I might be sick or suffering from Fatigue Syndrome as Wife has diagnosed me, but I do love the open road. I was not able to drive as much as usual, but the results were still the same. We moved ourselves about halfway back home, hopefully ending tomorrow in Austin. My in-laws got themselves out of the way by taking off two hours earlier than us. It was great for them, but I was not going to get up at 6:00am when I was writing the last blog at 2:00am last night.
We had until 10am to check out and as usual we walked out of the rental house at 9:59am. I put to use my skills learned working in a warehouse packing my given space like you would the space shuttle. Everything neat and trim, no unwanted blind spots, filling from the bottom up and from right to left. Everything pristine and perfect, like the souvenirs themselves were bought to fit in the space and not because of its sentimental value. This works great until Wife waves three bags of food that haven't been accounted for and then it's every man for himself. At this point it becomes "Chubs, put this between your legs, and Boy you're gonna have to use this as a pillow, sorry if it smells."
After all that work, I finally pooped and showered at 9:20 and was ready right before our checkout time. We got going and immediately I was uncomfortable because we were coming back through a different route than when we got there. It took us 40 minutes on a backroad and I don't care for that. I would rather jump on toll roads if I can hit 70 and go. But there we were and I gulped down two sodas and some other crap and not even a half hour in, I was fighting my sleepiness. I know you would think we would know our routes, but with Google Map, Wife just types home and in "Skynet" we trust (a little Terminator humor).
Wife drove for a couple hours, then I drove for a while, then Wife... Honestly, she might have driven more than half the distance, but it is a first, and I am sick, or something. I feel a little bad about it, Boy joking I am going through Manopause and Wife joking with the Fatigue Syndrome or a couple others she tried diagnosing me with. Glad you don't just go to a Ford dealership and trade in for a new man, cause damn, this Fat Boy can't afford to be sick. Whole family is rationing me out whether I'm worth more as a trade in or as spare parts.
But here we are, got to our hotel around 9:00pm, luckily, no accidents or anything to slow us down, other than taking our time at a few gas stations. This hotel room is nice, 2 queen beds, plus a tiny living room that pulls out, even a wall for semi privacy. a small kitchen area. I almost wish we were staying here a couple nights. Wife and I decided we're not going to keep up with her folks who want to get going at 8:00am, checkout is noon and we will probably be here until 11:59am.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
6/29/15 The Mouse Done Gave Us A Good Shakedown?
We were done with our last park yesterday, but we stayed an extra day, mostly to rest and reflect on the fun we had. Chubs just came in to tell me he could do with a more expensive watch, apparently, his G-Shock isn't impressing him. He too would like a +$1000 watch, crazy Baby. His hat could be better he let me know, his baseball hat was alright, but he rocked a derby and a couple other hats and the boy looks good in all of them, Me? "mas puto" as George Lopez likes to say. I tried a bunch of hats, I have always liked idea, I just can't pull it off, my head is too fat.
The main reason we went back to Downtown Disney is that Boy wanted art for his room/apartment. We've been working on idea of fixing up their rooms in my eye. I want Boy to have a cool ass room. He is comfortable enough having it look like a common teenager lives there. So there was a painting he had told me about, I kind of agreed I liked it for his room. The only thing left to disagree on was that he needed painting to be hung in his apartment. I discussed fact that we have insurance, they don't. If something happens to painting in our house, insurance would take care of it. If it disappeared in apartment, then bad guy wins, no replacement. He called his roomies who wanted nothing to do with anything that might be of value. Funnier thing to me was that he had about $150, I was going to cough up rest. I gave him $200 and told him, get it. All of a sudden he wasn't so sure. I said this will be yours, I'm not gonna keep it cause I'm paying for a bigger part of it.
We walked all the way to end of Downtown Disney and I guess talk of art got me going. There is a store which specializes in Disney art and I guess I was in the mood. I bought 3-4 paintings which I will frame when I get the chance.
It was an uncomfortable day with heat, found myself looking for stuff just to stay distracted while sun went down. Gelato from a store facing the sun going down is not great. Large store with multiple departments and large "ac" vents was better. We stayed there a good while.
Only way to end night any better was at a steak dinner. We had dinner at Black Angus Steakhouse and it was perfect. The restaurant itself was a little old and dated, but the food was terrific, if a little pricey. But everything from the biscuit rolls to the filled mushroom caps, wings, to salad, potatoes and steaks were just yummy. My newest discovery is that I can order an Arnold Palmer anywhere over here in Florida, and it even gets mentioned in the menu. I've been making it for years by mixing half lemonade and half tea.
The main reason we went back to Downtown Disney is that Boy wanted art for his room/apartment. We've been working on idea of fixing up their rooms in my eye. I want Boy to have a cool ass room. He is comfortable enough having it look like a common teenager lives there. So there was a painting he had told me about, I kind of agreed I liked it for his room. The only thing left to disagree on was that he needed painting to be hung in his apartment. I discussed fact that we have insurance, they don't. If something happens to painting in our house, insurance would take care of it. If it disappeared in apartment, then bad guy wins, no replacement. He called his roomies who wanted nothing to do with anything that might be of value. Funnier thing to me was that he had about $150, I was going to cough up rest. I gave him $200 and told him, get it. All of a sudden he wasn't so sure. I said this will be yours, I'm not gonna keep it cause I'm paying for a bigger part of it.
We walked all the way to end of Downtown Disney and I guess talk of art got me going. There is a store which specializes in Disney art and I guess I was in the mood. I bought 3-4 paintings which I will frame when I get the chance.
It was an uncomfortable day with heat, found myself looking for stuff just to stay distracted while sun went down. Gelato from a store facing the sun going down is not great. Large store with multiple departments and large "ac" vents was better. We stayed there a good while.
Only way to end night any better was at a steak dinner. We had dinner at Black Angus Steakhouse and it was perfect. The restaurant itself was a little old and dated, but the food was terrific, if a little pricey. But everything from the biscuit rolls to the filled mushroom caps, wings, to salad, potatoes and steaks were just yummy. My newest discovery is that I can order an Arnold Palmer anywhere over here in Florida, and it even gets mentioned in the menu. I've been making it for years by mixing half lemonade and half tea.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
6/28/15 We Leave The Final Park, Heads Held High?
We trained hard, starting from youth, every physical endeavor has helped prepare us for this day. We, the warriors straight from the land of Texas, here to explore and claim what is ours or what our souvenir money will allow. We started at the beginning of the week not knowing what to expect from one another, sometimes it seemed that my cough might slay me before I even made it to the fighting fields. I thought I had overtrained to too big a size, instead of battling, my enemy would just let the elements best me. But nay.
Once the sunset came, I knew we had won our battle, even if ultimately, we would suffer my mother-in-law in a wheelchair. The little old lady gave it all she could but alas on our way back to our chariots, after the marvel of fireworks blasting in the skies and not one but two parades, her knees, like a boxer tasting defeat screamed "no mas" and we were lucky to find an old wheelchair to wheel her home. She still high fived the group of daughters sorrounding her as earlier in the day, she was thinking of skipping the park altogether.
Funny, once a person knows they are made of tougher stuff, they begin to believe in themselves. At the start of the week, I was suggesting we rent battery powered scoters for the old fogeys. They said no, they would just rest as necessary. They hung in there and maybe I shook them as I tried commanding from above to keep moving. In our first endeavor, they circled the wagons and turned on me, their new captain and commander. They gave me the look of disapproval and a bit of a cold shoulder.
No worries, a good field leader can adjust, and before too long I was employing different strategies to motivate this sad sack of would be's and half forgottens into a mish mash of troops that would follow their captain to the ends of the earth. I was able to show them lands of tomorrow, and adventure, and even a land of fantasy. I gave hope where there was none, Oh, I was majestic, but still. What did I get to hear in the end? Was it a thank you Big Mando, nope, just a plain "stop spending money on shit".
Once the sunset came, I knew we had won our battle, even if ultimately, we would suffer my mother-in-law in a wheelchair. The little old lady gave it all she could but alas on our way back to our chariots, after the marvel of fireworks blasting in the skies and not one but two parades, her knees, like a boxer tasting defeat screamed "no mas" and we were lucky to find an old wheelchair to wheel her home. She still high fived the group of daughters sorrounding her as earlier in the day, she was thinking of skipping the park altogether.
Funny, once a person knows they are made of tougher stuff, they begin to believe in themselves. At the start of the week, I was suggesting we rent battery powered scoters for the old fogeys. They said no, they would just rest as necessary. They hung in there and maybe I shook them as I tried commanding from above to keep moving. In our first endeavor, they circled the wagons and turned on me, their new captain and commander. They gave me the look of disapproval and a bit of a cold shoulder.
No worries, a good field leader can adjust, and before too long I was employing different strategies to motivate this sad sack of would be's and half forgottens into a mish mash of troops that would follow their captain to the ends of the earth. I was able to show them lands of tomorrow, and adventure, and even a land of fantasy. I gave hope where there was none, Oh, I was majestic, but still. What did I get to hear in the end? Was it a thank you Big Mando, nope, just a plain "stop spending money on shit".
Friday, June 26, 2015
6/27/15 Vacation Chilling?
Today is a rest day so here we are
I'm laying in bed at noon feeling bizarre
All week long we have been running from park to park
I've managed to push it up but at least 11am until it gets very dark
Today is laid back, I'm drinking coffee and it feels so rich
I don't want to get up, the fan blowing, oh yes, scratching that itch.
We'll be out later, I'm a spender of a dollar
in Downtown Disney is where I am a mauler
some would even fancy me a shot caller,
you know I don't lie say it!!! "In Mando We Honor".
Anyways, it was nice hearing the boys splashing in the pool
not the older one, of course, Boy is too cool.
But my little dorky Chubs, he is having quite a blast
he'll joke while in line with all, but sit between mom and dad for the ride that part has not passed
Boy has been having a good time acting like our son
got him a new watch at Universal, maybe that's why he allows his feelings to be at "fun".
Wife just finished her shower, she was quiet and reflecting
now she's back to normal, a-bitching and inspecting...
the older nephew, 16, I find funny half man half child
one minute trying to sneak from my beer, the next debating whether to buy a plastic sword
the other boy stays away from me, I think I scare him
but he's good with my Chubs as they enjoy a good swim
The rest of my in-laws have been good to great
worried about my coughing to the point of letting me try their pills
I know it's not a good idea but I've rested and never quite got the chills.
We have one more park tomorrow, it'll be good,
then one more day of rest before we get back to our hood.
6/26/15 Epcot Still Rules?
We are finally in a good groove, stopped trying to be at the parks at 9am and just taking in what we can in the alloted time. Today, we were in Epcot around 11:30am. We took the usual half hour before actually coming in to the park doing requistite pics of the sphere and all the pretty flowers. I am getting used to these missteps, just give me some shade so it's not so hot.
Our first ride was the world, or sphere. It is a pretty cool ride showing us how important some of our inventions have been. one the biggest was paper (papyrus), it allowed ideas to be written down and carried out by others making decisions in war more accurate, or recipes for cooking to be copied precisely.
