I know we are in the middle of a pandemic, but other than a fear of dying from the corona virus, these are great times. Wife has been home since the second week in March, the boys are home, no one is running around in a hurry, and I am working a great schedule at work, meaning I am not slaving away for twelve hours a shift. Because we are not running around, the last fill-up lasted me about a month. I might have gotten another week out of the tank, I was at 1/4 of a tank, but I had budgeted $100 to fill up, as usual.
With gas at $1.25, though, I filled it with 31 gallons, it takes up to 44 gallons, and my tab was only about $41 and change. So, I could have definitely gotten another week out of my tank and then I would have been at a new pay period, but filling up with $41, does not hurt anywhere near the same as when I am putting $100, usually filling up by running two cycles at the gas pump, since most stop at $75. Since I am using it to work and occasionally to the HEB, it should last me another month, which is a great savings.
The only thing I hate while filling up, which I do on my way to work or on the way home from work is that there tends to be shady people hanging out at the gas stations at all hours. In the past, people habitually come and ask for money, you know, they are traveling and ran out of money, or they need money to get their medicine from the pharmacy, or they need gas for their big truck. Last night, while I gassed up a shady character came out of the store and stood y the door. I felt he was staring at me, so logically, I was revving up my "No!" internally, but he never approached me. I hate begging with a passion. I work hard for my money, I've been on nightshift for over 22 years and Wife is working three hours away, so no, I don't feel empathic to the crackheads and drunks.
Wife, on the other hand, went to La Pryor and back yesterday and filled her SUV with $19. This, after we had filled it with $21 on Sunday. This is not her old Kia Soul, which would fit in the back of a pick up truck, I am talking about the new Telluride which seats 7 and is packing a 6 cylinder. I know the current atmosphere is not good for the US economy as a whole, but our household is benefitting tremendously. We eat out like every other week and now that it sticks out like a sore thumb, I have a hard time justifying it, like the steaks from Roadhouse. We ordered two sets of three steaks and the sides and that shit was like $120. There is no way that meal was worth that. I have ribeyes in the freezer at a cost of like $6 apiece.
I do want the world to get back to normal, specially by the fall, I want to see mijo playing football, he might even by on the varsity team, and Boy should be working and mixing it up. I don't want to fear they will or might get sick.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
4/29/20 What Have I Done Around The House?
I could have done a lot more, but it has been lazy days and some projects require shelling out big bucks. But, I have at least tackled the fence in the back, pickets keep falling off and getting loose, this past Friday I went and fixed all I could see that needed it. While I had my gear on (apron that holds my screws and drill bits and hammer), I also tackled the gate which needed a new top runner. The original had decayed and was barely hanging on to the locking mechanism. Coming in to the patio, I had hung some large sheets of lattice to cut down the sun beating on us in the afternoon, but I had not tied them down below as that requires screwing into the cement. I used a large board I bought for some other project I never did to attach to the bottom of the lattice. This is quite heavy and keeps the lattice from whipping around in the wind. This will also serve as something to anchor to the cement with some L brackets once I commit to getting down on my hands and knees. I also got the hot tub drained and now the pool and both are looking about ready to use, if we choose to.
Coming inside, I replaced the blinds Moro (Girlie's dog) had chewed up. They bought me the replacement back then, but I didn't want to replace it, thinking the dog would go crazy again, it was the only time it did anything destructive to the house. I fixed a pantry door that wouldn't close by replacing the ball and spring mechanism on top. I replaced the front door handle, after 13 years, pushing the handle would not tuck the locking bolt completely out of the way. I opened it up and saw the metal was worn, so I went and bought a new one. By the front entrance, I also rehung the bracket I had hung to hold our jackets with better wall anchors.
This weekend I started working on cleaning the garage. It had gotten pretty bad, mostly because my roommates all suck and just throw stuff in there. Boy just opens the door and places stuff like one step in, so I couldn't even go in the garage and close the door behind me. There were piles of boxes needing to be cut down in front of my work station, so I couldn't even get to where I could stand in there. I cleaned about 40% of the space, moved Halloween bins to more appropriate areas by the wall rather than right in front of the door. Really, more than half of the crap in there is Boy's stuff. He let a friend leave a sectional sofa in there and it is huge. Then he bought a huge printer like to print posters or something of that size, yet he has never even plugged it in. Oh well, I will keep doing what I can, maybe if we ever get that refinance money, I can even start putting in wood floors, one room at a time, using Javalina's and Boy's knees since it hurts me to get down there. I can't say that I have done much upstairs, other than yell at Boy to clean the hallway leading out to the balcony and killing all the bees that were setting up house up there, Since we are home so much, I want to use all parts of the house, so every room and area has to be habitable at all times.
Coming inside, I replaced the blinds Moro (Girlie's dog) had chewed up. They bought me the replacement back then, but I didn't want to replace it, thinking the dog would go crazy again, it was the only time it did anything destructive to the house. I fixed a pantry door that wouldn't close by replacing the ball and spring mechanism on top. I replaced the front door handle, after 13 years, pushing the handle would not tuck the locking bolt completely out of the way. I opened it up and saw the metal was worn, so I went and bought a new one. By the front entrance, I also rehung the bracket I had hung to hold our jackets with better wall anchors.
This weekend I started working on cleaning the garage. It had gotten pretty bad, mostly because my roommates all suck and just throw stuff in there. Boy just opens the door and places stuff like one step in, so I couldn't even go in the garage and close the door behind me. There were piles of boxes needing to be cut down in front of my work station, so I couldn't even get to where I could stand in there. I cleaned about 40% of the space, moved Halloween bins to more appropriate areas by the wall rather than right in front of the door. Really, more than half of the crap in there is Boy's stuff. He let a friend leave a sectional sofa in there and it is huge. Then he bought a huge printer like to print posters or something of that size, yet he has never even plugged it in. Oh well, I will keep doing what I can, maybe if we ever get that refinance money, I can even start putting in wood floors, one room at a time, using Javalina's and Boy's knees since it hurts me to get down there. I can't say that I have done much upstairs, other than yell at Boy to clean the hallway leading out to the balcony and killing all the bees that were setting up house up there, Since we are home so much, I want to use all parts of the house, so every room and area has to be habitable at all times.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
4/28/20 Changes In Where We Shop? (part 2 of 2)
Yesterday, I mentioned about stores that aren't going to make it through the quarantine, talking about what is "essential" versus "non-essential." Grocery stores are at the top of the list, unless you're some sort of doomsday prepper or farmer that can self sustain, we all need food. Liquor stores should not be on the list, come on. I say that because I don't care for alcohol, even if we have about 30 different kinds on the shelf. I haven't had a drink all year, I can't remember the last time, maybe in the fall trying to watch football, I had a beer, which I never even finish. But, I get it, some people need their drink and you can't buy hard liquor anywhere else because of our stupid laws. That alone ensures grocery stores and liquor stores will keep on existing.
The article I was referencing mentioned Sports Authority had gone out of business, and one reason is that they did not sell guns. Cabela's and Academy were as packed as ever when shutdowns were first mentioned. I went and in a panic bought a back-up shotgun to keep close to me. I just looked online and maybe because this is Texas, both those stores are still open and running, mostly because they sell guns and ammo, I don't think it's because customers need volleyballs. I am pretty sure those stores will survive the pandemic. Auto stores are also still surprisingly open. I guess if you need a car, you need a car. We can't complain actually, as Wife's Kia Soul failed us, we were able to get her new Telluride before things got real scary, we weren't even wearing masks or gloves a couple months ago.
Wal-mart is masquerading as a grocery store is all I can figure in why they are still open. Plus, them being one of the biggest employers in the country, they have the power to demand to stay open, and I guess that is fine. The same goes for Target, which also sells food and honestly, I had been buying most of my food there because it is the closest store to the house.
Well, the big three we were always told were essential "food, clothing and shelter" to stay alive are mostly represented. There are government plans so people don't get kicked out on the street and stimulus checks to help with some food. The only part of the retail space getting the cold hard middle finger is clothing. That is what one mostly finds at the mall, and jewelry, and both those things are deemed "non-essential" by Uncle Sam, so tough titty Buckle and Men's Wearhouse, and Dillard's and all you other overpriced retailers. Maybe if you focused on fajitas (skirt meat) rather than leather skirts, you could stay open. I certainly want the mall to still exist post corona, but it is looking like it will be a different world. Shoot, Sears was already gone pre-pandemic times and it was a solid anchor. If Macy's goes, Barton Mall will be dependent on Dillard's and Nordstrom's as it's only two anchor stores left. It is always darkest before the dawn, they say.
The article I was referencing mentioned Sports Authority had gone out of business, and one reason is that they did not sell guns. Cabela's and Academy were as packed as ever when shutdowns were first mentioned. I went and in a panic bought a back-up shotgun to keep close to me. I just looked online and maybe because this is Texas, both those stores are still open and running, mostly because they sell guns and ammo, I don't think it's because customers need volleyballs. I am pretty sure those stores will survive the pandemic. Auto stores are also still surprisingly open. I guess if you need a car, you need a car. We can't complain actually, as Wife's Kia Soul failed us, we were able to get her new Telluride before things got real scary, we weren't even wearing masks or gloves a couple months ago.
Wal-mart is masquerading as a grocery store is all I can figure in why they are still open. Plus, them being one of the biggest employers in the country, they have the power to demand to stay open, and I guess that is fine. The same goes for Target, which also sells food and honestly, I had been buying most of my food there because it is the closest store to the house.
Well, the big three we were always told were essential "food, clothing and shelter" to stay alive are mostly represented. There are government plans so people don't get kicked out on the street and stimulus checks to help with some food. The only part of the retail space getting the cold hard middle finger is clothing. That is what one mostly finds at the mall, and jewelry, and both those things are deemed "non-essential" by Uncle Sam, so tough titty Buckle and Men's Wearhouse, and Dillard's and all you other overpriced retailers. Maybe if you focused on fajitas (skirt meat) rather than leather skirts, you could stay open. I certainly want the mall to still exist post corona, but it is looking like it will be a different world. Shoot, Sears was already gone pre-pandemic times and it was a solid anchor. If Macy's goes, Barton Mall will be dependent on Dillard's and Nordstrom's as it's only two anchor stores left. It is always darkest before the dawn, they say.
Monday, April 27, 2020
4/27/20 Changes In Where We Shop? (part 1 of 2)
This pandemic is forcing what was already starting to happen in the retail market. I just read a story asking what retail companies will survive these few months of closures and social distancing? It seems kind of a "no Duh!" kind of list, groceries are at an all time high, along with liquor stores, and then closely following are home improvement stores. The retailers not doing too good and possibly closing in the next few months are stores that their time had already come. I had mentioned a couple months ago that I was worried about the malls, as much as I love walking a mall and eating at a food court or just window shopping, some of those stores are just not going to be able to compete. The article mentions that Neiman Marcus has filed for chapter 11 and Macy's has furloughed 100,000 employees, which means it is on the brink of going under. These two stores have never even been my favorites and I don't personally care if they exist, but they are usually anchor stores in a mall. Anchor stores are the large puzzle pieces when a mall is put together on paper. They are usually on the ends, giving them multiple entry points from the outside versus the smaller stores that must be accessed from within the mall.
It is really not fair what has been going on in that some places are labeled "non-essential" and forced to stay closed, where others get the "essential" tag and can keep operating. I agree that grocery stores are where we get our food and even though we now have a big freezer, even with it full, we would still need access to a grocery store every two weeks, at the very minimum. We go only when we really start running out of stuff and really load up, we have come out with receipts over $500 and $400 and multiple times around $300 since spring break in March when we started panicking and finally invested in our freezer. Then we hear Home Depot and Lowe's are open, this is great, but is it "essential"? I don't think people live or die if they decide to paint a bedroom olive green or sky blue, but it has been nice to tackle some long overdue chores. I can see how these stores will be doing well, people get bored and eventually even chores are better than watching TV.
I didn't know that "essential" went as far as pool stores. I had been fighting with my pool, just dumping a new chlorine shock package every day and running the pump half a day for the last three weeks and nothing was happening. This usually works in about a week, the water clears up, but it was not responding this time. Well, I found out Leslie's Pool Supply was open and after getting my water tested, the guy there gave me some instructions and within a day, I now have a clear pool with no algae. This is awesome, but again, "essential"? I am not so sure.
It is really not fair what has been going on in that some places are labeled "non-essential" and forced to stay closed, where others get the "essential" tag and can keep operating. I agree that grocery stores are where we get our food and even though we now have a big freezer, even with it full, we would still need access to a grocery store every two weeks, at the very minimum. We go only when we really start running out of stuff and really load up, we have come out with receipts over $500 and $400 and multiple times around $300 since spring break in March when we started panicking and finally invested in our freezer. Then we hear Home Depot and Lowe's are open, this is great, but is it "essential"? I don't think people live or die if they decide to paint a bedroom olive green or sky blue, but it has been nice to tackle some long overdue chores. I can see how these stores will be doing well, people get bored and eventually even chores are better than watching TV.
I didn't know that "essential" went as far as pool stores. I had been fighting with my pool, just dumping a new chlorine shock package every day and running the pump half a day for the last three weeks and nothing was happening. This usually works in about a week, the water clears up, but it was not responding this time. Well, I found out Leslie's Pool Supply was open and after getting my water tested, the guy there gave me some instructions and within a day, I now have a clear pool with no algae. This is awesome, but again, "essential"? I am not so sure.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
4/26/20 Hate To Say It, But Trump Is Doing Alright?
I will be first to admit when Trump was elected, I was in shock, not because I cared about his policies, but everything we were told about him seemed wrong, for a position requiring a semi perfect or at least politically correct man. Since his start, I can't say he has done anything wrong or right, but he has remained constant and that is something. I was never impressed he was a billionaire, he was born into money, he didn't build himself from 0, as my mom told me, "he must be smart, he's a billionaire." when I was trying to convince her he was a horrible choice for president.
The biggest hurdle, as a Hispanic, to get over, was that he hates our kind because of his obsession with building a wall. It took me a minute, thinking that my great ancestors, maybe 3-4 generations ago had to come over here, probably illegally, that if he was around 100 years ago, he might have prevented me from existing here. But, it was a different world, and being a mestizo, as we have been told we are, I feel I belong in the US as much as any other European descendent, so fuck that idea that brown people belong in Mexico. A wall might be helpful to at least slow the transport of illegal things back and forth. Plus, I have yet to understand why illegals get free schooling here, I didn't and non of my family did. My brother got into debt past $100,000 to become a lawyer, Wife has debts over $40,000 for her Bachelor's and Master's. I got lucky in that I was in and out graduating in 1994, and my parents helped me with rent and paying for my little Ranger truck, I only had about $13,000 to pay back.
I don't think Trump has ever said he doesn't like brown people from here. He is very much an isolationist, and I agree, we should be keeping our nose out of other countries, fuck them. Our resources should be to help our people here, first. If he believes in the notion "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer...", then he is doing exactly as he should befriending Russia' Putin, North Korea's dopey Kim Jong-Un, and China's whoever leader. If he could broker more open dialogue with them, that would be a step in the right direction, as they are what we might consider potential nuclear enemies. But who knows why he does what he does, maybe he is just trying to build resorts in their countries, like Carolla used to say, put a beaver at the top of the empire state building and he will still try to build a dam. Animals do what comes instinctive to them.
