Y13 D278

Another week is upon me. I have three days of teaching, two days of marketing bullshit. So much to look forward to. Bills due on Friday. End of the world scheduled for Thursday. Need to find my towel.

Spent the day dealing with and doing dog things. Gee, what a shock. Managed to play some Elden Ring. Finished the first boss. Am about 8 hours in to reach that point. I am sure that is bad compared to a speed run but that's okay. Paid full price for this fucking game, I want at least 40-50 hours out of it. 

Made a roast for dinner. Came out perfect. Was very pleased. That's about it.

Y13 D277

Well, this happened yesterday:

I know, I know. But B is happy. Was a two hour drive out to get her. Time spent there meeting her, talking, paperwork, two hour drive home, one hour stop at PetSmart, time at home getting everyone acclimated. Basically, this took up my entire day. We ordered noodles for dinner because we were too tired to cook. So far things are okay. The cats couldn't care less. The dog doesn't care about the cats. They are all roughly the same size which helps. We will see how this goes. I get my money back if we have to bring her back over the next two weeks. More importantly they will take her back in the two week window. 

Honestly, I don't know how I feel She's 9 so she's not a puppy thank goodness. She also seems a little hard of hearing. Also, okay. She hasn't barked or been a problem. In a lot of ways, it's just another cat to me. But again, B is happy. All that matters. Let's see how today goes.

Y13 D276

Rough time with the alarm this morning. I slept poorly. Too hot, too cold, too dry. Nothing was right. Hate nights like that and then to have to wake to an alarm. Ugh. We are driving for 2 hours today to look at dog. 

Ran all my errands, went to therapy, taught until 5, made dinner, watched TV, played Elden Ring. That was my entire day right there.

Y13 D275

Moving quickly this morning. Need to go to the store, therapy, start up servers, in other words, shit to do and it's 4:37am. 

Taught yesterday, went until 5:30, went to group, had random food items for dinner. That's about it. No issues, just nothing of any note to report. Teach today from 11-5. Whee.

Y13 D274

Welcome to Thursday. Never could quite get the hang of Thursday. Another one of my generation died yesterday at 57 years old. Mark Lanegan. One of the original grunge artists. Screaming Trees, QOTSA. There's fewer and fewer left each day. I had a bit of a revelation yesterday. Do you know why Gen X and Millennials tend to get along so well? We both had the same parents. So yes, once again, boomers fucking ruin everything. Think about it for a second; for every boomer who had a kid at 17, there was one who waited until they were 37. So someone who is 50 and someone who is 30 had basically the exact same parents. We may have different world experiences in terms of what we consumed, but our growing up lives, the way we were parented, the expectations from parents, etc was the same experience. We bond on the fact that our parents suck. It's also why so many younger generations tend to blur gen x and boomers. We look the same to them - old. Ponder that for a while.

Dealt with a shitstorm of IT issues yesterday that weren't mine to deal with but I was the only one who seemed to be available. Even had to call a customer directly on the phone. Ew. Worked on docs too.

Had a rough sleep. I have been scratching a lot in my sleep because it's so fucking dry here. I need to run the humidifier again. Get some air flowing in that room. Otherwise it's going to kill me. Wake up with blood marks on my fingers because I scratched so much in my sleep. Fun.

Teach today. 10:30 - 6:30 even though I know it won't go that long. Should finish honestly around 4. Then if the heavens are with me, group finally. We shall see. 

Y13 D273

Coming back out of it. Not fully but slowly coming back up for air. I have been up for a while already. Been working. Had to test out a database connection for a class tomorrow. Needed that off my plate. Done and done.

We decided to purchase something last night. Our household finances have grown to the point where I can't keep taking care of them in Excel. I splurged on Quicken Deluxe. Spent like 2 hours last night getting it all connected to banks and the like. I think with a little bit of setup it will work. I can see how the average person might get frustrated with it though. Unless you have like one checking and one savings, it can be overwhelming how much is in there. It's exactly why I wanted it though. I am keeping track of five checking accounts, three savings accounts, multiple credit cards and that's across multiple banks. So yeah, I have grown beyond even my fancy ass spreadsheets. Plus it has mobile these days so B can quickly enter a receipt while out and about. That's the next thing I need to setup and configure. 

