Christmas came and went….

I had Christmas Eve off, and I was scheduled to work Christmas night (I work overnights). Last week, I got sick. Started with the sore throat and progressed to aches and pains. Sunday night, I had to call in sick, and it progressed to a cough. Monday night was the Big Bryant Family Reunion in Ollala. Saw my Grandmother (this first time in two years that I’ve seen her). At the gift exchange, I wrapped my present in the carry out bag from MacDonalds (I made a pit stop on the way in), and apparently I’m now obligated to leave a packet of ranch salad dressing in any present I give.

Christmas Day saw a gathering with my siblings at my sister’s house. This year, the decision was made to only shop for nieces and nephews. I gave flashlights to my nephews and usb flash drives to my neices (I was on a strict budget this year).

An unspecified cousin gave a spatula for Christmas. It was a Seahawks one, but a spatula nonetheless. But the value in gifts like that is the good laugh everybody had when it was opened, which even exceeds the intrinsic value of the gift itself.

My last day off before Christmas….

Did most of my Christmas shopping last week. It has all arrived. But for the sake of procrastination, I’m not wrapping it yet. And I still have to get my brother, my father, and my grandmother their presents. I’m putting it off till the last minute….

Today was my last day off before Christmas. I decided yesterday to wipe my laptop. It was taking close to an hour for it to boot up to a desktop, and I decided to nuke it form orbit. It took quite a bit longer to reinstall the OS than it does my tower. And I have to do it twice (first time with the system restore drive, then with the current version of Windows 10). But my tower still is in order, so I still have my main computer….

Day off trip postponed….

Weekend started at 7 am this morning. I was going to visit Dad in Olalla. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to pack my laptop (I was going up there for a ‘service call’ on his computer in addition to visiting Grandma). So, I called Dad and said I’d come next week.

This is all because I called out Friday. The Big Christmas Eve Family reunion is on a Monday night this year, when I normally work. Normally I would ask for the night off, but I’m treading on thin ice as it is, so I’d thought I’d pay them a special visit on my normal day off.

But this is all postponed till next week…

What happened last night….

I ended calling out last night. Here’s what happened:

When one’s blood sugar gets low, often times your brain just shuts down and you get easily confused (like if you’re drunk). Your coordination takes a hit. Your mind goes off to somewhere. Then there are the times when you just get dizzy and light headed, and you immediately know that it’s time to take a break, or else. Then there are the times when you just start shaking, and fortunately then there was a source of sugar right next to me. Or if it happens in the middle of the night, I’ll have a very strange dream, that’s extremely vivid and detailed, and then when I wake up, I’ll be confused like I’m still in the dream, and when I come out of it, I can’t go back to sleep. And there’s also that one time at Grandma’s when I completely passed out.

What happened is that my blood sugar went low right when my alarm went off. I could (in hindsight) tell that the confusion had set in because I had turned my alarm off rather than snoozing it, and I was trying to fix it without knowing what day of the week it was. Somehow in my confused state, I managed to pull up my employer’s app on my phone, enter my password (with great difficulty) and call in sick. It wasn’t until I had eaten something that the confusion had abated, and even then I didn’t realize that it was 6 pm, not 6 am (that is significant since I work nights).

Just as important as it is to pay attention to my work duties, I need to start paying better attention to myself….

On gratitude. A week late…

Yes, Thanksgiving was a week ago. It was also Monday (meaning the first day of the week for me). My Thanksgiving dinner was at Red Robin the preceding Tuesday (no Turkey, no Gravy Volcano, but at least there was bacon). There is much to be grateful for. My job (it may not pay much, but I do have benefits, and it pays my bills). My family (yes, we had issues like all families do, but they’re still my family). My health (I’m still diabetic but I get up in the morning, and I’m still wearing pants). The future (things can always get better).

Gratitude shouldn’t be restricted to just one day a year of stuffing seasoned bread up a turkey’s ass. It should be year round. It should be a state of mind…

Plans were changed…

After I called out last week, I thought I could make up time, so I volunteered to come in tonight. Got as ready for as I could. Even had Thanksgiving dinner early (take-out from Red Robin). I got up and headed out to work. Caught my first bus (which was late), and subsequently missed my connection. Which I didn’t realize until after I had gotten off the first bus, and it had pulled out. Had I stayed on the bus, I could’ve made a connection in downtown Tacoma, but this was a case where Onebusaway went down right as I was looking up my route. So, I was stuck in Parkland stressing out about making it in to work on time, and then I realized something. Tonight was originally my day off. Management didn’t ask me to come in, I had volunteered. So I decided to quit stressing about making it in to work on my day off, called the store, & went back home. Now if I was scheduled to work tonight, then I would’ve waited the hour and tried my darndest to get it to work on time. But I’m not going to put myself through that level of stress on my supposed day off. I work retail and the most stressful time of the year are upon me, and I’m not going to give myself anymore stress than I need to…

One thing leads to another….

I use the onebusaway app to look up my bus rides. Using this, I give myself 10 minutes to walk to the bus stop, and I have 3 minute cushion at the bus stop. Except for today. I didn’t check the app, because the bus is supposed to come at 7:24. So I left at 7:14. And saw the bus go by my stop 3 minutes early. Needless to say, I missed the bus. As the bus drove past, I check the app, and I saw that the bus was 3 minutes early, and I wasn’t supposed to have showed up yet. This is not good. But a quick check of the bus schedules showed I could still make it to work on time. The transfer window was going to be really tight, but I was willing to try. So, and hour later, I head back out the bus stop and wait. And wait. And wait. I check the app, and the bus is running late. Late enough that I’ll miss the really tight connection, and won’t make it to work on time. And I would’ve been an hour late or more. And at my employer being an hour late or more is the same occurrence as an absence. It sounds strange, but those are the rules. So, if I’m going to take the same attendence hit, I might as well call out…

And it didn’t help that at my second attempt to catch the bus, there was an unstable gentlemen at the bus stop having a heated argument on the phone, and I’m really not in the mood to jeopardize my safety waiting for a late bus…

Update on the fiscal front, and some other things…

Paycheck hit my account about an hour ago. So, I decided to pay my bills. Bills are now paid, but ninety percent of my paycheck is gone. Well, not completely ninety percent, but a good chunk of it. I still have money left.

Thanksgiving is next week, and of course, I will be working. Par for the course for my job. I don’t begrudge it, I knew what the deal was when I started with my employer. So I’ll probably celebrate it the day or so before. At Mrs Fields, with Red Robin. Or Chinese takeout. Or even Soylent Green. Don’t know Soylent Green. After all, the taste varies from person to person.

Christmas is coming up next month. Which means Christmas shopping. This year will be a little bit more frugal tha last year, since I cut up most of my credit cards this past spring. But I will still be able to afford it this year. Especially since I no longer shop at Worst Buy. If I can find it at Worst Buy, then I can get it for a lower price at Spamazon, Newegg, or Wally World. Who knows, I may even do some of it at eBay…

Just voted.

Just filled out my ballot. When it came to the Senate, I voted for Maria Cantwell. I remember watching Susan Hutchison on KIRO, and while I like campaigns with no personal attacks (take a fucking hint, Dino Rossi), I had to go with Maria Cantwell. Also as someone who has been in management at Mrs. Fields (meaning I had to personally cover when a co-worker was absent), I value attendance at the workplace, and Susan Hutchison was fired from KIRO over attendance…

I voted for Denny Heck.

I voted for Initiative 940. I saw an attack against it saying that it’s anti-police. It’s not the people being anti-police as much as the police are being anti-people. I’ve been stopped for walking on the sidewalk on Pacific Avenue (apparently violating double-secret probation) and I’ve had Pierce County Sheriff's Deputies try to gaslight me into admitting to stealing from a store that I’ve never set foot in. But wanting them to get trained in de-escalating dangerous situations and mental health crisis makes us anti-police….

I voted for the pollution initiative. Seriously, we need to do something about air quality when I have to take a sick day because of haze….

I voted for gun control initiative. I have no problem with people having guns for sporting and/or self defense. But you don’t need military grade assault weapons. The only people who really need military style weapons are SWAT officers and soldiers. Both of whom are in uniform and under discipline. While I have no problem with people owning guns, I am concerned with careless handling. If you own a gun, you have to keep it secured (preferably locked up in a safe)…

There were a couple of other initiatives, candidates and/or issues that I voted on, but will not be commenting here on it. Now to put my shoes on and go to the ballot drop box….

On Birthright Citizenship….

So, President Cheetos-Face wants to revoke birthright citizenship (basically if you’re born in the United States, you’re an automatic citizen) via executive order. Unfortunately, this principle comes from the first clause of the first section of the 14th amendment of the Constitution. It is the law of the land. It is in the Constitution. There is a way to amend the Constitution. But an executive order is not the way to do it. No, Cheetos-Face is not above the Constitution. Just because someone is of a different skin color, practices a different faith, has a different political opinion, or even just simply reports the truth (not you opinion of it) doesn’t deprive you of the protection of the law.

An executive order won’t cut the mustard. The Citizenship clause has been repeatedly upheld in the Supreme Court, and 33 other nations in fact have similar laws.

This boils down to President Cheetos-Face being racist. Not White Nationalist. But Racist.

Almost to where I left off….

After I went back to Windows 7 last week, only to realize it was two cables plugged into the wrong jacks, I decided this week to go back to Windows 10. It took a long while, as I had to factory reset my Tower (thank you for System Restore set). Then I had to install some patches, and download some Windows 8.1 apps that I could not download through Windows 10. Then there was the upgrade to Windows, and the patching, and downloading, and driver installation. And then there was the 1.3 TB of files that I needed to move over (thank goodness for a back-up drive). This time, I made sure that the TV tuners worked when I installed the programs. Now, I’ve restored my virtual machines (a lot easier to do this time than last time…), and Firefox. I’m not quite yet back to where I left off & it’ll be awhile before I play Flight Simulator again.