Then we got a bit askew because my mother-in-law wanted these poster sized photos they do after riding a ride called Figment of your Imagination or something. The ride is for toddlers, but the photos are great, they use the castle or the EpCot sphere as the background and apparently, up to the whole family, about 18 of us got in the picture. The problem here was that Wife's brother has not wanted to walk with the rest of us. That works out as it is 6 more butts requiring more potty breaks. He claimed to be in Nemo of the Seas so we went on it, five minutes and we were done. Then we headed to the Figment ride to end up in the the photo studio.
The photos took about 5 minutes, but putting everything together ended up with us sitting there almost 1.5 hrs. I even fell asleep on a bench, but come on, room was warm, nothing interesting to see and nothing to do, Wife in the center of the photo hubbub making sure everything was turning out right.
When we finally got out of there it was after 4pm and we were able to use our first effective fast pass to board Soaring, this might be the best ride in this park, it tries to resemble hang gliding if it needs a decription. After this, it started raining hard , I mean we were walking in two inch puddles while trying to get to the Canada display to start on the world showcase.
It seemed to take forever to get there, but that is fun part, going from country to country, eating and tasting something different every time. I had a sandwich but they gave it to me covered in mayo that had congealed, it tasted funky. The Lemoncello was delicious in Italy, then a grapefruit beer in Germany, ending with a mangoflavored maragarita in Mexico.
Our first ride was the world, or sphere. It is a pretty cool ride showing us how important some of our inventions have been. one the biggest was paper (papyrus), it allowed ideas to be written down and carried out by others making decisions in war more accurate, or recipes for cooking to be copied precisely.
Then we got a bit askew because my mother-in-law wanted these poster sized photos they do after riding a ride called Figment of your Imagination or something. The ride is for toddlers, but the photos are great, they use the castle or the EpCot sphere as the background and apparently, up to the whole family, about 18 of us got in the picture. The problem here was that Wife's brother has not wanted to walk with the rest of us. That works out as it is 6 more butts requiring more potty breaks. He claimed to be in Nemo of the Seas so we went on it, five minutes and we were done. Then we headed to the Figment ride to end up in the the photo studio.
The photos took about 5 minutes, but putting everything together ended up with us sitting there almost 1.5 hrs. I even fell asleep on a bench, but come on, room was warm, nothing interesting to see and nothing to do, Wife in the center of the photo hubbub making sure everything was turning out right.
When we finally got out of there it was after 4pm and we were able to use our first effective fast pass to board Soaring, this might be the best ride in this park, it tries to resemble hang gliding if it needs a decription. After this, it started raining hard , I mean we were walking in two inch puddles while trying to get to the Canada display to start on the world showcase.
It seemed to take forever to get there, but that is fun part, going from country to country, eating and tasting something different every time. I had a sandwich but they gave it to me covered in mayo that had congealed, it tasted funky. The Lemoncello was delicious in Italy, then a grapefruit beer in Germany, ending with a mangoflavored maragarita in Mexico.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
6/25/15 Universal Studios Still Gets Job Done?
Universal Studios is admittedly starting to feel like an aged parked. They almost waited too long to upgrade their core rides. It is a big park, but there are only about ten rides/shows.
The first show is the Terminator show and after all the hoopla in the awaiting staging rooms, it is nothing more than cap guns and smoke. This might have worked in the 1990's but today's crowd needs more creativity.
Then we went to ET which we found to be a cute ride, but really, it's a movie from the 1980's and there was never even a sequel. You sit in a makeshift "bike" set-up and then run around and eventually fly over the city, then you are transported through space into ET's homeland which is a moon like atmosphere.
The Simpsons Ride followed and it based on cartoon characters invented in the 80's. This is the same system used by the Deloreans in Back To The Future. But of all the rides, this must be the best bang for the buck. Chubs loves this ride, at end of the night, he even rode it a second time.
Men In Black followed and that is a very cool ride. It is so hip, they provide lockers for anything loose on you. Once on the ride, it kinda hustles and spins the crap out of you to confuse. The goal is to shoot bad aliens, they are running amuck all over the city.
After Men In Black, we walked into a new Harry Potter section, complete with a diagonal alley that seemed hidden to rest of the park. Chubs and his cousin both bought wands there just cause and we ate an OK meal in a huge feeling "castle."
We then went to Disaster The Movie and the In-Laws enjoyed this show because Wife and younger Sister both ended up as characters on screen.
Twister was next and it should not exist as a ride, nothing but some wind and noise. It really is a letdown. It was a good movie, but not enough to warrant a ride that's going to be around for 20 years.
Finally, we got on a Shrek 4D movie and it was actually good. Although Prince Farqwad is dead, his ghost is back to steal Fiona, and a wild chase is on through the countryside.
All in all, it was a good day to be in the parks. It was hot, but not overbearring, and then it rained hard around 6 o'clock, cooling off everyone.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
6/24/15 The Happiest Place On Earth?
Wife likes to put on her rose colored glasses when we come to Disney. I don't doubt that the place is great as an over the top indulgance for our senses. We do stick to the lamer rides, but we could push it if we wanted and fry our brains on a roller coaster in the dark, or maybe try a cigar at a humidor in Downtown Disney.
The reality is most parents are frazzled by the second or third day, specially if they have a bunch of kids hanging off of them, saw one last night cussing at his table "I don't give a shit what you think you want, you're all getting chicken nuggets and that's that. Wife was a little shocked, I thought this guy is a hero. Who else would voluntarily bring that many kids to one of these parks? My mother in law knows me at least 27 years and she too was shocked when I "lose it". After I calmed down, I said sorry, BUT you know me, we didn't just meet for this trip, I have an asshole streak that I don't hesitate to let out, specially if I get stressed.
Us guys should not be judged like you judge each other. By percentages, more of the men walking around here are the good guys, the ones who love their families, who instead of blowing any extra money on themselves, plan these trips for the family. What do I get of animatronics and weirdos dressed like cartoon characters? I do it for Wife who loves this stuff and my boys, who still finds things to enjoy out here, even if Boy is trying his hardest to be Mr. Grown-up.
My brother in law is here, his wife and their four kids, throw in his mother in law and another aunt, a niece and two nephews.... he is really bringing in the fun. We went on one ride with them, Toy Story, and I guess they didn't pay attention to height requirements, but I was sure there would be trouble. After standing in line for an hour and a half, we get to the docking port and it was 6 kids for them, all under 7-8 years old, and all his in laws stayed outside, I call bull-to-the-fucking-shit!!! You bring kids, best be ready to help them ride. My complaint is not at brother in law, but at his mother in law, aunt, niece, any of them could have helped with the extra kids. You came to the park to sit in the heat?
We are having an ok time, I am having to accept that people are different, my folks are used to the other parks, I can yell an "andale" (hurry) and people react. This guys freeze up which is worse, what do you do when you want your group to go faster and their reaction is to pull in like a circle of scared gazelle? Maybe I should eat the weakest one, teach the others to listen better.
The reality is most parents are frazzled by the second or third day, specially if they have a bunch of kids hanging off of them, saw one last night cussing at his table "I don't give a shit what you think you want, you're all getting chicken nuggets and that's that. Wife was a little shocked, I thought this guy is a hero. Who else would voluntarily bring that many kids to one of these parks? My mother in law knows me at least 27 years and she too was shocked when I "lose it". After I calmed down, I said sorry, BUT you know me, we didn't just meet for this trip, I have an asshole streak that I don't hesitate to let out, specially if I get stressed.
Us guys should not be judged like you judge each other. By percentages, more of the men walking around here are the good guys, the ones who love their families, who instead of blowing any extra money on themselves, plan these trips for the family. What do I get of animatronics and weirdos dressed like cartoon characters? I do it for Wife who loves this stuff and my boys, who still finds things to enjoy out here, even if Boy is trying his hardest to be Mr. Grown-up.
My brother in law is here, his wife and their four kids, throw in his mother in law and another aunt, a niece and two nephews.... he is really bringing in the fun. We went on one ride with them, Toy Story, and I guess they didn't pay attention to height requirements, but I was sure there would be trouble. After standing in line for an hour and a half, we get to the docking port and it was 6 kids for them, all under 7-8 years old, and all his in laws stayed outside, I call bull-to-the-fucking-shit!!! You bring kids, best be ready to help them ride. My complaint is not at brother in law, but at his mother in law, aunt, niece, any of them could have helped with the extra kids. You came to the park to sit in the heat?
We are having an ok time, I am having to accept that people are different, my folks are used to the other parks, I can yell an "andale" (hurry) and people react. This guys freeze up which is worse, what do you do when you want your group to go faster and their reaction is to pull in like a circle of scared gazelle? Maybe I should eat the weakest one, teach the others to listen better.
Monday, June 22, 2015
6/23/15 Hollywood Studios Was Much Better?
Yesterday was a rough start to our "fun" week but maybe we do need to listen to Boy and cut out Animal Kingdom entirely. It is a hot, humid, smelly park, with little options to find AC places. I wanted to include it because my in-laws had not seen it.
Hollywood Studios has a different format. It is set around big shows/rides/presentations for a given movie. We walked in and were about 5 minutes from the start of Indiana Jones Stunt Set. They go through and show us behind the scenes how they prep for a fight scene, or other interesting features in a movie.
After this, it was to my personal favorite in this park, the Star Wars ride. It had a "40" minute wait, but did not seem that bad, thanks to the conversing and the fact we were standing in mostly cool shade. Once in the bldg, it took no time to make it up and we were out in no time. We then spent a long time in the souvenir store, Chubs wanted a lightsaber built by hand, which takes time only because the kids think the pieces matter.
We were then able to slide very quickly to the Muppet Show, which is a theater with interactive elements. I honestly zoned out and Chubs gave me a few elbows when I started snoring. It is a cute show, but it hasn't changed much from the past. After, we walked through the souvenir shop, bought nothing, and then we headed to a restaurent where we could eat in air conditioned and relative quiet comfort. The burger was forgettable, and even the soda was mostly carbonated water, missing the part that makes it yummy cola.
At this point, we headed to the Great Movie Ride and it took about 110 min to get on. My m-i-l said she thought the salad she ate might have given her sickness and rushed to the bathroom after standing in line all that time.
Maybe to be careful, I headed to bathroom, but I just farted a bit. We then went and got together with My brother in Law and all rode the Toy Story ride which is fun.
After this, there were small rides like Ariel's Under The Sea Sing along and then it felt like we saw entire park. We don't do roller coasters or thrill rides, so the two big ones left were OK. Wife then expected I would sit for 2.5 hours for the nine o'clock showing of Fantasm. She suggested I could leave early, mostly because we have needed fans to be really comfortable.
Hollywood Studios has a different format. It is set around big shows/rides/presentations for a given movie. We walked in and were about 5 minutes from the start of Indiana Jones Stunt Set. They go through and show us behind the scenes how they prep for a fight scene, or other interesting features in a movie.
After this, it was to my personal favorite in this park, the Star Wars ride. It had a "40" minute wait, but did not seem that bad, thanks to the conversing and the fact we were standing in mostly cool shade. Once in the bldg, it took no time to make it up and we were out in no time. We then spent a long time in the souvenir store, Chubs wanted a lightsaber built by hand, which takes time only because the kids think the pieces matter.
We were then able to slide very quickly to the Muppet Show, which is a theater with interactive elements. I honestly zoned out and Chubs gave me a few elbows when I started snoring. It is a cute show, but it hasn't changed much from the past. After, we walked through the souvenir shop, bought nothing, and then we headed to a restaurent where we could eat in air conditioned and relative quiet comfort. The burger was forgettable, and even the soda was mostly carbonated water, missing the part that makes it yummy cola.