Spent the day working on my March presentation. Got a good chunk of it written. Switching back to writing new curriculum today. That's what the database connection was for. I needed that live in order to write the demos. With that done, I might be able to finish the class today and get a huge project off my plate. We shall see how much I get accomplished. 

I also have to do some hardware installs today. Due to getting the new camera, lights, etc, I finally ran out of USB ports. I ended up ordering an internal PCI-E 5 USB A, 2 USB C card. So stupid, but I needed it. Now I have to shut everything down and pop it in. Fun times. I may save that as an evening project so I don't interrupt my work.

The weather was just fucking awful yesterday. Rain all day turning everything into a muddy slushy mess. The downside of snow. When it lands all nice and pretty, everyone forgets this shit. The slushy mess that gets left behind. Plus I am finding all this garbage from my fucking neighbors buried under the snow. Assholes. 

My Valentine's Day gift finally arrived. I got a Peanuts Loungefly mini backpack and wallet. Love it. That's definitely helping with my serotonin levels. It's so soft and cute. I need to switch wallets today at some point. Gee, I have eleventy billion things to do today. Why the fuck am I talking to all of you? Must go! The world awaits. Well, not the world. My 10x10 excuse of a world. Whee! 

Y13 D272

Nothing brings me joy right now. the world is bleak and grey. not just the sky either. Ukraine. BA.2. Shootings. Stupidity all around. Tired of this world and these people. Got into a funk at 5pm last night and cleaned the bathrooms. So tired of all of this.

Y13 D271

Let's see what we did yesterday, hmm, not much if remember correctly. Did more laundry. Cleaned a bit. Oh we went over to B's grandparents to send a fax because they're the only people we know with a landline. Stayed and visited for a while. Had mexican for dinner. Watched some tv. Played some games. That's about it. Not much else on the docket.

Another week is upon us. Gee how exciting. Two days I teach this week, Thursday and Friday. Remainder of days I am building new material. Such fun.

Y13 D270

Had a very busy day yesterday. Got up and left the house at 7:45am to hit one grocery store before my hair appointment. Went to my hair appointment and was there until at least 11, went to another store pretty far out to look at something. Not going to share what that something was at this time, but the trip was successful. Got back home around 1:30. Took a nap until 3. Cleaned the cat room, did laundry. Made lamb burgers for dinner. Watched tv. Finished Peacemaker and am caught up on Raised by Wolves. Around 9 I decided to go to the big grocery store because I didn't want to have to get up early today. Got back around 10:30, put groceries away, went to bed around 11:30. A very full day. 

Now today, I am going to back a number of things. Fudge, bread, pudding. It's going to be a busy day in the kitchen.

Y13 D269

Hello weekend. Or in other words, days where I still get up early because I have a ton of crap to do no matter what. Yay! Task one just started, laundry. Task two soon. Groceries. Then hair appointment. Then then then. Ah weekends?

Worked on a new class yesterday. Had a new web camera arrive and worked on that. Had a friend come over. He bought us dinner! That is a shock for any of B's friends. I know that sounds mean, but to have one of them buy all of dinner and not just pay their share or buy a small thing like dessert says a lot. Most of them just don't have the funds so it was a nice change of pace. Watched movies, hung out. I went to bed around 11.

Also had therapy yesterday. Went well. Got a lot of my chest. Missing a week made me realize how much had happened on our trip and with work and life in general. But it was a good session. Okay, that's all for now.

Y13 D268

Well it came. More snow. We went from completely gone to 2 inches in a one hour time span. I'd say there's about 6-7 inches out there right now. And of course I have to drive in it later. Because my life. I am tired of it. So very tired. I need to see some sun. I need to be able to drive places. 

