3/22/21 Resorting To Rabbit Ears ?

     If there was anything to complain about our condo, it is that we did not have internet.  It is so hard to get by without checking in with the world from time to time.  I love getting up at 7:00-8:00am, before Wife even thinks about even going to the bathroom and just drink my coffee in piece and watch an assortment of videos to catch up with the goings on in the world.  Knowing we weren't going to have internet in the condo was bad enough, but then we discovered that since the freeze, they have had trouble with their cable, so there really was no information coming in to our unit.

    I got smart and figured if the cable did not want to work, I should still be able to hook up some good old fashioned rabbit ears and make that give me some local programming.  It was harder than I thought it would be, HEB had a very small selection but they did have rabbit ears or antennas that connect via coaxial cable.  Once I got that figured out, it took me a bit because the TV only had one button but I figured after playing with it that leaning it to the left or right and up and down did the function of 4-5 buttons.

    Once I got all that squared away, we found a comedy channel and I kind of just left it there, and they ended up playing old 70's show reruns at night, then other old comedies like Home Improvement and Grace Under Fire.  It is not that I like these other shows, 70's Show is one of my all time favorites, but the rest were just meh, but it was something to have on while drinking my coffee and cookies.  I also left the TV on while I fell asleep on the couch, which happened every night.  The sofa was pretty okay, with a reclining option on both ends of the sofa.

    There was another TV in the bedroom and I thought about buying two sets of rabbit ears, they were only $8, but we didn't really watch that much TV, it was only at night and early in the morning and mostly just me.  Wife just always seems to be busy cleaning up after us and Baby A was content to lay in his room playing on his phone.  These phones really do it all today, I even contemplated turning Wife's into a hotspot to get internet capability, but I don't want to start messing with the payment we pay monthly.

    As Wife said, it was good for us to disconnect for a couple days, I was a little bothered because I like to stay on top of my blogs and whatever daily news is out, but I have to admit that at a certain point, I wasn't thinking I needed any of it.

3/21/21 Vacation Was What It Is Supposed To Be? (part 3 of 3)

     I was a little slower to get up Friday, I think I got up at 9:00am, drank my coffee and waited for the day to begin.  While perusing one of the local ad magazine thingies, I saw a boat show out on Padre Balli Park, which is where Bob Hall Pier is at.  This is where we always go to go to the beach.  My mom called and asked what the plans were for the day, I had asked Wife if it was cool to go check out the boats at the show for a little while and she said sure, if parking and entry is free, so I told my mom that I wanted to check this out.  She seemed agreeable on the phone.

    We went and got them, but of course before doing anything, we had to go eat lunch.  We agreed on the Mexican Restaurant again, it is pretty good and the prices are fair.  We ate, then we headed out to the boat show.  My brother is not into anything I am into, and he expressed it, deciding to stay in the car.  My mom used to be adventurous and I thought she might find the idea of a boat show interesting, I don't know why, also decided to stay in the car.  I then promised I would be quick, just a quick glimpse at what they had and possibly how much these boats are selling for.  The prices were astronomical, and the smallest boat I saw was in the 21foot range, which is too long to fit in my garage.  These boats were also very costly, the cheapest price I saw was $48,000 and the priciest was $179,000.  It did not take long to feel like this was not the boat show I was hoping for.  I would have liked to see some smaller bay boats, maybe some of these micro boats I see online.  I want something sturdy for 1-3 people that will be under 18 feet to fit in the garage.

    This is where it got a little interesting, my mom had told me to "take your dad fishing, maybe he'll relax."  I wanted time to do that too, so after we left there we stopped at the souvenir shops and while they were inside looking, I sat outside with my dad talking and thought I could get more shrimp at the gas station next door and we could just fish in the canal at our condo.  My thought is that my mom and brother could either hang out with us or wait in the condo, drinking coffee or whatever else.  My brother then came out suggesting he wanted to go to a bookstore, which is fine, but I had just bought stinky shrimp and mullet, I can't just go and park outside the bookstore for an hour and chill, the Telluride would get stinky.  I then suggested I could take him to get my folk's truck and he could drive himself to the bookstore, he has a driver's license.  My mom decided she needed to go with him, so we dropped the two of them off and we headed back to our condo with my dad.  We actually had a great time with dad, we had the pier to ourselves, he got to sit on a bench right by the water and he caught two fish which got him all excited, a small perch, and a croaker that was a little bigger.  We fished for over an hour, even Baby A went out and he was being goofy naming a small crab bait Merlin and telling us how he was going to catch something magical, only to see Merlin gutted and only the shell returned to him.

