to stick but the fact that there was even snow, bleh.
I ran some errands in the morning. First was the pet store. Our local PetSmart is closing which is really sad because we do get a lot of stuff there. But on the upside, starting tomorrow they are going to have huge sales because they are fully liquidating that store. Nothing is getting sent back. Which means we can get some supplies and possibly more fish on the cheap. Don't be surprised if we end up with another tank. Also stopped at Ace and got a fish tape to run some cables through the ceiling. That didn't go as planned because the construction down here in the basement sucks. It's too janky for me to get the cable where I need it. That was 2 hours of my life wasted. But having a fish tape is not a bad thing in general to have so no complaints.
Spent the rest of the day in the house. We worked on cleaning the tank, just regular weekly maintenance. Made honey mustard chicken for dinner. Had pie for dessert. Not much else. I have a feeling things will be like that for a while.
Talked with the kid. She was feeling a little sick but it seems to have passed. Nothing to worry about on that end thankfully. I wonder what traffic is going to be like tomorrow. Not that I have to sit in it, but because schools will all be closed, if there will be quiet outside my window in the morning. My buddy who teaches high school math, is now recording his lectures and putting them on youtube. What a weird world we now live in.
28 degrees outside. It snowed briefly from about 10 until midnight last night. Not enough to stick but the fact that there was even snow, bleh.
I ran some errands in the morning. First was the pet store. Our local PetSmart is closing which is really sad because we do get a lot of stuff there. But on the upside, starting tomorrow they are going to have huge sales because they are fully liquidating that store. Nothing is getting sent back. Which means we can get some supplies and possibly more fish on the cheap. Don't be surprised if we end up with another tank. Also stopped at Ace and got a fish tape to run some cables through the ceiling. That didn't go as planned because the construction down here in the basement sucks. It's too janky for me to get the cable where I need it. That was 2 hours of my life wasted. But having a fish tape is not a bad thing in general to have so no complaints.
Spent the rest of the day in the house. We worked on cleaning the tank, just regular weekly maintenance. Made honey mustard chicken for dinner. Had pie for dessert. Not much else. I have a feeling things will be like that for a while.
Talked with the kid. She was feeling a little sick but it seems to have passed. Nothing to worry about on that end thankfully. I wonder what traffic is going to be like tomorrow. Not that I have to sit in it, but because schools will all be closed, if there will be quiet outside my window in the morning. My buddy who teaches high school math, is now recording his lectures and putting them on youtube. What a weird world we now live in.
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Y11 D293
I will admit, for the first time in my adult life, I had a moment of serious panic yesterday about everything that's going on. I went to the grocery store at 6:40am. My normal shopping time where there's usually 2 or 3 other people. Not yesterday. There were easily 10 to 20 times that amount. That was moment number 1 where the hairs on my neck went up. Second was when I started shopping. This was the bread and meat aisles:
Yeah. Which of course sent the panic down my spine. Then I went down the paper aisle. That too sent the panic flowing. I started to freak out and grabbed 3 packs of toilet paper and 2 things of paper towls. Why? Because it was starting to get to me too. They had no eggs at this store. The whole milk section was decimated. But I started to calm down as I hit other aisles. It occured to me that these people were only buying stupid stuff. Pasta? Plenty. Beans. Rice. Laundry detergent. SOAP for god's sake. Toothpaste. Shampoo. All the things that WILL run out that people need. So I calmed down and bought things like that. I bought cans of soup. I bought allegry medicine. Toothpaste. Deodarant. The stuff none of these people are thinking about. I did buy some beans for soup. I then looked closer at the meat section. Oh look, it's the hamburger and chicken you picked over. Look at how much ground turkey is there. Lamb. Seafood. All the stuff you damn midwesterners won't eat. Do I need bread? No, I fucking will make my own. I have a bread machine and there's plenty of yeast on the shelves. I went from panic to anger in a space of three aisles. Anger at people freaking out. Why is the water all gone BUT THE FILTER AND PITCHER SECTION FULLY STOCKED? My favorite? The JUICE aisle. FULLY STOCKED. I bought 2 gallons of orange and 2 gallons of white peach cran. But seriously, I had my pick. WTF people? It's a flu prep. You need liquids and juices. Okay. You people have never had earthquake drills. But you should have had winter storm drills. You should know how to stock up on things. I did spend about $200 but most of that was to calm B down. When she got up and saw everything I bought I could see the wave of relief spread over her. We now have more than enough ingredients and staples that we don't have to leave this house for a month. We have access to a backup generator if needed. We have candles, meds, and personal hygiene products. We're good.
