I GOT A LOTTA PROBLEMS WITH YOU PEOPLE, AND TONIGHT YOU’RE GONNA HEAR ALL ABOUT IT.
This year it’s mainly companies who can’t pack shipping boxes for shit, and maskless people(pro tip: it’s a mask, not a jaw sling). But Festivus is Wednesday, Christmas is Friday, Boxing Day is Saturday, and the start of Kwanzaa.
So throw out a grievance, or just hijack away.
FIRST!! 'Tis, indeed, good to be juvenile.
I have a grievance with doggio who started the Christmas MMP just a smidgen before I could!
I also came in extra early to start one since I have been MIA. First of all Merry Christmas and Happy Festivus to those that celebrate.
And second, I saw my baby boy this weekend. I have’t seen him in years. He and his girl Jenn, who is an absolute doll, came in on Friday night and left yesterday afternoon. They went and stocked up for me at the grocery store. I had not been in three weeks. They cooked me the most amazing meals and she was able to walk BuddyBoy right off the bat. They brought their dog, a brindle Pit Bull, the best trained dog I have ever seen. Even with Buddy trying to pick a fight with him he just ignored him.
I have been crippled with a bad knee. I saw the orthopedic doctor on Thursday and he X-rayed it and found the arthritis is so much worse than just a year ago. I got the lubricating shots in both knees and another cortisone in the worst one. I still think there is more going on in there so next step is an MRI unless I see major improvement soon. I went to bed at 730 last night thus why I am awake at 0330.
My plan is to leave here very early on Christmas Eve morning and drive to the Space coast and stay with my son and Jenn for the long weekend. They have a nice big privacy fenced yard so Buddy will be able to run and play and wear himself out. I will work as usual from home and give him a much needed bath on Tuesday. I have not been anywhere but a hospital in so long. My work has relaxed our travel standards to 350 miles and Melbourne is under that so no ROM needed.
My employee that flew to PA over Thanksgiving did get sick. Her and her husband and child all had the Rona with mild symptoms so the ROM (restriction of movement) worked this time. She had to take off two weeks once they returned and thank goodness it worked.
I have a new boss finally and she and I get along just fine. In fact I like her very much.
I met with our CPA and gave Brian, hubs employee, that has been keeping the A/C business running a 10% stake in the company and I drew out cash and gave all employees nice Christmas bonuses. It’s what hubs would have done. I also met with another A/C contractor that is going to qualify my company with his license until Brian can get his, so this allows us to continue to operate legally. All he wanted was for Brian to catch a few calls for him on the weekends when he goes to his real home in Ft Myers. Again, Karma had blessed me as this contractor had met my hubs while on vacation here and needed a part and hubs happily provided it for no charge. This guy is doing a credit check and background check on me and Brian but no fear. I have excellent credit and no background hits. I am taking a regular paycheck from the business and have an appointment to start getting social security survivors benefits. I will have three forms of income. More than enough to live and continue to save. I could not be happier about all this.
I shall have to go back and see what you all have been up to. Have a Great new week all.
Slept with Mel last night, but it was a lesser Mel, and I was awake at 3:30. I gave up a bit after 5, so I’m up, critters are fed, and I’m finishing breakfast. Daughter will be here around 8, and we’ll head north.
{{{Butters!!!}}} Sounds like you’re settling in well. And yay for seeing your son! Be safe as you travel to visit him - when we were in Ocala last month, I felt like the locals weren’t taking the virus seriously at all - hope Melbourne is better.
Hoping that our replacement credit cards show up soon. A new account number has been assigned and the balance has been transferred - we just need cards in hand. I don’t like using the debit card - someone stealing that could empty our savings. But with the holiday and mailing insanities that come this time of year, I’m not surprised we don’t have the new cards yet.
Anyway, I’ll be absent much of today, so behave yourselves and keep your shoes off the furniture! Were you raised in a barn?!?!?! 