I do kind of like how he has attacked the media and in some of those daily interviews how he manages to fuck with them. They can ask whatever they want, and then he will answer whatever he wants to say, it is almost comical at times. Lately, I've seen interviews where he "shushes" them which is hilarious, from a spectator perspective. And his penchant for reminding us how great he is at all times kind of reminds me of me when talking here at home, again, it is kind of funny.
He just needs to occupy the position for 4 or 8 years and not make too many crazy changes. Obama decided to fuck with healthcare and all I got out of that is that I pay double what I used to pay. You think I give two shits if the unemployables got healthcare out of that equation, why should I have to pay more? He will probably win another term, the democrats pushing a socialist agenda just shows how lost they are. None of them seem to realize socialism is the system all our enemies have been ruled by and they always fail, what the fudge is going on?
The biggest hurdle, as a Hispanic, to get over, was that he hates our kind because of his obsession with building a wall. It took me a minute, thinking that my great ancestors, maybe 3-4 generations ago had to come over here, probably illegally, that if he was around 100 years ago, he might have prevented me from existing here. But, it was a different world, and being a mestizo, as we have been told we are, I feel I belong in the US as much as any other European descendent, so fuck that idea that brown people belong in Mexico. A wall might be helpful to at least slow the transport of illegal things back and forth. Plus, I have yet to understand why illegals get free schooling here, I didn't and non of my family did. My brother got into debt past $100,000 to become a lawyer, Wife has debts over $40,000 for her Bachelor's and Master's. I got lucky in that I was in and out graduating in 1994, and my parents helped me with rent and paying for my little Ranger truck, I only had about $13,000 to pay back.
I don't think Trump has ever said he doesn't like brown people from here. He is very much an isolationist, and I agree, we should be keeping our nose out of other countries, fuck them. Our resources should be to help our people here, first. If he believes in the notion "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer...", then he is doing exactly as he should befriending Russia' Putin, North Korea's dopey Kim Jong-Un, and China's whoever leader. If he could broker more open dialogue with them, that would be a step in the right direction, as they are what we might consider potential nuclear enemies. But who knows why he does what he does, maybe he is just trying to build resorts in their countries, like Carolla used to say, put a beaver at the top of the empire state building and he will still try to build a dam. Animals do what comes instinctive to them.
I do kind of like how he has attacked the media and in some of those daily interviews how he manages to fuck with them. They can ask whatever they want, and then he will answer whatever he wants to say, it is almost comical at times. Lately, I've seen interviews where he "shushes" them which is hilarious, from a spectator perspective. And his penchant for reminding us how great he is at all times kind of reminds me of me when talking here at home, again, it is kind of funny.
He just needs to occupy the position for 4 or 8 years and not make too many crazy changes. Obama decided to fuck with healthcare and all I got out of that is that I pay double what I used to pay. You think I give two shits if the unemployables got healthcare out of that equation, why should I have to pay more? He will probably win another term, the democrats pushing a socialist agenda just shows how lost they are. None of them seem to realize socialism is the system all our enemies have been ruled by and they always fail, what the fudge is going on?
Saturday, April 25, 2020
4/25/20 Taking Care Of Saturday?
Wife spent the day on her laptop "attending" her class of the semester. This left me open to take care of stuff that falls on me. I woke up around 11:00am, had a cup of coffee, then called Leslie's Pool Supply. I have been fighting the pool for about 3 weeks. I keep adding shock and algae killer trying to remove the green color to get it clear. I only found out Leslie's Pool Supply was open yesterday. I called and they were open and doing water tests. I took my little bottle of water and the guy tested it and told me that basically the water did not have any chlorine. This is odd, since I have been shocking it every day, sometimes with two packages of shock. We discussed it and the best course he suggested was to drain about half the water and start with fresh water. I know that the water gets saturated with chemicals and then it doesn't respond appropriately. I also know that about every 4-5 years I am supposed to change out the water, so here we are. The only thing he suggested I add was a very high percentage shock, which cost me $27.00, not bad.
My next stop was to HEB, Wife had suggested I go get stuff to grill again this weekend. I hated the idea of going, but I also know we need to restock every so often. I thought I would save a bunch of money without Wife, since I focus only on food, she'll want to restock make-up, medicines, and cleaning supplies. I got more meat than I would normally want, but they were talking on the news that there might be a meat shortage because too many workers are getting sick in the meat processing sector.
I am happy to say that people are respecting the rules of social distancing. I had to wait in line about 10 minutes outside before starting to shop, but that is just a small sacrifuce. Most people were wearing their masks and even gloves, so I felt better about being in a store that was pretty full. We also got a wipe to clean the handle on the basket before starting. I was in there about an hour, and even though I tried to keep it under control, it was still $300.
I got home, put everything away, then I find out Wife had started a brisket in the oven. I thought "perfect, go put myself in harm's way and you make a brisket anyway?" I was a little mad, but we can BBQ on Sunday. She had taken the brisket out from the freezer on Thursday. After putting all the groceries away and cooling off, it was way too humid, Wife texted me (she was doing her classes from the yellow guestroom upstairs), to tell me to handle the eggs and potatoes. I don't normally do any of the cooking, but I probably can. I peeled the eggs, then 15 minutes later I did the same for the potatoes and diced them up. Wife walked down at that moment, so I handed her the raw ingredients and she finished putting the potato salad together.
I went back to my normal mode of sitting in front of the laptop, finally relaxing and eating some Cracker Jacks.
My next stop was to HEB, Wife had suggested I go get stuff to grill again this weekend. I hated the idea of going, but I also know we need to restock every so often. I thought I would save a bunch of money without Wife, since I focus only on food, she'll want to restock make-up, medicines, and cleaning supplies. I got more meat than I would normally want, but they were talking on the news that there might be a meat shortage because too many workers are getting sick in the meat processing sector.
I am happy to say that people are respecting the rules of social distancing. I had to wait in line about 10 minutes outside before starting to shop, but that is just a small sacrifuce. Most people were wearing their masks and even gloves, so I felt better about being in a store that was pretty full. We also got a wipe to clean the handle on the basket before starting. I was in there about an hour, and even though I tried to keep it under control, it was still $300.
I got home, put everything away, then I find out Wife had started a brisket in the oven. I thought "perfect, go put myself in harm's way and you make a brisket anyway?" I was a little mad, but we can BBQ on Sunday. She had taken the brisket out from the freezer on Thursday. After putting all the groceries away and cooling off, it was way too humid, Wife texted me (she was doing her classes from the yellow guestroom upstairs), to tell me to handle the eggs and potatoes. I don't normally do any of the cooking, but I probably can. I peeled the eggs, then 15 minutes later I did the same for the potatoes and diced them up. Wife walked down at that moment, so I handed her the raw ingredients and she finished putting the potato salad together.
I went back to my normal mode of sitting in front of the laptop, finally relaxing and eating some Cracker Jacks.
Friday, April 24, 2020
4/24/20 Boy Is Back!!
It almost seemed impossible and I was full of mixed emotions over the last few months, but Boy finally got a job offer yesterday (Thursday afternoon). It was so heartbreaking after seeing him grow with Nano, where he did his first internship and was moved all the way to where they offered him a job as an engineer, only to have the company shut down and all the employees furloughed after he received one actual paycheck as an engineer at the start of the year.
He remained confidant that he would bounce right back and with an even better job offer, after all, most the people he associates with that are working are making more than the $70K they offered him. He applied all over, even "stupidly" telling us he was going to have an informal interview in Dallas, which we said absolutely no since he still needs a couple more classes to graduate and he is not moving out without a degree. There was some weird energy there, he seems to think a degree is not worth that much, and I see his point of view, but it is the only thing you can point to and say I have that, at least when starting out. I know I wouldn't have had the opportunities I have had without mine.
Then this freaking virus started affecting our lives and forcing us to isolate and honestly scare the crap out of me. I initially thought well, I am a fat fuck, it is just a matter of time before it takes me out. It could still happen, but there have been so many changes to how we live that maybe we will all get through it. In the midst of so much rampant unemployment though, I did not expect Boy to then tell us he had secured an interview a couple weeks ago. My only problem is that I want him working and making money, like a grown man, but I also want to keep him home and safe. I just have to figure they are taking precautions at work like we are with the face masks and checking our temperatures as we walk in.
His first interview went well, then a second one, which also went well, then a third one which lasted two hours via computer last week. He had said it went well and they would call him in a couple days. When they didn't call Monday or Tuesday I started thinking oh well, at least he is home safe, probably not what he wanted but he is not starving or out worried about how to pay bills. Thursday afternoon, he comes down in a shirt and underwear, the official outfit for us guys at home, asking what we are doing. Wife asked him if maybe they had called, I thought "ooh, don't bring it up, you know they didn't or he would be talking about it..." He was so nonchalant about it, "yeah they just called and offered me a little more than I would have gotten paid at Nano. I accepted it and they then said I start on June 6." I am happy mijo gets to work on something he likes basically in my field. He will be doing some sort of engineering with a company offshoot of Toshiba, testing servers or something to that effect.
He remained confidant that he would bounce right back and with an even better job offer, after all, most the people he associates with that are working are making more than the $70K they offered him. He applied all over, even "stupidly" telling us he was going to have an informal interview in Dallas, which we said absolutely no since he still needs a couple more classes to graduate and he is not moving out without a degree. There was some weird energy there, he seems to think a degree is not worth that much, and I see his point of view, but it is the only thing you can point to and say I have that, at least when starting out. I know I wouldn't have had the opportunities I have had without mine.
Then this freaking virus started affecting our lives and forcing us to isolate and honestly scare the crap out of me. I initially thought well, I am a fat fuck, it is just a matter of time before it takes me out. It could still happen, but there have been so many changes to how we live that maybe we will all get through it. In the midst of so much rampant unemployment though, I did not expect Boy to then tell us he had secured an interview a couple weeks ago. My only problem is that I want him working and making money, like a grown man, but I also want to keep him home and safe. I just have to figure they are taking precautions at work like we are with the face masks and checking our temperatures as we walk in.
His first interview went well, then a second one, which also went well, then a third one which lasted two hours via computer last week. He had said it went well and they would call him in a couple days. When they didn't call Monday or Tuesday I started thinking oh well, at least he is home safe, probably not what he wanted but he is not starving or out worried about how to pay bills. Thursday afternoon, he comes down in a shirt and underwear, the official outfit for us guys at home, asking what we are doing. Wife asked him if maybe they had called, I thought "ooh, don't bring it up, you know they didn't or he would be talking about it..." He was so nonchalant about it, "yeah they just called and offered me a little more than I would have gotten paid at Nano. I accepted it and they then said I start on June 6." I am happy mijo gets to work on something he likes basically in my field. He will be doing some sort of engineering with a company offshoot of Toshiba, testing servers or something to that effect.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
4/23/20 Without Media, Would We Care About Brands?
I like expensive stuff, I cannot deny that. But, I was thinking about why are some things so much more expensive than others, when they seem to be of about the same quality? For example, for the longest time I thought expensive cars like Mercedes and Jaguar were superior cars to cheaper American brands if for no other reason than that is what we see in the movies and TV. It has taken a long time to accept in my head that all that was just BS. My brand of choice has always been Ford and the vehicles I have had have always been solid. My parents tell me my first truck, a 1991 Ford Ranger is still running around back home, my Excursion is going on 16-17 years, even my first F250 which I sold to my in-laws is still running, although it was in an accident a couple years ago. One of Wife's first cars she drove was a Jaguar my father in law bought. A beautiful sexy car, for the time, but man, it always had one little fix after another before it could really be used. I was left unimpressed.
As far as jewelry goes, I am glad Wife doesn't care. I see diamonds and I have never gotten it. It is just a little piece of glass with no color and we are supposed to spend thousands on them? When I have wanted to like other rocks, like rubies, I am then told they are made in a lab, so I can't value something made that way, it just sounds fake, to me. Knowing that there is a whole trade in Africa that abuses poor people to get the diamonds from dangerous mines just makes it that much worse, in my opinion.
How about in clothing and shoes? I get it if a nice leather shoe that is going to last a lifetime and can get overhauled might cost a few hundred dollars. But to think that tennis shoes, like Jordans, can be worth more than say $100 is ridiculous to me. They are made of plastic and other man made materials, few have any exotic materials like suede or leather, the price is all driven by demand and media manipulation. I know I probably pay too much for the pants my boys are wearing, costing over $100, but at least in Boy's case, they do last him 3-4 years. For the length of time and how well they hold up, I am ok with the cost, even if some Levi's at a third the cost would do the same.
The only thing I still fall for in the expensive department is with watches. I know they are a dying thing and it is easier and more accurate to get the time from your phone. Still, I can't help but appreciate the beauty of a quality timepiece and I am only talking about analog watches. Again, a G-shock may even provide more information with its digital capabilities, but I just think there is something special to a watch that has to be brought to life manually. Maybe in another few years I will realize that this too is just stupid media manipulation and I would be better keeping my money in the bank. It is kind of shitty that everything is just designed to separate you from your hard earned money.
As far as jewelry goes, I am glad Wife doesn't care. I see diamonds and I have never gotten it. It is just a little piece of glass with no color and we are supposed to spend thousands on them? When I have wanted to like other rocks, like rubies, I am then told they are made in a lab, so I can't value something made that way, it just sounds fake, to me. Knowing that there is a whole trade in Africa that abuses poor people to get the diamonds from dangerous mines just makes it that much worse, in my opinion.
How about in clothing and shoes? I get it if a nice leather shoe that is going to last a lifetime and can get overhauled might cost a few hundred dollars. But to think that tennis shoes, like Jordans, can be worth more than say $100 is ridiculous to me. They are made of plastic and other man made materials, few have any exotic materials like suede or leather, the price is all driven by demand and media manipulation. I know I probably pay too much for the pants my boys are wearing, costing over $100, but at least in Boy's case, they do last him 3-4 years. For the length of time and how well they hold up, I am ok with the cost, even if some Levi's at a third the cost would do the same.
The only thing I still fall for in the expensive department is with watches. I know they are a dying thing and it is easier and more accurate to get the time from your phone. Still, I can't help but appreciate the beauty of a quality timepiece and I am only talking about analog watches. Again, a G-shock may even provide more information with its digital capabilities, but I just think there is something special to a watch that has to be brought to life manually. Maybe in another few years I will realize that this too is just stupid media manipulation and I would be better keeping my money in the bank. It is kind of shitty that everything is just designed to separate you from your hard earned money.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
4/22/20 Happy Birthday Mom?
This has probably been the weirdest thing to go through in the time of the Corona virus. Celebrations which normally have been times for us to get together have had to be cut short and turned into isolated parties of less than 10 people. Today is my mom's birthday, I won't mention the age, but it is good. She is very active, she was still volunteering at the school before they shut it down, and stays busy by being very involved with the grandkids as my brother and sister live next door and behind her.