Speaking of driving, I forgot to share the latest drama. Guess who lost their fucking license? No, not me. And guess who still has an OR license? Again, not me! So yeah, we've been dealing with that too. Luckily they reached OR DMV and got what they needed to get a replacement sent and a temp printed. But JFC how do you lose your license for what we are figuring is MONTHS ago?? Just shaking my head.

I spent my whole day in multiple meetings. Loads of fun it was. Finished at 5pm. Made dinner. Finally made it through the goddamn soup. No more soup.

Watched some tv, went to bed.

This is the way.

Y13 D267

I swear to fucking god if I get one more winter storm warning on my phone I am going to scream. I am also going to scream if these goddamn cats don't shut up. I am so overstimulated and annoyed and it's barely 4:30 in the morning. Seriously I am already done and I have been up for 10 minutes.

As discussed, my day was taken up by one thing yesterday. Teaching from 12-8. We didn't finish until almost 8 on the nose so not a whole lot of time for anything else. The power company came by yesterday and decided 5 small trees in my backyard needed to go. Okay bye. I fucking hate the trees anyway. No complaints here. You will do it and do it for free? Yeah, have at it. That was the only thing of any interest yesterday.

This morning I am taking the truck in for service then it's all day fucking meetings. Don't finish with them until 5pm and then unless the weather interferes, get to go to group for the first time in weeks. Please dear god, let me have group so I can get out of this fucking house.

Y13 D266

I teach from fucking 12-8 today so I decided fuck it, I am sleeping in. My whole day is ruined so what the hell. I took this class as a favor to my coworker fully expecting it to be canceled, but no. And guess what? Rain and snow for the next two days! Whee! 2 inches of rain followed by 3-5 inches of snow! Oh boy!

Bleh.

I spent the day working on random shit. Had multiple meetings. It wasn't fun.

Made chicken a la mushroom soup for dinner. Watched TV. Went to bed.

Y13 D265

 $650. That's how much I spent bringing 3 cats into the vet yesterday for "annual" shit. Well, 2 out of 3 were basic. One is pretty sick actually. She is FIV+ and has issues. She's the one who has been on doxycycline but turns out that was causing an inflammation so she hasn't been eating and she lost a pound which isn't good because she is too tiny to begin with and so on and so on. She ended up with a steroid shot and now has to eat baby food until the inflammation in her mouth goes down. Good times.

I spent the day reading about stuff that had I gone to college for what I do, would have probably learned about then. Oh well.

Last night of leftovers. Finally got the fridge cleaned out. Going to have normal food tonight. Have multiple meetings today starting at 11 and going until 2. Whee. 

Y13 D264

I know my posts have been short as of late. I am just not feeling very communicative right now. I am just having a rough time of it. I am still processing everything that happened last week, tired from being gone, and just feeling blah in general.

One reason is the weather. It fucking snowed all day yesterday. I mean like ALL day. I think we got at least a foot of snow. It's currently -2 outside with a high of 20 today. Yeah. Weather like that does nothing to improve my mood. It's supposed to be like that all week with more snow coming on Wednesday and Thursday. Even if I don't directly realize it at the time, this kind of environment wreaks havoc on me. The logical part of my brain knows that the weather shouldn't be influencing me as much as it does, but the primal part of me says 'weather bad, hibernate in cave, store food'. So I think that has a lot to do with things too.

I had some self care time yesterday. Of course I had to drive in a snowstorm but I did it and managed to get my lashes done. My lash girl calls this "ugly shoe weather". I agree. Your fashion choices dwindle down when you have to bundle up like this. Not too much one can do. That was the extent of my going out at least. Was gone from 11-2 so right in the middle of the day. While I was gone B went over to grandparents for birthday cake and presents. They treated her right for once. Her dad and the girls were there too and gave B good presents. Very glad to hear that.

We had soup for dinner because I will be eating mushroom soup until it is coming out of my pores apparently. I like it but damn it makes so much. 

Today I have to work on a presentation then at 3 we are taking three cats to the vet for vaccinations. Whee. What fun.

Also, did they find the Superb Owl yesterday? I hope he's okay.