    After this, we got back with my mom and brother and went to eat at Outback, which was a mistake.  Outback is great, but it shouldn't take two hours of waiting (they sold the wait with "it'll only be 40-50 minutes").  I said screw it, we were in the car, I leaned back and napped for a good hour.  When we finally got our food, my steak was charred, lifeless, and lukewarm.  Wife had the same problem.  Mijo was all excited, I let him order the steak and lobster plate, but the lobster was barely two bites worth of meat and the filet mignon looked like a piece of hamburger patty.  I complained when the server asked how our meal was (I would never call the manager to complain, but if you ask me, I won't lie and just say it was great if it sucked), he then said he would call the manager, I told him "y'all are a steak restaurant, we shouldn't be excited because you got the sides just right.  Wife was halfway through her meal and still waiting on the ribs, her sirloin, ordered medium rare, was blackened and dry on both sides.  We did at least get 50% off our meal, so I guess bitching can help, but we got there around 7:00, the sun was still up and we didn't leave until 11:00pm.  Four hours for a burned steak meal is not a great evening.  We dropped off our parents and went home.

    We had a problem with some jack-off parking in one of our two parking spots, but parking so far over he made it very hard for me to park our car in the other spot.  I would have been fine with this asshole taking one of the spots, I never saw who it was, but he parked so badly, I had a hard time parking my vehicle.  The security guy tried helping me find another spot, but they were pretty full.  The have notices of "towing enforced", but the security guy says they won't really do it, unless approved by management, I guess they fear being sued.  I managed to park and it was fine, this wasn't the fault of the condo, just an asshole being and asshole.

Who does this?  Steal the spot, but leave the other one open, Jackass.

3/20/21 Vacation Was What It Is Supposed To Be? (part 2 of 3)

     The second day started just as lazy as the first one ended.  I got up at 8:00am, but had no internet, so I drank my coffee and looked at my phone for awhile.  I went outside to enjoy the water view, checked on my vehicle, checked its oil, and went back and I guess napped on the sofa with the TV on until Wife woke around 11:00am.  We then went to get some breakfast tacos at the same Mexican restaurant and took them home.  We ate breakfast together on the little table in the dining area which was faced with 4 floor to ceiling windows overlooking the outside, I really loved the view and seeing water right outside.  After we ate, Mijo suggested we hang out and sold it to me with "dad, you look like you need to nap..." I agreed since they were in no hurry and we were kind of waiting on my folks to show up around 5:00pm.

    We all napped and were lazy until about that time, and then we all woke ready to go run around.  We left and it seemed like I timed it perfectly, I had called my folks and they said they were about a half hour away, by the time we left the condo and headed their way, I saw them on the road, turning on the street where their RV park is at.  We all arrived at their park at the same time and we helped them get the RV set up.  This took a little while, but eventually we unhooked the RV from the pickup and they are set for the summer.  We then all jumped in our Telluride, which sits 6, but it was a little cramped in the backseat with our big boy and my brother, who is about my size as well.  We made it work, and we took off to doa more traditional Gallegos vacation.  My parents like to go by the T-heads, we tried to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, but we are still waiting for the text to let us know our table is ready.  The wait was going to be 1.5 hours at 7:15pm.  I suggested we drive around and find another place.  We ended up doing the drive around the bay, and ended up getting on the ferry to cross from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas.  We then drove around Port Aransas and ate at Grumble's Seafood on the Fisherman's Wharf.  I didn't understand why we had to order like animals in line, I told Wife not to leave a tip.  Most of their tables were empty, yet there were 40 people standing in line to order.  It took a while to make it to the front, it was expensive for what we got, but I guess it was good.  I ordered a shrimp burger which also had a fried green tomato, it was delicious but for $16.99, I thought it should have more than 4 small shrimp in it.  All the plates were good, but we all left hungry, I am sure.  After this, we took my folks to our condo so they could see where we were staying at, then eventually took them home.