Once again, the next time I decide to tear apart my system and rebuild it, would someone please remind me what a PITA it is to put it back together again….

D’OH!

Ok, so I thought the latest Windows 10 update was terminally incompatible with my TV Tuner. So I put another version of Windows on the Tower. And then spent all night and most of today installing drivers and downloading updates. Then it came time to set up the TV tuner. And I had the same results as last night. Rebooted the cable box. Then on a hunch I pulled out my usb TV tuner and hooked it up to my laptop. I had a signal, since my laptop had TV. I thought my TV card was bad, so I ordered another USB TV tuner from Newegg (the exact same model I have for my laptop). Right after I placed to order for it, I decided on one last attempt at troubleshooting. My TV card has 2 coax inputs, one for TV and one for an fm radio antenna. Guess who had the cables reversed…

So long story short, I got my Tower’s tv tuner working, and I have a USB tuner on the way. I’ll just put it aside and use it as a spare….

A Deal Breaker….

So tonight, I was working on my Tower, looking forward to enjoying another session of Flight Simulator. But I went to turn on the TV Tuner application, and no image. This is kinda of a deal-breaker for me, so I went back to a previous version of Windows. Maybe later, but for now, I’d prefer an OS that’s a little bit more compatible with my hardware….

Went up to Mrs. Fields today…

Went up today to Mrs. Fields. Brought my laptop. It was my turn to buy lunch, so we had take-out from Red Robin. Then I had to update the price list (added a new cookie). Ran a couple of errands, and then cut my visit short to preserve my voice. Next time I go up, it’s the store owner’s turn to buy lunch…

Had it for a week or so….

Ok, the Windows 1809 update came out last week. It was installed on the laptop right away. Took about 4 hours to install, but it eventually finished. I didn’t have any of the issues that people are reporting with files being deleted (and since my primary back-up is a usb hard drive, I can avoid permanent data loss. Usually). After upgrading my laptop, I used the Media Creation Tool to prepare a thumb drive to install it on the Tower. Again there was no data loss issue on the tower, since I hadn’t yet restored my data. There a couple of improvements over previous versions that I like. Namely the your phone companion app. There’s something to be said about being able to check your text messages at the computer (and reply to them) while your phone is across the room. There’s also the no longer needing to explicitly give administrator permissions just to manually move something over to the ‘program files’ folder, or to place a shortcut in the start menu manually.

So far the only drawback was trying to get my virtual machines working. I use VMware Player. First I had to enable virtualization (took two tries on the BIOS screen). Then I had to disable device guard/Hyper-V (about a dozen reboots and too many PowerShell entries). But I got them to work, and I do not anticipate any further issues when I restore my games….

This update looks like a keeper…

Took the laptop on the bus today…

On my way to Mrs Fields on my day off. And I have my laptop with me. Along with my very rarely used USB modem. SO of course, I’m blogging on the bus. And as per tradiiton whenever I bring my laptop to Mrs. Fields, I’m going to get put to work. But hey, I need the cookies….

Ok, time to call it a night (or day…)

Ok, I’ve reinstalled all my hardware drivers. And my themes. And Firefox & Thunderbird. And some of the other various & sundry programs that I can’t live without, yet I never seem to use. And now I’ll let the computer copy over the TB and a third of stuff (yes I know I have too much crap). But it’s time to go to bed. And I have to get up early. So goodnight…

Strange….

Last Saturday, I decided to wipe my replacement tower (basically when I got it all I did was pull the hard drive from my other computer and just put it into this one, and it booted). Since my previous computer was a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion 500-214, and my new computer was a Hewlett Packard Pavilion 500-314, the hardware was sufficiently similar that I could get away with it. I decided to try using the system restore set from my previous computer to see if I could reset this computer. No, actually. It turns out that the system restore sets are actually matched to your system’s serial number. Anyway, a quick Google search revealed where I could get the system restore set, so I ordered it. For only $32.

So, it arrived today, and I went ahead and reset my tower to Windows 8.1. Basically to download all the Windows 8.1 apps that I’ve purchased, and will work on Windows 10, but I can’t download them from windows 10. Immediately after they were installed, I put the USB thumbdrive in (BTW, Windows 10, 1809 version came out today), and proceeded to install Windows 10. I had my product key ready (remember I overdrew my checking account buying a license for Windows 10 Pro last week). But I wasn’t prompted for it. After Windows 10 installed, it even let me upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. And it says it is activated via a digital license on my Microsoft account. So, basically, Microsoft still thinks that I have the same computer as before. So I apparently didn’t need to buy my Windows 10 Pro license last week. C’est la vie. I figure they’ll eventually catch on, and if and/or when they do, I’ll be ready. Until then, I’ll just hold on to this product key. It may come in handy later….

BTW, the 1809 update is out, and I’ve already installed it on my laptop. The one thing that I like about this one is the Your Phone app. I like being able to read my phone’s texts on my computer, and be able to text from my computer again….

The weekend begins. Again…

Just got home from work. My roommate (aka my brother) has left for his work. My weekend has begun, and I have the apartment all to myself. Not that I’m goint to do much. It’s been almost five years since my last drink, and I don’t see a reason to start again. So, I guess its just eat supper and go to bed…

Yet another weekend ends….

Still sick. I think I’m going to skip the flu shot this year. Just because I think I’ve already had it this year. For the most part, I can manage it now without any medications. Though if I can devote more than 8 hours to sleeping, I will be properly dosing the Nyquil. Well, not Nyquil, but the Wally World house brand equivalent.

Tried to buy a legitimate Windows 10 license for my computer. So, I went to the Microsoft store and ordered the download version. I paid for it via PayPal. I was intending to use my PayPal line of credit (which is how paid for my laptop Windows upgrade). But instead they drew it from my checking account. So, my account is currently overdrawn. But I will learn from my mistake, and own up to it. In a side note, my tower will have a legitimate Windows 10 install. But that will have to wait till next weekend. I am getting things ready though for it.

What I’ve been doing that past couple of weeks it switching my sleep schedule to port-and-starboard so I can have one day off with daylight. But I think next week, I think I’ll just sleep during the day, and stay up relatively late. I will adjust….

The changing of the seasons…

I haven’t run my air conditoner in the past week. And in the week before when I ran it, the compressor rarely kicked on. So Tuesday morning, I took it down. And I ran the heat that day, too. Summer is definitely over, and the transition to fall in underday. I guess it’s time for pumkin spice everything now….

Been feeling kinda sick this past week

Started out last Monday when I woke up with chest pains. Don’t ask me why I didn’t call 911 or go to the Emergency Room, but it just didn’t feel like a coronary. I went to work Monday night, and worked my shift as scheduled. When I got on the bus home the next day the pains had subsided (basically it just nerves/psychosomatic). But when I went to work the following Thursday, I had the aches and pains. You know, the aches and pains you get when you get sick. It was a premonition. And I could tell that this was going to be not very good. Then the sore throat hit, along with aches. Sunday, my cough started. Monday I barely made it to work, but I somehow kept functioning to work. By the time I got home Tuesday morning, I was ready to curl up with a botlle of Nyquil and sleep it off. But my congestion and my cough were at the worst. But there was something about 10+ hours of sleep that help relieve my symptoms considerably. And no, I didn’t just curl up a bottle of Nyquil. I followed the dosing instructions precisely.

I’m still sick. But I’m feeling better. Though something tells me I can probably skip the flu shot this year, since I think I’ve already had it….

Not much happened on my weekend…

Not much has happened on my weekend these past two ‘days’. I have found a way to have an day off on my weekend (I work nights now, btw"). Basically my Friday is Tuesday morning. I try to run my errands on the way home. Tuesday I then go to sleep all day (making a point to turn my alarm off). Wake up in the evening, and I start my laundry.  About 2 am Wednesday morning, I go to bed again, for about 4 hours. That gets me up Wednesday morning, and I’m awake enough to have an actual ‘day’ off. If I need to take day to go mall-ratting, or just enjoy a cup of coffee in downtown Seattle, this is when I do it. Late Thursday afternoon (about 7-ish), I’ll take another 4 hout nap, and then I’ll stay up until late Thursday morning, when I’ll go to bed to wake up to go to work.

It is a little complicated, but it enables me to have an actual day off, and still have my circadian rhythm set for working night shifts….

My comments on what’s going on in the other Washington…

So much has goneon in Washington. Not this one, but the other one:

• John McCain passed away. He was a hero and a stateman. True statesmen are bound to no party. He wasn’t afraid to cross party lines, either to work with the other party, or to just follow his conscience.
• Cohen flipped. And sang. And identified President Cheetos-Face as knowing about it.
• Manafort was found guilty. Literally within 2 minutes of Cohen flipping. And he has another trial coming up.
• President Cheetos-Face’s top two Congressional supporters were indicted.

President Cheetos-Face ran on a platform of draining the swamp. It appears as though he replaced the swamp with a cesspool. The way things appear, I don’t think he’ll finish out his term.

Normally, I take a step back from partisan politics. Going back to Eisenhower, both parties have had equal time in the White House, and the political spectrum has swung both ways multiple times peacefully. America has always been great, but with current situation, we need to do much better. And the sooner President Cheetos-Face is constitutionally removed form office, the better….

New computer arrived today….