Happy Moanday!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 48 Amurrkin out and foggy, with a predicted high of 61 and cloudy for the day. ICK! This bein’ Moanday, we shall spiff da cave. I have a doc appt. this mornin’ as well which will involve the vampire. While I am out, I shall make a run to 
Wally*World for a few needed items. This will be the only grocery type run for the week. Neither one of us wants to be out in the crazy that is folks shoppin’ for their Christmas feast. Sup shall be sallit with grilled chiken tenders and cheesey garlic bread. That should be enough to keep us outta trouble for the day, I reckon.
{{{Butters}}} yay for a nice visit with your son and yay that you are goin’ up to see him this week. Glad you like your boss and great to see things movin’ along with hubs company. No fun havin’ to deal with all that, I know, but looks like you’re doin’ a great job with it all.
MOOOOOOM y’all have fun up north. You forgot to say use coasters, so if there are rings on the coffee table and end tables it will be your fault.
Hmmm… Festivus grievance… I know, I got a grievance with everyone for bein’ so dang nice up in here! How is a grumpy old man supposed to be grumpy if y’all keep makin’ him smile! HARRRUMMMPH!
Now I need more caffeine and rumbly tummy wants to be fed. Then, alas, alack, woe, and bother of bothers, I suppose I must purtify and don appropriate bein’ about the public attire. My life is just so hard!
Happy Moanday Y’all!
Morning, mumpers! I had to get up reasonably early to take Ophelia to the vet for her vaccinations. She was very well-behaved and the vet complimented her on being such a pretty (and shiny clean) white cat. She’s 16 and doing very well for her age although she’s not as active as she used to be, but doesn’t exhibit any mobility problems which is a blessing. She has a cyst on her neck which gets drained now and then, it’s been through a biopsy and there’s nothing wrong, it just comes and goes. She has lost quite a bit of weight though, but I think that as she moves around less, she eats less but we’ll keep an eye on that. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong with her so they’ve left it up to us to decide if we want to have blood tests and whatnot .
Butters sounds like the universe is smiling on you again, I hope everything works out with the business, it certainly sounds promising.
Festivus grievance? Mine would have to be the idiots in this country who have put us in the gloomy position we’re in. I hates the lot of you, I does!
From the last MMP - @SCAdian I’ve driven from the Midlands to Glasgow/Largs in one day, takes between 5-7hrs depending on traffic, and usually manage it with only one stop for food/petrol. It’s pretty much all motorway from here to there, and generally a long and boring drive with only a few places where the scenery’s worth looking at. Usually we go by train which is much easier all round, but at the moment neither of us fancies the idea of that!
Right…need a cuppa then on with the day’s list. I’ve already dyed my hair and done the vet visit, got to drop off birthday and xmas pressies at a friend’s door later, and go to the gym this afternoon. And it’s my turn to make dinner tonight so I need to decide what we’re having. Tea first, though!
ha… you know how I was ranting? well, the bs continues …right after thanksgiving out dryer gave out … called sears and they sent out an asshole out on the 9nth who did nothing but argue with us …but they basically have to rebuild it …so they sent us a bunch of parts except the most important one which is back-ordered til gods know when … so we’re under consideration for a replacement which according to the terms of the warranty because they have a time limit on how long you’re supposed to replacement we hope we get it …
Now usually the week before Xmas its baking insanity but we haven’t made a thing because the oven took a dive last Monday …called sears it was supposed to fix the next day … but sears contracted it out somewhere 3 hours away and since there were only 3 repairs in the area they aren’t bothering until the 23rd, well I found a local guy who just did a quick temp fix until they decide we’re important enough to show up…
so shit is just rollin down hill
Daughter is on her way here. I’m showered and dressed and making breakfast for FCD while he showers. The day begins…
swampy - coasters are a given so why should I have to constantly remind everyone? Sheesh!
My big grievance right now is it’s Monday. Didn’t sleep well, sneezing my head off, very much not looking forward to commuting or callers.
Also not delighted with MIL. I love her, and she’s normally reasonably intelligent and sensible, but someone in her mid-80s, with at least one chronic health condition, living in an area of California under a stay-at-home due to ICU capacity issues, should NOT have picked this year to fly to Texas!