I am writing this on Sunday, the 19th and I have been calling her every day recently, mostly because I am bored and stuck in the house, but also to let them know we are ok and to hear that everyone over there is ok too. She had just walked back to her house, she had been at my sister's house watching a movie and hanging out with my sister's boys. We have the same problem, everything is fine with being in our respective homes, but once a week or so we do have to venture out and buy groceries. That is the biggest risk of catching the virus, but it is a necessary risk to keep our food reserves stocked.
She was wishing that we could visit soon and after she laid out the facts that they have been in isolation and nobody is sick and we have been in isolation and nobody is sick, we could go visit. I told her honestly, it is your call, I am pretty bored here, if you want us to go, we could go next week after my work week is up. She was quick to say no. The city is still pretty much shutdown. They only allow two people in a car, and there is a curfew at 10:00pm, everyone has to go home. She said to wait until they lift the ban, then we'll see.
So far, we have had Boy's birthday just us here at the house. They had my nephew's birthday like two weeks ago, and there was Easter, and now my mom's birthday this week. Those are at least 3 of the 4 events would have been gatherings where we would have visited with them. This leaves me wondering if we will be able to get together by my younger brother's birthday in July 22 or even mine on August 21. At some point this thing has to go away, all the other viruses have really just disappeared by themselves during the hot summer months. But what precautions will be extended into next fall, if school even starts on time? Will Javalina play football, will schools want to take that risk of having their boys trade sweat, saliva, and blood on the field?
I guess for now, we will call her on her day and wish her a happy birthday, if there are to be any gifts, they will have to wait until after we are passed the corona scare. I was just looking at purses online, the kind we usually get her and man, the prices look bigger on the computer screen than at the store. I can't believe some dinky bag can cost $300-$400, shoot there were some for over $3500 on the Coach website. Ouch! We'll figure something out after this whole mess is sorted, mom, love you and Happy Birthday.
I am writing this on Sunday, the 19th and I have been calling her every day recently, mostly because I am bored and stuck in the house, but also to let them know we are ok and to hear that everyone over there is ok too. She had just walked back to her house, she had been at my sister's house watching a movie and hanging out with my sister's boys. We have the same problem, everything is fine with being in our respective homes, but once a week or so we do have to venture out and buy groceries. That is the biggest risk of catching the virus, but it is a necessary risk to keep our food reserves stocked.
She was wishing that we could visit soon and after she laid out the facts that they have been in isolation and nobody is sick and we have been in isolation and nobody is sick, we could go visit. I told her honestly, it is your call, I am pretty bored here, if you want us to go, we could go next week after my work week is up. She was quick to say no. The city is still pretty much shutdown. They only allow two people in a car, and there is a curfew at 10:00pm, everyone has to go home. She said to wait until they lift the ban, then we'll see.
So far, we have had Boy's birthday just us here at the house. They had my nephew's birthday like two weeks ago, and there was Easter, and now my mom's birthday this week. Those are at least 3 of the 4 events would have been gatherings where we would have visited with them. This leaves me wondering if we will be able to get together by my younger brother's birthday in July 22 or even mine on August 21. At some point this thing has to go away, all the other viruses have really just disappeared by themselves during the hot summer months. But what precautions will be extended into next fall, if school even starts on time? Will Javalina play football, will schools want to take that risk of having their boys trade sweat, saliva, and blood on the field?
I guess for now, we will call her on her day and wish her a happy birthday, if there are to be any gifts, they will have to wait until after we are passed the corona scare. I was just looking at purses online, the kind we usually get her and man, the prices look bigger on the computer screen than at the store. I can't believe some dinky bag can cost $300-$400, shoot there were some for over $3500 on the Coach website. Ouch! We'll figure something out after this whole mess is sorted, mom, love you and Happy Birthday.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
4/21/20 Don't Feed The Roaches?
I absolutely hate panhandlers, they make a city look dirty and they aren't adding anything to the communities they live in. I saw a story from John Stossel this weekend and he talked to several "bums" and some of them are faking their look for free money. The first part of the story had a woman with a sign that said need help, trying to get back home, or whatever. For some reason she was followed and she lived a few blocks away in a decent looking house and she was then followed and she seemed well to do and was spotted shopping and enjoying a normal lifestyle. When confronted, she said she wasn't hurting anyone, she didn't demand money from anyone and it was an easy way to make like $150 a day.
Stossel then went undercover and put on a fake beard and dirty street clothes and sat on the street without really begging and ended up making what he said would have amounted to $90 or so if he had stayed there for 8 hours. People easily give $1 here or $5 there. He was good enough to follow the people that gave and he interviewed them. It seems to always be people barely getting by trying to help, which bothers me. These are good hard working people probably making minimum wage and to give your hard earned money to someone who won't get off their own ass to feed themselves. He went through and offered those a-holes with signs that say will work for money, of the 20 he offered to come work on his yard, only one showed up. He cut the grass for $20, but did also mumble that he would have made more staying where he was panhandling, so absorb that bit of irony. There was also a conversation with another homeless guy who was asked about a full time job somewhere and he seemed offended and asked "why should I waste all my time at a job?" He was willing to work part time, maybe, if the work was agreeable to him, nothing too hard.
Then there were the groups of stoners hanging on a street. One of the dizzy girls they talked to was going on about this was their street, they just wanted to hang out all day, why should they be weighed down by a job? She could panhandle for a couple hours, make her bit of money then spend the rest of the day doing what she wanted with her friends.
Please people, stop giving your hard earned money away. There is nothing I hate more than one of these bleeding hearts slow down and give some piece of shit dollars. Like the story says, there are soup kitchens for the real hungry and destitute to eat, nobody is really dying of hunger on the streets. Like I always say, if you leave food out, the roaches will never leave. Cut off the money supply and I bet they would move along. You don't see them in the nicer parts of the city, because richer people have more sense than to give them money for their drugs and alcohol. I remember when I moved to Austin back in 1991, at least they tried by selling roses, at least they did on Riverside Drive. I haven't seen them with roses or anything useful since I moved out here to Slaughter Lane.
Stossel then went undercover and put on a fake beard and dirty street clothes and sat on the street without really begging and ended up making what he said would have amounted to $90 or so if he had stayed there for 8 hours. People easily give $1 here or $5 there. He was good enough to follow the people that gave and he interviewed them. It seems to always be people barely getting by trying to help, which bothers me. These are good hard working people probably making minimum wage and to give your hard earned money to someone who won't get off their own ass to feed themselves. He went through and offered those a-holes with signs that say will work for money, of the 20 he offered to come work on his yard, only one showed up. He cut the grass for $20, but did also mumble that he would have made more staying where he was panhandling, so absorb that bit of irony. There was also a conversation with another homeless guy who was asked about a full time job somewhere and he seemed offended and asked "why should I waste all my time at a job?" He was willing to work part time, maybe, if the work was agreeable to him, nothing too hard.
Then there were the groups of stoners hanging on a street. One of the dizzy girls they talked to was going on about this was their street, they just wanted to hang out all day, why should they be weighed down by a job? She could panhandle for a couple hours, make her bit of money then spend the rest of the day doing what she wanted with her friends.
Please people, stop giving your hard earned money away. There is nothing I hate more than one of these bleeding hearts slow down and give some piece of shit dollars. Like the story says, there are soup kitchens for the real hungry and destitute to eat, nobody is really dying of hunger on the streets. Like I always say, if you leave food out, the roaches will never leave. Cut off the money supply and I bet they would move along. You don't see them in the nicer parts of the city, because richer people have more sense than to give them money for their drugs and alcohol. I remember when I moved to Austin back in 1991, at least they tried by selling roses, at least they did on Riverside Drive. I haven't seen them with roses or anything useful since I moved out here to Slaughter Lane.
Sunday, April 19, 2020
4/20/20 Liberals Are Lost?
I know it wasn't that long ago that I leaned to the left politically. I thought it was good if our government could get their shit together and instead of spending billions on unnecessary wars, it could help sustain a healthcare system for all of us. I of course believe in a woman's right to choose, specially in this day of flighty men, there is a 40% chance the woman will be unmarried and then the fact that close to 50% of marriages eventually end up in divorce and most times kids remain with the mother, it makes sense they should be the key decision makers, although as I just heard Chapelle say in a comedy bit this weekend, men should have a choice whether to have to pay or not, if the woman gets to choose. I am ok with help when someone looses a job or needs a little help while they are finding their next job in the form of food stamps and even section 8, but it should be finite, not be a way of life.
All of a sudden though, I see these maniacs fighting on school campuses, for a socialist way of life. This fucks do not realize that our greatest enemies have been the communist regimes which are basically socialist systems. It didn't work in Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, or anywhere it has been attempted. Humans are inherently greedy and selfish animals, it cannot work because anyone in power will always cut themselves a little bigger slice of cake than what they give the masses. I guess there is a belief that if we convert to socialism, people won't have to work or compete for good paying jobs. On top of that, the liberals want to fight for the rights of anyone to declare themselves whatever they want to based on how they feel. I was with them when gay people wanted to fight for the same rights as hetero couples, let them marry, who cares? Now this push from trans people seems lost and confusing. You can't have someone born a man call themselves a female, compete with them and expect things to be fair, they have testosterone running through their bodies. Women might want to say we are all equals, but we are not. Men are stronger and built differently. That is not a slight on women, just a fact.
Then we get to gun control, which I was a big opponent of guns in the hands of civilians even just a few years ago. I have changed my mind and feelings totally because of YouTube. Every day just about, I see videos of people having to defend themselves against scumbags and trash, whether at work or at home and even in their cars. Police are generally good honest people and they will put themselves on the line to protect people, but they can't be where you need them when you need them at a moment's notice. All those videos in which a person is able to defend him/her self there is usually a "force multiplier" as they call it. The host presenting the video usually likes to remind the viewer that we must be our first line of defense, do not rely on police, they will show up in minutes when you need a response in seconds.
Putting a liberal in power is then going to maybe give medical care for all as Obama did, but my rates about doubled for insurance. Women's choice is still there, and I hope it stays that way. If we went socialist, what, those kids on campuses would never reach their full potential as they would find a minimum job and float through life since we would all be worth the same? Instead of social services being a band aid, they just become a way of life and people that are sliding through life just keep doing that? Be trans if you want, but don't be upset when it doesn't work out and don't expect the world to give a shit, nobody cares about me being a fat ass, why are you special? If guns are made illegal, guess who will still have guns after all good people follow the law and get rid of them? The criminals, we would knowingly put ourselves in harm's way.
All of a sudden though, I see these maniacs fighting on school campuses, for a socialist way of life. This fucks do not realize that our greatest enemies have been the communist regimes which are basically socialist systems. It didn't work in Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, or anywhere it has been attempted. Humans are inherently greedy and selfish animals, it cannot work because anyone in power will always cut themselves a little bigger slice of cake than what they give the masses. I guess there is a belief that if we convert to socialism, people won't have to work or compete for good paying jobs. On top of that, the liberals want to fight for the rights of anyone to declare themselves whatever they want to based on how they feel. I was with them when gay people wanted to fight for the same rights as hetero couples, let them marry, who cares? Now this push from trans people seems lost and confusing. You can't have someone born a man call themselves a female, compete with them and expect things to be fair, they have testosterone running through their bodies. Women might want to say we are all equals, but we are not. Men are stronger and built differently. That is not a slight on women, just a fact.
Then we get to gun control, which I was a big opponent of guns in the hands of civilians even just a few years ago. I have changed my mind and feelings totally because of YouTube. Every day just about, I see videos of people having to defend themselves against scumbags and trash, whether at work or at home and even in their cars. Police are generally good honest people and they will put themselves on the line to protect people, but they can't be where you need them when you need them at a moment's notice. All those videos in which a person is able to defend him/her self there is usually a "force multiplier" as they call it. The host presenting the video usually likes to remind the viewer that we must be our first line of defense, do not rely on police, they will show up in minutes when you need a response in seconds.
Putting a liberal in power is then going to maybe give medical care for all as Obama did, but my rates about doubled for insurance. Women's choice is still there, and I hope it stays that way. If we went socialist, what, those kids on campuses would never reach their full potential as they would find a minimum job and float through life since we would all be worth the same? Instead of social services being a band aid, they just become a way of life and people that are sliding through life just keep doing that? Be trans if you want, but don't be upset when it doesn't work out and don't expect the world to give a shit, nobody cares about me being a fat ass, why are you special? If guns are made illegal, guess who will still have guns after all good people follow the law and get rid of them? The criminals, we would knowingly put ourselves in harm's way.
4/19/20 Losing Track Of Time?
I find it a little funny to hear my kids saying "wait, it's Saturday, what?" It sounds a little more common in the summer when they are off, but now it is like a perpetual summer break, but with nicer weather. I have suffered from this at times because I get the four days off every other week, but usually I still stay on track as I am Javalina's chauffer to and from school. Here is a level two losing track of time, sleeping so much that you wake up and don't know if it is 7:00am or 7:00pm. I get that, specially because of our curtains that really block out the outside.
Some days, I try and be normal, sleep a good ten hours and then try to stay up, specially if I have something to do, like on the days that I work. But on the days that I am off and without having any major chores to do around the house, I can get up like on Thursday, I worked from about 5:00pm to around 1:00am Wednesday night, I refuse to take a lunch break or even sit down at work because I want to get in and out. I got home, ate and was in bed before 3:00am, after watching a show or two with Wife. I then feel like I have to get up early, so I got up at 9:00am, wrote a blog, turned on the pool pump and watched YouTube for a couple hours. I then decided on a nap, which I slept for a couple hours, got up and ate some, watched more videos, and then napped again. I was probably up at 9:00pm and complained about no dinner. We ate chimichangas from a frozen package, and then stayed up until 2:00am. Wife went to bed upstairs, I woke at 4:00am to go pee and stayed up until 6:00am, listening to a Loveline episode. It was funny to watch Boy and Sweetie come down at 4:00am to make a snack, sandwiches and run right back up to their rooms.
I am honestly glad we have been able to keep our lives going intact, both Wife and I are getting paid as normal. I feel bad for the people protesting at the state capitol trying to go back to work. My mom called to check on us that we weren't thinking of going out there. Of course not, we don't get involved in group pack mentality shenanigans. I mean, all those people are going to get is the virus spread amongst them. This virus loves a gathering, whether it is idiots getting drunk in New Orleans, groups gathering to pray, or masses gathering to fight for their jobs, it only takes one in the group to have it. My mom was most worried about those people having their kids with them. My opinion is that the kids are least affected, so I get why they would be out there. Plus, if they haven't worked and they didn't have savings (which most of us don't), how are they supposed to feed themselves and keep their houses and cars and stuff? I imagine it is a very scary feeling to be forced at home when you are barely getting by. People are probably calculating that as bad as it sounds, more than 97% of the population is surviving (I figure based on dividing the deaths by the infected, here in Texas I get 2.4% death rate), it is definitely worth the risk to go work than to loose everything they might have. I feel uneasy every time I head to work, but if I want to keep my house and everything as good as it is, I gots to put on my big boy undies and march on.