    We came back around 11:00pm and had a mixed drink or two.  We were hard asleep by 1:00am.  I think I just fell asleep on the sofa and eventually made my way over to the bed later.  This was another good day (Thursday), if not a little slow to get going, but it was laid back.

3/19/21 Vacation Was What It Is Supposed To Be? (part 1 of 3)

     I was nervous and excited to finally go on a vacation this past week (we did not have internet, so I am behind on my blogs), and now that we are back home, I have to say it was great to get out of our normal routine.  We left Wednesday afternoon around noon since check-in was supposed to be around 4:00pm.  We made great time, although a lot of people might be on vacation, there were not a lot of travelers on the road, on a Wednesday.  There were a couple of tense moments, such as arriving to our condo.  We had not stayed there and upon first opinions, it looked like we were driving into a slum or rough neighborhood, which scared me a bit.  The units are old, probably built in the 70's, and at this point may have more paint than concrete on the outside walls, but once we actually got to our building, it felt very homey.  The complex had 4-5 buildings, was right next to a Sonic, there was a bar in the front and a Whataburger next to it.  We have driven by this location right as you go over the JFK causeway to Port Aransas from Corpus Christi all f our lives and never noticed it.  The back and what our building backed up against was a huge canal on two sides, so the whole backyard was perfection for me.  I dream of owning something like this, with water next to it.  There was a fishing pier, slots for rent to put a boat and leave it in the water, an indoor and outdoor pool, and the vibe of all the people we met there was that everyone was there to have a good time and nobody was in a rush to go anywhere.

    The first day we arrived, dropped off our stuff and went to HEB to get some groceries.  We did not eat on the road and by that time Baby A was seriously hungry, so we stopped and ate at this restaurant we have always eaten at, some little Mexican restaurant.  The meal was great and then we went to HEB which is on the same block.  We decided we were going to eat out all our meals, so we only needed some snacks and drinks.  We then took our stuff back and by then it was getting a little close to the sun going down.  We went out to the pool with swimming stuff, just in case, but I stepped in the water and my junk pretty much buried itself in my stomach, ooh it was freezing just stepping on the first step.  Wife, being built like a polar bear stepped in and kept stepping in.  She went in straight away and started swimming within a few minutes.  I then had to rally the last bit of manhood in me and follow her in.  I listen to Adam Carolla's podcast and he is constantly going on about how it is good for one to jump in the cold water daily so I wanted to try it.  After getting in and acclimating, it isn't that bad.  We were in the water for a good 10-15 minutes, then we got out and went to get some dinner.  We got Whataburger, came back and then Wife and I went fishing just there in the backyard.  It is so convenient when you can do stuff right where you are and not have to drive to locations.  We caught a couple of fish each, all tiny perch type, nothing to brag about, but it was still loads of fun.  The wind was blowing hard and annoying, but it was still manageable.  I would call this a perfect day of fun and relaxation.  As for the complex, once we went in and out a couple times, we felt a good vibe and our unit had two reserved spots for parking in the lower level of the building and the parking area was very well lit and there is security walking around, so it was all good.

Out the other side of condo.

night fishing on the pier

Wife with her first catch of the year

view of canal out of our living room

being brave in the pool

night fishing

3/18/21 Dammit, Do I Hate Dogs?

     I know I can't win in this country, people love their freaking pets, but I cannot stand a fucking dog.  I have tried my best not to have any and still, it is like I have had one now for about three years.  First off Girlie and her idiot boyfriend had a dog and the dog was kind of great for short periods of time.  I was kind of hesitant to allow it in my house, but I was assured it was a very docile and trained husky that hardly barked.  I guess the training matters, the owner kept him on a very short leash and any unapproved behavior was dealt with swiftly and kind of harsh, but still.  The dog being a husky and apparently an escape artist, so much so that his collar said that was constantly getting out of our property.  My old fence was no match for that dog, he would find any loose or old board and punch right thru.  It always seemed to happen when the owner and Girlie would leave for work.  I fucking had to go find that stupid thing after calls from my neighbors and/or posts on FB in our community.  The dog was not aggressive, but it was still a good sized husky dog.

