Cinco de Mayo….

According to my mother I’m 1/16th Mexican. That’s enough to say that I’m Mexican/Hispanic on government documents, census forms, and the like. But I don’t. I don’t speak Spanish, and I don’t look like I’m Hispanic (yes, I know it’s playin to stereotypes). But I digress. For all intents and purposes, I’m not really Mexican. And I quit drinking in 2013.

So far all of you celebrating today, happy Cinco de Mayo. please drink responsibly, if you’re going to drink. But for me, Happy Thursday. And actually, if you’re in Mexico right now, Happy Thursday as well….

btw: If you’re in the French Foreign Legion, this time of year means something significantly different…

Get out your brooms!

The Mariners swept the A’s today. As you can tell, I’ve been watching a lot of The New World Order (Mind-Control Division), as well as the Stanley Cup playoffs, on my vacation.

Currently, the Mariners are on top of the AL West standings. And they’ve won every series since going 1-5 in their first homestand. Let’s hope that they can keep it up. The Seahawks  and the Sounders FC routinely make it to the post-season. In fact, the Seahawks won it all in 2014, and the Sounders FC have made it to the playoffs every year that they’ve been in MLS.

Drugs are good…

Not all drugs are good. Being a type I diabetic, I depend on insulin. Multiple times per day. Usually two different types. When I last went to the doctor, my prescriptions were adjusted (mainly changing my insulins to ones that my drug coverage gave me a better price on). But therein lies the adventure. Rather than having him fax the prescription to the local pharmacy, I had him give me a paper prescription. I then went to my prescription insurer (with my employer provided coverage, health care and prescription coverage are provided through two different providers), and I ordered my medication for mail order. Previous research into costs showed me that mail-order would be the lowest cost. And they immediately contacted my doctor for a prescription. Which was summarily rejected because I had already received a paper copy. So, my next step was to submit my paper prescription, which I did through my provider’s Android app (using my phone’s camera). And the image was too blurry. So, I had to mail it in. This time, I was going to make sure that they got it. So I paid $6.45 and had it sent Priority Mail. Mainly so I could have a tracking number, as this was the only proof that I had a prescription. But they finally got it, and after consulting with my doctor again, they filled it. Though they took 5 days to do it. And then they shipped it out. Since it was rather important for me to have my insulin, I paid the $23+ extra to have it overnighted.

And guess what arrived today? Drugs are good. Not all drugs though… Some should be avoided, as having a criminal record for them can be rather annoying….

May the Fourth Be With You...

Today is that special day. Where you reach out to that Inept Imperial Officer in your life. And Force-Choke him.

And btw, all the Star Wars games are on sale at Steam. Even Rogue Squadron (which by the way all the old cheat codes still work...).

The Schwartz awakens….

So, it’s late at night, and I’ve got tomorrow off, due to my oft-aforementioned vacation. So what am I to do? I know. Fire up the Blu-Ray and watch Spaceballs, of course.

Ludicrous Speed Go!

One of the best lessons learned

Never mind this. This is once again the droning of an introvert with a blog….

Your ego will be your downfall. Lose it. Lose it like it was yesterday. Especially on social media. So what if somebody posts something that you don’t like. Twitter has a filter setting as well. Facebook has a ‘unfollow’ setting. You can still be friends, but their posts won’t be in your feed. You can also unfriend and move on. Or you can just let it go. Agree to disagree.Yes, I’ve been unfriended and blocked before. So what. Let go of you ego, and your online problems will go, too. Because 9 times out of 10, you can find the cause of your problems in the mirror.

Took a trip up north

To tell the truth, I had been planning this for the past three months. This was why I took vacation time this week (as well as needing to de-stress from work). I took a trip up north today.
Last January, I was awarded a watch at work, and it was too big. I was told that I could take it to any jewelry store and have it resized. I have a problem with mall jewelry stores. As soon as you walk in, your beset with a high-pressure sales pitch to open up one of their credit cards (which I don’t need as I’m in enough debt), or they’ll lose/mangle/destroy your merchandise (like what they say Kay Jewelers has done in recent media reports). But I remember that I have friends who run a jewelry store north of here. And so I was able to get my watch resized without a high-pressure sales pitch. And my merchandise wasn’t mangled/destroyed/lost.
Yes, I knew them before, so I’m not posting this to yelp or the BBB, and I hesitate to even mention names. But still, props to Rialto….

Some wisdom once again learned…

Never underestimate friendship, or the power of hello. Even if you don’t get what you want, if you still have a friend, then you have a lot. Sugar-free rockstar is not good at curing headaches. Insulin is good. Sometimes you have to be grateful for what you have, and not seek that next thing. Office politics is a game that you really don’t want to play. There are times when you shouldn’t seek to fulfill your desires, but you should seek to end the desires themselves. Wisdom is knowing the difference between the two.

Just some dronings of another introvert with a blog….

Broke. Again.

Paid my bills Saturday. All of them. And now I’m broke.  Payday was Friday. I now have to wait until the Friday after next. But all my bills are paid.

Day 1 (or Day 2) report….

Depending on who you ask, this is the second day of my vacation. Officially, it’s the first day (yesterday was a sick day). Anyway, I succeeded in my primary goal today: Doing absolutely nothing. Last year, I took a week off in the summer, but I spent each day of the entire week working at my second job (I actually planned the vacation around my second boss’s trip to Disneyland). But as much as I like Mrs. Fields, and I enjoy working there, I don’t want to take a vacation to work there.

And yes, I am now admitting the name of my primary employer from 1995-2012: Mrs. Fields. It wasn’t just at Mrs. Fields Cookies (remember that they also own several other brands). Once in a while, I’ll still work there, but it’s no longer my primary employer (no, I’m not disclosing where I’m working at now).