At this point, we headed to the Great Movie Ride and it took about 110 min to get on. My m-i-l said she thought the salad she ate might have given her sickness and rushed to the bathroom after standing in line all that time.
Maybe to be careful, I headed to bathroom, but I just farted a bit. We then went and got together with My brother in Law and all rode the Toy Story ride which is fun.
After this, there were small rides like Ariel's Under The Sea Sing along and then it felt like we saw entire park. We don't do roller coasters or thrill rides, so the two big ones left were OK. Wife then expected I would sit for 2.5 hours for the nine o'clock showing of Fantasm. She suggested I could leave early, mostly because we have needed fans to be really comfortable.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
6/22/15 Rough Out On First Park?
So after all the abuse to get up here, the cold/cough I've had (thankfully, not passed to anyone else), all the traffic delays, and even more family joining the group (my brother in laws mother and daughter caught up with us), halfway into Florida. We finally went to our first park and I hurt people's feelings pretty quick. I have one goal at these parks, and that is to get people to experience as much as possible.
My wife has a different agenda, and that is to make sure everybody pees every few minutes. We had not even made it into the park, Wife is bunched around with her family in the middle of an open non shady area. I, having a brain that works, am always scanning for shade or even AC. So Wife is bunched with her family, first behind the cars taking pictures, then in the middle of the entrance to Animal Kingdon. Both with the sun beating down in all it's glory. Me and my boys were over here, twenty yards away, but in the shade.
I pulled Wife aside and suggested we go to the big ride of the park, which is the safari ride, she can barely keep her thoughts together, maybe excited, maybe nervous cause her family and my rudeness don't generally clash. As soon as everyone starts walking, they start heading away from what we had discussed. I gave a loud shudder and people scampered in the direction I thought best. My thought was it all sucks in the heat, but better wait for those open Jeeps early, then focus on the indoor A/C shows in the afternoon. It took a long time to walk all the way to the back of the park, but eventually we got on the ride. I was ready to go to the next ride, but of course, it was pee break time. I know there are bathrooms everywhere, but we walked almost back to the entrance. Some people went to pee, some waited, then some more went, then some lost time just standing around. We finally got to walking, we walked through a forest in Asia, had to stop and sit in the park. People were tired way too easily. After, I suggested to the thrill seekers to do the Mt. Everest Roller Coaster. Three people went and the rest of us got to sit and wait, for 30-40 min. Even though we sat and did nothing for cloer to 40 min, as soon as we started walking, Wife suggested another pee break. Again, pandemonium, I wouldn't have cared so much, except we were staring at the Bug's Life Show starting in 5 minutes, and no one seemed that bothered by it. I then said screw it and went into a nearby store to get in the AC and of course, Wife immediately calls looking for me. Other than saying "come on!!" and "Ass in gear!!" and doing the finger in the air indicating "wrap it up", I don't know that I did anything wrong, but at some point my mother in law was upset at me. Wife made me apologize as we were walking out, and I even added, "but you know that I'm an ass", Vicky tells y'all I loose it all the time, nothing I am doing should be a surprise to anyone. These people have known me more than 25-27 years.
My wife has a different agenda, and that is to make sure everybody pees every few minutes. We had not even made it into the park, Wife is bunched around with her family in the middle of an open non shady area. I, having a brain that works, am always scanning for shade or even AC. So Wife is bunched with her family, first behind the cars taking pictures, then in the middle of the entrance to Animal Kingdon. Both with the sun beating down in all it's glory. Me and my boys were over here, twenty yards away, but in the shade.
I pulled Wife aside and suggested we go to the big ride of the park, which is the safari ride, she can barely keep her thoughts together, maybe excited, maybe nervous cause her family and my rudeness don't generally clash. As soon as everyone starts walking, they start heading away from what we had discussed. I gave a loud shudder and people scampered in the direction I thought best. My thought was it all sucks in the heat, but better wait for those open Jeeps early, then focus on the indoor A/C shows in the afternoon. It took a long time to walk all the way to the back of the park, but eventually we got on the ride. I was ready to go to the next ride, but of course, it was pee break time. I know there are bathrooms everywhere, but we walked almost back to the entrance. Some people went to pee, some waited, then some more went, then some lost time just standing around. We finally got to walking, we walked through a forest in Asia, had to stop and sit in the park. People were tired way too easily. After, I suggested to the thrill seekers to do the Mt. Everest Roller Coaster. Three people went and the rest of us got to sit and wait, for 30-40 min. Even though we sat and did nothing for cloer to 40 min, as soon as we started walking, Wife suggested another pee break. Again, pandemonium, I wouldn't have cared so much, except we were staring at the Bug's Life Show starting in 5 minutes, and no one seemed that bothered by it. I then said screw it and went into a nearby store to get in the AC and of course, Wife immediately calls looking for me. Other than saying "come on!!" and "Ass in gear!!" and doing the finger in the air indicating "wrap it up", I don't know that I did anything wrong, but at some point my mother in law was upset at me. Wife made me apologize as we were walking out, and I even added, "but you know that I'm an ass", Vicky tells y'all I loose it all the time, nothing I am doing should be a surprise to anyone. These people have known me more than 25-27 years.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
6/21/15 Road Trip With My Homies?
I love driving to Florida, I should say loved, today was a pain in the butt. It didn't really rain on us, but there was one hold up after another. First off, because of our awesome luck selling the house, realtor wanted us to go in and sign paperwork at 9:30am. We were trying to get on road at 9:00am, so already our schedule was going to be off, but for a good reason. Because we were running later we hit Houston just as it was getting to rush hour. That was not even that bad of a time stealer as we rode on the HOV for about halfway and it was all +80mph. We then continued and stopped at Louisiana entrance to stretch and go to bathroom. Father in law offered a sandwich and before I knew it, it turned into a picnic, everone eating sandwiches and chips, fun but we lost a good hour.
We then got on road and went almost three hours, stopped at a Love's, clean bathrooms, but store needs to be revamped with places like Buc-ee's existing. I could have/would have liked Wife to drive, but said ehh, I can go a bit more. We ended up on that 18 mile bridge and although there was a bad accident on west bound lanes, our east bound lanes still slowed down enough to loose another hour. Just when it seemed there couldn't be any more distractions, our Google Navigator suggested we get off freeway and take some back roads, we discussed with other cars in our party and they all said we'll follow whatever you do. By the time I had to decide whether to get off freeway, traffic was already backing up to the exit we used.
We drove on back roads that reminded me of the back roads from my hometown, just two lane roads, 9 miles one way, 13 miles this way... It felt like an hour, but Google said we had saved an hour and a half.
All this hard focusing and the fact I am working with a cold, left me drained. I forced Wife to take over and drive, although it was just the last 11-14 miles. We then took a good while figuring out where to park, but here we are, I am writing this on a bed in Alabama, next to some Battleships and the tunnel. Tomorrow has to be smoother, although it is 1:10am and the boys haven't even showered and they are complaining they are hungry. I guess they only ate the sandwich and whatever junk food in the car. My poor boys are too used to eating meals. Chubs is about crying that he is hungry and even Boy is passive aggressively calling us bad parents for not feeding him.
Friday, June 19, 2015
6/20/15 Done, Sold To The Gentleman?
After so much going back and forth, and doing so much for our old house, it finally went on the market today around 3pm. Just like an Austin Hot Property, it sold in four hours. Our realtor called Wife and told her the good news. I don't know if we're supposed to get excited, cry, celebrate in whatever way.
Either way, we are still shaking not believeing the amount of work that went into bringing home up to really a beauty. Guy that has shown the interest even offered $5000 above our asking price, I guess to push us to say yes and not let others draw it out into a bidding war.
I am writing this on Friday night and we went to sign paperwork with our realtor as to agreeing to price. Realtor said she also had two more realtors interested today in showing the house to potential buyers. They discussed having a back-up offer if we were interested, but our realtor said buyer has half the money cash, only financing half the cost of the house. Sale should be a slam dunk, never seen a house sell so fast.
I am happy, although it is a little sad we won't have our starter home, it was very hard to keep fixing and cleaning everything, not everyone was as dirty as our last tenant, but it broke my heart to walk in their and realize "renters" just can't/won't care as much as the owner. There was also the reality of us having a hard time keeping up with our bills as our newer bigger house has been slowly suffocating us.
Luckily, Wife is finally being recognized at work with a small salary bump (although she will be driving a bus), and the healthy profit from the house will pay off most of our credit card debt. Paying off so much credit debt, we will then attempt to refinance our big house, as interesxt rates are still very good. Finally, add in a renter or two, and I may finally get my wish of a Rolex on every arm and ankle.
Everyone is constantly "mothering me" telling me, "ay Mando, don't do the same thing again and get all in credit debt again..." no shit, that is goal number one. Wife still said we are only living in big house for a year as a test. If we have added credit debt, she says that will be a sign we need to sell big house and live in our RV. That is her solution/punishment to me for living outside my means. Let's see what happens from here.
Either way, we are still shaking not believeing the amount of work that went into bringing home up to really a beauty. Guy that has shown the interest even offered $5000 above our asking price, I guess to push us to say yes and not let others draw it out into a bidding war.
I am writing this on Friday night and we went to sign paperwork with our realtor as to agreeing to price. Realtor said she also had two more realtors interested today in showing the house to potential buyers. They discussed having a back-up offer if we were interested, but our realtor said buyer has half the money cash, only financing half the cost of the house. Sale should be a slam dunk, never seen a house sell so fast.
I am happy, although it is a little sad we won't have our starter home, it was very hard to keep fixing and cleaning everything, not everyone was as dirty as our last tenant, but it broke my heart to walk in their and realize "renters" just can't/won't care as much as the owner. There was also the reality of us having a hard time keeping up with our bills as our newer bigger house has been slowly suffocating us.
Luckily, Wife is finally being recognized at work with a small salary bump (although she will be driving a bus), and the healthy profit from the house will pay off most of our credit card debt. Paying off so much credit debt, we will then attempt to refinance our big house, as interesxt rates are still very good. Finally, add in a renter or two, and I may finally get my wish of a Rolex on every arm and ankle.
Everyone is constantly "mothering me" telling me, "ay Mando, don't do the same thing again and get all in credit debt again..." no shit, that is goal number one. Wife still said we are only living in big house for a year as a test. If we have added credit debt, she says that will be a sign we need to sell big house and live in our RV. That is her solution/punishment to me for living outside my means. Let's see what happens from here.
6/19/15 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Was Enjoyable?
I finished binge watching another show, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I attempted to watch this show about a year ago and gave up after 4-5 episodes. The characters were weird, and I couldn't make sense of what they were trying to accomplish. Boy started watching it and suggested I give it another chance, that it was very funny, in a dark way.