I did go to a second store later to grab a couple of small things and saw that the slightly m ore expensive store was just fine. I ended up getting some chicken and a corned beef, plus some more lunch meat for lunches. That made me feel a little better. Oh and they had eggs. I have plenty of eggs and butter now in the house. We have shelf stable stuff that will take us a while.
When I got back, B finally got up around 1:30pm and we worked on putting everything away. Again, she was very relieved at my efforts and it helped to quash her anxiety considerably. Oh I also went to the vape shop and grabbed some coils and juice. I am glad I did as the guy there told me they were going to a reduced schedule only because it's him and his cousin who own/work at the place.
My coworker and I are both dealing with something but in different ways. Both here and where she is, they shut the schools down for 3 weeks. So now she has her 9 year old at home all day. I am helping her out next week by taking one of her classes again. It means two more 11:30-7:30 days, but I am okay with it because I understand why. Same thing here but we're going to help out B's parents by taking 1 of her sisters at a time so they don't kill each other. Lighten the load a bit for them.
On a similar note, I am sick of the 'copy and paste' email I keep getting from all these companies about how safety is their highest concern. If it wasn't LITERALLY the same email from all of them I would feel better. Some company is making a fortune right now with this template.
I think that's about all. Man that's a lot, I know. No plans for the weekend (duh) and we will see what the world looks like soon.
Yeah. Which of course sent the panic down my spine. Then I went down the paper aisle. That too sent the panic flowing. I started to freak out and grabbed 3 packs of toilet paper and 2 things of paper towls. Why? Because it was starting to get to me too. They had no eggs at this store. The whole milk section was decimated. But I started to calm down as I hit other aisles. It occured to me that these people were only buying stupid stuff. Pasta? Plenty. Beans. Rice. Laundry detergent. SOAP for god's sake. Toothpaste. Shampoo. All the things that WILL run out that people need. So I calmed down and bought things like that. I bought cans of soup. I bought allegry medicine. Toothpaste. Deodarant. The stuff none of these people are thinking about. I did buy some beans for soup. I then looked closer at the meat section. Oh look, it's the hamburger and chicken you picked over. Look at how much ground turkey is there. Lamb. Seafood. All the stuff you damn midwesterners won't eat. Do I need bread? No, I fucking will make my own. I have a bread machine and there's plenty of yeast on the shelves. I went from panic to anger in a space of three aisles. Anger at people freaking out. Why is the water all gone BUT THE FILTER AND PITCHER SECTION FULLY STOCKED? My favorite? The JUICE aisle. FULLY STOCKED. I bought 2 gallons of orange and 2 gallons of white peach cran. But seriously, I had my pick. WTF people? It's a flu prep. You need liquids and juices. Okay. You people have never had earthquake drills. But you should have had winter storm drills. You should know how to stock up on things. I did spend about $200 but most of that was to calm B down. When she got up and saw everything I bought I could see the wave of relief spread over her. We now have more than enough ingredients and staples that we don't have to leave this house for a month. We have access to a backup generator if needed. We have candles, meds, and personal hygiene products. We're good.
I did go to a second store later to grab a couple of small things and saw that the slightly m ore expensive store was just fine. I ended up getting some chicken and a corned beef, plus some more lunch meat for lunches. That made me feel a little better. Oh and they had eggs. I have plenty of eggs and butter now in the house. We have shelf stable stuff that will take us a while.
When I got back, B finally got up around 1:30pm and we worked on putting everything away. Again, she was very relieved at my efforts and it helped to quash her anxiety considerably. Oh I also went to the vape shop and grabbed some coils and juice. I am glad I did as the guy there told me they were going to a reduced schedule only because it's him and his cousin who own/work at the place.
My coworker and I are both dealing with something but in different ways. Both here and where she is, they shut the schools down for 3 weeks. So now she has her 9 year old at home all day. I am helping her out next week by taking one of her classes again. It means two more 11:30-7:30 days, but I am okay with it because I understand why. Same thing here but we're going to help out B's parents by taking 1 of her sisters at a time so they don't kill each other. Lighten the load a bit for them.
On a similar note, I am sick of the 'copy and paste' email I keep getting from all these companies about how safety is their highest concern. If it wasn't LITERALLY the same email from all of them I would feel better. Some company is making a fortune right now with this template.
I think that's about all. Man that's a lot, I know. No plans for the weekend (duh) and we will see what the world looks like soon.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Y11 D292
Fuck you media. Thanks for making my wife stay up until 3:30am with severe fucking anxiety because you have to turn this into a shit show about COVID-19. Just like everything fucking else in this country we can't approach things logically. Nope we have to over fucking react and make everyone panic. No liquids on planes. No concerts. No whatever. Welcome to the United Police States of Television. Fucking idiots. I am going to attempt to go to the grocery store this morning because I need shit and I ma worried that the crazies will have drained the shelves. Goddamn all of you.