Y13 D263

Got up early, went to grocery store. Forgot what weekend it was and dealt with every idiot white man in the meat, condiment, and beverage aisle. Did more laundry. Made mushroom soup. Watched some TV. Finished ME2. Washed my hair. Had leftovers for dinner. Went to bed.

Today is self care day. Lashes. Nails.

Y13 D262

103 days left for this year's entries. I need to do another dump of all these to make sure I have a copy. For future generations to see how boring life was. Historical reasons.

Did laundry. Put stuff away. Did things and stuff. Yay.

Y13 D261

Hey guess what? We're home already. Yep. Got home around midnight last night. Spent 10 hours driving yesterday total. Good times. Sorry got distracted. Talking about driving reminded me I needed to make an appointment for car service. The truck's one year service is due. Done and now back to this.

We left around 11am and rolled into Lexington at 3:40, checked into the hotel and went off to the ranch for the BBQ. THAT was a good time. We got back to the hotel at like 6:30 and B was like I want to go home. Motherfucker. Okay. Load everything back up and drive. So yeah, the majority of my day was eating breakfast, eating dinner, driving. Not much else to discuss. But now I get three days at home without obligations so there's that. 

Is what it is.

Y13 D260

Yesterday was a better day. We had a great breakfast, we went to the aquarium, had cookie dough by the slice, the weather was good, we took a nap, had bbq for dinner. Probably one of the better days on this trip. We also had a good discussion about things. As I have mentioned, it's taken us two years, but finally B came forth with she's as sick of me as I am of her. We both need a break. We have been in each other's space non-stop for 2 bloody years. It's okay. It just is what it is. Sometimes people need some alone time and when you don't get it, it sucks. But by being able to have that discussion we both felt like a weight is off our chests. We head to Lexington today and instead of staying the night, we're probably going to drive straight home after dinner. Just be done with this trip so we can be back home and truly relax. The problem is that while B is enjoying the activities, which were planned with her in mind, the act of being on the road, staying in hotels, walking to places, etc, is all ME. It's what I enjoy. If I could have teleported B to the activities, it would have all been good. There lies the big disconnect. They don't mind doing the activities as long as they can be in their own bed at night. Me, I want to be AWAY from my own bed. So, now we know what works and doesn't right now. Neither of us sees this as a long term thing. We both recognize that what's happening has as much to do with the state of the world as anything else. For example, there were still things closed at the aquarium. Exhibits not open. Backstage tours not available. Having to wear a mask all day. It's tiring and takes something away from the experience. 

So yeah, that's where we're at right now.

Y13 D259

We drove yesterday. For five plus hours. Beautiful country to drive through though. Finally in some real mountains, finally in weather that doesn't suck ass. It was in the mid 50s when we arrived in TN last night. We did make our one stop for chili which while was pretty good, came back to haunt B later. I don't know if it is the travel, the anxiety of being on the road, or what, but they spent most of last night in the bathroom. It was bad. Like real bad. We barely made it in time. It wasn't a bad day per se, but that certainly wasn't very much fun.

Our hotel here is 1000x better than Cincinatti. I think we will have a much better experience today at the aquarium then we did at the zoo. Again, better weather, indoor activity, etc. The zoo just turned out to be a huge flop. Part of the problem was I tried to give B a unique birthday experience but all they wanted to do was sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube. Me, I'm over here trying to cut loose, and well that's when you run into a great big hassle.

Yeah, I know. Some of you get that, some of you don't. Woo ooo ooo. 

But there is some seriousness there. The last two years have messed with both of us. For me, I am a bit agoraphobic and not wanting to do anything when I am home. I don't want to go into stores in MI, don't want to hang around the people there, but I still want to get out and about. B on the other hand is clinging to comfort. Seeing the same people, doing safe things. That's where the disconnect is happening. I want OUT to feel better and they want IN to feel better. So Monday was a shit storm where those two concepts collided. Shit storm also describes last night, but literal. Sorry had to go there.

Once I got B settled in, I had chicken from a local chicken place. Got them some too which they managed to nibble on later in the evening. I then watched more Raised by Wolves. I am on season 2. Only two episodes available so far. One down, one to go. Might watch it this morning.