Some days, I try and be normal, sleep a good ten hours and then try to stay up, specially if I have something to do, like on the days that I work. But on the days that I am off and without having any major chores to do around the house, I can get up like on Thursday, I worked from about 5:00pm to around 1:00am Wednesday night, I refuse to take a lunch break or even sit down at work because I want to get in and out. I got home, ate and was in bed before 3:00am, after watching a show or two with Wife. I then feel like I have to get up early, so I got up at 9:00am, wrote a blog, turned on the pool pump and watched YouTube for a couple hours. I then decided on a nap, which I slept for a couple hours, got up and ate some, watched more videos, and then napped again. I was probably up at 9:00pm and complained about no dinner. We ate chimichangas from a frozen package, and then stayed up until 2:00am. Wife went to bed upstairs, I woke at 4:00am to go pee and stayed up until 6:00am, listening to a Loveline episode. It was funny to watch Boy and Sweetie come down at 4:00am to make a snack, sandwiches and run right back up to their rooms.
I am honestly glad we have been able to keep our lives going intact, both Wife and I are getting paid as normal. I feel bad for the people protesting at the state capitol trying to go back to work. My mom called to check on us that we weren't thinking of going out there. Of course not, we don't get involved in group pack mentality shenanigans. I mean, all those people are going to get is the virus spread amongst them. This virus loves a gathering, whether it is idiots getting drunk in New Orleans, groups gathering to pray, or masses gathering to fight for their jobs, it only takes one in the group to have it. My mom was most worried about those people having their kids with them. My opinion is that the kids are least affected, so I get why they would be out there. Plus, if they haven't worked and they didn't have savings (which most of us don't), how are they supposed to feed themselves and keep their houses and cars and stuff? I imagine it is a very scary feeling to be forced at home when you are barely getting by. People are probably calculating that as bad as it sounds, more than 97% of the population is surviving (I figure based on dividing the deaths by the infected, here in Texas I get 2.4% death rate), it is definitely worth the risk to go work than to loose everything they might have. I feel uneasy every time I head to work, but if I want to keep my house and everything as good as it is, I gots to put on my big boy undies and march on.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
4/18/20 How Are You Getting Along?
I saw a blurb in the news yesterday about divorces on the rise even as people don't have an escape route because most of us are supposed to be self-isolating. It went on about people that might get along when they just had to spend an hour in the morning and a couple hours at night together are now spending all their time together is too much for some. It can't help to live in a densely populated place like New York and your residence is only a tiny apartment and you can hear the neighbors carrying on at all hours of the day and night.
I have to say, we have been doing ok. It was a bit of an adjustment to have Wife here daily, we all love her but for the last four years we have only been with her on the weekends. One can forget how demanding a woman can be, man! For example, when it is just us, Javalina and I will hang out quietly in our own spaces entertaining ourselves. Like I have said, I love watching videos, whether to learn some factoid about World War II or to see the latest memes, I keep myself up to date and informed. Wife comes in and turns the TV on even if she doesn't watch it, in the kitchen, about 6 feet away from my head, and then she'll turn on her laptop to do work, and I am supposed to put on headphones because my stuff is boring, to her. We have had a little blow-up or two over this, but I am fine with the headphones, I wear them most of my shift at work, so I can be flexible.
The main one we argue about is our parenting style. I am kind of hands off and rely on the boys doing the right thing because it is what we expect of them. If they have homework, figure it out and do it before it is due. We are here to help, but not to babysit. Wife, on the other hand, can wake up yelling at Javalina "I got an email from your teacher, do this or that, why wait when you could be doing it now." It gets on my nerves because I want to be left alone and she wants me to dance with her in a "come on, let's yell at our son (either one), for this or for that." Ehh, maybe I am just lazy, but I don't really care to do that, Javalina has been getting by fine with my way the last four years. I think she has been relaxing more as she realizes that school is basically over, with the kids home, it is hard to push that classroom knowledge in this time.
I really believe living in our big house helps. Boy and Sweetie have their bedroom and I have told him the empty room upstairs is for his use, which is where he put all his 3D printers and a table to use as a desk. So, him and Sweetie have space whether they want to do projects (she sews, he does all sorts of nerdy shit, leatherwork anyone?) or like yesterday, she was doing an online test in their bedroom on her desk and Boy was having a two hour interview for a job in his hobby room. Javalina has a huge bedroom with a giant TV to play his video games and initially he hardly came out, I think he was trying to quarantine even from us. Now, he has started coming down and watching movies or shows here and there with us. I spend most of my days on the kitchen table on my laptop or in the guest bedroom downstairs, sometimes opting to even sleep in there, just to change it up. Wife gets up later than me and she'll come do her work on the table next to me, but she prefers to watch crappy TV and most of the time she will go do that in our bedroom upstairs or in the TV room by the pool table in the front of the house. Lately, we have all been getting together in the guest room downstairs, which is weird because that is probably the smallest TV in the house, but she will sit on the rocking chair, I will lay on the bed, and Javalina gets comfy on the loveseat. Space soothes the savage beasts.
Shoot, up until yesterday, no one had used the projector in the living room, it was weird to see Boy and Sweetie seated there, but I guess it is a change of scenery for them. I was also thinking yesterday of removing all the crap from the pool table and getting into it, maybe play some with the family, again another room that has hardly been used. I have gotten use of our balcony, I like going out there when the weather is cool or in the evening to talk to my mom, the phone reception is always better outside. Oh, and yesterday I thought Wife was napping, I sat at the table for about half an hour before I realized she was sitting outside by the pool, the weather was about perfect, maybe 75 and the sun was below the treeline, we both sat with our laptops on the table outside for about an hour, it was nice. It is quite nice having options, is all I am saying.
I have to say, we have been doing ok. It was a bit of an adjustment to have Wife here daily, we all love her but for the last four years we have only been with her on the weekends. One can forget how demanding a woman can be, man! For example, when it is just us, Javalina and I will hang out quietly in our own spaces entertaining ourselves. Like I have said, I love watching videos, whether to learn some factoid about World War II or to see the latest memes, I keep myself up to date and informed. Wife comes in and turns the TV on even if she doesn't watch it, in the kitchen, about 6 feet away from my head, and then she'll turn on her laptop to do work, and I am supposed to put on headphones because my stuff is boring, to her. We have had a little blow-up or two over this, but I am fine with the headphones, I wear them most of my shift at work, so I can be flexible.
The main one we argue about is our parenting style. I am kind of hands off and rely on the boys doing the right thing because it is what we expect of them. If they have homework, figure it out and do it before it is due. We are here to help, but not to babysit. Wife, on the other hand, can wake up yelling at Javalina "I got an email from your teacher, do this or that, why wait when you could be doing it now." It gets on my nerves because I want to be left alone and she wants me to dance with her in a "come on, let's yell at our son (either one), for this or for that." Ehh, maybe I am just lazy, but I don't really care to do that, Javalina has been getting by fine with my way the last four years. I think she has been relaxing more as she realizes that school is basically over, with the kids home, it is hard to push that classroom knowledge in this time.
I really believe living in our big house helps. Boy and Sweetie have their bedroom and I have told him the empty room upstairs is for his use, which is where he put all his 3D printers and a table to use as a desk. So, him and Sweetie have space whether they want to do projects (she sews, he does all sorts of nerdy shit, leatherwork anyone?) or like yesterday, she was doing an online test in their bedroom on her desk and Boy was having a two hour interview for a job in his hobby room. Javalina has a huge bedroom with a giant TV to play his video games and initially he hardly came out, I think he was trying to quarantine even from us. Now, he has started coming down and watching movies or shows here and there with us. I spend most of my days on the kitchen table on my laptop or in the guest bedroom downstairs, sometimes opting to even sleep in there, just to change it up. Wife gets up later than me and she'll come do her work on the table next to me, but she prefers to watch crappy TV and most of the time she will go do that in our bedroom upstairs or in the TV room by the pool table in the front of the house. Lately, we have all been getting together in the guest room downstairs, which is weird because that is probably the smallest TV in the house, but she will sit on the rocking chair, I will lay on the bed, and Javalina gets comfy on the loveseat. Space soothes the savage beasts.
Shoot, up until yesterday, no one had used the projector in the living room, it was weird to see Boy and Sweetie seated there, but I guess it is a change of scenery for them. I was also thinking yesterday of removing all the crap from the pool table and getting into it, maybe play some with the family, again another room that has hardly been used. I have gotten use of our balcony, I like going out there when the weather is cool or in the evening to talk to my mom, the phone reception is always better outside. Oh, and yesterday I thought Wife was napping, I sat at the table for about half an hour before I realized she was sitting outside by the pool, the weather was about perfect, maybe 75 and the sun was below the treeline, we both sat with our laptops on the table outside for about an hour, it was nice. It is quite nice having options, is all I am saying.
Friday, April 17, 2020
4/17/20 We're Not All Going To Be Millionaires?
I like watching reaction videos on YouTube, these are videos of music videos (or sometimes even exerpts from comedy shows) and there will be someone reacting and making their observations to these videos. I find them interesting after watching something to see if other people feel the same way or get the same message from a given content. I have noticed that guys generally break down the lyrics and look for punch lines and I generally agree with what they see. Chicks, man, will be all over the place. One was reviewing Metallica's One, which is a painstaking description of a man that goes off to war, a bomb blows up next to him and he is left a blind, mute, deaf stump of a man. People say it comes from an old film "Johnny Got His Gun", which I can believe but I haven't seen. Well, this one girl is watching the video and she starts complicating the message and decides it is about justice, sorry, but no. This is just an example of what I see, she is attractive and curvy, so of course she has a million views on her videos even when she has no idea what she is seeing.
That thought just came to me because I was just watching another reaction video from another pretty girl and while watching the video she breaks down and starts crying. The video is some rapper going on about wanting to conquer the world and have his music make him rich and famous but in the video he is working as a garbageman, then he is continuing and still whining about wanting to succeed but doing a shitty job working the window at a fast food place. I get the message, "how long do I have to suffer before the world sees my brilliance." I think it hit the girl watching the video because she routinely makes videos where she is acting in little videos of her own or "directing" or doing something with trying to produce content, so she wants to succeed, but how do we measure success? Very few people get to the top where they get paid ridiculous money for acting, it is literally one in a million.
We all want to be paid and recognized, I don't think crying for it is going to help. She is pretty and has a following on YouTube, so she is halfway there, she needs to put on her big girl panties on and do the hard work, shit she is in her mid 20's. I remember being 21, just graduated but had no direction and a kid on the way. Married, no prospects, and just a strong back, I found a job in the paper to lay sheetrock, that call sent me to work at a warehouse driving a forklift, while holding a chemistry degree. I didn't whine about it, it helped feed us and in the meantime I got my shit together and slowly I moved it on up. I may never reach the success that this girl dreams of, but we live in a big house, and live comfortably, so I would say we do alright.
That thought just came to me because I was just watching another reaction video from another pretty girl and while watching the video she breaks down and starts crying. The video is some rapper going on about wanting to conquer the world and have his music make him rich and famous but in the video he is working as a garbageman, then he is continuing and still whining about wanting to succeed but doing a shitty job working the window at a fast food place. I get the message, "how long do I have to suffer before the world sees my brilliance." I think it hit the girl watching the video because she routinely makes videos where she is acting in little videos of her own or "directing" or doing something with trying to produce content, so she wants to succeed, but how do we measure success? Very few people get to the top where they get paid ridiculous money for acting, it is literally one in a million.
We all want to be paid and recognized, I don't think crying for it is going to help. She is pretty and has a following on YouTube, so she is halfway there, she needs to put on her big girl panties on and do the hard work, shit she is in her mid 20's. I remember being 21, just graduated but had no direction and a kid on the way. Married, no prospects, and just a strong back, I found a job in the paper to lay sheetrock, that call sent me to work at a warehouse driving a forklift, while holding a chemistry degree. I didn't whine about it, it helped feed us and in the meantime I got my shit together and slowly I moved it on up. I may never reach the success that this girl dreams of, but we live in a big house, and live comfortably, so I would say we do alright.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
4/16/20 It's Getting Closer?
Well, it was just a matter of time. My hometown where my folks still live had luckily escaped the wrath of Corona until yesterday. Like my brother said, it is a mostly lower income city, so the people are not jet setting around the world. I think most people had been trying to be careful, I mean we had plans of spending Spring Break down there and at the last minute my mom said nah, mostly because my dad is a Winnie, physically. Years of smoking have left him weakened, so they are being extra cautious.
But still, sometimes it just creeps up on you. A young man reportedly has come down with it, and it turns out he is the son of Wife's coworker. Luckily, Wife has not gone to work in about a month now, so we are safe from that source. Unfortunately, the Coworker and her son honestly did not know he had it until today, but she has been hanging out with him, probably over the Easter weekend, although I am not 100% on that. To make matters worse, his wife works at the local HEB, so she could have already passed it to a bunch of people and the mother in law works at the local medical clinic, so she too could have gotten it from him and gone and exposed everybody, shit I have an aunt there, and she still comes and visits my mom, so now everybody is going to be on high alert. The coworker may have gotten it and she has been going to work religiously in La Pryor (next small town over), because like Wife (or so she thought), if they don't go, the school falls apart. Everyone that was still showing up in the administration building is now under quarantine for the next two weeks, including from the superintendent all the way down to the cafeteria workers who were having to feed most of the city, for some wonky reason that doesn't make sense to me. It is possible that for the love of a free meal, most of the city has now been exposed. I told Wife from day one that it was stupid to be feeding the people like that as that was surely going to be a possible place for exposure, and voila, here we are.
My two sons are everything to me, yet every day I want to shake Boy and toss him in a closet. Just about every day, he has needed to go out of the house, either to get that right sauce for their dinner or whatever the reason of the day is. Other than going to get groceries last Friday, Wife hasn't left the house all week. I only go to work and right back home. But Dumdum? Nah, he has to go get this or that individually too. He can't make one trip and get everything he might need for a couple days, that would be too easy. I know it is part of being young and thinking you are invincible, but we do worry about him after having gotten sick with Typhus, his immunity is not the strongest, then he also had mono last year, so he should really be acting smarter.
At least at work, they are checking us daily as we walk in with a thermal scan, and then Tuesday they gave me a couple of facemasks so I would have some to wear. Plus, our boss said the company had ordered face shields for each of us and we will be able to take them home for our personal use. I like that, but I am loving this whole new mandate of "finish the work for the day and go home."