I powered through a couple more episodes and suddenly Danny Devito showed up. I think the show was missing that elder leader of sorts, the guys are all very much self absorbed, not caring for much more than themselves. The worst being Dennis, the resident pretty boy, who uses women for his selfish needs. He records himself having intercourse with everyone just because he likes to watch himself going at it. Next in line is his sister, Sweet Dee, she seems like a typical attractive blond, but their isn't an episode that the guys don't insult her for being ugly or looking like a bird. This of course leaves her as damaged goods and when she isn't destroying the lives of the couple of guys that do like her, she is trying to hard to be accepted by the group of aholes that is this team. Mac is kind of a dimwitted guy who fancies himself an expert in security issues. Constantly displaying his karate skills, but always looking like a kid, just flailing about. In the later seasons he gets very heavy, not sure if weight was real or done with make-up, but the weight was gone for the last two seasons. Then there is Charlie, who might actually be slow, but is usually the most likable of the group. He is obsessed with Waitress, who appears every couple of episodes but she cannot stand him.
Charlie and the Danny Devito character have the most fun for the camera, frequently going on crazy adventures in the sewer tunnels underground, hanging with random bridge people.
Collectively, they all work in a bar, but most episodes they just gather there to head of to whatever hijinx they are getting into for the episode. I am not describing it as a funny show, but it really is. There were times I gave myself a headache from laughing so much. I believe it is continuing, next season will be its 10th season.
I powered through a couple more episodes and suddenly Danny Devito showed up. I think the show was missing that elder leader of sorts, the guys are all very much self absorbed, not caring for much more than themselves. The worst being Dennis, the resident pretty boy, who uses women for his selfish needs. He records himself having intercourse with everyone just because he likes to watch himself going at it. Next in line is his sister, Sweet Dee, she seems like a typical attractive blond, but their isn't an episode that the guys don't insult her for being ugly or looking like a bird. This of course leaves her as damaged goods and when she isn't destroying the lives of the couple of guys that do like her, she is trying to hard to be accepted by the group of aholes that is this team. Mac is kind of a dimwitted guy who fancies himself an expert in security issues. Constantly displaying his karate skills, but always looking like a kid, just flailing about. In the later seasons he gets very heavy, not sure if weight was real or done with make-up, but the weight was gone for the last two seasons. Then there is Charlie, who might actually be slow, but is usually the most likable of the group. He is obsessed with Waitress, who appears every couple of episodes but she cannot stand him.
Charlie and the Danny Devito character have the most fun for the camera, frequently going on crazy adventures in the sewer tunnels underground, hanging with random bridge people.
Collectively, they all work in a bar, but most episodes they just gather there to head of to whatever hijinx they are getting into for the episode. I am not describing it as a funny show, but it really is. There were times I gave myself a headache from laughing so much. I believe it is continuing, next season will be its 10th season.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
6/18/15 Orange Is The New Black Is The Perfect Drama?
I just finished binging on season 3 of OITNB, and the story lines continue to be fascinating. Piper who took us into the prison as a scared dandelion has now become a confident, almost fully immersed gangster who has transitioned from prisoner by accident to full on godfather. She came up with an idea to sell underwear to perverts online worn by the prisoners. She is selling everything and has even dealt with those needing to be dealt with.
The beauty of the show is that each girl is an individual and on any given episode any character's backstory can be brought to light, making them more interesting. I did not like the heroin dealer last season taking care of Dayanara's sister but this season he was shown that given that he was the only one keeping the "family"together, he didn't seem like such a bad guy. IDK, maybe all those kids would be better off in social services. It did seem like he cared though.
Then the story of the transexual Sophia escalates it seems because her son on the outside is hanging out with Gloria's son, but it turns out he is troublemaker enough on his own. I personally don't care of "Sophia" making this big change for her own personal blah blah blah, but the minute you decide you want to have kids, your own needs need to take a backseat. He/she expects his wife to understand, and maybe, but to put that burden on a kid is just asshole selfish behavior. Big fucking deal, you have a woman stuck in your body, don't have a kid then. Then you can spend your whole life taking care of you.
The story of Caputo is also very interesting and he is slowly becoming a stronger individual, his backstory and him sacrificing his music career for a pregnant chick with a kid that's not his and in time she doesn't even appreciate him is sad. Good that he is listening to that bitchy skinny ex-boss of his. Give him a bit of an edge, which we all need to succeed in this world.
I also liked the group of black gals acting like individuals, last year when they were all following Vee, made them all a bit cliche. Big Cindy persuing Judaism for the meals is interesting in that she carried through to converting, Taystee becoming the "mom" of the group, and "crazy eyes" didn't seem as scary once she became a writer and developed a fan base, it was nice she never lost it the whole season.
Overall, the show is solid. I love the format, wish it had more episodes. Ending with all of them in the lake made me tear up. They are all people who made mistakes, and they may be inmates, but together, they do form a family in their.
The beauty of the show is that each girl is an individual and on any given episode any character's backstory can be brought to light, making them more interesting. I did not like the heroin dealer last season taking care of Dayanara's sister but this season he was shown that given that he was the only one keeping the "family"together, he didn't seem like such a bad guy. IDK, maybe all those kids would be better off in social services. It did seem like he cared though.
Then the story of the transexual Sophia escalates it seems because her son on the outside is hanging out with Gloria's son, but it turns out he is troublemaker enough on his own. I personally don't care of "Sophia" making this big change for her own personal blah blah blah, but the minute you decide you want to have kids, your own needs need to take a backseat. He/she expects his wife to understand, and maybe, but to put that burden on a kid is just asshole selfish behavior. Big fucking deal, you have a woman stuck in your body, don't have a kid then. Then you can spend your whole life taking care of you.
The story of Caputo is also very interesting and he is slowly becoming a stronger individual, his backstory and him sacrificing his music career for a pregnant chick with a kid that's not his and in time she doesn't even appreciate him is sad. Good that he is listening to that bitchy skinny ex-boss of his. Give him a bit of an edge, which we all need to succeed in this world.
I also liked the group of black gals acting like individuals, last year when they were all following Vee, made them all a bit cliche. Big Cindy persuing Judaism for the meals is interesting in that she carried through to converting, Taystee becoming the "mom" of the group, and "crazy eyes" didn't seem as scary once she became a writer and developed a fan base, it was nice she never lost it the whole season.
Overall, the show is solid. I love the format, wish it had more episodes. Ending with all of them in the lake made me tear up. They are all people who made mistakes, and they may be inmates, but together, they do form a family in their.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
6/17/15 Vacations Feel Like Chapter Endings?
We are fixing to go on vacation as most people do during the summer break. On top of that, of course our house dilemma is coming to an end (hopefully), and Wife's school year ends this Friday. The only thing that continues like the old Energizer bunny is me and my work.
Both boys are in their usual mode of staying up late wasting away their summer days. Well, Boy has already been to Florida with friends and is fixing to go back with us. Chubs spent a week at Grandma's house visiting and playing with his cousins. We need to get away as a family. With all my working OT, I feel a little out of the loop. We barely eat together, with Boy working on the weekends, and me not available hardly ever.
It has been a good four years since we have gone to Florida. We went by ourselves a few times, then we went with my folks twice and then we went with our friends once. Each time was a bit different, but enjoyable in its own way. This year we are going with my in laws. I know Wife is excited because we don't really vacation with them, or really, they don't vacation much. I don't understand that part, actually, we are of the same socioeconomic backgrounds, middle income families. My folks though always did the little vacations to Corpus Christi growing up, then they joined us and bought an RV to be able to park in the same parks we stay at during the summer. My in laws vacation, but usually their trips have been to visit my father in laws brother in Wisconsin. Maybe they are finally getting with the program. They did buy an RV this past fall and have been updating it to use for the summer.
I am excited to get on the road. I always feel reborn coming back, to the point that I worry if my job will still be there, but it always has been. There is that feeling after being gone for two weeks that I'll scan my badge and nothing happens by the security doors. As busy as we have been, I almost feel guilty going, but we planned this trip two years ago. We were going to do this last summer, but this and that happened to derail it. We almost went during Christmas break, but that was postponed as well. I told Wife we are going with or without her peeps this summer. There is always a good reason not to splurge on a vacation, but what do you have after? I couple extra bucks, BFD. Bring on the happy memories.
Both boys are in their usual mode of staying up late wasting away their summer days. Well, Boy has already been to Florida with friends and is fixing to go back with us. Chubs spent a week at Grandma's house visiting and playing with his cousins. We need to get away as a family. With all my working OT, I feel a little out of the loop. We barely eat together, with Boy working on the weekends, and me not available hardly ever.
It has been a good four years since we have gone to Florida. We went by ourselves a few times, then we went with my folks twice and then we went with our friends once. Each time was a bit different, but enjoyable in its own way. This year we are going with my in laws. I know Wife is excited because we don't really vacation with them, or really, they don't vacation much. I don't understand that part, actually, we are of the same socioeconomic backgrounds, middle income families. My folks though always did the little vacations to Corpus Christi growing up, then they joined us and bought an RV to be able to park in the same parks we stay at during the summer. My in laws vacation, but usually their trips have been to visit my father in laws brother in Wisconsin. Maybe they are finally getting with the program. They did buy an RV this past fall and have been updating it to use for the summer.
I am excited to get on the road. I always feel reborn coming back, to the point that I worry if my job will still be there, but it always has been. There is that feeling after being gone for two weeks that I'll scan my badge and nothing happens by the security doors. As busy as we have been, I almost feel guilty going, but we planned this trip two years ago. We were going to do this last summer, but this and that happened to derail it. We almost went during Christmas break, but that was postponed as well. I told Wife we are going with or without her peeps this summer. There is always a good reason not to splurge on a vacation, but what do you have after? I couple extra bucks, BFD. Bring on the happy memories.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
6/16/15 Jurassic World Is Our Type Of Movie?
It is kind of lame, but this is the movie we deserve. We expect our summer blockbusters to be loud and over the top, we want our male heroes to be buff and our gals to look sexy while running in impossible clothes that still show some cleavage, man we suck! Collectively.
This movie was pretty much the same as the other Jurassic Park movies. In the first installment, the velociraptors come out as this great new dinosaur we're all supposed to just accept that always were more popular than T-rex or a triceratops. "Clever Gal" survived from the movie, when the hunter expert gets outwitted by the raptor in the first movie.
In this movie, the raptors are almost "trained" by the hunky dude, (guess the Rock is too old for these rolls), Chris Pratt got in shape at the perfect time, he has filled in as the good looking hero time and again. Starting with Parks and Rec when he was a throw away character, who was more annoying than anything, he has grown into a pretty good action star, complete with smart ass mouth.
The hot chick was hot and detached and basically bad at her job. It seemed like any other regular business day on the island of dinosaurs and she's scampering around like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Her sister has just sent her two nephews to hang out so they can get their divorce on, and she can't be bothered, ahh, to be good looking.
Of course when bad things start happening, the humans in charge always make more bad decisions to ensure catastrophes. Big dinosaur gets loose, kill it, you'll get sued out of business the minute it eats a kid. And of course her nephews are running around with their gold passes, thinking it gives them access to anywhere in the park. It was nice to see the older brother finally give two shits for the annoying younger one (hmm hmm), but in reality one of the other dinos would have eaten them post haste.
That extra long gator thing kept in a pool by the ocean is pretty much just hanging out until it feels like exploring. That was mucho dinosaur, even if it was used to make us say wow. Glad it existed, to keep things even.
It was entertaining and everything we want from a movie, I just feel we should want more. Oh well, we get in for free, so I shouldn't complain.