Today's plans - breakfast, then aquarium at 11, then not much else. Going to use it as a relaxing day. Tomorrow we head to Lexington for Goat BBQ, then home on Friday. Thank god I scheduled this to give us a full weekend at home to decompress.

Y13 D258

There were some moments yesterday. Moments of fun, moments of frustration, moments of mental breakdowns. My goal was to give B a one of a kind experience. Unfortunately they would have been happier sitting at home getting high watching TV. This has got to change. I'm sorry but this hide in the house and do nothing but drugs all day attitude is getting to me. It didn't help that many of the exhibits were closed yesterday due to weather. That's on me. I should have found a more indoor activity like the aquarium tomorrow that isn't affected by the damn weather. We barely saw any animals, mostly birds. But we did get to pet a penguin and do the goat painting. Those were the only highlights of the day. We had a giant mexican food feast for dinner which was good. 

We drive to TN today. Making one stop on the way for chili B wants to try. 5 hour drive. I dunno man, I am trying my best here but it gets harder every day.

Y13 D257

Day one of our trip was a success. A little over four hours to our destination, Cincinnatti OH. We left around noon, made a couple of short stops and rolled in around 4. The hotel and room are nice, but they are very near both downtown and the university so a bit of noise and congestion outside. Luckily we have our sound machine to minimize the outside noise. Not a big fan of the pillows here either. Too squishy. 

The weather here is nicer than we had at home too. It was up into the 40s while we were driving and only got down to 30 by 10pm. I know that may not sound great, but compared to the single digit nights and teens during the day we left, I will take it. It means today we can layer accordingly and not freeze to death at the zoo. 

Mask policy is a little lax here but it is what it is. I am going to go downstairs in a little while to see what the breakfast situation is like. We're heading to the zoo around 10:30, going to see the penguin parade at 11, then our goat adventure is at 2pm. 

Okay, that's about it. Time to shower.

Y13 D256

It's travel day! WOO! Let our week long adventure begin!

Got up early yesterday, went to the post office, then my hair appointment. My hair is looking good this time. The other pieces were just so fragile from being quadruple bleached and treated. The hair loss I have had so far is less than I was losing per day with the last one. Much happier. Finished up at the salon around 10:30 and headed home. Did laundry for B so they could pack. I ended up using an actual suitcase for once since we are driving and not flying. Because the weather is going to range from the 20s to the 50s I have a wide variety of clothing to bring. We both discussed the best layering situations in terms of jackets and shoes too. I am bringing one extra pair of shoes to make sure I am not clopping around in boots for six days. Can't do that if I am using just my regular backpack. We also went to the grocery store and got road trip snacks. Another luxury of driving. Drinks, snacks, etc can all be brought along.

Made lasagne for dinner, we wanted something with some leftovers so we could eat a quick lunch today before getting on the road. Watched some tv, hung out, went to bed around 11.

We are leaving around 11:30 this morning. 4-4.5 hour drive to Cincinnati. Tomorrow is the zoo.

Y13 D255

Awake, things to do, places to go, people to see. Have a hair appointment this morning. Need to go to post office. Can nap later.

Did webinar yesterday. Bunch of other small stuff. Packed. 

Started watching an interesting show - Raised by Wolves. At first I was like this is okay and was sort of interested, but by the end of episode 1 it hooked me. No spoilers, but interesting for sure. Ate as many leftovers as possible since we leave tomorrow for our adventure. Looking forward to being gone for a week let me tell you.

Tired, but not overly. Need a nap when I get back me thinks.

Y13 D254

Bill day. Therapy. Errands. Webinar. Too much in too short a time period. I am going at 900 mph already. Need to keep going though. Can't slow down. Too much to do. At 3pm I can relax. Just need to make it to 3pm.

We leave Sunday for our trip. Have to pack tonight. Get everything ready. All animals have meds. Food. Water. Turn off not needed machines. 

It snowed more. Group was canceled. Not sure I can even leave the house this morning. Mail and packages are all delayed. I have important shit coming from work too. Hopefully it all gets here by Saturday or I am screwed.

