2024 should auld acquaintance be forgot?

2024 is ending, and 2025 is upon us. This is the year we saw Cheetos-Face get convicted of 34 felonies and still get elected again. Numerous celebrities went to The Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory, along with Aunt Linda. In no particular order or importance, here’s what happened:

• I bought no new shoes.
• I bought no new internal components for my computer (I’ve taken a pledge of no new upgrades).
• I rediscovered Formula 1 racing. And my DVR.
• I replaced both my cable boxes and my cable modem.
• Saved a shitload on my Target runs by skipping delivery and having my sister drive. And the cost of lunch with her is still cheaper than the delivery fee and the generous tip to the driver (I always tip at least 20% for deliveries).
• Ordered from Uber Eats only once.
• Only had to take one Uber.
• Joined Bluesky. I still Twitter/X, but that is now read-only. I will no longer post there.
• Realized that I only need to brew a half pot of coffee with the carafe on my coffeemaker. That’ll get me two goo cups, and it’s still cheaper than the k-pod side of it. Though the convenience of the k-pods do still have their place in my kitchen.
• I’ve realized that Virat Kohli needs to retire.
• We lost Jimmy Carter.
• I tried Usenet again. For about 20 minutes. The reason got a hold of me again.
• Added 2 new keyboards to my computer. One wasn’t really new. I got for my old HP tower when I was going to use it as a home theater streaming box because it was wireless and the size of a remote. And then it occurred to me it’ll still work on my regular tower. And then there was the chat keyboard I got for my Xbox controller. I’ve just taken it off as it gets in the way.
• My mouse died. replacement has been order. Should be here soon. I hope… Noy like I have at least for of the exact same model lying around….
• Ran into one of my old managers. All I’m going to say is that I wish him nothing but success, and to that end I will avoid him like the plague….
• A couple of times, I was able to go more than two weeks without wiping and rebuilding everything on my computer. Sometimes, you just want to stop reinstalling everything, and actually use it….

I’m not going to go to deep into New Years Resolutions. It is said that the first Friday of the new year is called quitting Friday for a reason. But I will attempt to keep myself healthy and non-partisan.

Happy New Year. Or as I call it, Tuesday/Wednesday….

25 Years Ago…

Living in Puyallup in my our first apartment with my 2 brothers. I had the day off. I spent most of the day working on a 1/35 scale M8 Greyhound (by Italeri) model. Y2K was the thing, so I watched the news that night. And I saw that nothing really happened at midnight throughout the respective time zones. So when the elevator went up the Space Needle, I was actually on the throne, answering the Call of Nature. Went to bed, and got up the next day and worked the Mrs Fields at the SeaTac Mall (before it became the Commons At Federal Way).

So, 25 years later, I’m in my room watching TV, currently some Bowl Game. I essentially quit scale models 20+ years ago. I have to work tomorrow, but since I’m overnights, I won’t go to bed till 10 in the morning.

Happy New Year, or as I call it, Tuesday/Wednesday….

One last Holiday celebration….

So, Saturday was another Christmas gathering. This time with the siblings and Dad. At first it was going to be brunch. Then it got moved back a couple of hours and became something even better: Tacos. The gift exhange was done white elephant style, which is cool by me. The only person I specifically shopped for this year, was my brother Phil. I hope he enjoys his smart mug. I got Uno No Mercy, which I’ve since given to Phil so he and his co-workers have something to play when it’s slow at work. Aside from the white elephant, my sister (who was hosting) gave me me hot sauce. On a recent Target run, I was commenting something about a big bottle of Frank’s Red Hot and Heinz 57 Sauce. And that’s what she got me. I gave Dad a gift card to Wally World. And my niece got a gift card to Wally World, along with my rechargeable flashlight and a powerbank from me (I did most of my shopping at Newegg and Spamazon on Cyber Monday this year).

And there was the Kraken hat and the Target gift card I got from my brother, too….

Yippee-Ki-Yay Motherf*kers!

I know I shouldn’t be writing this until tomorrow, but why not? Yes, I haven’t been writing here. So what? Sometimes, Life gets in the way. Sometimes when you work retail in the holiday season, blogging isn’t the highest of priorities….

Anyway, this year the Big Bryant Family Reunion was held Sunday. This was the one that was traditionally held on Christmas Eve at Grandma Bryant’s house (I think she’s spending the holidays spinning in her grave). There was food, reindeer games, and of course the white elephant gift exchange. Since it was held on the 22nd, and Festivus was on the 23rd, the present I gave was Festivus, the Board Game. And the cousin who picked it actually had his birthday on the 23rd….

Since Christmas Eve was clear for both my brother and I, we had the big holiday dinner tonight. For the first time in many years, I had a gravy volcano.

The get-together with my siblings (which normally takes place on Christmas) was rescheduled for the 28th this year. On a Saturday. It is next to impossible to get a weekend day off in the Christmas season when one works in retail, but I was able to pull it off…

So Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfucker….