I think tomorrow I’ll go visit a friend for lunch. Then laundry (that’s a standard Monday off task). And yes, I’ll do the all-important ass-sitting as well…

Vacation starts today….

Well, it was supposed to start tomorrow. But I got up this morning, and at 1:30 realized my foot wasn’t up to walking the 6-7 miles to work. Actually, I could’ve made it. But I wouldn’t have been in any shape to work. So, I placed another call to the Night Manager at work. I don’t like doing this, but I also have to look out for my health, as well.

But I am taking a vacation this week. This was entirely unrelated to today (actually, I had put in for it, and received approval for it a while back). I’m not due back until next Friday….

We’re even! We’re even!

The Mariners, as of this morning were 9-9. Currently they’re playing Houston, and they’re leading. If you remember their last homestand at The Safe, they only one 1 game out of 6. The only redeeming grace this year for the Mariners is the 9 game road trip that they were just one, where they won every series (as they did the opening series). Let’s hope that they can win some home games.

Failing that we can always hope for the next road trip…

They arrived today....

New power supply and video card arrived today. Surprisingly, replacing the power supply in my tower was rather quick and painless. Possibly because experience taught me to remove all of my expansion cards and my Blu-Ray drive before hand, so I could have space to move things around. But once I unscrewed it, it dropped right out, and the new one fit right in.

Now to reinstall Win10 back on. My computer should be back to fully functioning in two weeks...

AC/DC Jumps the shark!

Brian Johnson had to quit touring to save his hearing. AC/DC had once before replaced lead singers after the passing of Bon Scott. And they thrived. Back in Black was one there biggest selling albums. But given the other issues (their drummer's legal issues and Malcolm's dimentia), perhaps it's time for Bed Angus Young to put the schoolboy uniform away. Seriously, Axl Rose as their lead singer? Have they seen what has happened in previous Guns 'n Roses tour? He's not the most reliable employee in the shop.

But that's the direction that they've chosen. I wish them the best. But then again, Ted McGinley and/or Cousin Oliver would be a better choice...

Went to the doctor today....

Had a physical today. It was agreed to change my insulins from Humalog and Lantus to Novolog and Levemir. I did my research on my prescription drug coverage before my visit, and switching insulins and getting my prescriptions filled via mail order would be the most cost effective for me. However I'm switching to getting my test strips over the counter. Believe it or not, but you can get those dirt cheap through Wally World (especially if you use their house brand).

I also mentioned my bum foot. Also known as plantar fasciitis....

Just when I realize....

With the last three posts or so about my computer going nuts on me (long story short: have to replace video card), I finished 'moving in' to phone. Usually, I flash the ROM, then I install all my apps, from the Google Play store and Spamazon. There are also a few that I sideload. Then I tweak. I suppose since I have Titanium Backup Pro (and the pro key), I could just back up all my settings, and be done with it. But there is something to be said about setting up my phone like new. There are always new things I want to try. Sometimes the changes are for the better, but there are times (usually) when it blows up in my face. I guess that's why I keep at least three ROM installers on my phone (and yes, I've decided to flash a ROM on my phone while on the bus home).

Irony: Tonight, I finish signing in to all my apps, and setting shortcuts on my phone, and now I have to start over on my computer....

A little bit of drama. Or not (workplace wisdom)

Office Politics is game that is best never played. Leave the drama behind. Let it go. If policies aren't being followed, then be discrete in who you report it to. Make peace with your enemies quickly.

Work hard at your job. Or you'll work even harder finding your next job...

Not the best right now

My computer doesn't have the best of power supplies. But it was enough. The video card I just took out today needed approximately 1 1/2 times the power that my power supply was rated at. But my computer still ran. The new video card, which should be here on Tuesday, will use even less power. But I'm still ordering the new power supply, even though I probably won't need to use it. Just because when the power supply goes, you're out of a computer until you replace it. It's not like my video solution. I still have a Radeon HD 8500d solution, which isn't too shabby.

Lesson learned: make the best of what's around. But if there is a chance to improve, don't pass on it....

So, it looks like...

It looks like I'm getting a new video card. I turned my computer on this morning, and Windows wouldn't load. Well, it mostly loaded, and then when I went to login, it would reboot. Since I go to the logon screen, I could tell it wasn't a Windows issue. I wiped it, and then installed Windows 8.1 off the System Recovery Screen. Logged on again, (or at least I attempted to), and then I get reboot loop again. Reseat the video card, and again I have reboots. So, I pull the whole card out and plug my monitor into my onboard video slot. And it works. So my XFX Radeon HD7750 video card is gone. Anyway, I've gone to Newegg, and I've ordered my replacement. It should be here Tuesday. As well as a replacement power supply....

And I just finished rebuilding my system. I get to do it again. My luck...

It is finished…

Finally. Just finished reinstalling my games. I even added some more Thanks to Steam and Origin. With the exception of Halo, which should be arriving tomorrow, courtesy of Spamazon Prime. Now all that is left is to rearrange the Start Menu to my liking, which may take a while, as I’ve never really put much thought in how to arrange it.

I also tonight finished logging in to all my apps on my phone. Now to customize the home screens, and I’ll be set. Until the next time I get tee’d off and I wipe everything from orbit. With regards to what works on Windows 10 and what doesn’t, I’ve found a couple of workarounds:

• Repurchasing them electronically. If it’s on Steam or Origin, then it’s probably compatible. There were quite a few games that I’ve repurchased. And I’ve also found some classics that were re-released. This is actually my preferred option. It can be expensive and rather frustrating, but compatibility is more guaranteed…
• My Windows XP virtual machine. It’s no longer supported, but then again, neither are the games that will only work on it. And I really don’t like usually compatibility mode…