Morning all. No grievances I can think of right off (give me some time and I’ll come up with some). Started laundry as soon as I got up, since I do like to wear underwear when I go outside and the last pair (I know, TMI). So that will be done in time for the Jersey Mike’s sammich trip.
Heading for 57F today, so heater may get a little rest. Rest of week looks colder, and below freezing up at Brother’s. Remember to take the heavy jacket.
{{{{Butters!!}}}}. I am glad your Son and family was able to come visit and you visit them and that life is beginning to settle down after the sad and chaotic last 6 months. Hope the Docs can help with the knee. Don’t be a stranger here.
Nettie, I concur, not the best time to be flying and going to Texas. Hope she manages well.
shady, didn’t even know that part of Sears was still in business…sounds like they won’t be for long at that rate.
boofae, Ophelia sounds like a nice car (I know, those two words don’t often go together). May she and you have many more years together.
All y’all have a good holiday week now.
I’m 99% sure that whatever comes out of my mouth (or my fingers) is usually a rant of some sort.
Butters, I’m so sorry about your arthritis. That sounds incredibly painful. I’m glad you got to see your son, though - that visit sounds incredible.
For my part, my mom was to begin her radiation this week. WAS. She’s not (at least not yet) because when they did an X-ray during her simulation they saw a spot on one of her remaining lymph nodes, so we have another biopsy tomorrow and a subsequent radiology appointment. So that’s pretty terrible. However, they did take the X-ray a short week after she’d gotten out of the hospital for that awful infection. We also know she has a wire remaining in her neck after the surgery. So there are options other than cancer that may be causing the spot; however, it sucks that it’s there. My hope is, whatever it is, they don’t have to go in again. Ideally, it’d be swollen lymph nodes from her infection (they can take a few weeks to calm down); if it’s cancer, hopefully they’ll just kill it with radiation. It seems like nothing is that easy, doesn’t it?
Also, I think as a result of the stress, last night as I was laying in bed my chest felt…weird. It came in these odd, slow waves, a little pressure (not bad at all), release, pressure, release. I really hope it’s a panic attack and not something more serious. I’m going to find an actual GP, dammit, and go there before this gets worse. I ran/walked/waddled this morning on the treadmill and spent some time alone and felt incredibly calm and so, so so much better, so I guess I need to do that again. As in, every day, or most days. The last damn thing I need at this moment is an honest to god heart attack.
Hi y’all- I’ve been MIA from the MMP, too. Just coming off a very bad weekend totally alone. Consumed with anxiety and panic almost the whole time. Aches and pains everywhere that are scaring me. I took xanax both days and that really dials down the obsessive thinking, but the isolation is eating me alive. I’m tired of calling people. I want to see someone in person. Everyone else I know gets to see other people and touch them and watch tv with them or sit in fucking silence with them… They can take a nap and know there’s someone else in the house. There’s someone to bring them a cup of tea or ask them how they’re doing. I’m cracking… 
I’m getting my hair done today, so I will get to see my hairdresser-- she also suffers from anxiety, but she’s not alone and cannot relate to my aloneness-- I don’t know anyone who can. She’s very sweet-- married and has kids and stepkids.
Nothing else scheduled for the week for me. The friend who texted me yesterday is bringing me a take-out Christmas dinner on Friday from her retirement home.
I’m still religiously stocking the neighborhood pantry three times a week- MWF. I buy the groceries on the weekend (I go to the store at 6 am when it opens and is mostly empty except for the personal shoppers), and bag the stuff in three shopping bags, which stay in the back seat of the car until I distribute the groceries. So I am doing one thing that’s worthwhile.
Thank God the weather here has been glorious! Bright sunshine every day, temps in the high 70s, lows at night in the 40s.
wordy sounds like stress to me, but I ain’t yer doctor. However, I need alone time to decompress, or Very Bad Things Happen, and it sounds to me like that’s what you needed, too.
In case this was missed from late last week MMP:
I nearly missed this charmingly sexy & utterly hilarious bit of non-fiction writing.
