Ok, I haven’t read yet because I just came in to say that I FIGURED OUT THE TAXES!!!
I’m not done yet, but changing one digit in a 6 digit code changed MusicMan from a company employee driver to a self-employed driver and went from us owing $6000 to being refunded a trivial amount. WOOHOO!!! 
I’ll be back to read after I’m done dancing around the house with the poodle. 
Up from naptime. I forgot to mention, roommate worked daytime today, so Spot was alone for 45 minutes. When I opened the door when I got home, he was standing on the couch with back arched, ready to be angry with the first primate through the door. 
But having a martini, and teriyaki chicken stirfry.
Just say Phuket, dude.
Yay! But heal quick.
Sorry you got stuck with that. But I love the piano, and the 'Vette.
Hurray for fixing your taxes and getting rid of that headache!
I have something very disturbing to share about Mexican restaurants in West Virginia. This involves serious alcohol abuse, hence the spoiler.
They put coke in the Margaritas
-a-cola or aine?
It is easier to age in if the shower is walk in or just a small step up. With a tub shower combo at some point you may need a in out shower chair to get in and out.
Second bedroom is a library!
Sounds like you went to a Meth-ican restaurant by accident.
Sorry, coke back here means generic cola drinks. Usually the grocery store stuff but there are also homemade craft versions. coke can also be pop, but pop isn’t just cola, it’s anything non-alcoholic but flavored and carbonated.
Currently I’m back to undecided about this whole move to a different country (almost) idea. I use red pencils to write on my patterns when I’m stitching. I have a pencil sharpener at home, but didn’t think to bring it with me.
My red pencil got dull while I was sitting in the sun room so I went to the front desk and asked the nice young man if they had a pencil sharpener. He gave me the same look he probably gives people who want to borrow his pen to write a check and offered me a red pen instead. When I thanked him and said that I had to use a pencil, the other clerk started digging around in the drawer where they kept the crayons and muttered something about his grandmother being persnikity about her knitting too. The first clerk looked shocked, hubs almost died laughing and I turned down the brand new sharp red crayon the second clerk found.
By that time the first clerk had paged the handyman who showed up with his pocket knife and was able to save the day.
Driving is going to be a huge challenge, I’m used to being able to see more than a hundred yards ahead.
Oh, see, if you were a little closer, I’d let you borrow one of these.
I ate my pill salad, and brushed my teeth in preparation for crawling into my rack. The combination of mint and fish oil is… interesting.
Ugh, rough night. Sweet Manager left early and went directly to urgent care (diagnosis: double ear infection) and I closed for her.
Carless Co-worker closed with us and my gawd that man moves so damn slowly. So he was still doing tasks he should have finished by 10ish (before the “early outs” leave so we’re not completely shorthanded) at 11:30 goddamn p.m. which left me and the stand-in manager running the entire operation our damn selves during a lot of the final rush.
Lemme tell you, we burned the shit out of some pizzas.
Sorry for the salty language, but I’m so pissed at him. And it’s not like he’s doing anything deliberately wrong, per se, he’s just … slow and inefficient and lacks any sense of urgency.
That’s amazing engineering. What a fun display toy!
What.
Just, no.
Yes, we’ll pretend I totally had a 2nd Easter-related connotation in mind. Absolutely, on purpose.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
I did a double-take the 1st time I saw one up here, too. They’re … sizeable.
But surprisingly agile for something that looks like a furry dumpling with feet.
Why are you so suspicious of this one? It seems to really have pinged your instincts …
Okay, I have a half an indica preroll in my ashtray and Monkey just made my lap into his personal sofa. Time to decompress a bit.
geese always try to off me…
See we have a huge park (Apollo we even had one of the capsules for years on display) and they man-made small lak they stock with fish …But it had this flock of geese that don’t migrate anywhere for decades and at some point became the state of CA property so they built this island in the lake for the geese
https://parks.lacounty.gov/apollo-community-regional-park/
(link if ya wanna see)
So to get some fresh air on the weekends me and nephews would go there and attempt to fish and have some sandwiches and such …Well one day we decided to feed the extra bread to the geese and being kids they got bored after a bit and left me to finish… which I did now I had some of the geese beside me but when I turned to leave they started following me … honking for more food but all of a sudden more and more started following them and suddenly had 90 percent of them after me and getting aggressive
One of the other people advised me to run which I did and pissed the new flock of geese off even more lil bastards nipped me a couple of times… I couldn’t run anymore and suddenly I heard gunshots and saw geese running and flying off in the other direction …
It was the state fish and game deputy firing off a starter pistol and chuckling … apparently, he has to save someone from the same thing at least 2-to 4 times a weekend
he did commend me for not trying to defend myself with something since that would violate a few laws and result in much paperwork even if I wasn’t guilty of anything … they were more aggressive because it was gosling hatching season
I refrained from feeding them for a while tho … being bit by a goose is like getting caught in a clothespin
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. It’s storming currently.
