(OLD) Out and About in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
241

Awesome!

jack, I would definitely try to contact the kid’s parents if you can, but also make a statement to your apartment management or condo board. Checking to see if the creep is on the sex offender registry is also a good idea.

JtC, For passwords, I have a standard special character to begin it, then take a short phrase that I can remember and shift the left hand letters one position to the right and the right ones one space to the left and end it with a standard (to me) number. The beginning of the phrase has the capital letter requirement. It works for me to remember.

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted, bed stripped, a load of sheets / towels ready to come out of the dryer (the buzzer just sounded), jeans ready for the dryer and everything else ready for the wash. Half the houseirk is done as well. Shortly, I’ll make the bed and sweep / mop / vacuum the floors before taking Nelson to the vet (he’ll get to go through a drive thru with a great pup cup after).

Talked to Sis this morning and they’re coming a week earlier than what she first told me, as in next weekend. Of course, they’ll stop again on their way back the following weekend, but only for overnight. While they’re here next weekend, I’m taking them to the car museum down on Music Valley Drive (BIL loves those and Sis and I like them) and the thrift craft store on MVD is having dollar days, so Sis and I can go a bit wild (she is retired and has always done a variety of craftwork).

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

242

Now I know why I will probably never be a higher-up where I work. Someone just informed me that it sure would be helpful if I came in to be part of a panel for a meeting in another state and my first thought was, “Dammit, no.” What I actually said was, “Sure I can fly in for a few hours,” because a) it’s the day after my son’s birthday, which I refuse to miss and b) I really, really, really don’t want to be there any longer than I have to. It would be delightful if I had more than a few days’ notice for these things. Crap. Now I need pants that fit.

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Yesterday I got out. It was unusually warm. I went downtown. Nice to get out, though a bit tiring because I’m tired all the time.
I should try to get outside today, even just locally.

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Talky, in all my years of working, I very rarely was asked to travel, so I always jumped at the opportunity.
One I got sent to Lima, Ohio, for a week and I was thrilled just to be somewhere different.
I do see how business travel can get old if you do it enough, though.

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redI love your password shifting letters idea. I will adopt if I ever need a strong password.

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metal mouse, the battery price sounds about what I’d expect. I would have loved to see video of the AAA guy getting it installed under the passenger seat. But I’m in the mood to find things that probably shouldn’t be funny, funny. Also, I would agree re: Batman and Superman, however, I put Justice League and Batman Beyond above both of them.

JtC and red, where I grew up in New York and Florida, it was generically coke as well. I have to be careful when I order now though because I have some weird reaction to Pepsi - it causes an asthma attack in me. So I have to make sure that, if I ask for a diet Coke, it’s actually COKE.

Jack_Batty, definitely creepy. Not sure if I would have immediately thought serial killer, but definitely a creeper. Definitely keep an eye on that one, just in case.

I’ve got a method for mine as well, especially since a lot of the things that other members of the family need. Having my system in place means that I’m usually pretty good at remembering what it is. Though, since the year is part of it, I sometimes have to think back on when I originally set up the password.

BooFae, poor Shadow! I hope the meds work for him!

FCM, it amazes me how quickly kids grow up anymore. I feel like I blinked and CtE went from five to 17. Which doesn’t seem possible, when I still feel like I’m 30… Also, I’d probably be cynical as well. That does seem like a thing that Florida docs would do. :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

pilot, glad you finally got the car back! And that it helped with getting a bunch of errands done. Enjoy your slothage and the knowledge that, should something else pop up, that you don’t have to rely on anyone else to get you there!

wordy, glad that your mom’s appointment is finished and that she has an appointment date set up. It’s good that she has a good, calming person to talk to in the resident. That really helps sooooo much! Re: the panel meeting, don’t think of it as not being a higher-up. Think of it all as you taking care of your priorities.

doggio, here’s another one hoping for Darci to be with you over whoever they are that aren’t nearly as good for her as you would be.

It’s been a fun 18 hours. CtE’s concert went really well, though they admitted afterward that they were holding themself together with chewing gum and bailing twine. I’m not sure why it was so stressful for them - this is the one part of school that they’ve always loved. They weren’t doing a big solo. But regardless of why, I’m proud of them holding it together and sticking through until the end.

Last night, they apparently got 2 hours of sleep thanks to the broken slats in their bed and choosing instead to sleep on the recliner. I would have told them to get their butt to school, but Hubby told them they could stay home and I didn’t know about it until it was too late to get them to the bus. But this weekend, I’m removing all of the slats and dropping the mattress to the floor between the frame of his bed. And next month, I’m buying a metal frame that doesn’t need a box spring. Because this is getting old.

I also got the results of the appeal today: denied. Dad could go through another appeal, but he’d be having to pay the private rate of $450/day if they denied it again. And that is the appeal that takes up to 14 days to get a reply on. They said that he doesn’t need assistive equipment because he can walk 350’ with a walker and someone to offer assistance if he loses his balance.
Problem is, he doesn’t have anyone to be that assistance. I guess they just prefer Dad keep falling and coming back into the hospital. So tomorrow I’m bringing Dad home, after I’m finished helping MFN with buying his new truck. I’m going to be spending most of Saturday on the road. And I still need to message everyone in the family since they’re going to want to know what’s going on.