This movie was pretty much the same as the other Jurassic Park movies. In the first installment, the velociraptors come out as this great new dinosaur we're all supposed to just accept that always were more popular than T-rex or a triceratops. "Clever Gal" survived from the movie, when the hunter expert gets outwitted by the raptor in the first movie.
In this movie, the raptors are almost "trained" by the hunky dude, (guess the Rock is too old for these rolls), Chris Pratt got in shape at the perfect time, he has filled in as the good looking hero time and again. Starting with Parks and Rec when he was a throw away character, who was more annoying than anything, he has grown into a pretty good action star, complete with smart ass mouth.
The hot chick was hot and detached and basically bad at her job. It seemed like any other regular business day on the island of dinosaurs and she's scampering around like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Her sister has just sent her two nephews to hang out so they can get their divorce on, and she can't be bothered, ahh, to be good looking.
Of course when bad things start happening, the humans in charge always make more bad decisions to ensure catastrophes. Big dinosaur gets loose, kill it, you'll get sued out of business the minute it eats a kid. And of course her nephews are running around with their gold passes, thinking it gives them access to anywhere in the park. It was nice to see the older brother finally give two shits for the annoying younger one (hmm hmm), but in reality one of the other dinos would have eaten them post haste.
That extra long gator thing kept in a pool by the ocean is pretty much just hanging out until it feels like exploring. That was mucho dinosaur, even if it was used to make us say wow. Glad it existed, to keep things even.
It was entertaining and everything we want from a movie, I just feel we should want more. Oh well, we get in for free, so I shouldn't complain.
Monday, June 15, 2015
6/15/15 Why Do We Make Ourselves Uncomfortable?
We went to Buffalo Wild Wings today. Chubs likes wings, I am OK with them. I believe mine are better as I grill them and they don't have that greasy aftertaste of them from the oven. I couldn't decide on which flavor or heat to go with since I am not a fan. I figured Wife was going mild and Chubs was going medium. My folks were with us and they went with BBQ and lemon Pepper. I then feel obligated to actually get "hot" wings. It is what they are known as, dammit!!
We did the smorgasborg, put them all in the middle and share. I ended up eating four of the five "hot" wings. Only Chubs ate one and because I was egging him on. But seriously, nobody enjoys that burning feeling, why put ourselves through it? It was more of a mission to accomplish, eating the rest after "enjoying" one. I am also the type of person who doesn't leave food on the table, I mean look at me.
My Dad was then being funny with it's not the mouth it's laters when the hot stuff reaches "el chiquito" referring to the butt hole. He said plainly, that's why I won't eat them. I didn't think too much about it, but it's true. There have been times I feel the spicy food burning on the exit side. Those are generally not good times.
Another example, last night we went to the movies, saw Jurassic World or whatever that movie is called. Boy got us free tickets but to the midnight showing. I had worked OT the night before, got home after 8am, showered and stuff, probably went to sleep at 9am and Wife was trying to wake me at 1pm. I eventually got up, my folks were also in town and we went and took care of some things in the other house. We then had to go buy stuff, I was really more out of it, lacking sleep, not even getting breakfast, Wife busting balls left and right that I am not being helpful because I wandered off, she apparently couldn't pick the paint after I had helped with the colors. I floated on over to the flooring, now that we are staying in big house and seeing my friends big house with dark wood floors, I am determined to eventually do that. She found me after awhile, yelled at me for hiding from her, but I made the big decision of semi gloss for trim and satin finish for walls. Feels good to be the decision maker.
We then ate pizza at a new place, actually quite good, or we were starving by then. After that, we went home and I fell asleep hard around 9:30pm. Chubs woke me at 11:05pm so we could head to movies. I almost would have preferred to sleep, but movie was good. Why do we force ourselves to push our bodies? After all the work I did during the week, I could have said no to the movie, but I don't want to be the "wet blanket" or the asshole. I go along with my peeps to keep them happy. I figure I can rest when I'm dead.
We did the smorgasborg, put them all in the middle and share. I ended up eating four of the five "hot" wings. Only Chubs ate one and because I was egging him on. But seriously, nobody enjoys that burning feeling, why put ourselves through it? It was more of a mission to accomplish, eating the rest after "enjoying" one. I am also the type of person who doesn't leave food on the table, I mean look at me.
My Dad was then being funny with it's not the mouth it's laters when the hot stuff reaches "el chiquito" referring to the butt hole. He said plainly, that's why I won't eat them. I didn't think too much about it, but it's true. There have been times I feel the spicy food burning on the exit side. Those are generally not good times.
Another example, last night we went to the movies, saw Jurassic World or whatever that movie is called. Boy got us free tickets but to the midnight showing. I had worked OT the night before, got home after 8am, showered and stuff, probably went to sleep at 9am and Wife was trying to wake me at 1pm. I eventually got up, my folks were also in town and we went and took care of some things in the other house. We then had to go buy stuff, I was really more out of it, lacking sleep, not even getting breakfast, Wife busting balls left and right that I am not being helpful because I wandered off, she apparently couldn't pick the paint after I had helped with the colors. I floated on over to the flooring, now that we are staying in big house and seeing my friends big house with dark wood floors, I am determined to eventually do that. She found me after awhile, yelled at me for hiding from her, but I made the big decision of semi gloss for trim and satin finish for walls. Feels good to be the decision maker.
We then ate pizza at a new place, actually quite good, or we were starving by then. After that, we went home and I fell asleep hard around 9:30pm. Chubs woke me at 11:05pm so we could head to movies. I almost would have preferred to sleep, but movie was good. Why do we force ourselves to push our bodies? After all the work I did during the week, I could have said no to the movie, but I don't want to be the "wet blanket" or the asshole. I go along with my peeps to keep them happy. I figure I can rest when I'm dead.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
6/14/15 Bye Bye Old House?
We finally flinched and made a decision on our houses. We talked to a realtor about putting our older home on the market. I have some sentimental attachment to it, but financially, decisions must be made if we are ever to climb out of the credit card debt we have slowly dug ourselves into.
The lady seemed nice enough, not one of those slick "bitches" that shows up in a Mercedes and tricks her way into making us sign a contract. She just stayed on point, showed us comparable homes, and insisted it is a hot market, houses just don't stay on the market very long. People are coming in from out of state in droves and of course they are looking for a place to stay.
We needed an outside person to come and tell us "STOP". We keep buying and improving and spending and at a certain point we need to stop. This will not be our house, I just hope whoever moves in appreciates the expensive carpet.
We are still going to paint the outside and do some light trimming of the trees. The realtor suggested we plant some colorful flowers in the front to give it a focal point. Wife was ready to start doing concrete work, luckily realtor told her no.
It is not guaranteed but she had many examples of houses selling in less than a week, most of her comparables were selling in 3-5 days. She said she didn't see a problem at the price point we chose. Initially, I would have been happy selling around $140000 but we have put in about $20000 worth of improvements, but she said $165000 was not a crazy price for the area. I want to go on vacation and come back to news that it is sold and done. Now that I know we are not keeping it, I want to stop paying the $850 a month ASAP.
Nobody was happier with this decision than Chubs. He gets to stay in his original Elementary school where he knows everybody and is well liked by his teachers, principal, etc. He had been invited to be one of those pesky student aids that help people cross the street and hang the flag in the mornings. I don't know that I want him doing it, but at least now, it can be discussed and decided on as a choice.
The lady seemed nice enough, not one of those slick "bitches" that shows up in a Mercedes and tricks her way into making us sign a contract. She just stayed on point, showed us comparable homes, and insisted it is a hot market, houses just don't stay on the market very long. People are coming in from out of state in droves and of course they are looking for a place to stay.
We needed an outside person to come and tell us "STOP". We keep buying and improving and spending and at a certain point we need to stop. This will not be our house, I just hope whoever moves in appreciates the expensive carpet.
We are still going to paint the outside and do some light trimming of the trees. The realtor suggested we plant some colorful flowers in the front to give it a focal point. Wife was ready to start doing concrete work, luckily realtor told her no.
It is not guaranteed but she had many examples of houses selling in less than a week, most of her comparables were selling in 3-5 days. She said she didn't see a problem at the price point we chose. Initially, I would have been happy selling around $140000 but we have put in about $20000 worth of improvements, but she said $165000 was not a crazy price for the area. I want to go on vacation and come back to news that it is sold and done. Now that I know we are not keeping it, I want to stop paying the $850 a month ASAP.
Nobody was happier with this decision than Chubs. He gets to stay in his original Elementary school where he knows everybody and is well liked by his teachers, principal, etc. He had been invited to be one of those pesky student aids that help people cross the street and hang the flag in the mornings. I don't know that I want him doing it, but at least now, it can be discussed and decided on as a choice.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
6/13/15 Do You Give 100% All The Time?
Can you look at yourself and say I give it all I got? The last few weeks have been a crazy back and forth of do we move/do we stay, go do this, go do that. I am not even sure what we accomplished so far. Our house is 80% packed, we could go, but we're not. All this on the back of Wife, she got it all done, with a lot of help from her family. Meanwhile, the pool is still green, I was supposed to tackle that one problem. Wife would turn on the pump if that was all that was required, but because of the stupid leak, I have to prime the pump, that means force water into it, to get it going.
If we have had two months of back and forth, that is eight weekends, surely, I could have found time to mess with it. But looking back, it rained pretty much non-stop for the first month. I have been working 60-80 hours a week, plus I was still picking up Chubs and eating every day until last Thursday. Are these the proverbial excuses of a lazy person or are there simply not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done?
I can say this week I don't want to get into it because even if I start getting water clear, we will be gone for almost two weeks, water is going to go back to what it is. I need to get on it and stay on it, I just don't want to do it with the sun beating the crap out of me.
Another "excuse" has been the old house and going over there for so many little reasons. From needing to pay painters to installing carbon monoxide detector so house can be to code for new water heater. Every time I go, I lose an afternoon. I sometimes want to shake Wife so she does more, but she too has a job and commutes almost an hour a day back and forth. I guess selling the old house will get it out of our hands for good. We won't have to even think about it anymore.
That would be nice. Just focus on us. I want to do some small projects around the house. First off, move bedroom set from guest room downstairs and make it Chubs bedroom set. Or maybe buy the Queen set of the equivalent, and use the dresser and nightstands. Hmmm. I want the smaller bed because I am stuck on wanting to get them the quilts I saw at Pottery Barn with Spider Man and Batman.
I also want to try my hand at installing some wood flooring, even though Wife keeps saying no, I swear she needs a re-boot, it's all she ever says nowadays.
If we have had two months of back and forth, that is eight weekends, surely, I could have found time to mess with it. But looking back, it rained pretty much non-stop for the first month. I have been working 60-80 hours a week, plus I was still picking up Chubs and eating every day until last Thursday. Are these the proverbial excuses of a lazy person or are there simply not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done?
I can say this week I don't want to get into it because even if I start getting water clear, we will be gone for almost two weeks, water is going to go back to what it is. I need to get on it and stay on it, I just don't want to do it with the sun beating the crap out of me.
Another "excuse" has been the old house and going over there for so many little reasons. From needing to pay painters to installing carbon monoxide detector so house can be to code for new water heater. Every time I go, I lose an afternoon. I sometimes want to shake Wife so she does more, but she too has a job and commutes almost an hour a day back and forth. I guess selling the old house will get it out of our hands for good. We won't have to even think about it anymore.