My contributions to the hussy-fication of the MMP are moving at a glacial pace. However, one random dude on Tinder has shown some promise. Mostly because he didn’t throw a hissy fit when I abruptly dropped off & stayed offline for days. (I had shit to do, including the SDMB Secret Santa stuff, and then just didn’t have the mental bandwidth for a while.)
I made overtures this morning by text about possibly thinking about maybe looking into meeting up (I said “glacial” remember?) and am screwing together the courage to actually do so, just in case there’s an enthusiastic “yes” from his end.
He lives a solid half-hour away (on good roads, which I’m told may not always be the case in winter 'round these parts) but I guess chances of finding someone hyper-local are slimmer than Kate Moss.
Anyone remember that 90s throwback reference?
@ThelmaLou you were writing while I was & so I missed your post till now.
I dearly wish I could sit in silence nearby with you.
{{Everyone who wants/needs one}}
It does seem there’s plenty of stress to go around, eh?
Today’s dose for me has been hearing back from the new job- current job has a 2 month notice period, and they hadn’t actually mentioned that to the agent in the offer. Turns out, they want me to be there on 18th Jan, which the astute among you may notice is not two months away.
Now, I have got in touch with my manager, who is also the department manager, who basically said a) as far as she’s concerned she’s not going to hold me to the contracted notice if it’ll cost me the job and b) she doesn’t think the college will actually do anything to stop me if I do just say “I’m going anyway, nyah, nyah” but… I’m now waiting to hear back from the head of campus to see if I can officially negotiate it, as it’ll be really late to do so once we open back up again.
I hadn’t notified my landlord yet, as I would have just missed the monthly contract renewal date anyway, so I’ll be paying up for the place until the middle of Feb anyway, but dammit, couldn’t this just go without any more extra complications?
I’m so sorry, @ThelmaLou. That sounds awful.
Do you know where you are in the prioritization schedule for the vaccine?
Morning, all. Slept in this morning because it’s the first day of Christmas Break! Been saying that off and on for 60 years now and it never gets old. Even though I do. Christmas plans (such as they were) got tossed into a blender this weekend as the people I was going to spend Christmas with, and who are in my pod, have had their own family problems over the last few weeks and as a result will be hosting the crazy sister who doesn’t follow Covid restrictions at all. Hard pass on that one. So Christmas will be totally virtual this year, just me and the cats. But I have several video chats scheduled for that day, so it won’t be totally without human contact. Family will all check in and then a dear friend who is also alone and I will get hammered on egg nog that is 50% brandy and Google Meet the night away. Not the Christmas I had planned, but what are you going to do? I refuse to let it turn into a pity party. I’d call in blackjack and hookers, but… 
Hope everybody has a safe and productive week. Remember to look to the skies tonight.
With an old cat that is becoming skeletal, buy a carton of half and half, or even heavy cream. A small dish of that once or twice a day makes all the difference!
Cat’s teeth are probably bad, and it hurts too much to chew!
~VOW
I just heard this AM that the mother of a dear friend has been hospitalized with COVID. The sweet lady is most certainly in her 90s, and ICU capacity in this neck of the woods is 0%, and has been for over a week.
Filthy, stinking, cruel disease!
~VOW
Afternoon all. 3 loads of laundry washed and dried and lunch has been consumed (at very low cost, I had enough ‘points’ to qualify for a free sammich), so the major tasks for the day have been completed. Still waiting for the credit and gas bills, the checks are written but the bills are a couple days late, so we’ll see today.
Thel, been on my own for 40 years now, if you’re not working, find a local activity that will keep you active and around folks…I coach/ref youth soccer 9-10 months a year and travel another month (save this year) so that keeps me in touch with humanity. Oh, if you didn’t catch last week’s post, I’m wearing those slippers you recommended and they are as warm and comfy as you said.
Vow, hope the Friend’s mom does OK. Damn plague.
quietly, sorry you’ll be missing Xmas with the family, but I think you’re being wise.
Nut, nothing in the universe goes exactly to plan…things will work out, I’m sure.
talky, best wishes for Mom.unit. And I concur, it was probably stress-related, but keep an eye on it.
And now forward into the afternoon. All y’all take care.