My day was another long fucking day yesterday. One of my students was way over her head and kept unfucking muting and had the shittiest mic in the world. I could understand one word out three. Pissed me off all day. Didn't finish until almost 8 by the time I got through all the after class questions and bullshit. No more of these late classes. They fucking suck.
Basically went to bed when I was done. Shoved some food in my face, tried to decompress, couldn't, laid awake in bed for an hour.
Fuck this life.
My day was another long fucking day yesterday. One of my students was way over her head and kept unfucking muting and had the shittiest mic in the world. I could understand one word out three. Pissed me off all day. Didn't finish until almost 8 by the time I got through all the after class questions and bullshit. No more of these late classes. They fucking suck.
Basically went to bed when I was done. Shoved some food in my face, tried to decompress, couldn't, laid awake in bed for an hour.
Fuck this life.
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Y11 D291
Only 3 1/2 hours today until class starts because I slept in. I am feeling sluggish today. Not sick, but sluggish and achy. I haven't been around any humans so there's no logical reason I should be sick. But logic only goes so far.
It was a long day yesterday. Around 11 I started prepping for class and it was 8 by the time I wrapped everything up. Replay of that today. I didn't have time to do much of anything else.
One thing that is in play is a re-fi on the house. I got the loan app submitted and now I am waiting to see if it will happen. Just a point off. That's all I want. 1 point will save me thousands over the course of the loan. Cross your fingers for me.
Made it through season 1 of the old star trek. 2 more seasons to go then on to TNG. Whee!
It was a long day yesterday. Around 11 I started prepping for class and it was 8 by the time I wrapped everything up. Replay of that today. I didn't have time to do much of anything else.
One thing that is in play is a re-fi on the house. I got the loan app submitted and now I am waiting to see if it will happen. Just a point off. That's all I want. 1 point will save me thousands over the course of the loan. Cross your fingers for me.
Made it through season 1 of the old star trek. 2 more seasons to go then on to TNG. Whee!
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Y11 D290
Oh boy I have four hours until class starts! Lucky me! Ugh I hate these late start classes. I am doing this as a favor for my coworker but couldn't say no either. Two days of this crap. Sigh. I will get through it. I always do.
Spent the first part of the day setting up and testing my new microphone. I am very happy with the sound quality and the ease of use. I recorded sample files for my coworkers to hear as well. The mic does stereo, carioid, omni, and bidirectional recording. The carioid with gain at about 70% seems to produce the best results for my needs. I also tested it for a training session with my coworker and it did a good job. I plan to use it today for this class. We shall see how that goes.
After that I spent the rest of the day doing QA on a new class. I went to town on this and did it line by line of the demo section. I not only reviewed it for content, but how hard will it be to record it later since that will end up being my next task I am sure. There are 24 demos in the class and I made it through 10. I will finish up on Friday. At least this way I will have had a full week's worth of work.
Oh, big news, Pearl Jam is "postponed" until further notice. Fuck me. I was really looking forward to this trip and especially being able to spend time with the kid and friends. I need to text my buddy and let him know I won't be there for his wife's birthday now. Stupid panicking people. Stupid drug companies for not making a vaccine. Stupid universe.
Made lamb shoulder chops for dinner since B had bingo. Watched some Star Trek. Really bad episode last night. Some of them are just so awful that they can't even get the good cheesy factor. This was one of those. The graphics just made it hard to watch.
Went to bed around 11. That was my day.
Spent the first part of the day setting up and testing my new microphone. I am very happy with the sound quality and the ease of use. I recorded sample files for my coworkers to hear as well. The mic does stereo, carioid, omni, and bidirectional recording. The carioid with gain at about 70% seems to produce the best results for my needs. I also tested it for a training session with my coworker and it did a good job. I plan to use it today for this class. We shall see how that goes.
After that I spent the rest of the day doing QA on a new class. I went to town on this and did it line by line of the demo section. I not only reviewed it for content, but how hard will it be to record it later since that will end up being my next task I am sure. There are 24 demos in the class and I made it through 10. I will finish up on Friday. At least this way I will have had a full week's worth of work.
Oh, big news, Pearl Jam is "postponed" until further notice. Fuck me. I was really looking forward to this trip and especially being able to spend time with the kid and friends. I need to text my buddy and let him know I won't be there for his wife's birthday now. Stupid panicking people. Stupid drug companies for not making a vaccine. Stupid universe.