Last week as you my know, I f*cked up my computer and had to order a replacement. Ordered it off of eBay. I got a HP Pavilion 500-314. It was replacing a HP Pavilion 500-214. I deliberately ordered this specific model so I could part out my old computer, and put all the upgrades (especially the 4 tb hard drive, and the 24 gb of RAM) into the computer. So there were some concerns with my computer (it was used and ‘refurbished’ so I knew that I wasn’t getting something fresh from the factory):

• The RAM: the eBay listing said it had 8 gb of RAM. When I got my HP Pavilion 500-214 (factory refurbished by HP), it had 8 gb, but it was all on 1 DIMM. This one had 4 2 gb DIMMs.
• The hard drive. This specific model of computer was first produced in 2014, and it came with Windows 8.1. The hard drive was made in 2010. Again, it appears as though it was parted out and replaced with an older part.
• The operating system. It was listed on eBay as having Windows 10 Pro, but the included hard drive was not bootable. I think what happened is that the seller just copied another Windows 10 harddrive and put it in the computer. Fortunately, I was able to simply install my old hard drive (lock, stock, and barrel) into my system. It took about 20 minutes to reinstall some drivers, and I was back up and running. Although this means that I will be buying Windows 10 Pro for it when I decide to run it. The new computer is sufficiently similar to my old computer that I can get away with moving items over, but I don’t think that’ll work with my Windows 10 license…

Yes, my computer has issues, but they were items that can address. Technically it wasn’t bootable when I got it, but I still left positive feedback for the transaction, because it was a computer that works….

Why do I want cake today?

I just got home from work, and there’s an overwhelming desire for cake. I just can’t figure out why. Oh, well. Happy Birthday.

And if it’s not your birthday, have some cake anyway…

The end of yet another weekend….

Since my recent switch to the night shift, this was the first ‘weekend’ from work that I stayed up all night and slept all day. Well, I tried to. This is something I want to keep up for a couple of weeks to reset my circadian rhythm so I can work my shift without caffeine loading and generally becoming a zombie.

But anyway, here’s what I did this weekend:

• Tried moving my tower into my new case, only to realize that I didn’t have long enough SATA cables.
• Tried to install my new CPU cooler that I had bought several months ago, only to realize that I’m stuck the Hewlett-Packard’s cpu cooler. Then I realized that what I had was actually working pretty well (I guess AMD processors just run cooler…).
• F*cked up my Tower when I tried putting it back together. It still turned on, and the desktop loaded, but the USB hubs are fried on it.
• Ordered a new tower off of eBay. It’s not really new (it’s actually used), but’s similar enough to what I had before, that I can part out the old Tower and use them in the new one.
• Watched Van Helsing on Netflix.
• Saw Captain Underpants on Netflix, too.
• And I assembled one of my Star Wars models (sister and brother-in-law gave me a 72nd scale X-Wing by bandai for Christmas, and I went a got the A-Wing and the Y-Wing off of eBay, too). Tonight I assembled the A-Wing…

And there was also the standard laundry run, and the couple of bags of garbage out to the dumpster, too. But the weekend must come to an end. It is time to retire and go to bed. Goodnight (even though this is being written at 7:30 in the morning…).

Well, this just stinks….

Hello, I’m writing this at 2:30 in the morning. Got the job transfer that I was wanting, and it happened sooner than I thought it would. So I’m no longer in hardware sales, but in overnight maintenance. It’s a mess. It can be hard work. But I like it. I like cleaning stuff. And it’s something that I can see the immediate difference I make (from dirty to clean). And also I can catch a bus both ways without having to wait at the bus stop for an hour, or walk 4 1/2 to 6 miles, or ride the bike. And the pay raise that comes with overnight work doesn’t hurt much, either….
So, I bought myself a birthday present last week. A new case for my tower. So, today, I decided to try and ‘move into’ it. It didn’t go over well, Got the old tower broken down, and it start with the risers for the motherboard.Everything seemed to fit except for one thing. The SATA cables. What I had was too short, so I ordered some more, and then put the old tower back together (thoroughly dusting it, of course). SO I got it reassembled, and turned it on. And no USB mouse. Or keyboard. I verified with my laptop that the mouse was working. SO I f*cked up my motherboard and related components when I tried moving everything over. So goodbye to my tower. May my HP Pavilion 500-214 spend all eternity frolicking in the Beer Volcano & Stripper Factory. Ramen.
But I still have my laptop. And I can do anything on my laptop than I could do on my tower (some items I haven’t installed on my laptop due to space considerations). I can still surf, game, watch TV & Blu-Ray, and still have a computer in general.
So, I’m going to be using my laptop for the near future. I’ve already ordered a replacement computer. A HP Pavilion 500-314. Yes, I know it basically my previous computer with a slightly stepped up processor. But I also know that all the comonents that I’ve bought for my old computer will work on this one, and therefore I won’t have to upgrade much on this one.
As for the case that I’ve bought. I’ll chuck that up to folly. I’ll store it in the closet until I decide to build my own, in the future.

Good Morning People!

It’s 4:30 and I just woke up. It’s my day off (actually the second day of my weekend). Notwithstanding the demise of my Tower last night, my laptop is still working. And my replacement tower has shipped already. Battlebots is on the TV.
Did I mention that I have the day off, and absolutely nothing planned. I even washed and put away my laundry last night…

My weekend report….

Normally I work Thursdays through Mondays. But this weekend was different. With the all the smoke from the wildfires, the air quality was listed as unhealthy. And since my commute home does now involve serious cardio (I have a bike), I can no longer afford uber, and my plantar facsiitis precludes me from walking 4+ miles, I decided to stay belowdecks Monday, and I called out. Technically, I wasn’t really sick, but I was calling out for reason of my health….

My birthday was Saturday. Normally I celebrate it with a day off. This year, I didn’t. Same as last year. Though last year, I had just started at my job, and I hadn’t accumulated enough time off to take the day off (nor was I inclined to ask for a day off when I had been there for less than a week). And this year, I was trying to transfer to another position, and did want to throw a spanner into the works while this was still in the works. BTW, I did get the transfer, though it won’t be effective for a couple of weeks.

Essentially stayed home for the past three days. Mainly due to the aforementioned poor quality air.

And according to the forecast the weather will be about 70 tomorrow. And today should’ve been the last day of 80+  weather. Perhaps in the next weeks, I’ll be retiring my AC until next summer…

Like I said, it was my birthday my past week. And as usual, I bought my birthday present myself. I don’t need a new computer. My tower still works perfectly. And so does my laptop. But I did get a new case for my tower. I bought a CPU cooler a year ago, and I’ve never been able to install it, since I couldn’t get it to fit. And want to use a second hard drive in my tower.

And lastly, for all those who are inclined to celebrate it, I bid you Eid Mubarak….

One year anniversary…

One year ago, I rejoined the work force at my current employer (though I never left it, as I still work at Mrs. Fields). It was a month and a half after I was fired from my previous employer. I started with a 4 hour shift, but I would officially be fulltime 2 months after I started. And today, with the pay raises I’ve received since I’ve started I now take home even more from my current employer than my previous employer. All in all, things are good at my current employer, and I’ve heard on good authority that they’re getting even better….

For the first time since last fall….

I’m now sitting in my easy chair, on my laptop. I think the last time this happened, it was just after I got my laptop. If I can keep my chair clean, I can actually sit it in again. But the issue will be keeping it clean.

I think my next weekend, I will need to continue the Purge….

So, the worst of the heatwave passed a couple of weeks ago,,,,

The worst of the heatwave passed a couple of weeks ago. We’re no longer dealing with temperatures in the 90’s down here in Parkland. But it’s still warm enough that I’m using my room air conditioner. A lot. And my brother is still using the other AC in the living room. I knew I’d be regretting the electric bill when I got it.

On the bright side, my room is now livable. And the cooling season should wind down in a couple of weeks…

A day off realization….

Came home from work last night, and my weekend began. I stayed up a little later, knowing that today was a sleep-in day. But no, I ended up waking even earlier today than I normally would on a work day. So this morning started off with two cups of coffee.

The Mariners swept the ‘Stros in Houston this past week. The first four-game sweep this season. And Robinson Canó is back. He did the crime, he did the time….

Switched the batteries on my laptop today. First time in over a year that I’ve used this one (and looking at the label, I think this one is the one that came with my laptop)….

Primary Election was tonight….

Usually I abstain from voting in the primary. Washington’s primaries are the first two vote getters in the primary go to the fall ballot. But this year, I decided to vote in the primaries. So I voted two weeks ago and mailed my ballot in (now absentee ballots are postage prepaid, though there is also a ballot dropbox at the library across the street).

With what’s going on in Washington (the other one), now is the time to take action. We need to make our voices heard. At the ballot box.

I voted in the primary. And I will vote in November, too….

What I did today…

Yesterday morning, I got a text from my boss at Mrs. Fields to come to the store today and bring in my laptop, too.  I had the day off from my other job (emphasis on the past tense), so I packed my laptop and headed off today. All I had to do was change a couple of prices, reprint the back in 5 minutes sign (a must-have when you’re the only person in the store, and you have to use the can), and print up a new coffee sign.

After that, it was time for lunch, and it was my turn to pay. So, it was Red Robin. Another thing I learned about Red Robin is that sometimes the cheapest burger on the menu is the best one…

Technically, my day off did get pulled out from under me. But I enjoyed lunch today, and a chance to visit with a boss with whom I never get a chance anymore to see (I don’t get to see him that much since I’m full-time at my current job)….

This happened last fall…

And Lo! the Noodly Appendage reached forth, and The Flying Spaghetti Monster did call home AT&T Nick Trifonoff. And may he spend all Eternity frolicking amongst The Beer Volcano and The Stripper Factory. Ramen.

I just found out about this today through another friend on Facebook. At one time I did try to friend him on Facebook, but he didn’t respond. I remember him as the Senior AT&T WorldNet staff member on the internal AT&T newgroups.

All those who wander aren’t lost….

Past the worst of it….