    After they moved out, DD moved back in, but since the last GF had been a dog person, she got him to adopt a pitbull mix.  I wasn't sure I even wanted to allow him in, but the kid is a good guy and once I met the dog, I was almost okay.  He assured me, like every dog owner in the world does, that his dog is a sweetheart and he is super mellow.  Meeting a pitbull for the first time is a little jarring, the thick bucket head and that smiling face, almost clown like can be menacing, not to mention that they are so solid and muscular compared to my mom's dachshund or chihuahua.  Ghost is a lot of dog, but I guess the fact that he was neutered at a young age made him very docile and again, the owner does not fuck around, when he has barked once or twice in the house, he is met with stern discipline almost instantly.  Still, the dog exudes strength just in coming to say hi.  You have to brace to brace yourself and more than once, he has knocked over both of my boys when he comes running up to them and he bumps into them excitedly.  This dog is also pretty cool, but dogs are like having extra kids that need a lot of attention.

    I was awoken by my neighbor texting me that Ghost got into their yard this morning, the good thing is that they had their dogs inside, but they got all excited and started barking up a storm, waking them up super early.  DD was gone to work by then, I don't think he even realized what the stupid dog had done, he lets him out while he goes and gets ready for work.  I know it isn't the dog's fault, but we have now replaced two of the three sides of fence and we had left some of the old sections leaning against the fence between us and I guess that was hiding a hole the dog managed to get through.  I had been eyeing a loose board I meant to fix, but it was loose on top.  I figured this is the one that had fallen, but it was another part.  Needless to say, I ended up screwing in about ten loose boards and putting a couple of new boards over the place where the hole in the fence was made.  All this, at 6:30am, in the dark, with a flashlight.  Fucking awesome way to start the day.  Dopey Wife just rolls over when I come back in and tells me to come back to bed and sleep some more.  Yeah, great idea once I have been out doing work, lifting fence sections and going thru the garage looking for my drills and bits and working by dim light half expecting to run into a raccoon or snake while moving those ten foot fence sections.  I was all hot and was full of adrenaline or whatever, to the point that it felt hot in the house, it was probably in the low 60s outside while it was 73 inside, so it just felt hot, no way was I going to lay down for another while.

3/17/21 Vacation Excitement?

     It is hard to believe that it has been over a year that we have been on vacation.  Since Covid-19 started pretty much exactly a year ago, I remember Baby A went on Spring Break and never went back to classes, we have stayed home most of the time.  We have visited my folks a handful of times as well as Wife's people, but we haven't ventured out on a fun destination in the last twelve months.

    I am excited and nervous at the same time.  Wife went back to work Monday and Tuesday and Mijo and I stayed home to take care of some last minute things.  I finally got everything done to get our $800 rebate from the city after installing our new A/Cs in November.  I fixed the signal light on the Excursion, and the grill just a couple hours ago.  Wife got home with a head of steam, as usual.  She had already packed her bag on Sunday night for both going to Work in La Pryor and for vacation.  I wasn't even sure where my luggage was at.  Baby A was busy washing some clothes to take and saving the world on his PS4.  Wife was not having any of that.  Packing makes a trip real, I went in the garage and pulled out some fishing rods, just in case, along with my tackle box and a cooler, I can't believe we don't own a Yeti or one of those clones, but I can't pull the trigger on a $200-$300 cooler that barely holds a six pack.  We have a perfect sized Igloo cooler that probably cost me $20 ten years ago.  It will probably hold a bag of ice and a case of soda cans, we really aren't alcohol drinkers, so sodas it is.