Just need to make it through the damn day.

Yesterday was the kid's birthday. 29. It feels like I was just 29. A lifetime ago.

Y13 D253

It snowed all day. But never exceptionally heavy or thick. Just constant. There's about 4-6 inches out there right now. It's supposed to keep going until 5pm tonight but it's even lighter today than yesterday. I would say another 2-3 inches will fall. Still not the end of the world. Although it apparently is to fucking USPS who wouldn't deliver 2 packages yesterday. Lazy cunts. 

I pushed my student and got him through everything in 2 days. I don't know why. It's not like I have end of the world pressing shit to work on today. It's all bullshit.

Just don't care.

Y13 D252

"OH NO IT'S THE BIG STORM! FEETS OF SNOW WILL BE DROPPED! YOU WILL BE TRAPPED! CLOSE YOUR BUSINESSES!" Um... it's 40 degrees out, barely raining, and yeah not the end of the world. Don't get me wrong, I know some areas are being hit hard right now, but I woke up to not one but two weather alerts. I look outside expecting to see a blanket of snow and it's wet. That's it. Wet. Not even still raining. Just wet. Don't believe the hype kids. Let's see how the day progresses.

I woke up early yesterday and had way too much time to kill. Finally started class at 10:30 and since they want me to try and do a three day class in two, went all the way up to 6. Fun. I have one student and I hit him with so much info in one day it wasn't even funny. He mostly grasps it, but this will be a secondary role for him so it's not like he is 100% invested anyway. Just took up my day is all that it did. Meh. I get paid, he gets paid, everyone is happy.

Had leftovers for dinner, did tank stuff, talked with B, played a little game, went to bed. Did sleep pretty solid. Had interesting dreams. I can't quite recall them, but I remember enough to know it wasn't bad, just interesting. Oh wait, I remember part of it. Something about baseball teams, a teacher moving to Montana, and something else I lost. Weirdness. 

Today should basically be a repeat of yesterday. Unless of course the supposed storm of the century hits. Then gosh golly who knows.

Y13 D251

Finally it's February. Felt like Jan went for at least two months. But of course soon enough I will be bitching that gosh it's July already. Time is such a fucked up thing. Speaking of that, we lost one of my childhood idols this weekend. Howard Hesseman died. I remember clearly being in awe of Dr. Johnny Fever. Made me want to be a DJ so bad. Just something about his patter and his voice that worked for me. I was too young to fully understand everything on that show but not so young that I didn't have crushes. Funny, Bailey was always the one who did it for me, not Jennifer. But the Doctor. His voice, his rebellious nature that really was just a front. His anti- whatever approach. It all worked for me. The way he spun sentences so worked. I will miss the Doctor as he is now Far Out and gone on.

Worked on stupid fucking documents and livestream stuff yesterday. Multiple meetings. Blah blah blah type of stuff. Nothing even worth talking about.

Side note, I didn't plan on being up this early because my classes for the next three days don't start until 10:30 but I awoke from a crystal clear dream and was just like I'm up. In the dream we were staying at some cabin in the rural areas (like lake cabin shit) and apparently I had pissed off some redneck yokel named Denny and his clan who broke into our cabin while we were out and stole all our shit. Three laptops, camera, etc. The local cop I was talking to on the phone wasn't much help but when I told him who I thought took the stuff he knew it was probably true. I was also planning on going to pawn shops in the area to buy my own stuff back. Very straight out of a movie but also pretty realistic. The only thing not realistic? I wouldn't have left that much stuff in a flimsy cabin. It would have been safer in the car trunk. But otherwise, it's not a shock that I would have pissed off some local yokels at a place like that. Nor was it unrealistic that the cop would be like meh your stuff is gone. The dream bugged me enough that I was up at 4:10. Good times.

We had meatloaf for dinner last night. I wanted B to do something that would generate leftovers since I will be working late each night. After dinner we went to Joann's for her to get some yarn for a new project. Watched some TV together, played some games, went to bed.

Now to kill 5.5 hours. Fun times.