But still, sometimes it just creeps up on you. A young man reportedly has come down with it, and it turns out he is the son of Wife's coworker. Luckily, Wife has not gone to work in about a month now, so we are safe from that source. Unfortunately, the Coworker and her son honestly did not know he had it until today, but she has been hanging out with him, probably over the Easter weekend, although I am not 100% on that. To make matters worse, his wife works at the local HEB, so she could have already passed it to a bunch of people and the mother in law works at the local medical clinic, so she too could have gotten it from him and gone and exposed everybody, shit I have an aunt there, and she still comes and visits my mom, so now everybody is going to be on high alert. The coworker may have gotten it and she has been going to work religiously in La Pryor (next small town over), because like Wife (or so she thought), if they don't go, the school falls apart. Everyone that was still showing up in the administration building is now under quarantine for the next two weeks, including from the superintendent all the way down to the cafeteria workers who were having to feed most of the city, for some wonky reason that doesn't make sense to me. It is possible that for the love of a free meal, most of the city has now been exposed. I told Wife from day one that it was stupid to be feeding the people like that as that was surely going to be a possible place for exposure, and voila, here we are.
My two sons are everything to me, yet every day I want to shake Boy and toss him in a closet. Just about every day, he has needed to go out of the house, either to get that right sauce for their dinner or whatever the reason of the day is. Other than going to get groceries last Friday, Wife hasn't left the house all week. I only go to work and right back home. But Dumdum? Nah, he has to go get this or that individually too. He can't make one trip and get everything he might need for a couple days, that would be too easy. I know it is part of being young and thinking you are invincible, but we do worry about him after having gotten sick with Typhus, his immunity is not the strongest, then he also had mono last year, so he should really be acting smarter.
At least at work, they are checking us daily as we walk in with a thermal scan, and then Tuesday they gave me a couple of facemasks so I would have some to wear. Plus, our boss said the company had ordered face shields for each of us and we will be able to take them home for our personal use. I like that, but I am loving this whole new mandate of "finish the work for the day and go home."
4/15/20 What About Mosquitos?
I don't know if it has been brought up, but I was listening to Lil Dicky's Cypher freestyle (rap) and in it there is a line about "...more scary than Magic Johnson near mosquitos...", and it got me thinking, can Corona be passed along via the mosquitos nasty sting? This is something I haven't seen discussed by all the media heads on TV.
BTW, I don't know which way to lean. One of my brothers took my "why haven't the poor countries like Mexico had huge explosions of the virus mentioned" to go into his thoughts of this is all bullshit to scare the people into submission, some of the countries governors would love to use this moment to grab more power. In reality, the death toll is not that bad, I did hear elsewhere that currently there have not been any deaths attributed to the regular flu or any other causes. I am not sure if this is true, but if it is, it does make the death toll look a lot higher and scarier. It's not like Corona showed up and influenza decided to take a vacation break, it is still doing what it does too, kill the old and the weak. Then I talked to my other brother, and he made some good points too, that countries like Mexico are not going to report a problem because they are in no position to even determine who has what. If they can't get their shit together when the drug trade problem is killing people by the thousands, how can we expect them to keep something delicate and invisible to be carefully monitored, they are pretty much working at a third world country's capabilities. Are we supposed to think out in Africa the numbers are going to be anywhere near accurate? Probably not. They can't do the simple things, such as providing clean water for their people, no way are they going to be passing out masks and gloves to keep people isolated germ wise.
It is a scary thought if it turns out the virus can go from mosquito to other humans, shit, they have been reporting today that it seems to be spreading on our shoes because people still spit on the ground, like animals and the saliva keeps it alive for awhile. Factor this in with the fact that the virus took out a tiger at a zoo, and that means this virus is not human specific, it will travel, by any means necessary.
After talking to both of my brothers, I am not sure which way to lean. Normally, I would say the one that is pro Trump is the nutty one, but back home, they are all pro Trump, mostly based on his hard stance on closing the border. They don't want no "bad hombres" coming over with their drugs and taking our females for the sex slave trade and of course, democrats want open borders because they are soft. So umm, double up on the Off spray.
BTW, I don't know which way to lean. One of my brothers took my "why haven't the poor countries like Mexico had huge explosions of the virus mentioned" to go into his thoughts of this is all bullshit to scare the people into submission, some of the countries governors would love to use this moment to grab more power. In reality, the death toll is not that bad, I did hear elsewhere that currently there have not been any deaths attributed to the regular flu or any other causes. I am not sure if this is true, but if it is, it does make the death toll look a lot higher and scarier. It's not like Corona showed up and influenza decided to take a vacation break, it is still doing what it does too, kill the old and the weak. Then I talked to my other brother, and he made some good points too, that countries like Mexico are not going to report a problem because they are in no position to even determine who has what. If they can't get their shit together when the drug trade problem is killing people by the thousands, how can we expect them to keep something delicate and invisible to be carefully monitored, they are pretty much working at a third world country's capabilities. Are we supposed to think out in Africa the numbers are going to be anywhere near accurate? Probably not. They can't do the simple things, such as providing clean water for their people, no way are they going to be passing out masks and gloves to keep people isolated germ wise.
It is a scary thought if it turns out the virus can go from mosquito to other humans, shit, they have been reporting today that it seems to be spreading on our shoes because people still spit on the ground, like animals and the saliva keeps it alive for awhile. Factor this in with the fact that the virus took out a tiger at a zoo, and that means this virus is not human specific, it will travel, by any means necessary.
After talking to both of my brothers, I am not sure which way to lean. Normally, I would say the one that is pro Trump is the nutty one, but back home, they are all pro Trump, mostly based on his hard stance on closing the border. They don't want no "bad hombres" coming over with their drugs and taking our females for the sex slave trade and of course, democrats want open borders because they are soft. So umm, double up on the Off spray.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
4/14/20 Rocketman (Movie)
Wife recorded Rocketman and had asked me if I wanted to see it, and I kept saying no. I just didn't think it could be good after watching the Queen movie (Bohemian Rhapsody) and the Beatles lite version (Yesterday), which took advantage of using the Beatles music to make it likable, alhough the movie wasn't too bad. I had been napping from eating so much Easter evening, and woke up intent on writing something for Monday morning, but I could not focus. Wife started watching the movie as I lay in the guest room with her with my earphones on and my laptop on the bed. Once I caught a glimpse of a young Elton running in full on Devil costume, complete with 8 foot wings, I had to see what he was doing. I promptly closed my computer and took off the earphones.
I like the use of flashbacks in movies, you get to see the actor/musician telling their tale from their perspective in a given moment of their life. We catch up with him as he has had a meltdown and accepted that the drugs and the alcohol is too much. We see him at first aggressively introducing himself to the AA group, and slowly as the movie proceeds, he becomes disarmed and starts taking off the devil costume almost as a sign that the evil that has engulfed him is being removed. We see him start at his childhood, playing with the family piano and it seems he has a gift to hear and repeat music by ear. After having to endure an asshole of a father (who at least had a decent music collection for young Elton to listen to behind his back), we see him not being loving at all, even seeming to have a slight disgust for the boy. This becomes a key emotion as the story comes from Elton's perspective, nobody seem so to have love for him. His mom is also a piece of work, constantly telling him how it is his fault his dad left them (yet we see a scene where she is fooling around with another man). I know Elton John is a talent and a treasure, but I had forgotten how many hits were his.
The movie was a tad long, but I didn't mind it with the constant playing of his songs, even if he played them differently, not always as we hear them on the radio, such as a rock song being played as a slow ballad. We see his relationship with his songwriter friend who has been with him over fifty years writing with him and they both admit having a love for each other even if the writer is not gay. We see him alone for much of the movie and is not until he becomes sober that we see in the ending credit lines how he met David, his husband since the 80's, and he has managed to stay clean and still to this day continues with his writing partner of over 50 plus years. I was happy to see him go from middle income regular human to international superstar and to be able to settle into his life, finally finding peace with himself and the love that he looked for during his youth and earlier days.
I like the use of flashbacks in movies, you get to see the actor/musician telling their tale from their perspective in a given moment of their life. We catch up with him as he has had a meltdown and accepted that the drugs and the alcohol is too much. We see him at first aggressively introducing himself to the AA group, and slowly as the movie proceeds, he becomes disarmed and starts taking off the devil costume almost as a sign that the evil that has engulfed him is being removed. We see him start at his childhood, playing with the family piano and it seems he has a gift to hear and repeat music by ear. After having to endure an asshole of a father (who at least had a decent music collection for young Elton to listen to behind his back), we see him not being loving at all, even seeming to have a slight disgust for the boy. This becomes a key emotion as the story comes from Elton's perspective, nobody seem so to have love for him. His mom is also a piece of work, constantly telling him how it is his fault his dad left them (yet we see a scene where she is fooling around with another man). I know Elton John is a talent and a treasure, but I had forgotten how many hits were his.
The movie was a tad long, but I didn't mind it with the constant playing of his songs, even if he played them differently, not always as we hear them on the radio, such as a rock song being played as a slow ballad. We see his relationship with his songwriter friend who has been with him over fifty years writing with him and they both admit having a love for each other even if the writer is not gay. We see him alone for much of the movie and is not until he becomes sober that we see in the ending credit lines how he met David, his husband since the 80's, and he has managed to stay clean and still to this day continues with his writing partner of over 50 plus years. I was happy to see him go from middle income regular human to international superstar and to be able to settle into his life, finally finding peace with himself and the love that he looked for during his youth and earlier days.
Monday, April 13, 2020
4/13/20 Easter Sunday Must Go On?
Even if I don't personally celebrate Easter as a religious holiday, taking time off and celebrating with loved ones is always a healthy endeavor. Since we have moved to Austin, I believe we had always gone down to Crystal to celebrate with our families. It has been a little tough because my family still lives there and Wife's parents moved to San Antonio about the time we got married, and trying to split the holidays has always been a juggling act. We kind of fell into keeping Easter as the holiday we go to Crystal, and celebrating with Wife's parents on other holidays. Corona changed everything this year, as we are all supposed to be practicing self isolation. This means not hanging out with our extended families. Too many times, we keep seeing where a family gathers and then multiple family members get sick and or end up passing away in multiple numbers, not just the elderly.
Oh well, what is done is done. We did what we were told and although we were stuck at home, it wasn't bad at all. We grilled a delicious menu of steaks and chicken and burgers and wings. While we grilled, I called my family and talked with mostly everybody. My mom mentioned they ate brisket, my dad mentioned how nothing is happening except for his bank account keeps growing since they can't go out to spend money (which I thought was funny, and a good side effect of staying in), my sister told me about how they are staying safe (her hubby is working in a full body cover and she is going to work, but they only go in in groups of 3-4 at a time), and my younger brother congratulated me on "manning up" (the guy that called me a liberal faggot) and going out to buy my first gun. I called my other brother a little later and he has been "REALLY" practicing self isolation as they live next to my moms, but he is not even open to visit them. He says he grilled for his wife and kids and were out for a drive looking for idiots gathered in masse at the area parks, but so far he was impressed that it looked like people were listening.
I had gotten up like at 7:30am, got the pool pump going, I have been trying to make the water clear but it is fighting back, and cleaned the grill. I got back in before 8:30am, drank coffee, watched some Youtube, then went back to bed. I think I slept until noon before Wife came down and woke me. We putzed around until we started the grill around 3:00pm, and probably ate by 6:00pm. After eating such a great meal, NY strip steaks with a side of jalapeno wrapped in bacon with cheese, and the most delicious potato salad, I just glazed over and went to nap. I got up around 9:00pm and we then stayed up until 4:00am watching movies, and enjoying a little fruit salad. Yes, I would have loved to have gone and seen my family, but given the current situation, I think we had a good time and made the best of the challenging times.
Oh well, what is done is done. We did what we were told and although we were stuck at home, it wasn't bad at all. We grilled a delicious menu of steaks and chicken and burgers and wings. While we grilled, I called my family and talked with mostly everybody. My mom mentioned they ate brisket, my dad mentioned how nothing is happening except for his bank account keeps growing since they can't go out to spend money (which I thought was funny, and a good side effect of staying in), my sister told me about how they are staying safe (her hubby is working in a full body cover and she is going to work, but they only go in in groups of 3-4 at a time), and my younger brother congratulated me on "manning up" (the guy that called me a liberal faggot) and going out to buy my first gun. I called my other brother a little later and he has been "REALLY" practicing self isolation as they live next to my moms, but he is not even open to visit them. He says he grilled for his wife and kids and were out for a drive looking for idiots gathered in masse at the area parks, but so far he was impressed that it looked like people were listening.
I had gotten up like at 7:30am, got the pool pump going, I have been trying to make the water clear but it is fighting back, and cleaned the grill. I got back in before 8:30am, drank coffee, watched some Youtube, then went back to bed. I think I slept until noon before Wife came down and woke me. We putzed around until we started the grill around 3:00pm, and probably ate by 6:00pm. After eating such a great meal, NY strip steaks with a side of jalapeno wrapped in bacon with cheese, and the most delicious potato salad, I just glazed over and went to nap. I got up around 9:00pm and we then stayed up until 4:00am watching movies, and enjoying a little fruit salad. Yes, I would have loved to have gone and seen my family, but given the current situation, I think we had a good time and made the best of the challenging times.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
4/12/20 A Grown Ups Version Of An Easter Egg Hunt, Corona Style?
As I mentioned yesterday, we had to go out amongst the a-holes and miscreants to restock our food supplies. I hate the going out, only for fear of contracting the virus, but I do love eating at home. I feel we eat better than what has been our normal. We went for Chick-Fil-A Friday night, spent over $40 for Wife, Javalina and myself and although those nuggets are delicious, after eating a platter with 64 nuggets between the three of us, I wasn't full. That is what I mean, it is getting harder to justify the prices and then to not even feel full or have leftovers is becoming ridiculous to me.
I digress, we went to the store to make sure and have some meats to grill. It is what we usually do on Easter, at my mom's house, but this year we will be self-isolating, so we have to be prepared. I was pleasantly surprised with the HEB in Buda, it is smaller than the one in Kyle, but it was fully stocked with all the meats, nothing was in short supply. We got some NY strips, along with some sausages and chicken wings and if we feel like it burgers or chicken breasts too. The store had everything, even toilet paper, but we could not find eggs. There was one dozen left, but the eggs were brown colored which made me feel weird about them. It didn't help they were like $6.00 for a dozen. We left them thinking we'll just stop at Target by the house, but after dropping off $470 worth of groceries at the house, we ran to Target and they were out of eggs too.
We went home, I ate a Lunchable and Wife asked if I wanted to go with her to Central Market to get eggs. She tried looking online and found some possible places to get eggs. BTW, eggs are important, not to hide, but to make potato salad, and breakfast, and cakes or other baked goods, so yeah, we needed some. After eating my snack and a pee break, we headed out again for a third time. I asked how about CVS? she looked online and they were out. She had found a place by the Olive Garden, Wheatsville Co-op or something like that, was showing it had eggs. Central Market was too, but theirs were going to be fancy and more expensive, you know organic stuff.
I then got the idea of the small Mexican markets that exist as tiny stores here and there. We were just passing one of them, which is more of a gas station, but I dropped off Wife by the door and ten minutes later, she came out with two of the 18 egg cartons and another one with a dozen. This cost us $18, but at least we didn't have to drive across town. Apparently, they sell breakfast barbacoa, so we might be trying that soon. And yes, I would be more in shock over the amount we spent at HEB, but since we aren't eating out or filling up multiple times, this is actually cheaper in the long run.