Made lamb shoulder chops for dinner since B had bingo. Watched some Star Trek. Really bad episode last night. Some of them are just so awful that they can't even get the good cheesy factor. This was one of those. The graphics just made it hard to watch.
Went to bed around 11. That was my day.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Y11 D289
Well if I am home, I am going to sleep. Take advantage of the situation, eh? Let my body readjust to this stupid time change. It's Tuesday, right? I think so. So day three of new time. I am writing this down in the basement by the way. I have moved my desk. See, I had a desk upstairs in the front room to mimic what we had in OR. I moved a desk into the living room so B and I could be in the same room regardless of what I was doing on the computer and so I didn't feel like I was stuck in my office all day. Makes sense, yeah? When we moved here we replicated that because it made sense. But ever since we set up B's cave area in the basement, she has spent more time in the evenings down there. We weren't in the same room or even the same floor. Yesterday that got me thinking and we discussed it last night and decided to move the small desk I had upstairs, down here. I am not in my office though. So I don't have to feel trapped in my office all day but once again we are at least on the same floor of the house. No more shouting between floors or having to text each other. I am in the main basement area near the fish tank and she in the laundry room in her cave. Cleans up the living room too. Makes it look nicer. Good decision all around. Plus with summer coming, it will be cooler down here.
Spent all day working on a 20 page document for work. I wrote a guidelines and best practice document for recording CBT material. One of our other guys is trying his hand at recording and while I am happy to see him excited, he isn't following the same format as our 15 other classes. They all have to look and feel the same my dude. To be honest, as I was writing it, I didn't realize how much we have learned over the last two years in making these things look good. I included sections on voice prep, soundproofing, and microphones. As a result of that research, I decided to get myself a new microphone. I got a new blue yeticaster. It's a new model for them which wasn't around when I first started doing this. I am excited to set it up today and test it out. That will be today's project. In the end I felt good about the doc I wrote.
For dinner I made mexi-chicken. Quick, easy, and tasty. After dinner we moved the furniture. Went to bed around 10.
Today I will be setting up and testing the mic and running through some new material our other trainer created. Her stuff I am confident will be good. I should be able to leverage her material for some of our existing clients. I just need to become familar with it. That should take ALL day. Hint hint.
B has a doctor appointment followed by bingo so I will be on my own for dinner tonight. Lamb sounds good.
Spent all day working on a 20 page document for work. I wrote a guidelines and best practice document for recording CBT material. One of our other guys is trying his hand at recording and while I am happy to see him excited, he isn't following the same format as our 15 other classes. They all have to look and feel the same my dude. To be honest, as I was writing it, I didn't realize how much we have learned over the last two years in making these things look good. I included sections on voice prep, soundproofing, and microphones. As a result of that research, I decided to get myself a new microphone. I got a new blue yeticaster. It's a new model for them which wasn't around when I first started doing this. I am excited to set it up today and test it out. That will be today's project. In the end I felt good about the doc I wrote.
For dinner I made mexi-chicken. Quick, easy, and tasty. After dinner we moved the furniture. Went to bed around 10.
Today I will be setting up and testing the mic and running through some new material our other trainer created. Her stuff I am confident will be good. I should be able to leverage her material for some of our existing clients. I just need to become familar with it. That should take ALL day. Hint hint.
B has a doctor appointment followed by bingo so I will be on my own for dinner tonight. Lamb sounds good.
Monday, March 9, 2020
Y11 D288
The first day or two right after DST are always the worst. You go to bed later because you're not tired but then you struggle to get up at your normal time because you're too tired to get up. Thankfully I am home and not back in Texas so it wasn't a problem that I overslept but it makes me feel all anxious already this morning which does suck. Bleh.
The time change really affected B. She wasn't feeling well Saturday night and ended up going to bed super late and then slept until after 1pm yesterday. Made for a real shit day for me. I was up at 6 so spent most of the day waiting. I did go out in the morning and get the car washed. That was my big adventure. Speaking of that, I am going to find an attorney who will help me file a class action lawsuit against the self-service car washes in this area. I have tried 3 so far and they all do the same thing. They all turn the "last minute" beeper down so low you can't hear it over the water gun. This is the second time I have ended up with a car full of soap and had to put in the full amount to finish rinsing my car. Pisses me off.
Made a pork roast for dinner with potatoes and veggies. Came out okay. I wasn't thrilled with it, but it was food and it did its purpose.
Documents today. Fuck me. I hate being a paper pusher.
