Y8 D198

Oh boy, yesterday was some long crazy shit. Got up at 4 to leave at 7. B also woke up at 4. She tried to lay there and not do anything but the stress got to her and she was up and out of bed at 5. We both were pacing a bit, waiting for our driver to get there. Like us, he was nervous about the weather. He ended up being 15 minutes early which made us happy.

We got to the airport about 7:40. My ticket didn't have my pre on it for some reason and we ended up having to wait in line to talk to an agent. Not too much of a wait luckily. Now if I had to stand in normal people line? NO WAY. That was wrapped around and down a hall. Screw that. And it's only going to get worse when I travel on the 18th. Our flight was scheduled for 10 with a boarding time of 9:30. No problem. It's 8, let's go relax. Sitting in the lounge, having a snack, we start to see all the other flights getting canceled and delayed due to weather on our end and on the other end. Ours starts getting delayed. 10:15. 10:30. 10:50. At 10:15 we went over to the gate and they actually started boarding about 10:20. Okay. First gets one. We get on. And then I noticed no one else is getting on the place. It's about 20 of us on the plane tops.

We got delayed again so they halted boarding. What a joke. We sat there until 11:15. They restarted boarding and everyone was on by about 11:45. Except we had no clearance on the other end. Dammit. All this time I have been getting emails and texts from folks confirming we are coming, what time to pick us up, etc. Our ride was going to be at the hotel at 4:30. At the rate we were going we were worried we wouldn't make it.

We FINALLY leave at 12:30, land at 2, find the rental, drive in traffic to the hotel, and get in the room at 3:30. We have one hour to do everything and get ready for this party. GO! Of course we did it. 4:35 we were out the door and ready to go. My co-worker drover and thank goodness. I would have been losing my shit in that traffic. It took us over an hour to get up there. We're talking 15 miles on the map. We got to a parking garage, parked, and walked to the club. The party was at the Town and Country Club. A very old, very white, very pretentious ladies club. It is just a random door on a building. If you didn't know it was there, forget. I have probably passed that door a thousand times and never noticed it.

We go inside after the maid (yes, in uniform, and there were many of them all night) lets us in. All in all we had fun. B was a bit nervous because of the environment, but once she saw that the people were not as pretentious as the place, she relaxed. Dinner was good, not great. Wedding food. Nothing special. The butternut squash soup was the best part. We did awards. Yes, I got one. Most compliments from customers. Seriously. Most praise from our clients all year. Okay. I'll take that.

We headed out around 10, traffic wasn't too bad once we got out of the city. Some street closures and crowds made the first part a challenge but we did it. Got back to the hotel around 10:45, crashed around 11:30.

Today we see the kid and friends. It's going to be a rough, long day because of an early flight tomorrow, but we do want to see people. It will be worth it. I probably will not sleep tonight. Whee. Right now, let's get B up soon for some breakfast!

Y8 D197

Travel day! We have a sort of late flight so we're not leaving here until 7. Going to stress me out for sure, but it is what it is.

So many things happened yesterday. Let's see if I can remember all of them.

First off, sitting in the office in the morning and I am hearing the banging from downstairs. Just doesn't stop. It finally hits me, it's not inside. It's their patio door. We all have storage on our patios and the doors have no stoppers on them and they bang against the metal railing when left open. At first break I went outside to look and yep, there it is. Banging away. I pounded on their door and after five minutes the girl (9? maybe 10?) opens up. I told her what was going on and she apologized and said she'd close it. Whew. Hearing that any longer would have driven me crazy.

Had a private class yesterday. 3 out of the 4 students were awesome. The other was a potato. Seriously. Come to think of it, a potato would have probably done better than him. He didn't belong in this class. Got through it, finished at 2:40.

While I was teaching, SNOW!! Yep, it actually snowed for a while and left about a 1/2 inch on the ground. Neat. I am sure it's all gone by now. We are supposed to get more next week. We shall see. As long as I don't have to drive in it, I don't care.

After class, packed, helped B, and went to the mail. Hey guess what? Yep, another fucking package where the contents were broken. Something I waited 9 days for and it was ruined. I am so tired of these carriers throwing shit around. Let's see if I hear back from the vendor today. They are not the best at responding and don't have a voice customer service line.

Was going to get greek for dinner, walked over, they were closed due to snow. Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. I have driven in way worse. Fine. Walked back home, made angel hair with meat sauce instead.

B and I both went to bed around 9:30. She is up right now too. Let's get this weekend going!

Y8 D196

Tired. Like super tired and groggy. I went to bed at a decent time, but not early enough to make my body happy. Sucks.

Taught my class yesterday. It was okay. A couple of people didn't belong. Same company who sends me problem students all the time. I honestly don't know how anything gets accomplished with employees like they send me. They can't follow instructions and seem to be lacking even the most basic computer skills.

I swear to god I hear the downstairs neighbors banging around already. WTF are they doing at 4:15am??