Well, you are one of our resident experts on being stoned. 
I have now been in the new job for a full working week, Friday to Thursday (and now four days off for Easter) and it’s exhausting but pretty decent. They apologised today that it’s been so busy this week, but it really didn’t seem all that frenetic to me, so I guess the default to expect is pretty cruisy.
However, while searching for a job, I submitted multiple applications in similar fields, and was not expecting many responses, so I immediately took this one as soon as they offered it, with barely any hesitation. Take what I can get, was my thought. But this week I have had three phone calls for interviews from some of the other jobs I applied for, which is not my usual experience. All the warnings that jobs are hard to come by doesn’t seem to apply in this instance. I am quite surprised, and sort of wonder what would have happened if I knew I might have had a range of jobs to choose from.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 56 Amurrkin out and partly cloudy with a predicted high of 72 and mostly N.O.S. for the day. I get to be busy this mornin’ and then again this evenin’. We shall head over to the church house this mornin’ so I can do candle stuff which will possibly take a couple of hours. Then we shall go to the hog trough GC for an early N.O.L. due mostly to a gnawin’ and a cravin’ for fried chikin. Today is Maundy Thursday so we shall be back to the church house at six p.m. for the service. The afternoon shall be for sloth and nappage.
Sticky_Buns yay for figurin’ out the taxes. I am sure much rejoicin’ and arm lickin’ ensued. The pencil sharpener is a hoot!
doggio how dare roomie and you leave Spot without a hooman servant to attend to his needs!
JtC I just don’t know what to say. Coke in a margarita?!?! What is wrong with West Virginny!
shoe sounds like Carless Co-irker could use a clue by four upside the haid.
shades them geeses is mean!
BatBoy are you considerin’ pursuin’ the other opportunities? An interview couldn’t hurt.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, alas and bother, I must needs purtify and don acceptable attire for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. I did this just yesterday and will have to again tomorrow. This is just unacceptable!
Happy Thursday Y’all!
Mornin’ all.
It’s 41 degrees Fahrenheit and raining outside. It’s supposed to rain steadily this morning, with showers continuing this afternoon. The expected high temperature is 53 degrees Fahrenheit.
sticky buns, yay for figuring out the taxes AND not having to pay more.
shoe, it sounds like Carless Co-Worker is on permanent island time. Perhaps he is geographically challenged.
oopsie, nice work work on the Lego masterpieces! My youngest sister is into things like this. Who knew that Lego had become so advanced?! It sucks about the employee/PIP situation. I hope things work out for the best for everyone, and I understand your feelings regarding this person succeeding. I hate kicking the can down the road.
Yesterday, I put myself on Do Not Disturb to get stuff done. I participated in the meetings, but other than that, I made no attempts to reach out to anyone and just dug in. I also had my quarterly conversation/performance review. It went well. I was told I am rocking it, and there are no concerns.
I think I’ll be on Do Not Disturb for the morning anyway, and then I can make my status available in the afternoon. I rarely do this, but every once in a while, I need people to leave me alone so I can work.
The pups have discovered another weakness in the crappy neighbor’s fence. This is the only part of the fence I didn’t replace a few years ago because I’m sick of paying for everyone’s fences, but now I don’t have a choice. So, I have the fencing company that replaced my fence the last time coming out for a quote on Saturday. I wish they could come out sooner for the quote so they can get started on replacing the fence sooner, but this will have to do.
The pups are extra restless this morning. Then again, I had a restless night, too, and was awake at 2:30 this morning. I tried sleeping more, but couldn’t and rolled out of bed at 3:15. I heard the pups moving around too, so it’s probably good that I came downstairs.
Alright, I’m going to finish my coffee, clean the kitchen, and head upstairs to work. Only one more wake-up and then it’s the weekend.
We come from a job-hunting tradition of handing a paper resume to an interviewer. You talk to the person who hopes to hire you in the place you hope to be hired - that’s our experience. Remote work was not of our world. So we’re unfamiliar and instantly skeptical. Because different. We’re willing to learn and accept, but, yanno, different.
Not storming here, but definitely raining hard. I’ll need to call the septic tank pumper-outers and find out if they need to reschedule.