According to Accuweather, yesterday was the last 90+ degree day we’re going to have. Today it’ll be only in the 80s, which makes the rest of the apartment tolerable (my room is air conditioned, as I have repeatedly written about). Sunshine is good, but I really don’t like too warm. I keep my air conditioner on the Ice Age setting.

And they’re saying by Thursday, it should be down into the 70’s. I better pack the sweater.

Having a cool one today….

Today was not a chilly day. In fact, it has been hot. But not in my room. Came home from work last night, and my air conditioner has been on ever since. My room feels comfortable, but something tells me that I’m going to regret my next electric bill…

Sometimes it is best….

I’ve been experiencing some concerns of late, and I’ve thought about speaking up and addressing them. And I decided today to write something about it, and drop off a piece of certified mail to the one person who could address my concerns. However, it occurred to me today that I don’t have his address.

And furthermore, it also occurred to me that I might be acting hastily. Maybe I should wait a little bit longer before I blow a possibly trivial matter out of proportion. Sometimes it is best to let yourself cool off (figuratively) before you do something you might regret….

All done…

Finished working on the laptop. I even got my virtual machines installed. And I still have 400 gB left on my hardrive. According to the Winaero tweaker tool, both my laptop andmy tower have the same WEI numbers (5.9), so, all I need is at least a 4 tB hard drive, and my laptop can replace my tower (I’ve made sure that my laptop can do everything my tower can do, even down to the TV Tuner)….

Maybe I should start taking it out again…

Update the power outage/moment of timeout…

Power’s back on. Both AC’s are on. And my TV turned back on. And my Blu-Ray came back on. And I apparently was last watching 300. And my Wi-Fi is back up. Now to chill out. And do laundry later…

A moment of time-ou.t….

Day off #2. Ran an errand down to Wally World. Next on the agenda was laundry. And of course, chilling in my air-conditioned room. But Elmhurst Mutual has other plans. Power is currently out, and there is no estimate on when it’ll be back on. So, I’m keeping as cool as I can. I’m still online though, courtesy of the laptop and my Sprint USB modem. But I’ve only got about 45 minutes of juice left in it. I guess it’s a good thing I fully charge my USB power band so I can continue to use my phone….

Day off: complete….

Had the day off today. Didn’t have much planned today, but I had to get out of the house. Mainly I had to make a credit card payment on the one card that I have to make the payment in person. Got that done, and made it home. Spent the rest of the day on my room, with the AC on the Ice Age setting. I’m almost done with the laptop rebuild. Just a few more games to install, and then my laptop can resume it’s role as a back-up to my tower.

There are some big things in store at work. I’m going to be transferring to another department. A pay raise is involved. I’m going to keep the drama to myself, but this will address several issues I’ve had historically here. My replacement for my current position has already been hired, and is currently training….

Things are going good, and I have another day off tomorrow….

A couple of anniversaries ago….

One week ago was the one year anniversary of getting fired form my previous job. Office politics is BS, and it is usually for the better if the workplace drama is kept to oneself. But I got hired on at my current job soon thereafter. It’s a setback, but that is the nature of life. Sometimes you do have to take a set back.

And two weeks ago, it was the 10 year anniversary of my brother and I moving into our current apartment. 3 towers, 5 laptops, 12 smartphones, 7 TVs, 7 printers, 2 DVD players, 1 iMac and 2 portable air conditioners later, we’re still here. And we’re still using some of them….

I still have one….

A while back I wiped both my tower and my laptop at once. I copied my files over to both, but I left the laptop alone afterwards, and concentrated on putting the tower back to working order. And then I changed my mind on the tower, so I put a different version of windows on it. And got it completely installed. And then decided to go back to what I was running in the first place.

Anyway, yesterday, I realized I still have a laptop. So, I guess I’m setting up the laptop now….

Brand, Spankin’ New….

A few months ago, when I had my first flat, and I bought a new set of inner tubes, it occured to me that I should also have a set of spare tires available too. So last May, I bought a couple. And last week, I notice that the tread on my rear tire has worn down completely, and I could see the puncture from my very first flat. So today. it was replace to bike tire day. And replace the inner tube. Now both wheels have heavy duty inner tubes. I’m not going to replace the front tire yet (I still have tread on it)….

Just watched the Seafair Family Fourth….

When it comes to the Fourth of July, I always play it safe. I watch it on TV. This year’s finale featured the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky. So, to celebrate American Indepence, we use a piece by a Russian composer, written for a victory over the French. I can actually see the point of this. Because in spite of the leanings of President Cheetos-Face and the current administration, we are a nation of immigrants (except of course if you’re Native American or First Nations). DIversity is the stregnth of America. Especially political diversity. America is one of the few countries where the political leanings can swing from one end to the other consistently and peacefully. All the back through to the administration of Eisenhower, both sides have had equal time in the White House.

All the answers don’t lie on just one side of the aisle. They’re on both sides. We are Americans. We are the answers….

‘Murica! F*ck Yeah!

Well today is a day where we celebrate George Washington’s singlehanded victory over Rodan. Accirdubg to my neighbors, it is by getting drnk and  blowing up low grade explosives. I have to work tomorrow, so I’ll be remaining sober, watching the Mariners game currently on TV, and later on  tonight, I’ll be watching the trained professionals blow themselves up on TV. And with my air conditioner I can keep my windows closed, so hopefully, I’ll be able to get some sleep tonight…

More junk….

Ordered a power strip last week (note: a power strip, not a surge protector). For the past couple of months, I’ve been charging my power bank (my cell phone charger) and my bicycle headlight off my computer’s usb hub. Only issue with it was pretty much everything. It meant setting my backpack on my computer chair, so the usb cords could reach, and there were several nights when I was woken up by my backpack falling off the chair. There was one unused outlet in my room (right by my bed). I realized I could plug it in there, and then route my cables underneath my bed, and keep my backpack where I used to keep it at, and charge my gadgets without tripping over cables or being woken up by stuff falling out…

Tonight Purge is over…

Ok tonight, I threw out my stereo. Farewell Sony MHC-F250AV. May The Flying Spaghetti Monster convey you to The Beer Volcano and Stripper Factory in the afterlife. I remember when I first bought it. It had all the fittings for Dolby Pro Logic home theater, but I didn’t use it when I first got it as my TV at the time was only 5 inches. I thought about getting a larger TV, but that never happened. I got it when I lived in my first apartment in Puyallup. In 2003, I finally really realized that with the All In Wonder Radeon video card (aka Radeon 7200) in my computer, I could wire the sound card of my computer into my stereo, and have home theater at last in my room. And then later on as my music library grew, I used to listen to the mp3’s on my tower. Mainly because it sounded a lot better than my computer speakers.

Then I got my first smart phone. And the realization that I could take my entire library with me. Then I started getting larger TV’s. My brother handed me down his TV, and I started watching it without using home theater. And after that, my boss at Mrs. Fields sold me his 55” TV, and I finally ran out of space in my room. So, I retired it in 2014, throwing it in my closet. Last year I finally got some computer speakers with some horsepower, and I switched most of my music listening to streaming Spamazon (my roommate got me an Echo for Christmas). BTW for $7.99/month, you can stream anything in Amazon’s catalog….

So, farewell stereo. You were the high point of my tech when I first bought you, and you served faithfully for 14+ years. But times have changed. And I need to clear 10+ years worth of junk out of my room.

The purge continues….

Day off today. First day of my scheduled weekend, but it’s day two off. I took a sick day yesterday, but that will be a later post. Continuing on my long-term room cleaning project (aka The Purge). Today, I got the garbage off the floor to the side of my TV stand, and I made some headway into my closet. Among the discard junk I found today was a 7 port usb 2.0 hub, and my original cable modem. I’m throwing them both out. My tower currently has a 10 port  usb 3.0 hub, so I don’t need another 2.0 hub on it (and I even have another 3.0 hub for my laptop). And the cable modem, well it’s just old. When I went back to Comcast, I bought another cable modem because the speeds that are being offered are higher than what the old modem can handle, and I wanted something ipv6 compatible….

My room will be clean. It will take more than one afternoon to do it, though….

The first heat wave is over…

Turned off the AC in the living a couple of hours ago. While I was taking out a bag of garbage, I noticed the wind had picked up, and it was cooler. The weather has changed, as the weatherman predicted. I had the living room AC on, but when I went out, I noticed that the compressor had shut off due to it cooling enough. So, I shut it off since my roommate had gone to bed, and I retreated to my room. My AC is still on, but the temperature is currently 67. And the compressor just shut off as I was writing this.

While riding my bike home for the past couple of weeks, I noticed my chain was making a lot more noise. Time to oil it. From experience I know that WD-40 is not the best thing for bicycle chains. If you have a chainsaw, you can use bar and chain oil. But while searching Wally World, I found chain oil specifically for chain drives. So I gave it a shot, and hopefully I’ll have a not so squeaky chain tomorrow.

Now to pack my lunch and go to bed. Goodnight.

If you’ve ever thought…

If you’ve ever that separation children from their parents, then caging them in abandoned Walmarts, and/or tent cities was ok, and approved by the Bible, then please tie a millstone around your neck and go jump into the sea (to paraphrase another Bible verse). There are some who would say that children are separated from their parents when the parents are arrested for crimes, but there is a difference. When parents are arrested for crimes, there is an effort to place children with relatives or foster care. Traumatic, but something resembling a family. The children are not locked away in cages or tent cities.

What President Cheetos-Face has done is wrong. Intentionally harming children just to coerce Congress to fund a wall. Punishing children for the crimes of their parents (which are only being selectively enforced for racist reasons). Today, he signed an executive order ending the separations (still a bad situation as they will still be detained, but not as bad).