So, please, don't be a miscreant and stay home tomorrow. Don't be a spreader of disease, be better than that.
I digress, we went to the store to make sure and have some meats to grill. It is what we usually do on Easter, at my mom's house, but this year we will be self-isolating, so we have to be prepared. I was pleasantly surprised with the HEB in Buda, it is smaller than the one in Kyle, but it was fully stocked with all the meats, nothing was in short supply. We got some NY strips, along with some sausages and chicken wings and if we feel like it burgers or chicken breasts too. The store had everything, even toilet paper, but we could not find eggs. There was one dozen left, but the eggs were brown colored which made me feel weird about them. It didn't help they were like $6.00 for a dozen. We left them thinking we'll just stop at Target by the house, but after dropping off $470 worth of groceries at the house, we ran to Target and they were out of eggs too.
We went home, I ate a Lunchable and Wife asked if I wanted to go with her to Central Market to get eggs. She tried looking online and found some possible places to get eggs. BTW, eggs are important, not to hide, but to make potato salad, and breakfast, and cakes or other baked goods, so yeah, we needed some. After eating my snack and a pee break, we headed out again for a third time. I asked how about CVS? she looked online and they were out. She had found a place by the Olive Garden, Wheatsville Co-op or something like that, was showing it had eggs. Central Market was too, but theirs were going to be fancy and more expensive, you know organic stuff.
I then got the idea of the small Mexican markets that exist as tiny stores here and there. We were just passing one of them, which is more of a gas station, but I dropped off Wife by the door and ten minutes later, she came out with two of the 18 egg cartons and another one with a dozen. This cost us $18, but at least we didn't have to drive across town. Apparently, they sell breakfast barbacoa, so we might be trying that soon. And yes, I would be more in shock over the amount we spent at HEB, but since we aren't eating out or filling up multiple times, this is actually cheaper in the long run.
So, please, don't be a miscreant and stay home tomorrow. Don't be a spreader of disease, be better than that.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
4/11/20 People In Real Life Don't Listen?
Honestly, we have been real good about staying home and "helping prevent the spread of Covid-19. I go to work when I have to, but I am wearing gloves to prevent touching doors, I am wearing safety glasses and even a mask over my nose and mouth when I walk around people. I am pretty sure the mask is to prevent spit and debris from other humans from coming into contact with our mouth and nostrils, so I don't understand why I see people in their cars or walking alone wearing them. Then again, they have said it might be airborne, so maybe it is just floating around in the air looking for victims.
My complaint is that even though we are trying to be good, once you head outside, it is a wild and crazy world. It almost seems like some people do live under rocks or in space and just come to the store to get in my way. A lot of people are walking around without gloves, I get it, they take a trip to Lowe's or having a connection with somebody working in a lab to get. Fine, don't put your hands to your orifices and you'll be ok. But how about covering your mouths? There are so many ways to do this, with masks from the store, with bandanas, with any piece of cloth. It seems to me that as scared as we have been, and maybe the media does push the message a bit much, it is better to be safe than sorry. I don't think a good 1/3 to half the people out there know that they are supposed to be trying to protect themselves. I am sure those people are just in awe and wondering why all the stores are closed, it has to be a great mystery to them.
I saw this Friday, I tried going around 5:00pm on Thursday but it seemed like Christmas time, it was full of shoppers, so I backed down. I needed shock to try and get the pool cleaned up along with a couple other things, so I got up early Friday and headed down there at 9:00am and there was still a good amount of people. I am guessing since everything else is closed, people are ending up there to walk around and shop. Today, Saturday morning, we got up at 8:30am to try and beat the crowds and still by the time we got to the HEB in Kyle, the line of people stretched all the way down tot he end of the strip mall, like 10 businesses away. We ended up stopping at the HEB in Buda and the line was a lot shorter (it is a much smaller store).
I was still pissed at the a-holes who refuse to simply cover up their faces. It pisses me off because I am wearing the mask over my face and it is hard to breath with it, having your own hot air come back to you is gross, not to mention my safety glasses get all foggy every time I breath. And yet, these ignorant miscreants are walking around acting like it is 1999, with nary a worry in their feeble minds. I will be so glad when this is over, shit is starting to get old.
Friday, April 10, 2020
4/10/20 Wow, Religious People Are As Dense As Spring Breakers?
A couple days ago I wrote about spring breakers and understanding where they come from because they are still young enough that their brains are not yet fully developed, so we are dealing with people thinking with partial brains, but really, the religious right is lead by supposedly fully functioning adults. I just read a story that in Kansas after the governor put into law that church services and funerals could not be attended by groups larger than ten people, the Kansas congress overturned that order and basically said "no, our people have a constitutional right to gather in groups as big as we want." To even add the attorney general and send out a memo to police personnel to not ticket or fine groups in religious harmony is just putting a nail on that coffin.
How many states have to have this very thing repeat over and over, whatever gains on "flattening the curve we have been able to gain will sadly be undone this weekend, "in the name of the Lord," sorry to prognosticate. Goddammit it, I thought Texas was a little more advanced, apparently I just heard on TV that if you have a need, you can still gather for church services, so how are we better than freaking Kansas? We are not. People, a gathering is a gathering, whether it is to expose your titties on the streets of New Orleans or to pay homage to the great boogieman in the sky, the closer we get to our neighbors, the greater the incidence of spread. Believe me, God is not protecting you, like I said, if there is a higher deity, he set this cleanser upon us. Think about it, it is perfect, it spreads most easily amongst people that love and care for each other, it makes us isolate from one another. It targets a part of the population that isn't out there harming anyone. The poor elderly are just trying to live for the love of their families, and this disease prefers them instead of these assholes that still today have the energy to be out there kidnapping kids and shooting up gatherings? It just makes it hard to read the news when so much bad stuff keeps happening all around.
I am sure next week we will have brand new "old" stories of new break outs of corona due to gatherings over the weekend, and this republican morons in the Kansas congress will just shrug and deny any responsibility. Just once, I would like for people in power to say "wow, I guess that was my bad, I made that call." Nah, they'll just hide until another story takes center stage.
I hate writing about "downer" stories like this, I'd rather write about mijo getting stronger or the benefits of my newest toy (backpack), but man!, does it bother me that us humans still make decisions that affect our livelihood by looking at the sky and thinking someone is up there looking out for us. Right now, in the middle of the biggest threat to us as humans, we really need to listen to the smart people around us. Yes, the knowledge may be changing, even daily, as they learn more and more, but we move forward on their advances, not on the actions of some all knowing thing that can't be proven even exists.
How many states have to have this very thing repeat over and over, whatever gains on "flattening the curve we have been able to gain will sadly be undone this weekend, "in the name of the Lord," sorry to prognosticate. Goddammit it, I thought Texas was a little more advanced, apparently I just heard on TV that if you have a need, you can still gather for church services, so how are we better than freaking Kansas? We are not. People, a gathering is a gathering, whether it is to expose your titties on the streets of New Orleans or to pay homage to the great boogieman in the sky, the closer we get to our neighbors, the greater the incidence of spread. Believe me, God is not protecting you, like I said, if there is a higher deity, he set this cleanser upon us. Think about it, it is perfect, it spreads most easily amongst people that love and care for each other, it makes us isolate from one another. It targets a part of the population that isn't out there harming anyone. The poor elderly are just trying to live for the love of their families, and this disease prefers them instead of these assholes that still today have the energy to be out there kidnapping kids and shooting up gatherings? It just makes it hard to read the news when so much bad stuff keeps happening all around.
I am sure next week we will have brand new "old" stories of new break outs of corona due to gatherings over the weekend, and this republican morons in the Kansas congress will just shrug and deny any responsibility. Just once, I would like for people in power to say "wow, I guess that was my bad, I made that call." Nah, they'll just hide until another story takes center stage.
I hate writing about "downer" stories like this, I'd rather write about mijo getting stronger or the benefits of my newest toy (backpack), but man!, does it bother me that us humans still make decisions that affect our livelihood by looking at the sky and thinking someone is up there looking out for us. Right now, in the middle of the biggest threat to us as humans, we really need to listen to the smart people around us. Yes, the knowledge may be changing, even daily, as they learn more and more, but we move forward on their advances, not on the actions of some all knowing thing that can't be proven even exists.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
4/9/20 Backpack, Backpack?
I finally broke out my awesome new backpack and took it to work. I don't usually want dinky small gifts for Christmas because I usually just run and get whatever I need as I don't like to wait, but after discovering the 5.11 Tactical Store, I really fell in love with their backpacks. Knowing that law enforcement and even medical technicians use these made me want them that much more. By the time I walked out of there, I had bought a new bag for Boy, Javalina, and myself.
I bought a big backpack for medical personnel, and what makes it made for them? Well, it is orange on the inside, which the sales guy said was that in an emergency, searching through a black bag can be hard to find stuff. By making it almost fluorescent orange, nothing can really hide inside the bag. The contrast of the black exterior with the orange was all that I needed, only bright yellow would have been better. I also like that they can be setup with a water bag and become fancy Camelbacks, like the ones we had on at Disney. The difference is that these can be loaded with all sorts of stuff. I still remember Javalina being about age 10, peeing at one of the Disney parks and sucking water at the same time from his Camelback. That thought is always funny to me.
I was trying to save the bag for a fun trip, but the way things are right now, who knows when we will be allowed to leave our houses. So why the need for the bag? Well, I am trying to avoid the breakroom for one, so I keep taking a large water cup, but then I also have my Beats earphones which fold up into their own carry case, but it is the size of a husky football, then we have to have gloves and facemasks, and I have decided I am going to wear eye protection as well. Yesterday was such a clumsy day for me. We are all having to walk in through a different building so they can check us if we are running a fever, and there are more doors and every time I was fumbling my headphones and worried about spilling my water, so today I said enough.
I found a bigger half gallon jug that seals tightly, so I can take more water, I added a cup, so I am not constantly sucking from the jug and dropping cooties in there. The headphones fit neatly in there, and now I can carry a bag of wipes, in case I have to go poop, so that's a nice addition. Plus, with the extra room I can carry bottles of aspirin, and Ibuprofen, gloves, and face shields, along with some new clear safety glasses so I don't get someone's spittle in my eyeballs, not that I am trying to talk to anyone. It is nice, my hands stay free to deal with that facemask which I have to remove all the time, I can't handle my own hot breath as I am huffing and puffing from our new much farther parking lot. But it felt good to take stuff with me. I can see me putting in some gum, and maybe a snack, sometimes I wait a good 8 hours before I come home for lunch. Now that I got room, I can carry whatever, not just what fits in my pockets.
I bought a big backpack for medical personnel, and what makes it made for them? Well, it is orange on the inside, which the sales guy said was that in an emergency, searching through a black bag can be hard to find stuff. By making it almost fluorescent orange, nothing can really hide inside the bag. The contrast of the black exterior with the orange was all that I needed, only bright yellow would have been better. I also like that they can be setup with a water bag and become fancy Camelbacks, like the ones we had on at Disney. The difference is that these can be loaded with all sorts of stuff. I still remember Javalina being about age 10, peeing at one of the Disney parks and sucking water at the same time from his Camelback. That thought is always funny to me.
I was trying to save the bag for a fun trip, but the way things are right now, who knows when we will be allowed to leave our houses. So why the need for the bag? Well, I am trying to avoid the breakroom for one, so I keep taking a large water cup, but then I also have my Beats earphones which fold up into their own carry case, but it is the size of a husky football, then we have to have gloves and facemasks, and I have decided I am going to wear eye protection as well. Yesterday was such a clumsy day for me. We are all having to walk in through a different building so they can check us if we are running a fever, and there are more doors and every time I was fumbling my headphones and worried about spilling my water, so today I said enough.
I found a bigger half gallon jug that seals tightly, so I can take more water, I added a cup, so I am not constantly sucking from the jug and dropping cooties in there. The headphones fit neatly in there, and now I can carry a bag of wipes, in case I have to go poop, so that's a nice addition. Plus, with the extra room I can carry bottles of aspirin, and Ibuprofen, gloves, and face shields, along with some new clear safety glasses so I don't get someone's spittle in my eyeballs, not that I am trying to talk to anyone. It is nice, my hands stay free to deal with that facemask which I have to remove all the time, I can't handle my own hot breath as I am huffing and puffing from our new much farther parking lot. But it felt good to take stuff with me. I can see me putting in some gum, and maybe a snack, sometimes I wait a good 8 hours before I come home for lunch. Now that I got room, I can carry whatever, not just what fits in my pockets.
4/8/20 Stupid People Are Loud?
I love listening to old Loveline episodes and recently, clips from the show started showing up on Yutube, so I have been enjoying it in bite size portions rather than trying to listen to a whole 1.5 hour episode. This particular thought comes from Adam after dealing with a few too many guys that start every answer with an "ummmm" something lame. After a few of these which the last guy was a bogus caller, Adam goes off and just starts ripping apart the caller with his outburst that stupid people can't help themselves, they are going to be loud, in thoughts and actions. Stupid people don't even realize they make noises when they think, with the "ummm" sound as they try to fashion an excuse when dealing with someone faster thinking than them. Even in something simple, like eating, Adam then also claims that they manage to be loud in this facet of their lives too.
Dr. Drew then countered a little with the opposing thought that as one becomes more enlightened, or smarter, they tend to be interested in quieter activities. Adam of course bowls him over and takes that thought too, saying something like yes, the music smarter people listen to is more subdued, the cars they drive are quieter too, smart people aren't blasting their radios with the windows open looking for attention or have their mufflers dragging and cracking to be loud for no reason. I think even the activities of the enlightened/ educated/ smart people are quieter endeavors too, such as reading, writing, creating.
Life works in mysterious ways, as he then mentions that stupid people should be trying to be quiet and stay "under the radar," but more frequently, when someone gets loud, it is an easy bet that they are probably not geniuses or scholars. I think this extends to people that like to argue with police, usually stupid, that is one people can rarely win, yet the Stupids will try, every time.
I love how he wrapped it up by rounding up the loud motorcycle peeps and making them one loud idiot, which he is not wrong. Why do they have to act like they are special and make their vehicles louder than everyone else's? He mentioned hearing motorcycles in the canyons there in California, but even here in Austin. I can be inside my house and on any given night, some a-hole on a bike will rev it up and you can hear them accelerating all the way down 1st Street.
So, in conclusion, if you find yourself being the loud one in your group, there is a good chance that you are also the stupid one. This is not to insult you, but to take it as a learning moment. Instead of mumbling and grumbling like a stupid person would do, think and reflect. What would a smart person do if accused of being stupid?
Dr. Drew then countered a little with the opposing thought that as one becomes more enlightened, or smarter, they tend to be interested in quieter activities. Adam of course bowls him over and takes that thought too, saying something like yes, the music smarter people listen to is more subdued, the cars they drive are quieter too, smart people aren't blasting their radios with the windows open looking for attention or have their mufflers dragging and cracking to be loud for no reason. I think even the activities of the enlightened/ educated/ smart people are quieter endeavors too, such as reading, writing, creating.