That would be nice. Just focus on us. I want to do some small projects around the house. First off, move bedroom set from guest room downstairs and make it Chubs bedroom set. Or maybe buy the Queen set of the equivalent, and use the dresser and nightstands. Hmmm. I want the smaller bed because I am stuck on wanting to get them the quilts I saw at Pottery Barn with Spider Man and Batman.
I also want to try my hand at installing some wood flooring, even though Wife keeps saying no, I swear she needs a re-boot, it's all she ever says nowadays.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
6/12/15 Going Down To Disney? (poem)
We are headed back to the land of the Mouse
Commercialism at its grandest, but an honor to be in his house.
You cheap whiny bastards who cry over a dollar
this is not for you, to another direction please bitch and holler.
I love it all, from the highway drive that takes 20 hours
to the standing in the heat hoping for some thunder showers
If you are there prepare to spend some money
on everything from water to earrings for the Honey.
I love that we'll be going to the four Disney parks
specially at night with their nightly firework sparks.
Magic Kingdom has the big castle and that's dandy and fine
but what I like most is Futureland, ten rides each one of course with a line.
Epcot center rich and rewarding has so much for us to learn
Aching feet from so much walking is my only concern.
Animal Kingdom seems odd and uninviting
until you start getting all those random animal sightings
Hollywood Studios is probably the smallest park
I still like to be there until it gets dark.
Then of course there's Universal Studios, with its thrill rides galore
that park always leaves me wanting more.
Finally, I won't forget Downtown Disney, big enough to be a mall
but open to the sky, walk until you start to feel small.
We've never been to their waterparks, this could be our year
nevermind, Wife has an infection in her ear.
6/11/15 Finally, A Sign From Above?
When we started the process of whether to move or not, I told Wife, if we can manage some sort of raise or job promotion, then that would be a sign that we should stay. Although I said we were staying Sunday night, today, Wife finally got a sign. She is getting more money, but her responsibilities have also increased. No matter, she is of course, up to the challenge. I will not get into details as she beats me when I speak frankly about pay and stuff like that. She takes me in the bedroom and whips me for being a malcontent with a big mouth.
As I was saying, we will carry on in our big home, if they meant what they told her, we should be OK for the next few years. Our big question now will be: Do we keep older house because we are the sentimental sort and can't stand to see it leave our grasp or do we sell it in this Hot market and make a significant profit which could still help us get out of credit card debt much quicker? I'm leaning to keeping it, we have ten more years to pay and it is ours, then the rent just becomes disposable cash or we do in fact move back to it in our old age.
On top of Wife's raise, my brother could possibly be coming back as I had mentioned and if so, his rent money goes a long way to helping us out. I will not treat it as part of our income but rather send it directly to a credit card to try and pay off debt.
In the coming year, I promised Wife we would also do repairs on the big house, I'd really like to attack the floors and install some wood flooring in the front of the house, we went and saw a friend's brand new house and he had dark chocolate brown wood floors and the house looked fancy. I want to do something like that. I told Wife I would do it myself, to save on costs. I just need a saw, those wood floors are just "floating" in place, they are not glued or stapled down.
I am excited at the second chance to stay in our house, I am happy that Chubs will finish his elementary school years in the same school he started. I am happy we don't have to move everything over to the other house. My only concern is we want a "new" vehicle for Wife, it was one thing I was looking forward to being able to do by moving to old house, maybe if we sell old house, we can manage one, just buy it cash. She really likes those Ford Escapes, those can be found under $20,000. We'll see what our new lease on life does to us. We now need to unpack our stuff.
As I was saying, we will carry on in our big home, if they meant what they told her, we should be OK for the next few years. Our big question now will be: Do we keep older house because we are the sentimental sort and can't stand to see it leave our grasp or do we sell it in this Hot market and make a significant profit which could still help us get out of credit card debt much quicker? I'm leaning to keeping it, we have ten more years to pay and it is ours, then the rent just becomes disposable cash or we do in fact move back to it in our old age.
On top of Wife's raise, my brother could possibly be coming back as I had mentioned and if so, his rent money goes a long way to helping us out. I will not treat it as part of our income but rather send it directly to a credit card to try and pay off debt.
In the coming year, I promised Wife we would also do repairs on the big house, I'd really like to attack the floors and install some wood flooring in the front of the house, we went and saw a friend's brand new house and he had dark chocolate brown wood floors and the house looked fancy. I want to do something like that. I told Wife I would do it myself, to save on costs. I just need a saw, those wood floors are just "floating" in place, they are not glued or stapled down.
I am excited at the second chance to stay in our house, I am happy that Chubs will finish his elementary school years in the same school he started. I am happy we don't have to move everything over to the other house. My only concern is we want a "new" vehicle for Wife, it was one thing I was looking forward to being able to do by moving to old house, maybe if we sell old house, we can manage one, just buy it cash. She really likes those Ford Escapes, those can be found under $20,000. We'll see what our new lease on life does to us. We now need to unpack our stuff.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
6/10/15 I Love Summer Break?
I love summer break, the kids don't have to be on their schedule, which means we can relax a bit. Right now Chubs isn't even in town. Actually, neither of the boys are in town. Boy also headed to San Marcos today. Chubs is at my mom's house for the week, he'll be back this weekend. He likes going down there because his cousins live right next door to my mom, so it is a party all week. I talked to him earlier, said he was chilling inside, but yesterday he played on a slip and slide, and he swam some in my Mom's hot tub. It is good to be a kid.
Boy, meanwhile is goofing around. He is not taking classes during the summer, but he is committed with his apartment, so I guess he figures he needs to go stink up his bed from time to time. In reality, he is supposed to be up there to go see his Jeep since he was in that fender bender last week. The ditzy chick that hit him finally talked to insurance and insurance called my boy saying she was at fault.
Wife is working crazy hours too. She is doing 10 hour days, so she leaves before I get home in morning and gets home after I leave. This is so they get off on Fridays, but she is still being asked to come in on Friday and she'll get paid an hourly rate. This is also supposed to be her last week but she will be covering for a coworker and I believe this means more money, which is good for our Disney trip.
I was finally allowed to sleep without a timer, although I still got up around same time. It is still liberating not having to repeat repeat the same chore. No picking up Chubs, no running to other house today.
I don't know what will ultimately happen, maybe we keep both houses and keep on keeping on, Wife says we're struggling, I don't think we've ever missed a meal. I do see that we have different needs. She wants security, I want to live like a king. I am not worried about tomorrow, I figure a heart attack will take me out one day after I retire. Sounds ugly, but I don't want to sacrifice now so in the future, husband 2.0 can live a life of leisure off my sweat and tears.
Boy, meanwhile is goofing around. He is not taking classes during the summer, but he is committed with his apartment, so I guess he figures he needs to go stink up his bed from time to time. In reality, he is supposed to be up there to go see his Jeep since he was in that fender bender last week. The ditzy chick that hit him finally talked to insurance and insurance called my boy saying she was at fault.
Wife is working crazy hours too. She is doing 10 hour days, so she leaves before I get home in morning and gets home after I leave. This is so they get off on Fridays, but she is still being asked to come in on Friday and she'll get paid an hourly rate. This is also supposed to be her last week but she will be covering for a coworker and I believe this means more money, which is good for our Disney trip.
I was finally allowed to sleep without a timer, although I still got up around same time. It is still liberating not having to repeat repeat the same chore. No picking up Chubs, no running to other house today.
I don't know what will ultimately happen, maybe we keep both houses and keep on keeping on, Wife says we're struggling, I don't think we've ever missed a meal. I do see that we have different needs. She wants security, I want to live like a king. I am not worried about tomorrow, I figure a heart attack will take me out one day after I retire. Sounds ugly, but I don't want to sacrifice now so in the future, husband 2.0 can live a life of leisure off my sweat and tears.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
6/9/15 What Am I Doing, I Don't Want To Move?
I am seeing everything that I have accumulated get packed and the more I see, the less I like it. We are in discussion to sell my pool table, the bedroom set in guest room, Boy is selling books to trim his massive collections of crap. What the hell, I am starting to feel like I got laid off or had to take a much lower paying job. I am on pace to have my biggest paying year right now, Wife is in talks to finally get a promotion, the other house is sitting empty and new....
Why don't we sell it? I've done the numbers and we will make about the same profit selling this one or that one. I would rather not sell either, but if that is not an option, I love the space we have. I am entertaining the idea of telling my brother to move back. Maybe if he gets a daytime job, he would interact with more humans, instead of living the night life, which wasn't good for him. I would lose my personal room, but if it means I keep the house, it's a sacrifice I might be willing to make. I would still have the other guest room, unless we rent it out too.
Plus I can't call it mine, but I love living next to the green belt, no neighbors behind us, just woods and trees. I like knowing there is a creek, almost think of myself living the waterfront lifestyle. And yes, the pool has been an albatross around my neck, down to me insisting on moving it over here, but it is my pain in the ass, I need to get on it and get it going, it will clean up with a little effort. Plus the hot tub has been one of those miniature nirvanas. I did not know something could be that awesome as sitting in hot water with some half naked friends.
The fact that I can't get into packing anything has been a big sign for Wife that I don't want to go anywhere. I think hearing Boy finally make a comment made me feel the sting. We were in the older house waiting doing something or other last week and he quoted some stupid new-ish song, I guess we "started from the bottom, now we here, again". This whole moving on down is supposed to make it so we can get out of debt, but will we/can we? If we were to somehow pay off the house and all our credit cards, do we win? Do we get to retire and go home? No, it isn't a game. If I have loads of free cash, I'm going to go buy something stupider and newer. I've been eyeing used airplanes, my small circle of peeps says no, but come on, everybody loves a pilot. Let's fly to Vegas for the weekend, let me just drug the wife and throw her in the back, A-Team style.
Why don't we sell it? I've done the numbers and we will make about the same profit selling this one or that one. I would rather not sell either, but if that is not an option, I love the space we have. I am entertaining the idea of telling my brother to move back. Maybe if he gets a daytime job, he would interact with more humans, instead of living the night life, which wasn't good for him. I would lose my personal room, but if it means I keep the house, it's a sacrifice I might be willing to make. I would still have the other guest room, unless we rent it out too.
Plus I can't call it mine, but I love living next to the green belt, no neighbors behind us, just woods and trees. I like knowing there is a creek, almost think of myself living the waterfront lifestyle. And yes, the pool has been an albatross around my neck, down to me insisting on moving it over here, but it is my pain in the ass, I need to get on it and get it going, it will clean up with a little effort. Plus the hot tub has been one of those miniature nirvanas. I did not know something could be that awesome as sitting in hot water with some half naked friends.
The fact that I can't get into packing anything has been a big sign for Wife that I don't want to go anywhere. I think hearing Boy finally make a comment made me feel the sting. We were in the older house waiting doing something or other last week and he quoted some stupid new-ish song, I guess we "started from the bottom, now we here, again". This whole moving on down is supposed to make it so we can get out of debt, but will we/can we? If we were to somehow pay off the house and all our credit cards, do we win? Do we get to retire and go home? No, it isn't a game. If I have loads of free cash, I'm going to go buy something stupider and newer. I've been eyeing used airplanes, my small circle of peeps says no, but come on, everybody loves a pilot. Let's fly to Vegas for the weekend, let me just drug the wife and throw her in the back, A-Team style.