Today will be the walk-thru-and-turn-in-key-cards for MIL’s apartment. Daughter and SIL cleaned it last week so it should just be a formality. The only issue I can imagine is that we left the curtain rods and curtains and they’ll want nekkid walls. Other than that, we’re done. Whew! I even remembered to stop the automatic rent payment.
It’s also clay day with Roxy. Not sure how long it will hold her attention. She’ll do Legos for hours, but gets bored with cooking and about 10 minutes. So we shall see.
I got an email back from Tupperware that I’m sure was automatically generated. It was asking for the Consultant ID, party reference number, and other stuff that does not apply. I just sent them a photo of the cracked lid that I want replaced. So we’ll see how it goes. This morning I found another that’s cracked, and I may or may not submit it also. Not that big a deal either way.
Oh yeah - gonna call about my glasses today - it’s been a damn month since my exam… grumble
Happy Thursday!
What. Dah. Fuq.
Like, on purpose? Is that the default, or is it some weird option you can ask for?
Sprite, I could kinda see. It’s citrus flavored; should work in a pinch. But … coke?
Nice.
World’s worst pizza toppings.
If you have the time, energy, and mental bandwidth, it absolutely couldn’t hurt to go. If you get an offer you can’t refuse (e.g. like 300% mo’ money) well, hey!
Otherwise, if they do come back with some offer, you simply smile and say you got a different offer elsewhere and politely thank them for their time.
An ego boost at minimum, and a “hey, who knows?” at best.
… but I loathe this kind of thing so I totally understand not wanting to interview recreactionally.
I am so using this line. Best case I pull off a terrible faux Jamaican accent in front of the whole crew.
… and so you did. May I gently suggest doing so more often?
Nice.
So, charge them for “upgraded interior decorating” and generously offer a discount. 
Stayed up way late last night and am up stoopit early for bio-break … which was thwarted by the fact that SOMEbody drank almost all of my water, and I was thoisty!
There was no getting back to sleep parched, so I shrugged on a hoodie and warm PJ pants to get more at the gas station.
Now I’m sorta-kinda awake, chillin’ with y’all, so OF COURSE after all that ^^ now I just wanna hot cuppa tea. 
I think I’m just dehydrated and want all the wet drink-y things.
… dammit. I have this terrible premonition that I’m awake for the day. 
Nnnoooooooo!!!
Terrific!!!
I’ve been having the same kind of morning. All told I got about 4 hours of sleep last night.
I’ve been up and working for a bit. Now I’m going to tackle writing a to do list. Then I’m going to work on to-doing the to do list.
Confirmed that septic guys will come today. Yay. I also just finished hacking up the spiral ham, with 3 vacuum-packs now in the freezer. The rest is in the fridge for eatage. I had to sample some - it’s a good one!
I was asking FCD about something he was doing in his shop, and MIL thought I said the president was dead. It appears her hearing isn’t quite up to par - none of the words I used even approximated “president” or “dead.”
Daughter will be here in an hour or so. I need to gas up my car - maybe I should do that now.
Mornin’ all on a happy Thorsday. It’s sunrise right this minute as as I sit out by the pool and begin to catch up on responses to your 75(!) posts since yesterday morning. Gonna be a bit spotty on who gets an answer but know I read and considered everything. Every one of you, whether answered or not, gets hugs, plus yaays, boos, or get-wells as appropriate.
Right now NWS says 76/25 on the way to 85/30 with some chance of rain. We seem to have a bunch of thin clouds, but no sign of rain on the radar. Yet.
Here we go:
True dat.
Flyboy: Ouch about your accountant. Seems like it’s always the nicer people wo die earlier.
There’s a current thread about somebody who just realized they hadn’t heard from their tax prep person at all this year. Only to find out they’d died some time last fall. So now they’re scrambling to figure out who and how to do their taxes.
Hope your employer’s tax prep won’t be affected. Funny how the two great inevitabilities are so intertwined.
The universal managerial goal to squeeze just bit more out of [whatever] than is possible costs them a metric shitload of money and us workers a metric shitload of pain every day all across our benighted land. BTDT.
Yaay!!1! Probably the best news of the thread , but I still have 70 posts to read. 
Yaay for progress! You’ll be watching her graduate from college about a week from now. Or so it will feel in retrospect.
By turns sad, vexing, and relieving. Doing the final closeout on the logistics of a life is somehow never respectful enough to be emotionally satisfying, but the relief when it’s done is palpable. {{Hugs}}.