The time change really affected B. She wasn't feeling well Saturday night and ended up going to bed super late and then slept until after 1pm yesterday. Made for a real shit day for me. I was up at 6 so spent most of the day waiting. I did go out in the morning and get the car washed. That was my big adventure. Speaking of that, I am going to find an attorney who will help me file a class action lawsuit against the self-service car washes in this area. I have tried 3 so far and they all do the same thing. They all turn the "last minute" beeper down so low you can't hear it over the water gun. This is the second time I have ended up with a car full of soap and had to put in the full amount to finish rinsing my car. Pisses me off.
Made a pork roast for dinner with potatoes and veggies. Came out okay. I wasn't thrilled with it, but it was food and it did its purpose.
Documents today. Fuck me. I hate being a paper pusher.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Y11 D287
I fucking hate today. DST. What a waste. Useless. It's "7:14" and it's fucking dark outside. Bah.
Ran a lot of errands yesterday. Grocery shopping, the bank, fish store, food. And it was all horrible because everyone and their mother was out. Seriously. I will never adapt to the whole suburban let's do everything on saturday mentality. The 9-5 crowd with their children and their 'its the weekend' mindset. Drives me nuts. Made both of us very cranky. The grocery store was filled with old people who just stop in the middle of aisles, and families with children who were just annoying. Both of us were happy to be back in the house.
We got a new sponge filter for the aquarium and spent time setting it up. We also did some cleaning. We are trying to be as proactive with the tank as possible. Keep everyone healthy and happy.
B went out to dinner with her friend to celebrate a promotion the friend got. She is now the head trainer at her fitness location which is a big deal because there are 20-30 trainers at a location but only one head. So chances of these openings coming up are slim. She got a significant raise out of it too. She has been working her ass off and it paid for her. They went out to catch up and celebrate. Me, I stayed home and had nice salmon dinner.
Went to bed around 11. Thank goodness I didn't have to travel today.
Ran a lot of errands yesterday. Grocery shopping, the bank, fish store, food. And it was all horrible because everyone and their mother was out. Seriously. I will never adapt to the whole suburban let's do everything on saturday mentality. The 9-5 crowd with their children and their 'its the weekend' mindset. Drives me nuts. Made both of us very cranky. The grocery store was filled with old people who just stop in the middle of aisles, and families with children who were just annoying. Both of us were happy to be back in the house.
We got a new sponge filter for the aquarium and spent time setting it up. We also did some cleaning. We are trying to be as proactive with the tank as possible. Keep everyone healthy and happy.
B went out to dinner with her friend to celebrate a promotion the friend got. She is now the head trainer at her fitness location which is a big deal because there are 20-30 trainers at a location but only one head. So chances of these openings coming up are slim. She got a significant raise out of it too. She has been working her ass off and it paid for her. They went out to catch up and celebrate. Me, I stayed home and had nice salmon dinner.
Went to bed around 11. Thank goodness I didn't have to travel today.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Y11 D286
I am home. Yay? And I don't have to go anywhere Sunday. More yay? Meh. I don't know.
But check out what happened yesterday. As you know I found myself with changed flights. I went through security at 3:30 and went up to the admiral's club. They opened at 4:15. The first thing I did was ask the nice lady if she had anything earlier to DFW she could confirm me on. Guess what? She put me BACK on the 4:30 flight. So I ran four gates down to there. Got on the flight I was supposed to be on in the first place. Got to Dallas at 6am and then had 6 hours to kill. Fun. I spent the whole time in the admiral's club doing bills and a whole lot of nothing.
Get on my second flight home and I dozed off as we were landing. Well no one fucking woke me up and the plane was 90% empty before I woke up. Seriously??
Got home around 5, unpacked, did a bunch of shit, and then we had to go to the pet store because B didn't go and the fish were out of food. Fun.
Went to bed at 9:30 because I was exhausted. Today have a bunch of errands to take care of right away. I am cranky and annoyed at 7:30am.
But check out what happened yesterday. As you know I found myself with changed flights. I went through security at 3:30 and went up to the admiral's club. They opened at 4:15. The first thing I did was ask the nice lady if she had anything earlier to DFW she could confirm me on. Guess what? She put me BACK on the 4:30 flight. So I ran four gates down to there. Got on the flight I was supposed to be on in the first place. Got to Dallas at 6am and then had 6 hours to kill. Fun. I spent the whole time in the admiral's club doing bills and a whole lot of nothing.
Get on my second flight home and I dozed off as we were landing. Well no one fucking woke me up and the plane was 90% empty before I woke up. Seriously??
Got home around 5, unpacked, did a bunch of shit, and then we had to go to the pet store because B didn't go and the fish were out of food. Fun.
Went to bed at 9:30 because I was exhausted. Today have a bunch of errands to take care of right away. I am cranky and annoyed at 7:30am.