The sooner Donald Trump is constitutionally removed from office, the better the nation will be. Racist, corrupt, and incompetent.

Ok, one day off is in the books…

And it’s time to go to bed. I think we hit the 80s today, and I’ve had my AC on full blast pretty much all day. It never got above 72 in my room. Philip set up the other AC in the living room Sunday. I tried running  them both to cool down the entire apartment, but it didn’t work out. My AC will keep my room cool, and the other AC will keep a zone in the living room cool. Enough to keep the heat wave bearable. And since they’re both portable models, we can put them away at the end of the cooling season.

But there is a drawback. We’re going to be hating the electric bill when it arrives….

But it’s time to go to bed. Tomorrow, it’s a day trip to Mrs. Fields (my second job), and a visit with the owner (my other boss)….

Back to square one….

A know a couple of posts ago, I said I was installing OpenSuSE or bust. Turns out I have an iffy connection to the FTP servers. Too many times, the installer would be attempting to download a 250kB package, and the connection to the server would timeout (while it would download a 1.2gB package with no problem). Anyway, I was going nowhere with it, so I aborted it, booted back into Windows 10 (April Update), rebooted the cable modem/router, and deleted the partition. At least I can resize the Windows partition on the go.

I guess dual booting Windows and Linux is not in the cards for me. But on the bright side, I still have it on a virtual machine (and I also set up a Fedora virtual machine today, too).

The end of 7 year relationship...

7 years ago, my tower at the time started just turning off. Some summary Google searching revealed that my CPU was overheating. I cleaned off the heat sink, and I was good to go. But while I was troubleshooting it, I also went to Worst Buy, and looked at laptops. I saw one that looked good, so I applied for the Worst Buy card. And got approved. Ordered the laptop. 3 1/2 years later, the Tower failed. I requested a limit increase, was approved, and got my current Tower. Through the years, I kept using the card, and they kept raising the limit....

I finally realized a couple of months ago that my ever increasing balances were not good for my financial health, and I cut up my cards. Including my Worst Buy card. And tonight, I finally contacted Citibank, and closed the account. It's going to be a couple of years before I finally pay it off.

Making the decision to cut up your credit cards is never easy. Going cold turkey is never fun. I just hope I'm not over my head already....

One more try....

I'm writing this from my phone. Because I'm currently downloading OpenSuSE on my Tower. Again. It has been 4 years since I successfully ran a dual boot on my system. Every other time I've tried it, I've ended up calling it off about halfway through or just out and out wiping the whole system. Not this time. It's going to happen.

Will if not, I still have a recent backup....

Once again, the end of another good thing...

My laundry is done ünd put away. My lunch is packed. I've even turned off the TV and the computer. It's time to go to bed, abs with it, the end of another weekend. Didn't do much this weekend. Though I ended up having to wipe my phone. My alarms are set, and my bicycle light is charging. It's time to go to bed. Goodnight.

They’re contenders….

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say this. But the Mariners are contenders. Of course there were a couple of recent seasons when they were eliminated from contention on the very last day. And then there were the times that I has happy that they were just attaining .500 (I think last season, they clawed their way back to .500 at least 8 times). But as of this writing, they are on top of the Al West, leading the ‘Stros (the current World Series champions in The New World Order (Mind-Control Division) by a half game. And they’re currently 20 games over .500. I think they’ll make it to the post-season this year.

But if they’re going to make it the post-season (and the World Series) this year:

• The pitchers need to stay healthy. King Felix, Big Maple, Wade LeBlanc, and Edwin Díaz are all parts of why we’re so good. If the pitchers go down, that’s when the slumps start.
• The players need to stay clean. I’m looking at you, Robinson Canó. Though I think he might be on his way out with the way Dee Gordon is playing (though Mr. Gordon has been suspended for performance enhancing drugs, too).
• The bats need to remain alive. This is the first year since 2001 when so many players have been a valid long ball threat.

When Ken Griffey, Jr came back to Seattle, he was a has been in the twilight of his career. And his retirement (literally in the clubhouse one afternoon, IIRC) cost us also the manager. Ichiro came back in the twilight of his career. But instead of retiring, he has instead ‘reroled’ as a special assistant in the front office. He may not have the on the field performance, but he can still be a mentor off the field. Like The Edgar, our hitting coach.

I think they’ll at least get a pennant this year. Now the Sounders FC, on the other hand….

The Purge will continue…

I’m talking about the cleaning of my room. Didn’t do much this weekend (I basically just wanted to watch the Mariners beat up what ever hapless team they’re facing). But I think the next Target will be the foot of my bed. I now have a redundant easy chair that for logistical reasons can’t be disposed of. Yet. But I can relocate it to another place in my room. And I’ll be able to properly sight my air conditioner. Which according to forecasts, will be needed on Sunday.

Yes, I’m cleaning my room. This is going to be a very long-term project. When dad had his stroke, there was concerns about his house and his room being accessible, and there was an extended, multi-day project to de-clutter it (he’s been there for 22 years). I’m in my 10th year here, and stuff needs cleaning…

Ok, hopefully this will last for a while….

Like I said last week, I wiped my tower once again. Went with Windows 8.1. Then, the night after I restored my Steam back-up (normally about an 8 hour job), as I was riding my bike home, I decided to give Windows 10 another chance. So, I did the stupid thing and upgraded to the April Update. Fortunately, most of my work was still intact, so I could just finish up the install. Tonight, I finished the build. Unlike when I did the clean install, I didn’t have any ‘permissions’ issue with the TV Tuner. And as for the lack of Game Explorer, the Xbox app (through the windows store) provides a lot of the functionality (if not all of it). Too bad Microsoft hasn’t done much to announce that.

It’s a good thing I’ve finished it (and I also have all the Windows 8.1 apps that I’ve missed). As my phone took a dump on me Sunday night, and I have to now rebuild that (I’m actually 75% done with that). This time, I’m not installing all the news apps that I used to install and never use (mainly I use Google News and MSN News). The hard part, is since my phone has a fingerprint scanner, I set my phone to sign in to most my financial apps with my fingerprint, and I now have to remember my passwords to sign in again…

Next up after all this will be my laptop…

What did I do this weekend?

Basically I installed Windows 8.1 on a whim. Don’t ask me why I did it. But there’s just something with the Windows 10 April update, that I don’t like. Maybe it’s the lack of the Game Explorer that’s been around since Windows Vista. Maybe it’s the new camera permission that’s fucked up my TV tuner. But it all works in 8.1. Maybe I’ll give the April update a try down the road.

Actually I’m surprised at how much I got done in the past 2 days. Normally when I install Windows, I start from scratch, wiping everything on the hard drive. That’s what I did. And I got pretty far. Normally what I did in two days takes over two weeks. And I also went to the Credit Union and deposited the rent money (and paid the rent, too)….

And when I finish this, I still have the laptop to finish…

The Purge Begins…

While setting up my Air Conditioner today, I realized it’s time to de-clutter. Going through my junk drawer (my top dresser drawer), I realized that I basically still had every ATI video card I've ever used. Including my original All-In-Wonder Radeon. All my previous towers that I’ve owned I parted out at the end of their useful lives, but most of the parts were at least 10 years old, and they’re not really compatible with what’s out there now (otherwise, I’d still be using them). So, they all got tossed. Along with several miles of cables, a few pairs of headphones, and at least 6 Comcast remotes.

My junk drawer has a lot of space now, and also the top of my dresser does as well (which means I can re-home my echo, since I had to unplug it for the AC). Next up will be my desk, and my entertainment center. But those should be a piece of cake. The real fun is going to be my closet. I have at least 2 printers, a stereo, and who else knows what….

So, like I said, two years ago...

This was originally going to be the previous post, but I realized that it was two years to the day that my mom passed on....

Anyway, one of the decisions that was made was that I got her air conditioner. Work (actually the commute) at the time dictated that I get up at 1:30 in the morning, which meant going to bed during the heat of the day. The AC was in my room for about a month and a half, and then I decided to move it to the living room, so my roommate could survive the heat wave that hit just at that time.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago, I saw a good deal on a refurbished portable AC unit, so I pulled the trigger. It arrived last week and I set it up today. And my room is air-conditioned again this summer. Though when I set it up, I heard some bad reviews about the noise. Unfortunately they were true. But I found a work around. Where the ac is spotted in my room, yo cant see the base of it. I quickly realized that the noise was worst when the AC was resting on it's castor. But if I wedged something underneath it, so that it's not on the castors, the noise is reasonable. So it's now resting on my old pair of Wolverines that I can no longer wear.

I am now ready for summer. I hope...

Two Years Ago....

Two years ago to the day, I went to Mom's apartment to check up on her. And I was the first to discover her passing. Of course, I called 911, and Central Pierce Fire & Rescue made the determination that she had passed. There was some more investigation (sheriff had to rule out foul play), and then the funeral home carted her off, and that was it. She had just paid her rent, so the landlord gave us the entire month to move her stuff out. The death of a loved one is a sharp and sure way to remind one of the frailties of life. Tell those around you that you love them today. They may not be here tomorrow.

May Barbara Bryant spend all eternity frolicking in The Beer Volcano and The Stripper Factory. Ramen.

I still have it….

I was scheduled to work today. But I woke up with it. It actually came on last night, when I was getting up from the chair after my last break at work. I still had it this morning, when I took my first pee, and I went into the shower.

I’m talking about plantar fasciitis, of course. And with the amount of walking I do at work, it’s not something I want to have. So I took another sick day. Not something I want to do on a holiday weekend, but I have to look out for my well-being.

When I was at my previous employer, foot problems were much worse. I started the day with a 4+ mile walk to the bus stop, then an 8-hour shift. But for the most part, I was just in one spot at work. Now, I don’t have to walk 4+ miles (thank to my bike, and the occaisional Uber). But I now walk essentially for 8 hours at work.