ETA: Same on the wrap-up on MIL’s apartment today; the end of an era that won’t return. Although obviously MIL is still around for everything else, it’s still the closing of a door.
Yup.
Probably 20 years ago I read a health / fitness book for older folks in preparation for becoming an older folk myself. The author contended that just like with a new car, the warrantee on bodies ends at age 50, and all the abuse you heaped on the car body earlier comes home to roost and now it’s time for brakes, water pump, etc. And how you maintain it forward from then determines whether you rust out or wear out. Most people choose “rust”. Wet one’s BIL coming freshly to mind. Sorry she’s having to witness that slo-mo train wreck.
The book’s point was to choose “wear out” by exercise, diet, etc. You may not live any longer but you’ll be a lot more capable. As the saying goes … More life in your days, maybe not more days in your life. This is the book and I recommend it. Younger Next Year: Chris Crowley- Amazon.com: Books.
The guy has since spun this first effort out into a bit of a series / media franchise. I can’t speak to the rest of his work. I linked to the original edition I read; apparently there’s now a revised 2nd edition.
Ouch! I have found that ensuring that explanation gets transmitted to them along with the offer sometimes causes them to recognize that you recognize the BS they’re trying to perpetrate. Which may be deliberate or inadvertent on their part; it’s easy to live in a place slowly falling apart and get used to that as it happens, such that the occupant / seller honestly doesn’t see how rough the exterior paint has gotten, or how dated the fixtures or whatever.
Best of luck whichever you come up with!
That’s because “judge mental” is two words. if you leave out the “e” and just type “judgmental” you get one word.
Sounds like ideal stress-reduction therapy to me. Best of luck w disability, jobs, etc.
You’re only as old as you behave. Wrangling the schoolkids shows you can still engage with their youth. I bet you could ahem … engage … with JtC’s youth too. Setting aside dear Hubs for a moment in this hypothetical cabana-filled world. :leer:
I have had innumerable skin cancers removed over the last 40(!) years. I don’t consider myself a cancer sufferer, a cancer patient, nor a cancer survivor. Because IMO those terms are reserved for people who have the serious stuff, not the trivial stuff. Like what FCM said IMO that’d be like labeling having your teeth cleaned as “major surgery”.
There are people who get the form of skin cancer called “melanoma”, and that absolutely positively can and will kill you if not treated properly promptly. Were I ever to develop one of those I’d be revisiting my choices of terminology. So far so good though.
Hugs back; you’re having a tough run of irk. I sometimes think of the entire Federal bureaucracy as a gigantic upside-down pyramid teetering precariously on your back. A la Atlas with the globe on his shoulders.
This taxpayer thanks you for your service from the bottom of his heart (and wallet).
I’d have gone nuts if I didn’t have some days gone at work during the era of being serious caregiver to my late wife. Your daughter is wise. As are you for recognizing the need.
We (or at least me) are doing our best carrying on. 
Hip, hip, 3 yaays!
Yeah. BTDT. But the light at the end of the tunnel when said worker is gone is totally worth it.
Color you restored and me envious. I just realized I haven’t done a planned live music evening in about 4 weeks. Silly me.
I remain in awe of those Lego thingies you put together. So cool.
This. Hope there’s a good resolution, or at least better than you now expect.
I just lost about 10 minutes to watching a grackle. For whatever reason a bunch of bee-sized flying insects had landed in the pool and were trapped on the water flapping wings madly to no avail. The grackle noticed the bugs, and stood on the pool edge near a corner watching carefully. Then he’d leap out to snatch a bug in his beak and start flapping like mad to take off before he too got trapped in the water. Which was pretty entertaining until he’d eaten all the bugs near the pool edge.
The pool has a floating chlorine dispenser. And the various currents that had put all the bugs over there near that corner had done the same to the chlorine dispenser. So now the bird hops out onto the chlorine dispenser and uses that as a stepping stone to repeatedly snag more bugs he couldn’t reach from the pool edge.
Damned smart bird. The pool is now fully bug-free. Until next time.
Other than that, congrats on the various houses that mostly look plausible.
I just caught up to my own post from late afternoon Wed, so here’s a brief update on me from then to bedtime. Had a nice steak & wine dinner out, mostly avoided wretched excess of food and drink, and was home by ~10:30pm, having started at 6. It was about a 40 minute drive each way leaving 3 hours at the table, but overall worth the drive; we’ll / I’ll be back.
Once home I checked my email before intending to head off to bed. The lady at the under-construction apartments responded to my earlier email saying the leasing process has already started in the new building and applications are pouring in. Apr 22 is the projected first move-in date, not the first application date. Oops on me. She said if I want something particular, now’s the time to file the lease application (and pay the semi-refundable deposit).