Friday, March 6, 2020
Y11 D285
I wake up at 11:30pm after finally falling asleep at 6:30pm, thanks to anxiety about getting on my 4:30am flight with a 29 minute connection in Dallas. I stress rush to get here to the airport, arrive at 1am after getting lost and finally finding a gas station ONLY TO FIND MY FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Yep. I was supposed to land at 11am EST but now my first flight doesn't leave here until 9am CST, I get to DFW at 10am, leave there at 12:30pm, and get to DTW at 4:10pm. So home at 5:30pm because it's Friday and traffic will suck. So here I am now at 1:26am, waiting to board in SEVEN HOURS. F.M.L.
And people wonder why I am cranky.
Did absolutely nothing yesterday except get into a major pissing match with a co-worker. He tried to pull "i'm the boss" bullshit on me and I called him out on it. I went over his head and told my REAL boss that if he ever talks to me like that again, we're done. As it is, I will only have the minimal amount of interaction with him thanks to his behavior. He demanded I give him certain "immediately" because he "runs the group". Um, fuck you? You take credit for our work, you try to micro-manage people who don't need it, none of us can figure out what you do all day, and you 'run the group'? Dream on silly man. I don't know what will come of it, but I did lay everything out to my boss about this guy's behavior towards me and another co-worker. Let's see if anything changes. Who knows, maybe they will be tired of me and my diva behavior.
It does look like I will be able to piggyback a work trip on my Pearl Jam trip in April. Still looking to finalize details, but I have a client who wants training around the same time and we are trying to get them to fit it into when I need to be there. It may mean 90 minute driving on the day of the concert, but if I can get my hotel, flight, and car paid for by someone else it will be worth it.
There's also talk of me going to Ireland in June. FINALLY. After three years of teaching these people remotely it looks like there are enough local people to justify an onsite. If it does happen, I will figure out a way for B to go with me. It wouldn't be fair or right for her to stay home while I am in Ireland of all places. By June the whole COVID-19 scare should be over. Hell, it's already starting to calm down from what I see. Another election year, another scare.
Speaking of elections, I am very sad Warren dropped out. I described Biden the other day as looking like a corpse being held up for a weekend at Bernie's. I can't understand what people see in him. I think Sanders is a bit of a kook, but I'd rather have a kook then a corpse. At this rate, cheeto will win another 4 years. You watch. And maybe this time he will get us all killed. Good times.
And people wonder why I am cranky.
Did absolutely nothing yesterday except get into a major pissing match with a co-worker. He tried to pull "i'm the boss" bullshit on me and I called him out on it. I went over his head and told my REAL boss that if he ever talks to me like that again, we're done. As it is, I will only have the minimal amount of interaction with him thanks to his behavior. He demanded I give him certain "immediately" because he "runs the group". Um, fuck you? You take credit for our work, you try to micro-manage people who don't need it, none of us can figure out what you do all day, and you 'run the group'? Dream on silly man. I don't know what will come of it, but I did lay everything out to my boss about this guy's behavior towards me and another co-worker. Let's see if anything changes. Who knows, maybe they will be tired of me and my diva behavior.
It does look like I will be able to piggyback a work trip on my Pearl Jam trip in April. Still looking to finalize details, but I have a client who wants training around the same time and we are trying to get them to fit it into when I need to be there. It may mean 90 minute driving on the day of the concert, but if I can get my hotel, flight, and car paid for by someone else it will be worth it.
There's also talk of me going to Ireland in June. FINALLY. After three years of teaching these people remotely it looks like there are enough local people to justify an onsite. If it does happen, I will figure out a way for B to go with me. It wouldn't be fair or right for her to stay home while I am in Ireland of all places. By June the whole COVID-19 scare should be over. Hell, it's already starting to calm down from what I see. Another election year, another scare.
Speaking of elections, I am very sad Warren dropped out. I described Biden the other day as looking like a corpse being held up for a weekend at Bernie's. I can't understand what people see in him. I think Sanders is a bit of a kook, but I'd rather have a kook then a corpse. At this rate, cheeto will win another 4 years. You watch. And maybe this time he will get us all killed. Good times.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Y11 D284
Still here. Still in my room. Whee! Spent the day yesterday doing absolutely nothing. Biggest excitement was the weather. I ran to the store real quick yesterday morning to get some food for yesterday and today and while I was out, the sky unleashed a furious storm. Like something out of a horror movie. It was constant thunder and lightning with buckets of rain pouring down. I stopped and took some video of it because the lightning was so incredible. At the end of one video you can hear where the lightning got a little close and struck a transformer. Zot pop. Got quickly back to the hotel where the lights were flickering and we lost power a couple of times. My client would have been busy dealing with that and not had time for me anyway.