Monday, June 8, 2015
6/8/15 Fell Asleep Last Night?
My body and mind finally gave out last night, sorry for no blog with your morning coffee. I worked my butt off this weekend for a customer who has now a couple times sent these big jobs which they are willing to pay twice as much as our regular rates so we get them done over the weekend. I was only one willing to work (there were graduations and surgeries stopping other peeps).
I ended up working 13 hours Friday night and 13 hours Saturday night. It's funny, when you're doing the work staring at the tool doing most of the work, it's like time is standing still. I was alone for half the night, so I do the work standing, kneeling on the chair, sitting like a human, walking away for fifteen minutes at a time (some parts run for 25-30min by themselves), kneeling on the floor, laying on the floor, music gets boring after awhile, even Netflix gets boring after awhile. But as soon as the normal time to leave approaches, the body knows. Like a dog that needs to walk, my legs want to leave, but I had to stay a little longer both days, as work needed to be finished. As soon as I finished, I was running out the door.
It did not help that Boy was in an accident this past week and the Bimbo (as he called her) that hit him took all week to talk to her insurance. Nationwide (her insurance) would not listen to Boy or Wife, even with a police report. I figured there was no reason for me to get involved yelling, Wife already threatened with lawyers and everything else civil humans can do. If only we were apes, then we could fling poo, and it would be perfectly acceptable. I got off track, but he took Wife's car for work and Wife took my Excursion since her family was here and she needed the extra seating capacity. I was dropped off like a child at work, then had to wait until almost 11pm to get picked up for dinner. Like a dog, I got takeout, although I do love Whataburger, Wife had eaten dinner with her family.
Sunday was much nicer, I slowed down enough to get a lay of the land, about half of the stuff in the pantry is still in bags on the floor, apparently, most of what we had was expired. My in-laws are doing an awesome job of trimming the fat off this house. Most of the old toys in Chub's room were also taken out, I don't even want to know where they went to. He keeps a bin full of "Build a Bears" and all his little Halo action figures and Lego stuff. That is really all he "plays" with, although the bears are more decorations in his room.
Speaking of, Chubs is vacationing for a week at my Mom's, he likes it. They run on a slower schedule, don't really go anywhere, just chill at home... my fingers are getting bored... (sorry mom) :)
Boy, Wife and I then decided to go to the movies Sunday night, for a 10pm movie, saw Entourage, it was great. Sure, the guys are kinda douch-y, but it is all tongue-in-cheek fun, plus the cars, the homes, the girls, the locations, all stuff of fantasy. I loved that Cadillac convertible, I would like to see more full sized convertibles offered for sale, that market is just tiny cars, fat asses like convertibles too.
I ended up working 13 hours Friday night and 13 hours Saturday night. It's funny, when you're doing the work staring at the tool doing most of the work, it's like time is standing still. I was alone for half the night, so I do the work standing, kneeling on the chair, sitting like a human, walking away for fifteen minutes at a time (some parts run for 25-30min by themselves), kneeling on the floor, laying on the floor, music gets boring after awhile, even Netflix gets boring after awhile. But as soon as the normal time to leave approaches, the body knows. Like a dog that needs to walk, my legs want to leave, but I had to stay a little longer both days, as work needed to be finished. As soon as I finished, I was running out the door.
It did not help that Boy was in an accident this past week and the Bimbo (as he called her) that hit him took all week to talk to her insurance. Nationwide (her insurance) would not listen to Boy or Wife, even with a police report. I figured there was no reason for me to get involved yelling, Wife already threatened with lawyers and everything else civil humans can do. If only we were apes, then we could fling poo, and it would be perfectly acceptable. I got off track, but he took Wife's car for work and Wife took my Excursion since her family was here and she needed the extra seating capacity. I was dropped off like a child at work, then had to wait until almost 11pm to get picked up for dinner. Like a dog, I got takeout, although I do love Whataburger, Wife had eaten dinner with her family.
Sunday was much nicer, I slowed down enough to get a lay of the land, about half of the stuff in the pantry is still in bags on the floor, apparently, most of what we had was expired. My in-laws are doing an awesome job of trimming the fat off this house. Most of the old toys in Chub's room were also taken out, I don't even want to know where they went to. He keeps a bin full of "Build a Bears" and all his little Halo action figures and Lego stuff. That is really all he "plays" with, although the bears are more decorations in his room.
Speaking of, Chubs is vacationing for a week at my Mom's, he likes it. They run on a slower schedule, don't really go anywhere, just chill at home... my fingers are getting bored... (sorry mom) :)
Boy, Wife and I then decided to go to the movies Sunday night, for a 10pm movie, saw Entourage, it was great. Sure, the guys are kinda douch-y, but it is all tongue-in-cheek fun, plus the cars, the homes, the girls, the locations, all stuff of fantasy. I loved that Cadillac convertible, I would like to see more full sized convertibles offered for sale, that market is just tiny cars, fat asses like convertibles too.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
6/7/15 My House Is Slowly Coming Unraveled?
They say by hook or crook, Wife says by her or her folks. When we started idea of moving, she said if it is too hard for you, just decide we're moving and I'll make it happen. I went along with this premise, figuring I'll get with the program, and pitch in at some point. It almost seems on purpose, but I have never been busier at work.
This week I was even asked if I could work Friday and Saturday, a customer had a bunch of work and nobody else was available to help. I am expected to be the muscle around the house, but I am also the wallet, so any overtime that gets offered to me, I take.
Today, I wake up and it finally looks real. My in laws came in early, I guess, and they have packed a significant amount. Most of the house has been hit. The pantry looks like it vomited into the kitchen, the table and island full of boxes, and cans of food. I know it's first world problems, but we had about 16 feet of pantry, we will be down to 4 feet. Some stuff has got to go. For now, we can remove all the fancy party stuff. I had about 3 tackle boxes full of fun party elements, like crazy straws, temporary tattoos, sugars for rimming glasses in any color.
One of my plans is to build one of those two story "storage sheds" next to a huge shady spot and a hot tub in the old house. This "shed" will be the party room, maybe a full kitchen with a garage door that rolls up so we can cook everything outside. Should be easy, we'll have three fridges once we move. All we need is a stove top, run some electricity, plumbing for water waste is only issue.
My folks are partially interested in one of our extra bedroom sets, it is too big to use in Chubs' room, if they buy it, I can use that money to buy him a queen bedroom set, only a little smaller, but it will fit a lot easier in their smaller rooms. Add to that, my father in law just bought my old F250. It started giving me transmission problems, I don't know if it is serious, but I just put a new fuel pump and I am still paying a ~$2000 bill on Ford credit card. I cannot keep putting money into the truck. My father in law knows the problems, buyer beware.
This week I was even asked if I could work Friday and Saturday, a customer had a bunch of work and nobody else was available to help. I am expected to be the muscle around the house, but I am also the wallet, so any overtime that gets offered to me, I take.
Today, I wake up and it finally looks real. My in laws came in early, I guess, and they have packed a significant amount. Most of the house has been hit. The pantry looks like it vomited into the kitchen, the table and island full of boxes, and cans of food. I know it's first world problems, but we had about 16 feet of pantry, we will be down to 4 feet. Some stuff has got to go. For now, we can remove all the fancy party stuff. I had about 3 tackle boxes full of fun party elements, like crazy straws, temporary tattoos, sugars for rimming glasses in any color.
One of my plans is to build one of those two story "storage sheds" next to a huge shady spot and a hot tub in the old house. This "shed" will be the party room, maybe a full kitchen with a garage door that rolls up so we can cook everything outside. Should be easy, we'll have three fridges once we move. All we need is a stove top, run some electricity, plumbing for water waste is only issue.
My folks are partially interested in one of our extra bedroom sets, it is too big to use in Chubs' room, if they buy it, I can use that money to buy him a queen bedroom set, only a little smaller, but it will fit a lot easier in their smaller rooms. Add to that, my father in law just bought my old F250. It started giving me transmission problems, I don't know if it is serious, but I just put a new fuel pump and I am still paying a ~$2000 bill on Ford credit card. I cannot keep putting money into the truck. My father in law knows the problems, buyer beware.
Friday, June 5, 2015
6/6/15 What's Another Name For Pain In The Ass? (poem)
I was challenged to write a poem on those painful little reminders that sprout from our butts to remind us how delicate we really are...
A hemorrhoid by any other name is still a pain in the ass,
simply composed of veins that swell in that hole where you pass gas.
You can cry and beg your god, while you sit there in mass
most everybody will get them, they're not from lack of class.
They are itchy, painful, and can ruin your day
maybe you can learn to shift from cheek to cheek, a gentle sway
if you do it right, this will gently massage
but if you get too agressive one will develop an entourage
Once you get a bunch, they are referred to as "piles"
if avoiding military service was a goal back in days of the draft, this was enough for smiles.
But seriously, they can be avoided by learning a couple of tricks,
the easiest one, in your backdoor no more cornholing or dicks.
Another easy solution is to eat more fiber
this allows the poop to move along and not attack like a colon tiger.
And no more of that ridiculous sitting and pushing with all your might
your stinky brown goo will move out when the time is right.
Drink plenty of water, it'll help keep things moving
or your sphincter a hard crap will find disapproving.
And of course, reduce your stress
with your colon you are playing a game of chess
Treat it right and the god's may even bless
but be an idiot, ignore my advice, and end up a bloody mess.
6/5/15 I Ain't Got Time For Tools Down?
In a rare move that pisses me off more than anything, I was sent home early tonight. We have an arrangement in which I work 48 hours the first week (4-12 hr shifts) and then 40 hours the second week (4-10 hr shifts) or however I see fit to do my schedule. We have been so busy the last two months that I've been working close to 70 hours every week. They of course don't like paying me all the overtime, but there are only three of us left that run the toolset I run and I make myself available almost any night, for the benefit of the customer (and my wallet).
Well, tonight was technically the fourth night of the second week and what I normally do is work 12 hours mon-wed, and assume that their will be work needing to keep me at work on the fourth night. This works most of the time, I knew I had at least three different jobs to work on tonight, and was basically wondering whether I would be doing something I enjoy or something I tolerate. Some of the work seems like busy work, we are even doing some "pro bono" (free) work for a customer who is going to do a book with our images. I do not enjoy doing this customer's work at all because it doesn't add any money to our bottom line, but we get paid, so we do it when told.
Anyways, the problem was that our tool went down. We have one tool that we use normally. When we know it is going to be down, we can borrow another one, but this did not happen tonight, the other company there was also busy and they've had a guy working nights. He was only going to do six weeks of nights but is not wanting to let go of the extra 15 percent now. I like the guy but I think I like having access to that tool more, as coming home affected my wallet.
It was easy for my supervisor to send me home as she is scheduling me to work Friday and Saturday, some customer is waiting until Friday afternoon to send a bunch of HOT work to get done over the weekend. The other two ladies have commitments (a kid graduating, and a hubby getting a little surgery), so the OT is mine, all mine.... at least for the weekend, plus I had 78 hours last week. I am an ass, because I was driving home pissed that I was sent home this way, thinking these are my time and a half hours, and I have to go home now?!?!