So late last night I did. I now have both places reserved and will end up forfeiting a portion of one or another deposit. Not much wasted money in the grand scheme of a year’s rent at either place. It’ll be a few days until I can get inside this one to look around. We shall see what I decide when. Da Fat Lady be yodeling in her dressing room.
Back to y’all, just 30 more posts to read & respond …
Hooray for slothing. Boo for needing doctor’s orders. I assume this was from the Great Mud-Encrusted Fall of a couple days ago? You didn’t say whether you fell off your feet or off your horse into the mud. Big difference. Hope it all settles down and heals up well.
ETA: As Swampy later said, don’t forget to take the full course of sloth. Just like with antibiotics, if you quit the meds early when you think you’re feeling mostly better, the problem comes back to bite you worse. Good luck!
My roomie is 70. He’s struggling right now with whether / how to manage or to ignore some fresh and less-than-stellar decision-making from his ~50yo daughter who lives nearby. It never ends while you’re both alive. Doubtless MIL is more worried about FCD and BIL than she is about herself.
It has always amazed me how much managers love to scrimp on newbie training and therefore cripple the productivity of the people they’re paying to be productive. It’s much cheaper to teach them to do the job thoroughly and well from the git-go.
The Blindness is great in the land of Managers.
Besides Coppertone’s new job (and FCM’s daughter’s maybe-job), that is the best news in the last 70 posts! Hooray!
Thanks for both the good ideas. But …
The whole point of rented apartments is I have no commitment to that specific unit beyond a few months. Abarring crippling accident, I’m a decade or more from being unable to manage a tub safely. As and when that becomes an issue, moving to a residence with a walk-in shower is a certainty.
Late wife and I used to have ~2000 dead tree books. I now own about 10, and each is destined to be read once and given away. My library is inside my tablet and/or down by City Hall. Even the specialty book$ I buy at Amazon are read once and donate. Owning moldering paper carries no attraction to me. Now. Back in the day things were different.
I’m surprised Hubs didn’t have a knife to go with his gun. Most gun-toters carry a pocket knife of some sort, even if it’s just teeny tiny.
I carried one (knife) until I started airlining mumble years ago, and after about the third time I had to throw it away upon arriving at irk with it still on my person I quit carrying. Might take the habit up again. Then again I have mumble years of not needing it while out and about. I think there’s one in the car’s glove box; there was a couple years ago and there’s no reason it should have evaporated since.
Probably been 10 or 15 years since I last owned a pencil. Late wife liked them and had not one, but two electric sharpeners for her office pencils, plus a bewildering array of a few dozen art pencils and sharpeners of various sizes materials, and colors. All of which went to one of her local art teachers to pass along to students.
Those folks are soooo frustrating. Sorry you had to suffer through that. I truly wonder why somebody as capable as Sweet Manager puts up with a worker unsuited to the job. There’s just no room for slowpokes in a working kitchen.
Hear’s (heh ) hoping Sweet Manager’s ears didn’t infect the rest of the crew before she left.
Some folks be wack.
Nearest multiple of 10 minutes was / is my rule and I lived most of my life by alarms that needed to be reset several times per day because no two days had the same schedule. The same variability is still true in retirement, but the number of things needing detailed scheduling and alarming is vastly fewer. Like 1 or maybe 2 per week now. Yaay for being old. Wait did I just say that? Must be gettin’ old.
Yaay for cruisy.
You know your industry and I don’t, but jumping ship for a better deal (however you define that) may be completely reasonable. Your current employer would probably drop you tomorrow with zero hesitation if the department’s hours are cut. You owe them exactly the same consideration: which is probably none whatsoever.
ETA: As the ever-wise Shoe just said.
Yet more SHoeful wisdom.
Where I live water comes out of pipes in the wall. Not the tastiest water I’ll grant you, but plenty good enough when thirst strikes in the middle of my sleep time. Just sayin’. 
Ouch!!!
I too had goofed-up sleep last night / this morning; finishing a moderately drink-filled night with a double espresso often does that; the collective booze ensures I’m down for 4 hours, and the espresso ensures I’m up for the next 6. Ouch.
Best of luck with that today!
And with that I did it; I got caught up!! Just 3 hours after I started this missive, with 20-ish minutes taken out to yak w Roomie. It remains warm and light gray out with high clouds and now I’m going to shevel perhaps then to feed. Plus make a Tarjay run.
Cheers all! Thor forth!