Two more presents arrived yesterday. Only 2 to go. It would have been 1 but unfortunately one of the presents arrived broken. I am really getting tired of UPS/FedEx not respecting "Fragile" labels. That's the second thing this season that's arrived broken.

Wrapped my presents. Made stuffed chicken for dinner. Packed for tomorrow. Watched some tv, went to bed.

Need to log in for my flight this morning. Hoping for upgrades, not expecting them. It's a 90 minute flight not the end of the world if we don't get them.

Private class today. Four students. I hope to finish early.

Y8 D195

There must have been a massive pressure change last night. I woke up with such a splitting headache, stopped up nose, and am extremely groggy right now. I don't know what's what. It's supposed to snow tonight through tomorrow morning (1-3 inches) and I think the impending weather is fucking with me.

Did my two sessions yesterday. Man that was exhausting. Twenty one students total. 8 in the morning, 13 in the afternoon. Some of them were not getting the whole mute thing. A few of them are back for today's intermediate class. I am not looking forward to it.

After class checked mail, between mail and UPS delivery two of the final presents arrived. Six more outstanding but most of them are supposed to be here today. I just want everything here before we leave. Still haven't secured a ride to the party yet. It looked like I had a line on one but no response came back. I may be too out of their way.

Watched some tv, had chicken farfelle for dinner, went to bed. Couple more days and we will be on an adventure. Hurry up and get here.

Y8 D194

Some times I think of really witty and useful things to post on here, but it's usually as I am falling asleep and of course when I wake up six hours later, POOF, gone from my brain. I've got a brain like a sieve. I do remember one thing. I was thinking about Christmas presents when I went to bed and how I have kept a very close spreadsheet on everything this year. I know every single present under the tree, how much it was, how I paid for it, if I used a CC is it paid off already, etc. It's similar to how I approach my bills these days. I was thinking how ironic it is that this is what X2 was striving for all those years and I couldn't get it through my thick skull. But to get to this point, I had to go through all that hell. Amusing in a screwed up sort of way.

One of my friends got some bad news last night. There was a bad fire in a warehouse the other night and one of his former students was listed amongst the missing. They found her body in the wreckage. Very sad indeed.

I took the day off yesterday and had a marathon WoW session. Made it to 101, finished a couple of big quest lines, and got some cool stuff in return. I just didn't feel like doing nothing all day but yet pretending it was stuff that was important. Some days I wish I was a contractor and only had to worry about things when I am scheduled to teach. The document days are the worst. Hard to motivate me.

In more important news IT SNOWED! For like 20 minutes and it didn't stick, but it was fun to watch from inside with the heater on. I haven't looked outside yet, but there was some prediction of a little overnight snow. If there is anything I am sure it isn't sticking, but it's fun to imagine. The upside of not having to commute or worry about being outside.

We didn't feel like cooking last night and went out for sushi. Spent a little more than I would have liked, but it was good. Got back, relaxed, watched some tv together, and I went to bed around 10. Slept okay. Tossed a little bit.

I have a BIG class today. Two sessions, 9 and 12 now. All with remote desktop connections. It's going to be a rough day.

I just thought about how I haven't written about my mental health lately. I guess because it's okay. I am not severely depressed. I am not stressed out too bad. Not beyond that of my ability to handle. That's a good thing. I am okay. And you're okay too. Yeah, I'm a smart ass.

Y8 D193

This was my last chance to sleep in for a while so I took it. Starting tomorrow and for the next couple of weeks, I am up early every single day. Including a travel day on Friday and Sunday. Take that extra hour of sleep while I can.

I had a hard time falling asleep last night too which is weird. I was tired, I was relaxed, I was just awake. I also woke up first at 4 and decided not to stay up.

B and I have found our groove again for intimacy. It's been rough this year,  mostly because of my schedule. I am the one who is tired at 9pm and just wants to go to bed. We have agreed to make it more of a priority and it's helping. Some may argue that planning and being aware of your sexual behavior takes the spontaneity out of it, but who cares? I would rather it be important enough that as a couple we discuss and plan than not at all.

As for the rest of the day, we didn't leave the house. Yay! Watched some tv, played some games, made tacos for dinner. Okay, not 100% true. I left the house early and went to the grocery store. I got just enough groceries to last the week. We can do bigger shopping when we get home. This was enough to hold us.

Today I am not sure what I am doing. I am still pissed off at my boss and have no energy to work on his bullshit stuff. I may send an email saying I have an emergency and need to take PTO. I don't know. We will see. The rest of the week I am packed. I have a two part class tomorrow - two half day sessions. Part one has 7, part two has 13. Then I have 9 on Wednesday, and 5 on Thursday. Finish up the year with some full classes.

Y8 D192

My ear is bleeding. It was itchy this morning and I scratched at it and must have pulled a scab off something. Happy Sunday morning to me.