Life works in mysterious ways, as he then mentions that stupid people should be trying to be quiet and stay "under the radar," but more frequently, when someone gets loud, it is an easy bet that they are probably not geniuses or scholars. I think this extends to people that like to argue with police, usually stupid, that is one people can rarely win, yet the Stupids will try, every time.
I love how he wrapped it up by rounding up the loud motorcycle peeps and making them one loud idiot, which he is not wrong. Why do they have to act like they are special and make their vehicles louder than everyone else's? He mentioned hearing motorcycles in the canyons there in California, but even here in Austin. I can be inside my house and on any given night, some a-hole on a bike will rev it up and you can hear them accelerating all the way down 1st Street.
So, in conclusion, if you find yourself being the loud one in your group, there is a good chance that you are also the stupid one. This is not to insult you, but to take it as a learning moment. Instead of mumbling and grumbling like a stupid person would do, think and reflect. What would a smart person do if accused of being stupid?
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
4/7/20 The Savings Of Staying Home?
I really like some of the aspects of this new lifestyle. We had not been able to save money like we have been the last few weeks. First of all, I am not having to fill the Excursion full of gas every two weeks. I filled it two weeks ago, and after working last week, I still have the marker closer to full than 3/4. I am thinking I might get a month out of the one tank of gas. I never thought it was too bad, but some people freak when I say it has a 44 gallon tank and usually I was pumping in $100 to get me through the two weeks or from one pay period to the other. I can add Wife's car, which she went out yesterday just to turn it on. She is homebound and since she isn't driving anywhere, she is not using any gas either. Speaking of her new SUV, she has only gone down to La Pryor once and since the one day has been here, so after three weeks of owning the brand new Telluride, it has only about 450 miles or so, since work is about two hundred miles away. And since we are mentioning the vehicles, with Boy being unemployed, I am paying for his gas and his Shell card (he is really good about gassing up at Shell where I got him a credit card. He has gone from a high of close to $300 at times to $88 last month and this month will have to be even less.
We did have to spend some money I wasn't planning, such as buying the new freezer and after some pressure from my family, another shotgun for home defense. The freezer, though, has been awesome. We have now stocked ourselves pretty well, if we couldn't go out for a week, we would be alright, and maybe even for two weeks, if we were frugal with our eating. I wouldn't want to use it, but if we get to people scavenging for food, is the reason my mom and brothers wanted me to get more guns and ammo. Boy has some by his bed, I have one and Javalina, who I don't quite trust with a gun, has an assortment of throwing knives, and axes I have found at Cabela's and Lowe's. With the food at home and the disappointing Whataburger meal last weekend, I am not looking forward to eating out. Wife cooks her delicious repertoire, she knows what I like and Boy and Sweetie make more exotic stuff to keep me on the edge of my seat. Sometimes I even complain that it looks and smells gross, but just about everything they have made has been equally great, so I am being spoiled by all the great cooking.
Shoot, we were able to transfer money to our savings and it looks like it might make it, since we get paid this week. Usually, Wife tells me to transfer a couple hundred bucks and I do, but then I have to move it back before the next pay period. After transferring like $400 at our last pay period, we still have $200 and no plans to go out with a pay check coming in 3 days and plenty of food still in the house. My brother still thinks I need another gun, maybe a revolver and if we can keep saving some money, I will certainly look to get me a S&W Governor. I like that it will shoot a range of ammo, from shotgun shells, to two different kinds of bullets. Wife can keep the shotgun on her side of the bed at that point.
We did have to spend some money I wasn't planning, such as buying the new freezer and after some pressure from my family, another shotgun for home defense. The freezer, though, has been awesome. We have now stocked ourselves pretty well, if we couldn't go out for a week, we would be alright, and maybe even for two weeks, if we were frugal with our eating. I wouldn't want to use it, but if we get to people scavenging for food, is the reason my mom and brothers wanted me to get more guns and ammo. Boy has some by his bed, I have one and Javalina, who I don't quite trust with a gun, has an assortment of throwing knives, and axes I have found at Cabela's and Lowe's. With the food at home and the disappointing Whataburger meal last weekend, I am not looking forward to eating out. Wife cooks her delicious repertoire, she knows what I like and Boy and Sweetie make more exotic stuff to keep me on the edge of my seat. Sometimes I even complain that it looks and smells gross, but just about everything they have made has been equally great, so I am being spoiled by all the great cooking.
Shoot, we were able to transfer money to our savings and it looks like it might make it, since we get paid this week. Usually, Wife tells me to transfer a couple hundred bucks and I do, but then I have to move it back before the next pay period. After transferring like $400 at our last pay period, we still have $200 and no plans to go out with a pay check coming in 3 days and plenty of food still in the house. My brother still thinks I need another gun, maybe a revolver and if we can keep saving some money, I will certainly look to get me a S&W Governor. I like that it will shoot a range of ammo, from shotgun shells, to two different kinds of bullets. Wife can keep the shotgun on her side of the bed at that point.
Monday, April 6, 2020
4/6/20 Javalina Is Too Much?
We are all trapped in the house as they say, so occasionally Javalina wants to put on his boxing gloves and spar. Wife has always been a toughie, growing up she used to be a tomboy and she always thought she could hang with the boys. A couple nights ago (Saturday) she told Javalina to glove up, she would spar with him. I immediately thought "great, you're just going to get him going and I'll have to take the bulk of his crap two minutes later." He gets all excited, like a puppy that is getting his belly rubbed, anything that involves contact is this boy's favorite thing. Mama tells him to start softly which he does, but he comes in fast, for a big boy, he comes in way too confidently and hot. Within ten seconds, Mama is like stop, stop. Hit softer and back up. He started with his hands not in boxing gloves, just wrapped to protect his hands and wrists. Wife has the sparring gloves, which are like big pads designed to be punched. After a minute of the wraps, Javalina decides the boxing gloves will be better, so they provide more foam/insulation, so Mama won't complain. He comes at her another round and again it's "stop, stop, you are hitting too hard and you're all in my space." Within three minutes she went from "come on little boy to Nah, I don't like doing that." Luckily, I stayed quiet over here by my computer, and the big bull just ran up to his room after he was done.
I think that only gave him a taste because Sunday night he starts up with me to hold the gloves for him. I tried getting out of it by reminding him that is why we have the punching bag. He says that is fine, but he wants to hit a live target. At this point, I have ordered this large body pad which allows him to punch my stomach and sides along my ribs, there is padding about 3-4 inches thick and a normal punch feels solid, but doesn't "hurt". I told him I would do it for a bit. I am not quick at moving the sparring gloves around, but he is quick at the punches. Not only do they come quick, but he has heavy hands, you can feel the punches, even in the sparring gloves on the hands, it doesn't feel like fun.
I took about 4-5 minutes of it, mostly him punching the pad around my body, but even that made me a little nauseous and he was even pushing me back because he comes at you so hard and heavy. I even tried punching back to see him react and he moves out of the way pretty quickly to protect his face and he seems to like when he gets punched in the body, so I had no other choice than to tell him I was done. I hate that he doesn't have his friends around, he really needs that outlet, specially doing his jock activities, but at least we have weights here and he can keep lifting to maintain the gains he has made for whenever or if we ever get to go back to normal.
I think that only gave him a taste because Sunday night he starts up with me to hold the gloves for him. I tried getting out of it by reminding him that is why we have the punching bag. He says that is fine, but he wants to hit a live target. At this point, I have ordered this large body pad which allows him to punch my stomach and sides along my ribs, there is padding about 3-4 inches thick and a normal punch feels solid, but doesn't "hurt". I told him I would do it for a bit. I am not quick at moving the sparring gloves around, but he is quick at the punches. Not only do they come quick, but he has heavy hands, you can feel the punches, even in the sparring gloves on the hands, it doesn't feel like fun.
I took about 4-5 minutes of it, mostly him punching the pad around my body, but even that made me a little nauseous and he was even pushing me back because he comes at you so hard and heavy. I even tried punching back to see him react and he moves out of the way pretty quickly to protect his face and he seems to like when he gets punched in the body, so I had no other choice than to tell him I was done. I hate that he doesn't have his friends around, he really needs that outlet, specially doing his jock activities, but at least we have weights here and he can keep lifting to maintain the gains he has made for whenever or if we ever get to go back to normal.
4/5/20 I Like Rom-Coms And I Cannot Lie?
Well, I thought I was cooler than that, but apparently, the only movies I stay awake for are romantic comedies. I used to joke with Wife that those were chick flicks, but count me as a fan. Since we have been on this corona lockdown, all we can do is watch movies or TV shows and every time we sit and try to watch something different, I fall asleep within ten minutes. But, we have noticed that if we put a lame movie meant for chicks, I tend to stay awake and watch it all the way.
I want to label my favorite type of movie as something along the lines of Lord of the Rings with a touch of magic and heroism mixed in with otherworldly creatures, maybe some space travel and jedis, which Star Wars is another great franchise, but no. I know the Mandalorian was good to great and I had a hard time making it through every episode. The same thing happens again and again, I discovered Locke and Key, which is basically a house where a family lives has magic keys which gives the holder of the keys different powers, such as being able to jump from one door to any other door in the world, simply by thinking about it, then opening the door, or October Faction which is a story about these parents that kill demons and they are pretty good at it, but there is a twist with their kids as the story progresses, but I just couldn't stay awake through these long episodes.
I start figuring something must be wrong with me if I can't hang for a couple hours, even one hour to get through an episode, but then we sit to watch Instant Family last week and I'm laughing and crying through this "lame" movie I shouldn't like, but I stay with from start to finish. We've been testing the theory, two nights ago we saw a totally lame one, To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You, which had a pretty much no name actors list, other than the dad of the girls, John Corbett. The movie was a simple coming of age boy and girl learn about love by pretending to date each other. There wasn't much meat in this one, but I stayed awake. Last night, to top it off, we watched Valentine's Day, mostly because I saw Ashton Kutcher as the lead and Topher Grace, I loved That 70's Show. Halfway through I asked Wife if she had seen it because it looked like something lame she would have watched and she said yes, it plays every year around Valentine's Day on TV. Turns out, it came out 10 years ago, but I hung with it to the end, after we had seen the last half hour or so of Murder Mystery which is a lot like Clue.
I don't know, maybe all those sci-fi fantasy types of shows I should like more take too long to develop and between focusing on some lame premise or closing my eyes, it is easier to close my eyes. Either way, as long as we are all trapped in the house, we can continue cycling through the many different movies and shows which Netflix and Hulu and the rest bring to us. How much would this suck if this was 1980 and we were all trying to run to Blockbuster for some nightly entertainment, that would suck?
I want to label my favorite type of movie as something along the lines of Lord of the Rings with a touch of magic and heroism mixed in with otherworldly creatures, maybe some space travel and jedis, which Star Wars is another great franchise, but no. I know the Mandalorian was good to great and I had a hard time making it through every episode. The same thing happens again and again, I discovered Locke and Key, which is basically a house where a family lives has magic keys which gives the holder of the keys different powers, such as being able to jump from one door to any other door in the world, simply by thinking about it, then opening the door, or October Faction which is a story about these parents that kill demons and they are pretty good at it, but there is a twist with their kids as the story progresses, but I just couldn't stay awake through these long episodes.
I start figuring something must be wrong with me if I can't hang for a couple hours, even one hour to get through an episode, but then we sit to watch Instant Family last week and I'm laughing and crying through this "lame" movie I shouldn't like, but I stay with from start to finish. We've been testing the theory, two nights ago we saw a totally lame one, To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You, which had a pretty much no name actors list, other than the dad of the girls, John Corbett. The movie was a simple coming of age boy and girl learn about love by pretending to date each other. There wasn't much meat in this one, but I stayed awake. Last night, to top it off, we watched Valentine's Day, mostly because I saw Ashton Kutcher as the lead and Topher Grace, I loved That 70's Show. Halfway through I asked Wife if she had seen it because it looked like something lame she would have watched and she said yes, it plays every year around Valentine's Day on TV. Turns out, it came out 10 years ago, but I hung with it to the end, after we had seen the last half hour or so of Murder Mystery which is a lot like Clue.
I don't know, maybe all those sci-fi fantasy types of shows I should like more take too long to develop and between focusing on some lame premise or closing my eyes, it is easier to close my eyes. Either way, as long as we are all trapped in the house, we can continue cycling through the many different movies and shows which Netflix and Hulu and the rest bring to us. How much would this suck if this was 1980 and we were all trying to run to Blockbuster for some nightly entertainment, that would suck?
Saturday, April 4, 2020
4/4/20 Keep It Together Believers?
It looks like there are two groups that gather no matter what. Stupid Spring Breakers whose frontal cortex is undeveloped, so we can almost excuse them for lacking a full brain, and the ultra religious, what is their excuse. Look at New Orleans and blame the college kids who think "me is most important" for the mass and rapid spread that happened there. It is inexcusable but still somewhat understandable for a group that feels bullet proof no matter what.
I just read a story that a pretty big outbreak was just discovered in Sacramento, over 70 people have been identified as having covid-19, and what is their excuse, "well, God will protect us." I really don't mean any disrespect, but if there is a God, didn't he set this test upon us? My mom was trying to talk me into setting some time aside to pray for a little while, but I don't feel comfortable doing that. To me, a god already knows what is going on, he has decided it is ok to set upon the earth an infection that mostly targets the old and feeble, nice plan, Big Guy. If that isn't horrible enough, anybody that approaches them to try and give comforting their last days also stands a good chance of also catching the virus. While we are at it, let's take out the doctors and nurses who normally keep people alive. The only way to stop a family outbreak is to leave the person alone, to die with their own thoughts, having to console themselves that hopefully nobody else in the family died because of me? That is truly the stuff of nightmares, and if people believe in a prayer to god for help, maybe pray for a why? He cannot only be thanked as the solution maker after the engineers and scientists come up with a vaccine or a cure, for He created everything.
Still, people will continue to gather for prayer and I almost understand, that is what people do when they are scared or need comfort, but this time we are being told to stay away from each other. If you must pray, do it alone, just speak to god in your words, it doesn't have to be approved by a priest or some "smarter" clergyman. He, if there is a He, understands your intention, even if you speak in simple words, even if you never do it, even if you think he is an asshole. If a parent gets passed all this and can still love you, surely the creator is a better version of a parent, right?
I am more than a little worried because next week is Easter Sunday and people like to hold on to their traditions. We like to gather with our loved ones and party, whatever that means. We usually go to my moms and BBQ together there at their house, but that is not happening this year. I know it is an important weekend for religious people, but those churches need to stay closed. Still, I can imagine the rivers and lakes lined with people grilling and trying to have a good time, staying 6 feet apart, of course. Man, I miss the good old days when getting together to celebrate meant indigestion from overeating. I hope we can get back to that sooner than later.