Almost a week past….

I survived Black Friday #29 last week. Didn’t write about this as last Wednesday, I decided to once again wipe the tower last week. And then, last Thursday morning, I had to wipe it again…..

My Thanksgiving was celebrated with a roast beef sandwich. I had to work that night, and my brother was invited out. And I’m not really a cook. So just one sandwich. And then he took over the kitchen to cook his dishes, so I just went to bed. I got off work Friday morning, and went to Denny’s. My real Thanksgiving Feast was an All-American Slam. I did get my Thanksgiving turkey though. Phil brought home leftovers…

I joined Bluesky a couple of weeks ago. I’m still on Twitter/X for now, but I will no longer post there. I try to identify as a moderate/left wing, and Elmo has gone too far to the right…. Possibly more on this later. I’m still on Facebook, and of course here.

Did my holiday decor last week. The Festivus Pole is up in the living room…

And now really the last day….

Ok, so tonight begins the last day of my vacation (work overnight, so my circadian rhythm is reversed). When we last left our hero, I was on the bus on i-5 headed up to Seattle as a spur of the moment day trip….

So, at 10 in the morning I got off the bus at the Westlake Park. The Westlake now doesn’t open until 11 am (when I worked at the Mrs. Fields there over 20 years ago, they opened at 9:30. So first ordered of business was to take a leak. And the only place that was open that had a, available restroom was the Pike Place Market. So, yes I went to the Pike Place Market just to take a pee. So, after that was all said and done, I was just aimlessly meandering, and I discovered the downtown Target. It’s a three story store (according to the one employee I talked to, it’s the only 3 story Target around). Bought my obligatory latte. My day trip to Seattle essentially became a Target run…

So, I then decided to head home, mainly because of the horrendous traffic on the way in. Got on the bus at 11 am. And didn’t get home till 2.

But I took a vacation, and I got out of the house on purpose for no reason related to ‘adulting’….

The Last Day....

Not necessarily the last day of my vacation, yet but it's close enough. Took a good nap last night, so I decided to do a day trip. Got out of the house, got on the bus, and headed to Seattle. I thought. Currently I'm stuck on the river I-5 where there is lots free parking....

Probably won't do much, just grab lunch and then it'll be time to head home.

But it got me out. 

Halfway Gone….

Halfway through what will probably be my last vacation of the year. Did all of my adulting yesterday and Sunday when I came home from work. I thought I did….

But it turns out I needed coffee. And shredded cheese. Well, I didn’t exactly need them, I just wanted to get out of the house at least once. So a quick trip to Wally World, and then I realized I had to pay at least one bill, and a couple of runs to take out the garbage….

It can get pretty busy when you’re just doing nothing….

On Vacation….

So with the National Shove Bread Up A Turkey’s Ass Day coming up, my employer traditionally blacks out most of November and December, so we can’t take vacations (on the contrary, when I was at Home Depot, this was our slow season, so I routinely took it during Christmas). So I decided to take a couple of days while I still could. Last night was the first, and I will take Wednesday night off as well.

So I got home yesterday and had my Target run delivered. Between that and the contents of my pantry, I don’t need to go to the store for the week. And I just finished my laundry. So, day 1 of my 4 day vacation, and all of my adulting is done already. I guess it’ll just be ass-sitting for the rest of the week. Though I am contemplating an excursion tomorrow.

So this past Friday night, I got up to go to work, and I had a headache. Not normally a problem. Took a couple of Day-Quil (I’m also dealing with the after-effects of a serious head cold) to tough it out, and power through it on my way to work. Then 20 minutes later while I was putting on my shoes, it came back up. So I called out. It’s not the barfing at work that’s problem, as I’m usually within arm’s reach of a mop. Rather it’s barfing on the bus that’s the problem. My experience on Pierce Transit has been that if a passenger gets sick on the bus, they’ll take the bus immediately out of service, and everybody is delayed at least an hour. Then the driver will call EMS and I’ll end up with a 4+ figure bill from inevitable trip to the ER. So, I called out, and had some tea and top ramen.

And why does it always rain the hardest when I’m on vacation?

An Anniversary I Almost Forgot....

 Almost forgot this with all the brouhaha of the election tonight. I have been living with Type I Diabetes for 22 years now....

Hail To The CHief. I Guess....

 So, CNN is projecting that Cheetos-Face will win the election. And he's won by the popular vote. It's not the result that I wanted, but I will respect it. I feel that there will be consequences for this, both nationally and on a global scale. But the people have spoken (the projections say he won by the poular vote, like I said). And that means that Donald Trump is my president. For the next 4 years, and then no more (thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for the 22nd Amendment).

Yes, he won. It was close, like the pundits had predicted. But in the end, it doesn't matter if it by one vote or by a landslide, he won. 

Now it's time to cross the aisle and work together.

Hail to the Chief. I guess....