We had an adventure out yesterday. We went off to a mall a bit farther away but with a larger store selection than the one closer to us. We had two goals - Hei hei the chicken, and a new shirt for me for the Christmas party. We managed to achieve both goals without buying anything else. Good job! We did get lunch at CPK which was so big it became dinner as well. The only thing we didn't find was that I was hoping for a new blazer. Mine is 2 1/2 years old and I wear it everywhere. I needed something that fit a little better. We didn't find anything during the day, but around 7:30 I suggested we go back out because we were both falling asleep like old people on the couch. We ended up going to six different stores including the mall. Finally found one for $100. I don't need anything fancy given how much I travel and how often I wear one on the road. I need something durable, not expensive.

Got back home around 10, B wanted to read. She got in bed and I followed suit around 12:30. Not a bad Saturday. Today, no plans.

Y8 D191

Man I slept in. I went to bed around 11:30 and just woke up at 7. Some solid ass sleep. I credit a lot of that to two things - our bed and the blackout curtains. This bed has been worth every penny. I sleep so well it's amazing.

Taught day two of my class, finished around 2:45. We went to the store to pick up a couple of things. Nothing major, just some immediate need stuff. We also stopped at the goodwill. We are looking for a magazine holder. Not for magazines though. We need it for B's multiple laptops she keeps in the front room. I almost killed myself tripping over a cord yesterday morning. I almost wrote that as chord. Technically they both are right. A chord can be "something that connects to points of an arc". So there.

We didn't find one unfortunately. Got back, made chicken lo mein for dinner. We watched Runway and the first episode in season 14 of Top Chef! Wooo it's back!

Played some games, went to bed. We had a couple of presents arrive yesterday. 5 or 6 are still out in the void. Hopefully everything will come before we leave next Friday. This time next week we will be back in our area for the company christmas party. I am NOT looking forward to this especially after the exchange I had with my boss yesterday. For 2017 his new rule is on 1/2 days I am to come home that same day. Well fuck you. Now I am going to be stressed and get home at 1 in the morning. Hope you happy dickhead.

Today we are off to the mall to find me a shirt to where to aforementioned shitfest. I paid bills yesterday including giving the kid money for her flight here in Jan, money in B's account, and money in savings. Not too shabby. I have three bills I want to aggressively pay in Q1. I think I can eliminate them if I do this right. Got rid of a few last year. On the path. On the path.

Y8 D190

I started writing this one yesterday because I didn't want to forget a couple of things I had read. Let's start with cheeto's choices of late:

- A warmonger secretary of defense who once used the codename "Chaos" on an operation. This man truly believes we should be wiping people away. Excellent

- A secretary of education who doesn't support public schools, has publicly stated she believes in child labor, and has been sued by her home state for her inability to do her job there for education

- A treasury secretary who is a home stealing, company moving, Wall Street billionaire. You know, the ones he vowed to protect you against.

Nah, this decision won't impact anyone. Not like:

- a doctor in a school posting on facebook that Michelle Obama is a "monkey face who speaks ebonics, but I'm not racist". Or that Michelle's Princeton and Harvard degrees are bullshit next to hers from Nebraska

- oh don't forget Texas now wanting a law stating aborted fetuses need to be buried and have a funeral even if the mother doesn't want that.

Nice duh-merica. Good fucking job.  This is a direct quote from one cheeto voter who is recognizing their mistake:

“I just wish that I had not voted,” said Colebrook, 59. “I have no faith in our government anymore at all. They all promise you the world at the end of a stick and take it away once they get in.”

You all think I am kidding, but I am very serious when I say if you voted for this stupid ass piece of shit or threw your vote away, I am done with you. Look at his manipulation of the media. THIS PRESIDENCY IS NOT NORMAL. NEVER FORGET THAT.

Side note - if you think Standing Rock is normal - hmm. A corporation using the US military to steal land from native people. Oh yea, perfectly normal. Just another day in shitville.

Taught my class yesterday. Six students. Most are okay. We finished around 2:30. I made a corned beef for dinner. We watched tv, played games, went to bed. Where I can hide from the idiocy outside my windows.

Y8 D189

Stupid FedEx. Delivered a package yesterday that looked like an elephant had sat on it without even an apology. Luckily all that was inside was a couple of items of clothing but it's the principle. I was really upset about it. Took to the social medias to bitch them out.

Taught a private class yesterday. Started butt early and was done by 11. Took a nap. Worked on some docs afterwards. Made pork for dinner. Watched some TV. Wrapped the presents that came. Only 8 more and everything will be here. One is stuck in China. I really tried to order from places that could get me stuff in 7-10 days max, but one item snuck through. It's stuck somewhere in a China facility. Hopefully it will come in time.

Sent out messages that we will be in the area on Dec 10th. Let's see who shows up to hang out with us. I don't expect a big crowd, but a few people would be nice. We also planned lunch for that day. Again, if people show, great, if not, whatever.

Went to bed around 10:30. Two days of six students to round out my week. Tomorrow is payday and that means bills and rent need to get paid. Only 23 full days left until Christmas. Hurry up and get here!