    Along with my fishing gear, I thought about loading the kayaks I bought, but two of them are still in the boxes and the one I opened is pretty heavy to just load in for a "maybe it will get used."  Wife showed me some pics of the coast and there seemed to be thousands of people out on the beaches, if so, I don't think I will really want to hang out there too long and I am not going to go through the trouble of carrying this 100 pound kayak and accessories for ten minutes of use.  I do need to get our folding chairs from the Excursion since I believe we are going in Wife's Telluride.  She is not excited about taking it near sand, but the point of that car is for our family trips, and this is very much our first family trip we are taking since we bought it.  I am almost inclined to take the Escape we just bought, I am really enjoying it, but the Telluride is roomier and actually gives us better gas mileage.

    It does kind of suck that Boy will not be joining us, but at this point, I don't think he would join us even if he hadn't used up all his vacation time covering that week when we had the ice storm.  He will be staying to work and probably spend time with his girl.  It will just be Wife, Baby A, and myself tomorrow.  My folks and sister will show up on Thursday with their RV.  I am excited about the condo we got if it is what it advertises.  There is supposed to be a waterfront canal outside the back, if so, we might just be able to fish right there, or it might stink because of all the fish that died during the snow storm, which I have seen several videos that the coast was hard hit.  We shall see.

3/16/21 Finally, TIme To Fix Things?

     I feel pretty good about my abilities right about now.  I managed to fix both a problem on my Excursion and my beloved pellet grill.  I know Amazon is now the devil with their leaning towards these communists trying to run the country and ban books, but man, I can't help get things done by ordering stuff on there to fix things.  My Excursion's right front blinker had gone funky the last couple months.  I tried fixing it by bending the wires, it seems the old age of the socket led the metal to loose solid contact with the light bulb.  I kind of fixed it for a time by bending it in and forcing contact with the bulb, but after awhile this fix stopped working.  On top of that, I had glanced at the socket and ordered one that looked kind of like it.  The questions and comments said it worked on some Fords, so I took a chance.  Those parts did not work, the socket only had two clips to grab the housing and the one I have has three.  This time, I looked at it carefully, took a bunch of pictures, which helped because after making sure the clips were in the correct position, I still almost ordered one with the locking clip on the opposite side.  After making sure, the pictures online exactly matched the pictures I took, I ordered my part Sunday night.  At the same time, I ordered a new ignitor coil and temperature probe for my grill.  I am on Spring Break this week, so I had time on Sunday, as I said to take the grill pretty much completely apart.

    I had all day and nothing to do, of course, the parts didn't show up until 6:30pm and as soon as I got the packages and got excited to go outside to work, my stomach decided I needed to go poop.  Another hour later, I also showered, I was ready to work, but now it was dark, but I was already set in my head that I was going to do this.  I put on my forehead light and went to work.  I had managed to get the Excursion part installed in about five minutes, at this point, I have already opened that signal light thing about 4-5 times, so it was easy to do.  The grill was more of a challenge, but I started with the temperature probe on the side of the grill wall, away from everything else.  It was easy enough and the part looked pretty identical to the one I removed.  After this, I just worked in reverse order, starting with the innermost part, the ignitor coil on the burn box.  I ran the new wire through the opening as the youtube video showed, then I tied down the screw.  I was a little worried about the wire not being as long as the original, but it was long enough.  After this, I just worked out, adding all the accessory metal parts until I ran out of screws.  This took me more than an hour, and I was not 100% sure this would fix the problem, but the two errors I have seen were related to the temperature probe, ER2, and the ignitor coil, ER5.  I filled the hopper with pellets while Wife ran to get some Popeye's Chicken, then we ate while I ran a test run, seeing what temperature it would get to at LOW, when it would normally read 440.  It got to 428, which is close enough for me.  I loved not seeing either error code on the screen, and I will probably order another temperature probe to have a back-up.  The ignitor coil came in a package of two, so I have a back-up for that, and I even have two more auger motors which I ordered when I had problems with that.  There aren't many other parts on the grill, I haven't messed with, I guess there is a fan that makes it a convection oven, and I might have to replace that later, but as hard as I have run this grill, I am not surprised I am having to replace parts like this already.  These parts were both about $10 a piece, so better this than to be out shopping for a new grill.  Plus, it feels great knowing I can fix things.