But that was my only venture outside and my only brief exposure to other people. The remainder of the day was spent in my room. I took a nice nap, played video games, helped a co-worker with things, and that's about it.
Went to bed around 10:30. Talked with B. Heading home tomorrow. Here's hoping for no issues.
But that was my only venture outside and my only brief exposure to other people. The remainder of the day was spent in my room. I took a nice nap, played video games, helped a co-worker with things, and that's about it.
Went to bed around 10:30. Talked with B. Heading home tomorrow. Here's hoping for no issues.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Y11 D283
Guess who has two thumbs and nothing to do for the next two days? Yep! This guy!
So check this out, my client has officially cancelled all non-essential operations, including training. I was basically told to leave the building yesterday. Everything has been suspended. AND they aren't even allowing me to do the classes remotely because they don't let people work from home and they don't want people congregating in conference rooms together. So not only is the rest of this week shot, I had to cancel the next two weeks. I spent like 2 hours on the phone last night trying to get things refunded. I managed to get a full refund on the hotel, car, and car service but got hit with a $200 per flight by American. I have the rest credited to use on a future flight. That's also the reason why I am not going home early. To change my flight would have been another $200 charge. Screw that. I will sit here in my paid for room and play video games for two days. The client fully acknowledged this was their doing and will pay for everything. Coolness. Originally they wanted me to stay the full three weeks but B would have killed me and then they ended up changing their mind so I am glad I didn't do any of those changes. Talk about crazy.
That was my day and night. It was after 7:30 by the time I got everything squared away. Multiple calls to people, conference calls with our people to update them, emails between everyone. It all took forever. I was wrecked by the time it was all done. Watched some tv and went to bed.
I am up early today because breakfast. But then I may come back and take a nap. Woo.
So check this out, my client has officially cancelled all non-essential operations, including training. I was basically told to leave the building yesterday. Everything has been suspended. AND they aren't even allowing me to do the classes remotely because they don't let people work from home and they don't want people congregating in conference rooms together. So not only is the rest of this week shot, I had to cancel the next two weeks. I spent like 2 hours on the phone last night trying to get things refunded. I managed to get a full refund on the hotel, car, and car service but got hit with a $200 per flight by American. I have the rest credited to use on a future flight. That's also the reason why I am not going home early. To change my flight would have been another $200 charge. Screw that. I will sit here in my paid for room and play video games for two days. The client fully acknowledged this was their doing and will pay for everything. Coolness. Originally they wanted me to stay the full three weeks but B would have killed me and then they ended up changing their mind so I am glad I didn't do any of those changes. Talk about crazy.
That was my day and night. It was after 7:30 by the time I got everything squared away. Multiple calls to people, conference calls with our people to update them, emails between everyone. It all took forever. I was wrecked by the time it was all done. Watched some tv and went to bed.
I am up early today because breakfast. But then I may come back and take a nap. Woo.
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
Y11 D282
Moving a little slow this morning. I've got time, but feel rushed because of it. Need to catch up quickly.
Day one went mostly okay. The asshole from Sunday didn't respond to me or make themselves known yesterday. What a shock. I did have some issues with my afternoon session. Per our contract they were allowed a max of 17 students in each class. They originally wanted 21. Our normal size is 12. Well guess what, they tried to give me an attendance list with 20 names on it and then got pissed when I sent student 18 on her merry way. Yep. I told someone class is full, bye bye. That didn't go over well. I stood my ground though. I talked to my guys after class and they backed me up on it saying I was within my right to turn the student away and if there is any flack, they will handle it. So 35 people down, 200 something to go. Finished at right around 5 and headed back to the hotel.
The weather here is perfect. About 66 with humidity. I fucking love it. I know it doesn't stay like this, but jeez it's wonderful.
Spent the night in my room playing video games and watching tv. Rinse and repeat.
Day one went mostly okay. The asshole from Sunday didn't respond to me or make themselves known yesterday. What a shock. I did have some issues with my afternoon session. Per our contract they were allowed a max of 17 students in each class. They originally wanted 21. Our normal size is 12. Well guess what, they tried to give me an attendance list with 20 names on it and then got pissed when I sent student 18 on her merry way. Yep. I told someone class is full, bye bye. That didn't go over well. I stood my ground though. I talked to my guys after class and they backed me up on it saying I was within my right to turn the student away and if there is any flack, they will handle it. So 35 people down, 200 something to go. Finished at right around 5 and headed back to the hotel.
The weather here is perfect. About 66 with humidity. I fucking love it. I know it doesn't stay like this, but jeez it's wonderful.