My foot should be walkable tomorrow. I hope. I don’t have enough sick time to cover another shift.

It’s about that time of year….

The Lunar year, to be exact. Anyway for those of you who are going to be fasting for the next lunar month or so: Ramadan Mubarak…

Finally…

Finally I got OpenSuSE installed. Into a VM. Which I immediately backed up to my external back-up drive because I really don’t have the time to install it again.

Of course right after I installed and backed it up, I wiped the drive because we all know that I just can’t leave well enough alone….

Called off the Linux install….

Started it at about 8 this evening. At 2:30 in the morning, it was still downloading, so I called it off. Was taking too much time, and I have to go to bed. I went and deleted my designated Linux partition, too. Problem is if I install Linux, and it messes up my computer, my only option would be to wipe my entire hard drive and start over. So, I think if I’m going to play with Linux, I’ll just go with Virtual Machines. Maybe my next computer will have enough space in the tower for more than one hard drive, and I can pursue the matter then.

Sorry, but I like being able to use my computer for really important stuff. Like Flight Simulator X…

So what happened Saturday…..

It actually happened Friday night. I rode the bike home from the bust stop (about 4 miles or so). Get home, and I put the bike on the stand. I went into my room, and an hour later, I hear a thud. My bike had fallen over. I put the bike back up. A few minutes later, I came back out and saw my bike leaning over. So I turned my bike around and backed it into my bike stand, and went to bed.

The next morning (Saturday), I get up and got ready for work. As I was about to leave, I went to get my bike off of the rack, and that’s when I noticed the reason why the bike couldn’t stay in the stand. My front tire was flat. But I had to go to right away (not enough time to fix it). On the bus ride up, I pulled out my phone and ordered a pair of inner tubes from Wally World. When I picked them up, they said I got the last two in the store. Normally, I wouldn’t order inner tubes when I’ve only had one flat on each tire, but I ordered them.

So Saturday night, I got home (I took Uber), I started fixing the flat. It was just a simple puncture, and patching it was pretty straight forward. So I started pumping it. Using the pressure gauge on my pump, I hadn’t even reached the recommended pressure on the tire. And the tube exploded. Sounded like a the love-child of a balloon popping and a gunshot. Fortunately, I had a brand-new inner tube that just happened to be the right size. Put the new tube in, reinflated it, and went to bed again.

Sunday morning, it held up enough. And I rode it home that night. And it’s still holding up. Just another adventure in cycling for a commute….

It’s here….

The April Windows Update is here. It’ll roll out through Windows Update on May 8th. I jumped the gun however, and I manually downloaded it for both my tower and my laptop. So, they’re now both running the latest updates. And I made sure the drivers were up to date, as well.

Now to put Linux on my tower. I’m going to try for OpenSuSE as a dual boot with Windows 10. I gotta have something to do on my day off. After all, the Mariners are off today. But tomorrow, they’re playing at The Safe, with King Felix on the mound. I’ll be watching it on my 55”….

Yet another day off today….

Had a split weekend this week. First day off was Tuesday, then I worked yesterday, and I was off today. Did as little as possible today. Played more Flight Simulator. Resized my hard drive partition, though I didn’t nuke my computer since I did it through the computer management console in windows. Made two different attempts to install Linux, but both times, I stopped because I had questions about the bootloader. But there will be more to be done on this later…

Well, that went differently….

I was playing Flight Simulator. Had the plane set on autopilot. Stepped out of my room to use the bathroom. Came back into my room to a computer crash. Tower rebooted and it appears to be working again, but this is something I will keep and eye on. I guess it’s time to update my backup drive, and I should probably keep my laptop up to date. This is why I got a TV Tuner for my laptop (and a GPS receiver, too).

Yet another day off today…

Currently playing Flight Simulator on the Tower. So this post is being written from the laptop….

Split weekend this week. So errands were run in the morning, and laundry is being done now….

With judicious application of USB, my laptop can do the same stuff as my last tablet can. I have a USB modem, so it has LTE internet access. And I just got a USB GPS receiver, so I can use the maps application on the road. And book Uber.

I also bought a GPS cycling computer recently. So I ride 6.25 miles home each night.Which is less than I thought (my estimate was 6.5 to 7 miles).

The Mariners won today. They’re winning a lot more games than they were last year at this time. That’s a good thing. Now if they can stay healthy…

My short-lived paycheck

It’s 2am. My paycheck arrived in my account at about midnight (I have direct deposit). Before I went to bed, I paid bills. Today’s paycheck lasted about two hours. But bills are paid. I’m back to being broke. Goodnight.

The end of the weekend approaches….

Did absolutely nothing today. The Mariners lost. Played Flight Simulator. Oh, I did change the cargo rack on my bike. This is somehting that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. But I kept successfully putting it off. Unfortunately today, my efforts at procrastination failed. Watching a lot of Stanley Cup Playoffs. And I saw the Kings get eliminated tonight. Way to go, Golden Knights.

Anyway, the weekend is over. It’s time to retire. Goodnight.

Today is a good day off…

Yes, I had a vacation last week, but today was also a regularly scheduled day off. And it was a good day off. The Mariners just won. Against Houston, even. I finished reinstalling all my software on my computer (and this time, it was only a week from initial format to job done…). Laundry is done (did it last night right when I came home from work).

And since I have an actual two day weekend this week, I think tomorrow will also be a good day off…

Begin: Weekend…

I got home from work and hour and a half ago. The ride from work to the transit center was ok. Got on the bus for the trip to the 512 P&R. And the heavens opened up. And the rain kept coming and coming. Got off the bus at the 512 P&R, and started riding through the rain. Needless to say, I was soaked by the time I got home. Got into my room, peeled off my clothes, and jumped into the shower. When I got out, I started laundry. Now my clothes are in the dryer, I have a bowl of Top Ramen before me, and I don’t have to go to work tomorrow…

All good things....

All good things must come to an end. This includes my vacation. It was more of a staycation than anything else. But alas, it is over, and tonight I retire and tomorrow I go back to work...

What I did on my final day of vacation….

So, this really wasn’t a vacation. It was more like a 4-day weekend. But it felt like a vacation. For the most part, I tried to do as little as possible today. But there was stuff to do. After all, I do have to get ready for work tomorrow. But aside from putting my laundry away, the big work prep was getting out the tire pump and topping off my tires. I think since I had my bike tuned up in February my bike tires lost about half their air. But I got that taken care of. Checking your tires’ air pressure is something that should be done regularly.

The other big thing I did today was get Flight Simulator X for Steam. I have the DVD edition, but due to activation restrictions, I could only have it installed on one computer (usually the Tower). But with Steam, I can have it installed concurrently on both my tower and my laptop. It appears as though all of my additions through the years will be able to work in the FSX Steam Edition. Most of them I’ve downloaded from Simviation and installation is simply a matter of unzip and drop.

Also during my vacation, I moved a couple of usb cables. These were what I used to charge my bike headlight, and my phone’s external charger. Where they were plugging in was causing a tripping hazard. I simply moved them to my tower’s usb 3.0 hub, which has 3 outlets that stay powered up when I turn the tower off.

I also got a cycling computer. Really simple to use. Just mount it on the handlebar and go. There’s no sensor/magnet to deal with (it does all of its calculations with GPS). In fact, it’ll even work in my pocket…

Vacation Day 4 Agenda:

Last day of vacation. Only went out of the house once this week. Agenda today:

• But away the laundry I did Tuesday.
• Watch baseball.
• Watch hockey.
• Change the cargo rack on my bike.
• Check the tires on said bike.
• Take out garbage.
• clean my room.

Or I could just say fudge it and do absolutely nothing…

Vacation Day 3 Report:

Today i got out of the house. Ran some errands (yes, I said I was broke when my vacation started, but these errands were already budgeted in). I did laundry yesterday. Today, I took it out the dryer, and it will be put away tonight/tomorrow. The Mariners played early this morning, so I didn’t watch the game.

Today is the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And I officially have a team that I’m rooting for: The Winnipeg Jets. Tonight, they won their first playoff game. Ever….

Tonight, it will be more Hockey, and then possibly a Blu-Ray.

Internet is out…

Internet went out. Comcast’s excuse is regularly schedule maintenance, but it’s still a PITA. But I still have my USB modem (which by the way will also work on my tower as well). I guess it’s time to go to bed. Vacation, Day 2, is now in the books. A good day. The Mariners won today…

BTW, my Sprint LTE modem is even faster than the apartment WiFi…

They’re doing well….

With King Felix on the mound the Mariners are leading the Royals 4-0, currently in the bottom of the third. Hopefully they can hold this lead, and not have the bullpen choke it. They are looking better than they were last time, and they’re still at .500 (even after the 10-0 whitewashing they received last night).

I can’t believe I’m watching The New World Order (Mind-Control Division) without an AFDB. Next thing you know, I’m going to believe that Belgium really exists, and Elvis isn’t dead.

I’ll be right back, there are some Black Helicopters landing….

Broke Vacation, Day 2 Check-In

Still broke. But bills are getting paid. Going to turn on the Mariners game in a about an hour. King Felix is on the mound.

Got PO’ed at my Tower last night, so I wiped it, now I’m just copying all of my files over. Once upon a time (10 years ago), I only 20 gb or so worth of stuff. Now I have 1.2 tB worth of crap. But my back-up drive is 4 tB, so space is not an issue…. It’s only time.

And today, for the first time in a long while, I slept in till noon. Might be because I got tee’ed off at my Tower last night, and was up late trying to fix it (Note: no bug ever survives the format c: command)….

On Vacation. And Broke….