Oh well, I can still get to 65 hours for the week, but I don't generally like working Saturday nights. But again, I have two mortgages, so I gotta be a big boy and just work my ass off. Plus Disney is in a couple weeks now, and I want all the extra cash I can muster, my boys are expensive to entertain.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
6/4/15 Finally, Our Competition Has Sold?
I was honestly waiting to put our house on the market due to an identical one to ours being listed until today. This house looked like a show home, every room perfect and with just the right amount of furniture. Our house is nice, but it will never be magazine caliber. We have kids and they don't believe in keeping things tidy. I had seen their pictures online and even the patio upstairs was tiled and had some sort of curtain element. Ours is still bare concrete with an old raggedy table,
Originally, they were priced at $459,000, they came down and possibly sold around $425,000. I would have loved to sell for that price, but as long as we are around $400,000. It sucks, but realtor is taking close to $30,000, so we need to make about that much if I am going to walk away with a hefty amount.
This weekend I would like to move the equivalent of half the stuff in our house, but Wife is stuck again with "pack", "pack", we need to "pack". We have like 40 boxes laying around the house right now we could take and start making big house look less cumbersome. "Pack"!! Maybe she's turning into a parrot....
I'm still finding myself going over to other house almost every day, and of course, she's getting on me because I haven't had time to clean pool. Tomorrow, I am meeting a guy who may or may not cut trees back. This kind of stuff can't wait?!!!
Today I had to go pick up Boy, he spent the day over there to open the door for the water heater and the maid service. Sucks that he crashed his vehicle. He has to go open the house tomorrow for the alarm people to fix one of the zones, it keeps going off intermittently. What is the use of an alarm if it is going to go off by itself?
We need to just get ourselves moved at this point, tomorrow is Chub's last day of school, so now will be the perfect time to get to stepping and move. Once we move, then I can decide what to do to new house, I am really leaning to new carpets, but not until my two animals are out.
Originally, they were priced at $459,000, they came down and possibly sold around $425,000. I would have loved to sell for that price, but as long as we are around $400,000. It sucks, but realtor is taking close to $30,000, so we need to make about that much if I am going to walk away with a hefty amount.
This weekend I would like to move the equivalent of half the stuff in our house, but Wife is stuck again with "pack", "pack", we need to "pack". We have like 40 boxes laying around the house right now we could take and start making big house look less cumbersome. "Pack"!! Maybe she's turning into a parrot....
I'm still finding myself going over to other house almost every day, and of course, she's getting on me because I haven't had time to clean pool. Tomorrow, I am meeting a guy who may or may not cut trees back. This kind of stuff can't wait?!!!
Today I had to go pick up Boy, he spent the day over there to open the door for the water heater and the maid service. Sucks that he crashed his vehicle. He has to go open the house tomorrow for the alarm people to fix one of the zones, it keeps going off intermittently. What is the use of an alarm if it is going to go off by itself?
We need to just get ourselves moved at this point, tomorrow is Chub's last day of school, so now will be the perfect time to get to stepping and move. Once we move, then I can decide what to do to new house, I am really leaning to new carpets, but not until my two animals are out.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
6/3/15 I Thought Boy Was Gonna Be Helpful Over The Summer?
Boy has been off from school for a couple weeks. First week off he stayed in his apartment until we yelled at him to come home and start packing his room. Then of course he was gone the last nine days to Florida for a trip they planned all year long. Of course, he gets back Sunday night and Monday he needs to go to San Marcos to go help pick out a new apartment for the coming school year. He used to at least watch Chubs so I could leave early to work.
Today was a "shitty" day. It started for me around 11am, I was trying to sleep as much as possible as I have been filling run down from all the OT. The alarm company called that the sensor in the kitchen window had been activated. When we were there Saturday afternoon we saw the same thing. I thought we had set the alarm and disabled that sensor but it is a new system, maybe not. He asked for the secret word, I guessed right, and he hung up. In the next five minutes I got another call and a message from another person at alarm place that they might send an officer to the house, then Boy left me two missed calls about the same thing, and finally I had to yell at Wife as all this is supposed to go through her while I sleep, and it does but she left her phone on her desk while she went to make copies. Awesome!!
While I am over there checking nothing happening of course, Wife calls me that she has hired a maid service to come and clean so would I please clean so it doesn't look like we're dirty when they come. My first reaction is "fuck no", isn't that what you are paying them for? But she is stuck like a stuttering fool "paint cans" "paint cans" "paint cans" OMG, maids have never in their lives moved a paint can, can you just please get all the paint cans to the garage. Paint cans paint cans paint cans..... I finally said goddammit fine, I don't have anything better to do.
As soon as I hang up, Boy calls trying to seem real interested in what I am doing, knowing he never cares about what I am doing, I said "cut the crap, what happened" (I felt it was perfect day for a car accident), "some white Bimbo was texting in the HEB parking lot and hit me, it's not my fault". Goddammit again!! I don't have time for this crap, do I have to go get you, are you OK? "I'm fine, Daddy!! Never mind, I knew you were gonna yell, he had no real business other than fart around up there. He got his friend to pick him up and Jeep was towed to local Jeep place.
He then called Wife as he thought his plans were going to continue unscathed, "umm, tomorrow, I have a thing at UT, I'll just take the Excursion." No, you will not. Your butt will settle down and be at the house now. You're not going to leave us all disabled without vehicles, some of us need to leave the house to make money, not go to the comic book shop.
Wednesday he's going to be dropped off at old house at 730ish and he can wait for new water heater install and the maids who never have seen paint cans in a newly painted house and he is going to keep them company until I get up and go pick up Chubs and then swing by to pick him up. Maybe Donkey should've hung out with Dad today instead of running around.
Today was a "shitty" day. It started for me around 11am, I was trying to sleep as much as possible as I have been filling run down from all the OT. The alarm company called that the sensor in the kitchen window had been activated. When we were there Saturday afternoon we saw the same thing. I thought we had set the alarm and disabled that sensor but it is a new system, maybe not. He asked for the secret word, I guessed right, and he hung up. In the next five minutes I got another call and a message from another person at alarm place that they might send an officer to the house, then Boy left me two missed calls about the same thing, and finally I had to yell at Wife as all this is supposed to go through her while I sleep, and it does but she left her phone on her desk while she went to make copies. Awesome!!
While I am over there checking nothing happening of course, Wife calls me that she has hired a maid service to come and clean so would I please clean so it doesn't look like we're dirty when they come. My first reaction is "fuck no", isn't that what you are paying them for? But she is stuck like a stuttering fool "paint cans" "paint cans" "paint cans" OMG, maids have never in their lives moved a paint can, can you just please get all the paint cans to the garage. Paint cans paint cans paint cans..... I finally said goddammit fine, I don't have anything better to do.
As soon as I hang up, Boy calls trying to seem real interested in what I am doing, knowing he never cares about what I am doing, I said "cut the crap, what happened" (I felt it was perfect day for a car accident), "some white Bimbo was texting in the HEB parking lot and hit me, it's not my fault". Goddammit again!! I don't have time for this crap, do I have to go get you, are you OK? "I'm fine, Daddy!! Never mind, I knew you were gonna yell, he had no real business other than fart around up there. He got his friend to pick him up and Jeep was towed to local Jeep place.
He then called Wife as he thought his plans were going to continue unscathed, "umm, tomorrow, I have a thing at UT, I'll just take the Excursion." No, you will not. Your butt will settle down and be at the house now. You're not going to leave us all disabled without vehicles, some of us need to leave the house to make money, not go to the comic book shop.
Wednesday he's going to be dropped off at old house at 730ish and he can wait for new water heater install and the maids who never have seen paint cans in a newly painted house and he is going to keep them company until I get up and go pick up Chubs and then swing by to pick him up. Maybe Donkey should've hung out with Dad today instead of running around.
6/2/15 Sunday Was A Good Day?
Sunday was a very nice day. My folks came in for the weekend and were gonna leave early as they usually do, but decided to hang out and wait for Boy to arrive back from Florida. He was scheduled to get here about 6:30-7:00pm.
My day started by me trying to get up early because my folks are here, I went downstairs at 10:00am and everyone was still asleep. I promptly came back up and laid down for another hour or so. I finally decided to get up at noon and although they were in the guest room, they had made coffee, so I drank a cup, whilst I caught up with my healthy serving of porn, just boobs, nothing too dirty. My mom finally came out and we talked a bit, we didn't have an agenda, but after a few minutes I said I'd go shower. Wife had just gotten up and a wave hit me, I told her to wake me after she showered. I ended up sleeping for an hour, I haven't been able to really rest, and won't until we move and sell the house.
My buddy who is building a house finally signed papers this week. He texted to see what we were up to and I said we'd go over. Girlie texted right before we left, haven't seen much of her as she has a new bf and of course is now too busy to visit. She also has a new job, which she keeps saying is the real reason she hasn't come over, but still. She was going to swing by, but we were headed out the door. My buddy's house is a beautiful new 5 bedroom monster of a house, complete with game room and media room. I took my folks and Wife and Chubs.
After checking out the house, I decided to go to Cooper's BBQ in New Braunfels, we were already in Buda. This is a BBQ place we've gone to meet my in-laws a couple times and it is just delicious. I treated my folks since it's weird how you order by the family size. My folks said they loved it, and afterwards we were on our way. My mom had one more stop at the outlet malls in San Marcos because my brother had given her a $200 gift cetificate to Michael Khors and she wanted a new purse or watch. While she bought her stuff, I took Chubs to the Swiss Army knife store and bought him a new pocket knife.
We then drove home right at 5:45pm and were home to greet Ditto as he arrived with his buddies at 6:45pm. All that was left to do was take out the trash and kiss everyone else goodbye.
My day started by me trying to get up early because my folks are here, I went downstairs at 10:00am and everyone was still asleep. I promptly came back up and laid down for another hour or so. I finally decided to get up at noon and although they were in the guest room, they had made coffee, so I drank a cup, whilst I caught up with my healthy serving of porn, just boobs, nothing too dirty. My mom finally came out and we talked a bit, we didn't have an agenda, but after a few minutes I said I'd go shower. Wife had just gotten up and a wave hit me, I told her to wake me after she showered. I ended up sleeping for an hour, I haven't been able to really rest, and won't until we move and sell the house.
My buddy who is building a house finally signed papers this week. He texted to see what we were up to and I said we'd go over. Girlie texted right before we left, haven't seen much of her as she has a new bf and of course is now too busy to visit. She also has a new job, which she keeps saying is the real reason she hasn't come over, but still. She was going to swing by, but we were headed out the door. My buddy's house is a beautiful new 5 bedroom monster of a house, complete with game room and media room. I took my folks and Wife and Chubs.
After checking out the house, I decided to go to Cooper's BBQ in New Braunfels, we were already in Buda. This is a BBQ place we've gone to meet my in-laws a couple times and it is just delicious. I treated my folks since it's weird how you order by the family size. My folks said they loved it, and afterwards we were on our way. My mom had one more stop at the outlet malls in San Marcos because my brother had given her a $200 gift cetificate to Michael Khors and she wanted a new purse or watch. While she bought her stuff, I took Chubs to the Swiss Army knife store and bought him a new pocket knife.
We then drove home right at 5:45pm and were home to greet Ditto as he arrived with his buddies at 6:45pm. All that was left to do was take out the trash and kiss everyone else goodbye.
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