Today is supposed to be a combination “finish up some online things and then clean up the bedroom” day. So far, it’s been an “answer ten million phone and internet calls” day. I just have to remind myself that even if things don’t all get done, as long as something gets done I’m still ahead of the game. I have to turn it into a mantra so I make it through the next couple of days.

247

I’m not sure what the guy’s name is, but I know which name I prefer. :wink:

248

For some reason I read this as Parmesan Vince and was imagining a mob boss covered in cheese.

249

Leave the gun. Take the cheese.

250

Howdy Y’all! Been a pleasant and slothful day here in da cave. Nappage has been completed and soon we shall day drink.

Wordy glad mom’s appointment went well and that she has a date to begin treatment. I never minded traveling for irk, but am glad I don’t have to anymore.

RealFish sorry dad lost his appeal. Hope he does OK at home.

Jack that guy does sound creepy. Glad the kid had the sense to leave.

251

I have eaten. I am { looks down to check real quick } wearing pants. Off to irk, I guess.

Coolio is running (test run! It’s not that hot … yet … whimpers) and I may hafta start bringing popsicles to work.

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LOL - that’s to distinguish it from the green playground (it has green tube slides) near her mom’s school, or the purple playground (the equipment is painted purple - duh) near their house. There’s no bridge at the Rainbow playground… :wink:

In one of my jobs, we had to change passwords constantly - at least it felt that way. So I’d pick a word, vowels would be upper case, consonants lower, then I’d put numbers for month and year. If I needed a special character, I might go with $ for S or something similar. That way, I just had to remember what month it was - the rest didn’t change.

These days, I have a variety of names that are unusual - street names, last names, first names, as well as numbers associated with the names (usually like birth years.) Another trick I’ve used is the first letter of each word in a phrase - like MHALL (Mary Had A Little Lamb) along with the month and year numerics. I feel pretty secure. Mostly.

They don’t do ZOOM or something similar? Seems to be smarter financially as well as not losing productive time while traveling. But what do I know - I was never a manager.

We made it till almost 2 before FCD was fried. The fancy expensive wax he bought is crap. We’re going to get some NuFinish instead and do that on Sunday. We did get the entire starboard (right) side compounded and partly waxed, tho, as I said, the wax was unimpressive. I put the final coat on the transom - it looks good!

He’s going back tomorrow to organize the wires in the engine room and I’ll be helping Daughter get ready for the party. I’ll do laundry in the morning.

She stopped by earlier today and dropped of drinks and party stuff. Tomorrow, she’ll take our truck to get a table and some chairs from her school, as well as Roxy’s 2-wheeler (her b-day present!) While she was here, she saw a mouse skitter from the bathroom to the closet - guess I need to get a trap. Dammit.

The rest of today is for chillage. I’s tahred!!

253

Lots of medically-related running around today – ultrasounds, dentists, prescription-filling. Not directly related, just all combined into one hectic day. The one that worried me most was the dentist.

Good news and bad news on the dental front.

Good news: today’s visit was uneventful, and cheap.

Bad news: my problem tooth (and several others) are apparently a sort of dentist’s version of a horror show. The one tooth that’s been really bugging me when I eat is beyond salvation and is going to be yanked. Only reason it wasn’t done today is that it’s so badly infected that I’m on a course of strong antibiotics until next week.

I hate visiting dentists but this one is better than most because the dentist owner and all her sub-dentists and assistants have apparently been on an intensive course of how to be super-sweet to clients/patients. I admit I like being coddled!

ETA: Here’s something that my dentist mentioned today that may be useful for all, and was totally news to me. It turns out that tooth and gum infections can have an adverse impact on cardiovascular health. Which is something of note for anyone (like me) who has had mild but definite heart disease requiring treatment.

254

Hiya, pals! I’m about to leave for a hike in the woods with Ms. Dog and her person. It’s nice to go somewhere I haven’t been.

doggio, when will you hear about Darcie? Did they say?

FCM, I’m sure the party will be just as much fun indoors. I never thought about rainbows and the rainbow bridge. I guess you could say I didn’t make The Rainbow Connection. I was thinking about real rainbows and gay pride.

wordy, I’m glad things are shaping up for your mom’s treatment, even if it is starting later than you’d like. Maybe travel will be good for you, as it’ll be a break in your routine. I didn’t like travel for work because a) I hated being out of my classroom and b) there was so much prepping for a sub before leaving and so much work waiting for my return that it meant working double-time. and c) I missed my own kids. Plus I was usually grading in cars, on planes, etc.

Gotta go!

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We had a late N.O.L./early sup. Now we resume sloth mode.

Nellie have fun on your hike with Ms. Dog and her human.

Doggio we anxiously await the news!

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Well, disappointment… We ordered a display case for FIL’s flag - the first one arrived with cracked glass. So we returned it and the replacement came today - its glass was totally shattered! It will be returned tomorrow. We will get a refund. As you might expect, the packaging was insufficient to protect it, plus the box looked like it might have been dropped on its corner.