Spent the night in my room playing video games and watching tv. Rinse and repeat.
Monday, March 2, 2020
Y11 D281
I'M NOT COLD! WOO! There's humidity in the air and it's like 65 degrees! I can't believe I am this happy to be in TEXAS of all places. But here I am and let's ride! Speaking of riding, my first experience with National instead of Avis went really smoothly yesterday. I have another Jeep Gladiator, this time by choice, and I drove around with the soft top down enjoying the weather. My choices were quite extensive when I got off the plane. Plus the process was smooth and easy. So far so good.
My day was long but mostly uneventful. I left for the airport at 2:40 because my driver had another drop earlier nearby and was ready to go. I was too and he came early. Sat at the airport until boarding at 5. Landed at Chicago at 5:40. 20 minutes early. I had 3.5 hours to kill until my connection. This is the only trip where I have a long connection. All other flights are 30-40 minute connections. This will be interesting. Boarded my second flight which was scheduled to land at 12:45 and we landed early there too. Got in at 12:10. Got my car, and dealt with construction traffic. Took me 2 hours to get to the hotel for what should have been 45 minutes. Oh well. It's not like I had anywhere to be. Stopped on the way to get groceries for the week too.
Hotel is fine. It's 10 minutes from the client and right now has about a 3% occupancy. I am in a corner suite on the top floor. Happy about that. No noise to speak of here. Had dinner in my room and had the one negative issue of the night.
I sent the client some supplemental files Saturday while it was on my mind for a class that will be taught on March 12th. I figured they would have them for this morning and we could discuss what they were, etc today. This asshat sends me an email at 5pm last night telling me how it was unprofessional to send files over a weekend and that it showed a lack of planning on my part. Excuse the fuck out of me? The only reason I sent things "last minute" was because we had ZERO communication from them until late Friday. Plus I still haven't received a final calendar. I politely chewed this dick a new one saying how these files are for a class 11 days from now and in my mind that's plenty of "prep time". If I see this person today, it may be an interesting conversation. You want to start a 3 week engagement with a pissing match? Fine. Bring it.
Went to bed around 9:30 as I was tired and there's a time difference. Now for breakfast, and the start of three weeks and 300 people.
My day was long but mostly uneventful. I left for the airport at 2:40 because my driver had another drop earlier nearby and was ready to go. I was too and he came early. Sat at the airport until boarding at 5. Landed at Chicago at 5:40. 20 minutes early. I had 3.5 hours to kill until my connection. This is the only trip where I have a long connection. All other flights are 30-40 minute connections. This will be interesting. Boarded my second flight which was scheduled to land at 12:45 and we landed early there too. Got in at 12:10. Got my car, and dealt with construction traffic. Took me 2 hours to get to the hotel for what should have been 45 minutes. Oh well. It's not like I had anywhere to be. Stopped on the way to get groceries for the week too.
Hotel is fine. It's 10 minutes from the client and right now has about a 3% occupancy. I am in a corner suite on the top floor. Happy about that. No noise to speak of here. Had dinner in my room and had the one negative issue of the night.
I sent the client some supplemental files Saturday while it was on my mind for a class that will be taught on March 12th. I figured they would have them for this morning and we could discuss what they were, etc today. This asshat sends me an email at 5pm last night telling me how it was unprofessional to send files over a weekend and that it showed a lack of planning on my part. Excuse the fuck out of me? The only reason I sent things "last minute" was because we had ZERO communication from them until late Friday. Plus I still haven't received a final calendar. I politely chewed this dick a new one saying how these files are for a class 11 days from now and in my mind that's plenty of "prep time". If I see this person today, it may be an interesting conversation. You want to start a 3 week engagement with a pissing match? Fine. Bring it.
Went to bed around 9:30 as I was tired and there's a time difference. Now for breakfast, and the start of three weeks and 300 people.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Y11 D280
WOO! Texas here I come! 70 degree weather! Of course it's 12 degrees here so I have to bundle up like an eskimo and look like an idiot when I arrive. Good times.
We did a ton of shit in the morning yesterday. Took B to get some blood drawn, then we went to the cemetery, then to the pet store, lunch, came home, cleaned the fish tank, and then B went to dinner with her mom and grandma to remember great grandma. I had my own dinner at home and got into bed at 7 as planned.
That's it. Time to travel.
We did a ton of shit in the morning yesterday. Took B to get some blood drawn, then we went to the cemetery, then to the pet store, lunch, came home, cleaned the fish tank, and then B went to dinner with her mom and grandma to remember great grandma. I had my own dinner at home and got into bed at 7 as planned.
That's it. Time to travel.
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