I just read a story that a pretty big outbreak was just discovered in Sacramento, over 70 people have been identified as having covid-19, and what is their excuse, "well, God will protect us." I really don't mean any disrespect, but if there is a God, didn't he set this test upon us? My mom was trying to talk me into setting some time aside to pray for a little while, but I don't feel comfortable doing that. To me, a god already knows what is going on, he has decided it is ok to set upon the earth an infection that mostly targets the old and feeble, nice plan, Big Guy. If that isn't horrible enough, anybody that approaches them to try and give comforting their last days also stands a good chance of also catching the virus. While we are at it, let's take out the doctors and nurses who normally keep people alive. The only way to stop a family outbreak is to leave the person alone, to die with their own thoughts, having to console themselves that hopefully nobody else in the family died because of me? That is truly the stuff of nightmares, and if people believe in a prayer to god for help, maybe pray for a why? He cannot only be thanked as the solution maker after the engineers and scientists come up with a vaccine or a cure, for He created everything.
Still, people will continue to gather for prayer and I almost understand, that is what people do when they are scared or need comfort, but this time we are being told to stay away from each other. If you must pray, do it alone, just speak to god in your words, it doesn't have to be approved by a priest or some "smarter" clergyman. He, if there is a He, understands your intention, even if you speak in simple words, even if you never do it, even if you think he is an asshole. If a parent gets passed all this and can still love you, surely the creator is a better version of a parent, right?
I am more than a little worried because next week is Easter Sunday and people like to hold on to their traditions. We like to gather with our loved ones and party, whatever that means. We usually go to my moms and BBQ together there at their house, but that is not happening this year. I know it is an important weekend for religious people, but those churches need to stay closed. Still, I can imagine the rivers and lakes lined with people grilling and trying to have a good time, staying 6 feet apart, of course. Man, I miss the good old days when getting together to celebrate meant indigestion from overeating. I hope we can get back to that sooner than later.
Friday, April 3, 2020
4/3/20 Corona Is Too Close For Comfort?
When I think of Texas having millions of people, a couple thousand being exposed shouldn't seem like enough for us to know anyone, but stuff doesn't always work that way. My brother who is an attorney in south Texas was telling me that another attorney friend of his had an aunt pass away Sunday followed by his mom on Monday, now his friend's brother has gone to the hospital and the older brother is currently on a ventilator. If this isn't scary enough, from my perspective and having my brother getting it, he said another 4 people he deals with semi regularly have also tested positive at the attorney general's office. As he was telling me, a cold feeling passed over me thinking that perhaps my brother has been infected and he is a walking carrier, but then he said he hadn't seen any of these people since early January.
The only good thing about having a ball busting wife is that when she speaks, the husband usually listens and his wife finally told him if you go back to work (he commutes to Laredo daily, over 90 miles away), plan on staying there or at your mother's. I am glad she said this because he was blindly going along with "well, the courts said we have to process the inmates." I am happy he can afford to take a couple months off, if need be, working with that population, one never knows, dealing with the prisoners coming in from Mexico, what he could be exposed to. His little boy has asthma problems, so I can see why his wife would tell him no more. Our dad only stopped smoking about 1-2 years ago when he almost died from pneumonia, so he is another weak link.
Honestly, we have not seen our families since before February, so we are safe from that whole scenario. But, a coworker's son works with the office of the UT president and the president's wife came down with corona, I thought the memo said it was the governor's wife, but I couldn't verify that. The kid placed himself in quarantine and I can only believe my coworker did not visit with the son because she is still working.
Then we have Sweetie living here. Her and Boy have been fairly god at staying away from crowds, but I do worry that she works at HEB as an accountant or something, so she is up in the office, not just amongst the masses, but then she says when she takes a break, random people ask her where this or that is. She said they talk to customers now with a plexiglass shield, but I still worry because of the volume of people going through.
These fucking idiots in charge need to stick to one set of guidelines. One minute telling us to wear a mask, the next, no mask, then no, we ,meant wear a mask. These are the experts and if that is the best we got, people are going to roll their eyes and just do whatever. Other than the fear of dying, these are some of the greatest times we will ever have. I love being forced to be home with my peeps.
The only good thing about having a ball busting wife is that when she speaks, the husband usually listens and his wife finally told him if you go back to work (he commutes to Laredo daily, over 90 miles away), plan on staying there or at your mother's. I am glad she said this because he was blindly going along with "well, the courts said we have to process the inmates." I am happy he can afford to take a couple months off, if need be, working with that population, one never knows, dealing with the prisoners coming in from Mexico, what he could be exposed to. His little boy has asthma problems, so I can see why his wife would tell him no more. Our dad only stopped smoking about 1-2 years ago when he almost died from pneumonia, so he is another weak link.
Honestly, we have not seen our families since before February, so we are safe from that whole scenario. But, a coworker's son works with the office of the UT president and the president's wife came down with corona, I thought the memo said it was the governor's wife, but I couldn't verify that. The kid placed himself in quarantine and I can only believe my coworker did not visit with the son because she is still working.
Then we have Sweetie living here. Her and Boy have been fairly god at staying away from crowds, but I do worry that she works at HEB as an accountant or something, so she is up in the office, not just amongst the masses, but then she says when she takes a break, random people ask her where this or that is. She said they talk to customers now with a plexiglass shield, but I still worry because of the volume of people going through.
These fucking idiots in charge need to stick to one set of guidelines. One minute telling us to wear a mask, the next, no mask, then no, we ,meant wear a mask. These are the experts and if that is the best we got, people are going to roll their eyes and just do whatever. Other than the fear of dying, these are some of the greatest times we will ever have. I love being forced to be home with my peeps.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
4/2/20 12 Hours?
I had been doing my little version of a touchdown dance for the last week coming into this week after I read the e-mail telling us at work yes, you are "essential" but in order to try and stay healthy and to follow the rules of the city to "stay at home", we are to do whatever work to stay current and then we can go home. Everyone that has ever had a job knows we work one of two ways, if we "have to" be at a job for a given amount of work, we will stretch that work to last us most of the time, so it looks like we are busy to anyone looking in from the outside. The other way to do it is if there is no "timed" component tied to the work and the important part is to get the work done, most of us can find tricks and shortcuts to get done much faster, that is just facts.
I will start with the sentence that I love where I work and I wouldn't do anything to hurt our bottom line and most days in the last 24 years that I have been an employee if I need to stay a little longer I do, no problem. But suddenly, we are in a new world, no one really knows how so many people are contracting corona so easily. There are new reports that it might even be air born, that it stays alive on surfaces, like doors and countertops, and the only thing we can be sure of is that being home is the safest thing for us, right now. That was what the message was last week, so hell yeah, time to work at optimal speed, no slowing down to go make coffee, no sitting down to get my mind eased into working with a few music videos to get me in the mood, shit. I was planning my day since 5:00pm, looking at our online list of work, and planning in my head how to run them the fastest. we technically have two identical tools in the room which we are qualified to run our work on. We usually stick to the one that is ours, the other one belongs to the other company that shares the lab space with us. But if I only have two jobs and I can split them between the two jobs and be done in 4 hours versus 8, wouldn't you do the same?
The funny thing was that after being all giddy at the new set up all last weekend, I come in this week to a new and improved memo, that because I am an hourly and not exempt I "need to work the 12 hours" to get paid. This set me off the rails and if I wasn't so level headed I would have thrown computers across the room, I have never gotten more pissed. The company has made a career of modifying the rules to make people happy, such as allowing exempts to get paid OT, the only reason I refused to become an exempt in the first place. I called my direct supervisor, the most level headed of my "bosses" and he quickly apologized and said he knew as he wrote that part of the memo that it wasn't right, but the rest of the people in the room were overreacting and actually trying to help me. "Help me?" I asked with foam coming out of my mouth, "by making me stay here by force, to be the first one in the company to get sick? and then what? when I die, who is going to give a shit?" He was trying his best to apologize and insist that wasn't the intention, that they just wanted to make sure I didn't lose money in the whole deal. I explained that in this time, who gives a shit whether I am here or not, as long as the work gets done? I would not abandon the work as long as I am healthy, I know that affects our bottom line, but once it gets done, I should be treated just as fairly as the rest of the people and be allowed to go home. In this new environment, none of us knows how much longer we will be around, we should be allowed the free time we have to be with our loved ones. Shit, if you contract it, and die, that's it, no more contact with the people you love, just a cold medical bed and buried alone, for fear of infecting family, it is a horrible way to go.
He agreed with me, so I let my anger go. We both agreed I would just fill my timecard as if I was there the full twelve hours and leave it alone. I am sure someone above will not like it and still insist I have to be there, but maybe if I suggest to them I'll have a coffee with them at their house after any of my 12 hour shifts, they will come around. Yeah, some of the people insisting I be there 12 hours, were also the first to isolate themselves and decide it is best for them to work from home, I mean that sounds fair, right? If all that doesn't seem that bad to y'all, there was also a sentence in the memo that said "Mando needs to have work for the full twelve hours, so if the workload is light, just leave it for him."
I will start with the sentence that I love where I work and I wouldn't do anything to hurt our bottom line and most days in the last 24 years that I have been an employee if I need to stay a little longer I do, no problem. But suddenly, we are in a new world, no one really knows how so many people are contracting corona so easily. There are new reports that it might even be air born, that it stays alive on surfaces, like doors and countertops, and the only thing we can be sure of is that being home is the safest thing for us, right now. That was what the message was last week, so hell yeah, time to work at optimal speed, no slowing down to go make coffee, no sitting down to get my mind eased into working with a few music videos to get me in the mood, shit. I was planning my day since 5:00pm, looking at our online list of work, and planning in my head how to run them the fastest. we technically have two identical tools in the room which we are qualified to run our work on. We usually stick to the one that is ours, the other one belongs to the other company that shares the lab space with us. But if I only have two jobs and I can split them between the two jobs and be done in 4 hours versus 8, wouldn't you do the same?
The funny thing was that after being all giddy at the new set up all last weekend, I come in this week to a new and improved memo, that because I am an hourly and not exempt I "need to work the 12 hours" to get paid. This set me off the rails and if I wasn't so level headed I would have thrown computers across the room, I have never gotten more pissed. The company has made a career of modifying the rules to make people happy, such as allowing exempts to get paid OT, the only reason I refused to become an exempt in the first place. I called my direct supervisor, the most level headed of my "bosses" and he quickly apologized and said he knew as he wrote that part of the memo that it wasn't right, but the rest of the people in the room were overreacting and actually trying to help me. "Help me?" I asked with foam coming out of my mouth, "by making me stay here by force, to be the first one in the company to get sick? and then what? when I die, who is going to give a shit?" He was trying his best to apologize and insist that wasn't the intention, that they just wanted to make sure I didn't lose money in the whole deal. I explained that in this time, who gives a shit whether I am here or not, as long as the work gets done? I would not abandon the work as long as I am healthy, I know that affects our bottom line, but once it gets done, I should be treated just as fairly as the rest of the people and be allowed to go home. In this new environment, none of us knows how much longer we will be around, we should be allowed the free time we have to be with our loved ones. Shit, if you contract it, and die, that's it, no more contact with the people you love, just a cold medical bed and buried alone, for fear of infecting family, it is a horrible way to go.
He agreed with me, so I let my anger go. We both agreed I would just fill my timecard as if I was there the full twelve hours and leave it alone. I am sure someone above will not like it and still insist I have to be there, but maybe if I suggest to them I'll have a coffee with them at their house after any of my 12 hour shifts, they will come around. Yeah, some of the people insisting I be there 12 hours, were also the first to isolate themselves and decide it is best for them to work from home, I mean that sounds fair, right? If all that doesn't seem that bad to y'all, there was also a sentence in the memo that said "Mando needs to have work for the full twelve hours, so if the workload is light, just leave it for him."
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
4/1/20 We Train Them To Be Social, Now What?
My greatest joy in fatherhood has been watching my two boys become part of teams at school, Boy was passionate about the rocket teams and even the robot teams he joined at Akins, it was fun to see him committing so much of himself to something. He did play football too, in junior high, which is something he probably wouldn't have done on his own, but as far as what he got out of it, the friends and good times, I think it served him well. The biggest parties we had were from those kids he met playing football. He always had his core friends, the ones that were at the house every weekend, but he also had the rest of them, some would only come once in a while, but it had to be good for the soul to have friends at many levels, some people you can only stand to be around once in a while, but it is still better to be friends and allies with than to be whatever the opposite is.
I feel the same with Javalina and his love of football and the track and field events he does. He loves getting out there and being a part of something bigger than himself. I notice he too has his core friends, the ones he allows to come to the house and spend the night, and then he has a lot of other kids I see he interacts with doing those funky little handshakes or playing grabass with as he seems to have to do with anybody that is near his size. He is like a ram that must instantly lock horns with any other ram his size just to see how they compare. I find this a bit odd as I was never one of those touchy grabby dudes with other dudes.
But now what? It seems more and more likely that to contain this nasty virus, the kids will not go to school the rest of the year, fine. There needs to be a solution before the following school year starts or there may not be a start. even if it starts somehow, no way will they allow full on contact football where blood and spit and so much of the individual is smeared on his opponent, and from another school or region, no way.
Maybe I am worried about stuff I don't have to be. Sweetie described Boy's birthday celebration as him getting together with his Dallas friends out on some virtual island. They all have the same video game and it allows their avatars to mingle on a screen together so they managed to party together anyway. Most nights I can try to talk to Boy in his room and I can even say hi to his friends online as they play some other video game together where thay are constantly killing dragons, or something outlandish.
Javalina is pretty much in the same boat. He closes his door because he is a nasty potty mouth when they are playing games online. Sometimes I open the door to try and talk to him and he will be online with a handful of boys, so I guess kids will find a way to hang out. He does keep asking if his friends can come over, and although we want to, it just isn't the right thing to do. At least for now, keep meeting virtually y'all.
I feel the same with Javalina and his love of football and the track and field events he does. He loves getting out there and being a part of something bigger than himself. I notice he too has his core friends, the ones he allows to come to the house and spend the night, and then he has a lot of other kids I see he interacts with doing those funky little handshakes or playing grabass with as he seems to have to do with anybody that is near his size. He is like a ram that must instantly lock horns with any other ram his size just to see how they compare. I find this a bit odd as I was never one of those touchy grabby dudes with other dudes.
But now what? It seems more and more likely that to contain this nasty virus, the kids will not go to school the rest of the year, fine. There needs to be a solution before the following school year starts or there may not be a start. even if it starts somehow, no way will they allow full on contact football where blood and spit and so much of the individual is smeared on his opponent, and from another school or region, no way.
Maybe I am worried about stuff I don't have to be. Sweetie described Boy's birthday celebration as him getting together with his Dallas friends out on some virtual island. They all have the same video game and it allows their avatars to mingle on a screen together so they managed to party together anyway. Most nights I can try to talk to Boy in his room and I can even say hi to his friends online as they play some other video game together where thay are constantly killing dragons, or something outlandish.
Javalina is pretty much in the same boat. He closes his door because he is a nasty potty mouth when they are playing games online. Sometimes I open the door to try and talk to him and he will be online with a handful of boys, so I guess kids will find a way to hang out. He does keep asking if his friends can come over, and although we want to, it just isn't the right thing to do. At least for now, keep meeting virtually y'all.
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