So now we need to find another one. Dammit.

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Just think, if you were an American you could replace “horror show” with “gold mine” For them, not you.

Seriously, sorry to hear about you setting out on a dental adventure. But as with all things related to maintenance of bodies or machines … It needs fixing when it needs fixing, whether you know about it yet or not. Nothing gets better by festering while you’re blissfully unaware. It just gets more expensive.

Thanks for the recommendation. Won’t be long now for me …

My day of mostly slothage went well. “Breakfast” was taken shortly after noon, consisting of not quite half the leftovers of a chef’s salad from yesterday’s lunch out at a French bistro, plus a big hunk of plain yogurt. So I’ll get 3 or 3-1/2 meals out of one of their salads. Who says the French eat lightly or daintily?

I picked up my contacts, my chili crisp sauce at the Chinese groc, other goodies at the other groc, and got the car washed again. Unlike yesterday, I got home without the clean car being rained on.

wordy, it’s good to know Mom has a plan and seems OK with going through it. In all my years dealing with this stuff by far the most emotionally wrenching was alternating between dashing from discovery to test to test to diagnosis, to then wait a week or two to begin treatment then need to wait 6 months to see whether / how well it worked.

Mad Chinese fire drill, then watch the grass grow, then mad Chinese fire drill, then watch the grass grow, then … Uggh. The mental torture is almost worse than the physical.

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Afternoon all. Did get out of the house for a bit (between raindrops, it’s still sprinkling on and off). I changed the batteries in my two car key fobs last evening, and now the on-board systems don’t want to recognize them. Usually I just have the key fob in my pocket and press the start button, now I have to touch the fob to the button to get the car to start. Went down to the car dealer’s and they were of no help at all, acted like I was imposing on them, so ^&*%%$ that. Will try another package of batteries and if that doesn’t work, I’ll go somewhere else. So to work off that little mad, I did my swimming and sauna for the day.

Now we wait until early Sattiday to see if the soccer games are on or off. Probably depends if we get any rain this evening or tonight.

wordy, hope things work for the best for Mom-unit. And travel can be fun, but a 1-day visit can be harrowing; hopefully it all works out. Hope there are direct flights to and from the location.

Wolfie, my dentist visits have mostly been with the dental techs doing the cleaning and polishing, with a short visit by the dentist. Hope the yanking isn’t too stressful.

FCM, fancy, expensive anything is often crap…IMHO. Need pics of Roxy on the 2-wheeler (does it have training wheels?).

Real Fish, concur on Justice League, never could quite get into Batman Beyond (but glad there are other MMP’ers who still know/watch cartoons at our ‘mature’ age). And sorry the appeal was turned down, hope Dad can cope.

red, enjoy the early family visit.

doggio, that’s quiet a crew you work with.

Wheelie, enjoy the new window coverings. Oh, and

Been to Lima, Ohio. Outside of train-watching and the Tank Plant, there isn’t much else to recommend it, at least to me. But just getting out and about I can understand.

OK, need to turn the water back on for the 15-minute refilling, and also shave while I can (bathing these days is mostly at the gym). Take care all.

259

It certainly does! At least for now…

260

I just need to scream a little bit. It’s all the little things that are adding frustration today. Having to buy a new frame for CtE. Having to buy a new vacuum so I’m not having to sweep my carpet on a regular basis. CtE being grumpy because I dared ask them to help with some cleaning.

But, for all that I can’t do anything about the frame or the vacuum, CtE has been helping. I did manage to get my bedroom cleaned up, including sweeping the carpet. I’ve made a ton of phone calls and received just as many. Hubby and CtE boxed up the CtE’s computer that isn’t charging anymore so it’s ready to go to FedEx. I have a back up plan for getting Dad in case I’m running late with MFN getting his truck. My nephew called me to tell me that he and my brother have a plan in place for getting Dad’s floors fixed. Hubby said he’d pick up BtY for me. And if I’m lucky, Hubby and I will be playing a board game we borrowed from the library. I’m also hoping to do something with my hair tonight to add a bit more color. So I’m trying to find more of the positive today.

swampy and metal mouse, thanks. I’m hoping he does ok at home too, but I can’t help but worry. I mean, he’s my dad. I’ve got to worry.

shoe, yay for pants! I’ve had to check that myself once or twice.

FCM, you deserve chillage. Sounds like it was a busy day. I hope that the party goes wonderfully and that Roxy loves her 2-wheeler! And grrr on the flag case for FIL’s flag. I don’t blame you for wanting a refund instead of having them ship again. They obviously don’t know how to pack something with glass.

Wolfie, I definitely feel for you. I’ve had to have almost all of my teeth removed over the last several years. I’m just waiting until my dental insurance reboots next year so I can get the rest pulled and get dentures. You definitely don’t want to be like me! I wish you the best in getting everything taken care of without any further problems!

pilot, sounds like you’ve had a busy day. Glad that the clean car avoided the rain again.

metal mouse, I’m all about cartoons! Especially superhero and other geeky cartoons. We’re all children at heart here in the Pond (even the ones that are physically children). Regarding the dealership, they sound like a bunch of useless idiots. I hope the new batteries do the job!