<Blogging from the laptop>

I’m on vacation this week. Current employer paid time off accrues differently from previous employers. Once I had a couple of days’ worth, I decided to take some. It’s basically a four day weekend. But I’m taking it for mental health reasons.

I paid the rent last week. And so, I’m broke. So my vacation is a staycation. But it doesn’t worry me. I can find plenty to do at home…

Opening Day is in the books…

The Mariners won. King Felix won. Ichiro is back in a Mariners uniform. ITHey’re now 1-0. YOu can define an enitre season off of one game, but things look s good for the Mariners. And this is The New World Order (Mind-Control Divison), so keep your AFDB on…

Would someone please remind me?

Would someone please remind me that the next time I decide to try something different with my tower (i.e. a different version of Windows like Windows 8.1), I’m going to end up putting the previous version back on my tower again? On the bright side, this time it only took me a week from the time I formatted my hard drive to the time I finished installing Flight Simulator X. But because I have a laptop, I’m never without a working computer. I even have a Blu-Ray and TV tuner for it. In fact, this post is being written on it.

But all is well for now. Everything is restored to my Tower. Again. At least until the next time….

So what all happened last night.

Get home from work. Park the bicycle. See that my new printer was delivered after some issues with UPS (but I’m not going into my issues with UPS tonight). So I set up my printer, and install the software for it on my tower. Then I went to bed. A couple of hours later, the coughing started. No sleep, just coughing. So, at the ass-crack of dawn this morning, I decided to call out. Being a diabetic, when I get sick, I get sick, and I wasn’t going to be in any shape to go to work. So, I stayed home and chilled all day. The cough has settled down, and I should be able to return to work tomorrow.

Rather frustrating….

So, last week, I decided to install Windows 10 on my tower. Everything was going well. I reinstalled almost every program. And then it came time for Flight Simulator X. The initial install went well, activating without issue. Then I installed the Acceleration pack. And that’s where the issue came up. I could never get it to activate. I’m sure if I kept at it, I could eventually solve it, but I decided to fuck it, and nuked my sytem from orbit. Again. So, I back to square one.

But I did get a new printer this week. A Canon Pixma MX 922. It features all the bells and whistles. Duplex printing (and scanning, too). And it can print CD/DVDs. But I got it mainly for the scanner (since I already have a color laser printer that does duplex printing). My HP printer that I had before could no longer stay turned on, so it had to go.

A new trick I picked up last week….

Last week, I decided to go with Windows 8.1 over Windows 7. Don’t ask me why, but at least I had a recent back-up available. So I pulled out the restore DVD set, and wiped the tower. Then I upgraded immediately to Windows 8.1 Pro. Then I installed all the updates and patches and debloated (this is an OEM system restore rather than just an OS installer). Once I had done all this, I then installed all the apps from the Windows Store. And there are a few apps that are only available on Windows 8.1 and not Windows 10. Anyway, I had this all done, and then I came to my senses and realized what I had done. But I was too lazy to just up and wipe my entire system again. So I put the Windows 10 USB drive in and did an upgrade install (something that I usually avoid like the plague). The upgrade install went without a hitch. And afterwards, I realized that I still had those Windows 8.1 Store apps that I normally wouldn’t have in Windows 10, and they still worked.

Sometimes, you can get away with just upgrading…

No more MC Hawking…

And Lo! The Flying Spaghetti Monster has reached forth with his Noodly Appendage and has called home Stephen Hawking. May he spend all of Eternity frolicking among The Beer Volcano and The Stripper Factory. Ramen.

When I first got my library card, one of the first books I checked out was A Brief History Of Time. He advanced the human knowledge, and still made it accessible to the rest of us….

You’re not supposed to panic on you day off…

Day off today, as was yesterday. I turned my alarms off (they’re on my phone). So, my phone was showing my next alarm on Wednesday. When I woke up this morning, I just saw the Wednesday on my phone, and realized that I had overslept, and was going to be seriously late for work. So, I was panicking. And then I realized, ‘What happened to Tuesday?’. I finally had to ask Alexa what day of the week it is…

You’re not supposed to panic like this on your day off….

So, there was a shift in my schedule last week…

Instead of getting off at 11, I’m now getting off at 10. Still ride the bike home from work. And I’m still full-time. There has been another shift. My weekend has gone from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Mondays and Tuesdays. Except for in a couple of weeks, when I’ll be working a split weekend, but that week, I’ll be off for opening day of The New World Order (Mind-Control Division). So I have that day to hide in my room with my AFDB on.

Shiny side out, people…

Some creative scheduling….

Yesterday and today are normally my ‘weekend’ from my $dayjob. But Monday night, I got a text message asking if I could cover for a co-worker at Mrs. Fields. So that was one day off gone. Then on Tuesday, the store owner asked me to come in for an hour. So there went my entire weekend. But the owner got creative with the schedule. He would work open to close today, and I would close last night in his stead, so my co-worker could have the day for a family event, and I could salvage my weekend.

So today is my only day off this week. Agenda: stay in my room, watch tv, turn the heat up, and possibly do laundry….

A very much lighter wallet…

So, about a month ago, I was riding home from work, and as I was riding right by JBLM, I thought I felt something caught in my bike chain (like a tree branch). So I stopped, got the flashlight out, and noticed that there was nothing wrong with the chain. But when I turned the crank, there was one spot where it stuck. I was able to ride the bike home, albeit very carefully that night. I then noticed for the next couple of weeks or so, my bike was making various clicking sounds in the vicinity of the bottom bracket. Never a good occaision, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Then I couple of weeks ago, the bottom bracket stopping making noises, but it had become loose. Not loose to the point that it was unrideable, but it was loose and getting looser.

Last week, my tax refund arrived. And so yesterday I took my bike to Bonney Lake Bicycle of Sumner in Puyallup (I think that’s what it’s called), and they said what I had feared the most: that I needed to replace my bottom bracket. But the price that was quoted was what I could afford. And I also mentioned an issue I was have with my rear derailer, and was offered a tune-up. Initially I declined it, but then I decided to go for it, since it was going to be a professional job.

Today, I picked up my bike, and my wallet is now $157.00 lighter. Got off the bus a couple of miles short, and rode it home. No clicks, no looseness, and for the first time ever, I can now use all 24 speeds…

Stuff has been on my mind of late….

I don’t get it. I find myself feeling jealous over something that isn’t really there, and in all reality won’t ever be there. I need to let it go. To stop deluding myself….

This is partly the ramblings of another introvert with a blog, but there is much I want to write about this. But to do so would reveal too much. I’ve learned my lesson from previous posts about posting TMI. So I guess I should stop obsessing about nothing, stop mourning that which never was, and face Reality, who never was a friend of mine…

Another do nothing day....

With the weather being as screwy as it has been of late, I din't go to work today. They were saying flurries turning to rain this morning. But they were also initially saying cloudy weather on Wednesday, and we ended up getting close to two inches. But I think we've seen the worst of it now, so I'll be back to work tomorrow.....

So, today was essentially a do nothing day. I stayed home all day. Though I did bring my back-ups up to date (no small feat, considering how my Steam backups are close to a tB in an of itself. Though that's because I now back-up the whole program directory in addition to using the back-up tool).

Get me….

Get me razor blade, a straw, and a rolled-up hundred. Its currently raining cocaine in Parkland. Fortunately, it’s my day off, so I can enjoy the view, and hope that it clears up by the time I go back to work on Thursday.

Riding home on Saturday night, I encountered a phenomenon for the first time: a flat tire. Fortunately, I was only a mile or so form home, so I just walked the bike home, and then I patched it. Then when I got up on Sunday, and saw the white stuff being blown horizontally, I decided to Uber home that night. And last night, it was in the 20’s, but I rode the bike home. The two pairs of hand warmers I had in my sweatshirt pockets kept me from freezing (and the cardio I got from cycling didn’t hurt either).

But it’s still snowing today. ANd it’s my day off. Let it snow…

Render Unto Ceaser, 2018 Edition

Just filed my taxes. Online. At Mrs. Fields, courtesy of my laptop. The three months I went without health insurance (from getting fired from one job and starting another) did have an adverse effect on my refund this year, but I still came out ahead. I’m getting a refund. Now to wait and see if the IRS accepts my return, though it shouldn’t be a problem since I filed electronically….

On the bus home….

Went to Mrs Fields this morning to get my W-2 so I can file my taxes. Those will be in tomorrow. So, I’ll be in tomorrow again. Now I’m on the bus home. Blogging on my laptop. Almost forgot that I have a Sprint USB modem. Traffic in Federal Way to Puyallup os horrendous….

For some odd reason….

For some odd reason,, I want some cake today. I don’t really know why. Oh wait, now I realize why. Happy Birthday.

February 2…

It’s Groundhog Day. If the Groundhog see his shadow, then it’s 6 more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, then it’s an early Spring.

Actually, the real truth is that the Groundhog’s shadow is irrelevant. The Groundhog is irrelevant. If it’s February 2, then it’s just going to be another Bill Murray movie…

So, the state of the union was tonight…

And I didn’t watch it. I watched college basketball and hockey instead. There is enough incompetence and corruption in this administration that I don’t need to hear anymore of it. I admire his call for more bipartisanship, though. But let’s face it, his tax reform package that he just passed is essentially running up the nation’s debt to give the 1 percent a tax break. And the rest of us (who really can’t afford it) will end up footing the bill down the road.

Only under Donald Trump can the same party control both houses of Congress and the White House, and yet we still have a government shutdown.

But there is still hope. We still have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The mid-term elections are coming up. America may not be in a good spot right now, but we’ll overcome. We have before. We even survived 8 years of Dubya. I just updated my voter registration recently, and I intend to make sure that my vote counts.

You can tell it’s my day off today

It’s my day off. I can tell. The sun was out today. And right when I take out the garbage is when the hailstorm passes through….

Just another day off….

It’s just another day off again. And yet I feel like today I’m mourning something I’ve lost when it reality I never had it. When I keep boating to myself that I have no ego, and yet I’m still reeling from that which I’m not supposed to have is still being bruised. When I keep bragging that I’ve let certain things go, and yet deep down, I’m still attached.

Sometimes I think it’ll pass. That I just have to keep vigilant. But it doesn’t. But I shall overcome. If not today, but tomorrow. Maybe….

Yes, I’m just another introvert with a blog….

So I was Googling tonight…

And I realized that one of my mentors who helped through some pretty bleak times (right around the time my Mom came out of the closet) had actually passed away almost ten years ago. There is something to said about the frailties of life. Never take it for granted. Take a moment now to tell your loved ones that you love them. Balance your worrying about the future with living your life today…

A not recommended use for a garbage can….

A laptop stand. Usually when I’m at the desk, I use the Tower. But there were times when the tower was down, or I had to do maintenance on the laptop. And so I set the laptop on the wastepaper basket next to my desk. Not really the best for the laptop or for keeping my room clean. So, I’ve invested in a portable desk (think TV tray) to set the laptop on over the wastepaper basket. This way, the laptop is not resting directly on garbage, and I can throw stuff out again. And it’s foldable, so if I want to watch the 55” set from my easy chair, it’s not the end of the world.

Another Tuesday off…

Day off today. Usual stuff. Did laundry (currently in the dryer). Main thing I did today was installing the fenders on my bike.Took a few minutes with a 4mm hex to install the front fenders. The rear fender/cargo rack just clamps to my seat post (it’s a quick release. Also with the rear fender came two reflectors, so I can use my old cargo rack, if I actually had to carry stuff. I had to raise my seat up to make enough space on the seat post, so after I installed the rear rack, I took the bike for a test ride in the apartment building parking lot, and I can still ride it.

If you remember I had tried running Windows 8.1 and gave up on it after encountering issues trying to restore my Steam games. So last week I went with Windows 10. And I also tried a different approach. Instead of using Steam’s backup/restore feature, I simply copied the Steam program directory from my laptop over to my tower. Problem solved….

The growth of data….

When I got my first computer, I specified a CD burner when I ordered it. And I could back everything up onto a couple of 700 megabyte CDs. Then the amount of CD’s I needed  grew, and though I added a second hard drive, I still needed about 20+ CD’s to do a system back-up.

So I bought a DVD burner, and larger and larger hard drives. Eventually, I became adept at using my second hard drive to back up my stuff. There were times though (like when I was partitioning both hard drives) when I had to back up everything to external media. I could do everything to 6 DVD’s at first. And the last time I did a DVD back-up set, it was 8 DVDs.

Then with my second computer, I switched to using my second hard drive for backing up my data (and I would pop the side of the tower off and unplug the drive so the data wouldn’t be corrupted if I had a system meltdown). I then bought an external USB hard drive enclosure, and I started using them exclusively for backing up. Archives were now in the size of 100-200 gigabytes.

At the time my second computer died, I was using 3 1 terabyte hard drives (2 in the tower, and 1 in the usb). After I got my current computer, I put a 4 terabyte drive in the tower, and I started using a 2 terabyte drive in the back-up drive, which was now backing up my laptop, too. Then, due to a sizing mistake when I visited Newegg last summer, I got an extra 4 terabyte, which is what I use now.

I’ve gone from a couple of 700 megabyte CD’s when I bought my first computer, to 1.2 terabytes that I copied over last night. And I have another 600 gigabytes that I might need….

So, here I am at my other job….

So, here I am at Mrs Fields. Main task is actually fixing the owner’s laptop. So I pulled mine to compare them side by side. His is slightly smaller, and is designed for more power-business use (why else would you have a fingerprint reader?). But he has a good laptop (even better, now that it’s running ubuntu). Then again, the drawback is that it’s running Linux, and my skills are limited. But I’ll what I can do.

No weekend for me this week….

Today and tomorrow are supposedly my weekend. From one job. But I had to go to Mrs. Fields today, ostensibly to fix the owner’s laptop. He didn’t bring his laptop. But I bought coffee, so he still let me in the shop. And I have to work there tomorrow. But I’m ready. Laundry is already done and put away. Though I’m still disappointed that I don’t have an actual, do-nothing day off this week. C’est la vie….

Almost a record….

I’ve had Windows 8.1 on my Tower for over a week. And we’re done. The issue de jour was when I restored my Steam backups. But my workaround for that was simple. Just copy the entire Steam installation from my laptop. When I went to restore my Origin games, my system froze. And then crashed. I’m now currently backing up certain files. And then I’ll probably go to Windows 10. Why not? It works on my laptop…

A Surprisingly Productive Weekend

I started out my weekend with the intent of doing nothing. Ended up doing quite a bit. Wiped my tower twice (seems like when I switch to a different OS, it usually takes a couple of tries to get it right). But I got everything going right on the second try. At least with my laptop, I still have access to a working computer. While the 1 tB of my data (documents and such) was copying over from my usb backup drive. I also adjusted the front brake of my bicycle (there’s something to be said about not wheels not squeaking and squealing at 1 in the morning). And I pulled out the pump and I put about 20 lbs. of air in my tires. I’m going to take my cargo rack off the bike as soon as the fenders that I ordered arrive. I was only using it as a rear fender, and I figured I might as well get a matched set.

Laundry was done yesterday, of course. But all things must come to an end, and it’s time to get ready for work tomorrow. Goodnight.

Try, Try, Try Again

Well, the first attempt at putting Windows 8.1 back on my tower went well at first. Got it installed, debloated, upgraded to Windows 8.1 Pro, resized the partition, and got the updates installed. And then I couldn’t open the Windows Store. I tried all my tricks, and no luck. So, I’m starting over.

I guess it’s a good thing that I have a laptop….

What’s for dinner tonight?

So, you take Papa John’s BOGO offer, and add a $25.00 gifts card that I got for Christmas, and what do you get? 2 extra large pizzas to be delivered in about 20 minutes….

It’s my day off today….

Start of another ‘weekend’ for me. Today’s agenda: laundry (2 loads), wipe the tower (yes, I know I do it too much), and does as little else as possible…

I’m not really worried about Specter and Meltdown. If it’s going to happen, it will happen. These bugs are in the hardware, and they’ve been around for the past 20 years. Besides both my tower and my laptop both run AMD processors, (and all the buss is how these affect Intel processors). These are more hardware bugs than software exploits, and the only real solution is to upgrade your processor. And I’m not going to just buy a new computer just to patch a bug that’s been around for 20 years. I’ll just live with it. Though I will install the Windows patches when the come available. Though from what I’ve heard, there are stories of the latest patch bricking AMD processor powered computers….

Wiped the tower again (like I’ve already mentioned). This time with Windows 8.1. Though I remember what happened a year ago when I tried Win8.1, and my power supply went up in smoke. Literally….

Maybe I’ll order pizza tonight. I got a Papa Johns gift card for Christmas, and it’s time to use it….

So some comments were made on New Years…

First it was Kim Jong-Un saying he has a nuclear button on his desk. And then President Cheetos-Face said he has an even bigger one...

Basically, two madmen (one of whom is supposed to be the leader of the free world) are getting into a dick waving contest. Something tells me that nuclear weapons and egos shouldn’t go together….

An unexpected journey. And an unexpected bonus….

I screwed up this most recent paycheck. I went to pay my bills, and the two credit cards that were due. And the electric bill. And my bus pass (I still need to take the bus most places. My bike is mainly for commuting home when I cant take the bus). Then there was the last Facebook ad that I ran for Mrs. Fields this Christmas. So, I was looking at being about $75.00 short when it came time to pay the rent…

Anyway, I got a text from my boss at Mrs. Fields to come in and set up his new printer. So, my day off (today) from my main job I go in with my laptop. First thing, I notice is that my laptop still remembers the store Wi-Fi password, even though I’ve wiped the laptop since I last logged on. Not that I’m complaining or anything. So, I set his printer up (basically installed the software on my laptop and configured it so he could wirelessly print from his cell phone). And then he gave me a paycheck. That I had not been expecting.  And he gave my a Christmas bonus, too.

Needless to say, I won’t be short when I pay the rent. And I can afford the next vial of insulin….

A slightly later strange trip…..

Normally I’d post this on New Year’s Eve, but circumstances dictated otherwise (I had to work). When the New Year began, I was at the Transit Center, waiting for my bus. Anyway, in no particular order, here’s what happened this year:

• I transferred to a closer location for work. There is a difference between a 20 minute walk to work vs. 2+ hours on the bus….
• I got fired. Never a good time.
• I got hired at another company. And two months later, they pulled me into the office and officially made me full time (yay benefits!).
• I bought a laptop. Along with it I’ve also upgraded the RAM, added a USB Blu-Ray, and a TV Tuner. It can now do anything my tower can do. In fact, this post is being written on it.
• I got a  bicycle. Uber is expensive. Owing to my schedule, I’m getting off the bus at 12:30 in the morning at the SR 512 Park and Ride. If I walk it, I get home after 2. Not going to happen anymore. With the bike, I’m home at about 1 or so.
• Dad had two strokes. He’s still in therapy, but he is making significant progress.
• I took over the Mrs Fields Store’s Facebook Page. Not really, but I was given administrator access, so I could write the posts. And this also includes the Facebook ads…
• I bought 4 pairs of shoes. The plantar fasciitis is almost gone (though I also think that the bicycle is helping that, too).
• I thought that I could do all my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. And then every time I set foot in Worst Buy afterwards, I still spend at least 3 figures….

Basically, a lot of stuff happened this past year. But 2018 is just beginning….