Happy Monday to all. Up, sheveled, and riding to irk as the sun climbs out of the flat jungle on another lazy tropical day in Guyana.
From yesterday:
Overall the layover was nice. Good food, drink, company, and, yes, music. I really enjoy exotic locales. I just wish this one was a little less dangerously desperate. Then I could have gotten out and enjoyed it more. Some of my co-workers are terrified anytime they leave white-bread suburbia. That’s definitely not me. Sorry if I gave that impression.
As my worklife winds down I encounter more and more last milestones. Almost certainly will never pass this way again. Although I certainly expect to do more adventurin’ in South America.
What are some of the stranger places or weirder milestones you’ve all had?
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 74 Amurrkin out and partly cloudy with a predicted high of 95 and mostly N.O.S. for the day with no excessive heat warnin’. We might get rain from the hurricane wanderin’ in the Gulf of Mexico in the next couple of days. We shall see. Today will be a definite stay home and sloth day as there is nowhere we either need or want to be. I foresee quality cee-mint pond time, nappage, day drinkin’, all the usual activities that make up our wont toward general overall uselessness. Sup shall be burgers 'n fixin’s and chips. Ah, retired life!
Pilot hope you get out and get back at a reasonable time today.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s 16c/61f with a predicted high of 17c/62f and mostly cloudy. Weather app says “It’s completely fucking average outside in every fucking way.” I’d agree with that, it’s cloudy, grey and gloomy.
When I last changed the bedding, I washed the duvet and never bothered putting it back on the bed so we’ve been using just the duvet cover at night. Today it’s cool enough to put the duvet back on the bed (necessitating clean bedding, of course).
It’s our last public holiday of the year over here, so after a great day of top bands yesterday, we were home late and had a lie-in this morning. 'im indoors got up and tended to the mogs quite early but only did their food so I got up a bit later to give Shadow his meds. I’ve had a bath so I’m all spotless and sparkling, dinner tonight is leftover chilli out of the freezer, and I have no other plans for the day. Slothage awaits!
Happy Moanday!I’ll be back here on the regular now. My sister just left, and I miss her already. We can be together 12 days straight and not argue or run out of things to say. Now it’s just me and this swollen monstrosity. The leg swelling is way down, but the knee is pretty ugly. Still, I’m walking better, and the pain is less, except at night.
My daughter says she’s about to tell her father she’s taking a long break from him. As I’ve said, he’s been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder with elements of sociopathy. I got out of the marriage (after 32 years), but kids can’t get out of the relationship: he’ll always be their dad. He’s been creepy around her, hence the break. I know we seldom post things that are that personal, but yet another reminder of how twisted he is reminds me of the dark madness I lived with and more important, exposed my kids to, so I’m distressed today.
taters and flyboy, are you getting a lot of smoke? A fire must have blown up overnight, as it smells like woodsmoke out there–and in here, as the windows were open last night. I hope your air is clearer.
pilot, it sounds like a bittersweet time for you as you have your “lasts” to things you’ll miss and things you won’t. That reminds me: will you still want to be called pilot on here, or would you prefer another Mumper name, like Your Highness? To me, your years as a pilot will always be an important part of who you are, but since you’re not planning on flying any planes, I thought we should check in advance in case you’d rather not be called that.
I’d better go read all I missed in the last MMP. First, I need to ice the knee and take meds.
Strange places? Well, I had a job that required me to travel to remote coastal radar sites in Alaska. I’m guessing that at least 99.9% of humans will never do that, as they are restricted areas. They were somewhat strange, and so were the people who manned them. I traveled quite a bit behind the iron curtain in the 80s, which I imagine not a lot of people have done. Compared to American life, it was quite strange seeing people lined up for bread and such. Went through Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. I’ve probably been to a lot of places that Americans would think are exotic. Don’t know about milestones, as I don’t set those for myself. Retirement was a big one.
Good visit with my youngest son and his brood yesterday. His stepson is off to college today. I wrote him a check to cover some uncovered expenses. He’s done a good job of getting financing in place before coming to me, and I think he’ll be a serious student. I did caution him that seriousness is a requirement for any future financial aid, and gave him the short lecture about how nobody is going to get him out of bed in the mornings to go to class. My granddaughters were their usual bubbly, funny selves. The older one showed off her new pierced ears.
Back from the dentist. No more 7AM appointments, thanks. Next time. it’s 8:30. The alarm actually woke me - I was exhausted! I guess yesterday kicked my butt. Then on the way there, I drove past the road where I was supposed to turn. Fortunately, I realized it before I hit the next turn, which got me there the back way. In and out in about 30 minutes. I may be falling apart, but my teeth are good!
I think about weird milestones - like I’ll probably never be in Ocala again, now that MIL is here. (YAY!) Or when I retired, knowing I won’t see all those people again. And a biggie came up last week: I found out my retiree CAC will no longer be valid after Thursday. If I need to get on base for whatever reason, I’ll have to show up like any other visitor. I can’t imagine why I’d need to get on base, but it’s weird to think that for the first time since 1973, I’m no longer free to set foot on a Navy base. It’s like getting kicked out of a club!!
Big plan for today is deep cleaning the bathrooms. The one in the basement will be the worst, so I’ll save it for last. FCD will be working in his shop most of the day building the mailbox cubbies and some tables for the school. And since I’ll be here all day, I’ll try to make a real supper instead of graze and grab.
Morning all. Woke up to rain which is supposed to continue on and off all morning, which the lawn will really appreciate but my soccer practice this afternoon may get cancelled. Car is finally supposed to get into the shop today and hope to hear something about it this afternoon, if luck be with me I’ll get it back by tomorrow. We shall see.
Only milestones I can think of for this year is completing 70 years on this planet and stepping on my 7th (and last) Continent. As for strange places, I pretty much stuck to the normal ‘tourist-like’ stuff in my travels, but thanks to the Greek Army (I was working on a project for them), a group of us got to visit one of the Monasteries at Meteora, Greece (Meteora - Wikipedia) and meet the Abbot/Priest/Head Mucky-Muck for a few minutes.
Cookie, those trips behind the curtain must have been something.
nellie, we all have regrets about things in our life. Daughter sounds like she’s pretty well-adjusted, which says much for you as a Mom with a nightmare of a husband. Don’t be distressed; love the fact you have your sister and your kids still close to you.
boo fae, welcome to the slothage club!!
swampy, looking at the weather map guesses, you might get off staying dry today, but no bets for the rest of the week. Looks like Florida might get hit from both the East and the West.
OK, back to the Moanday internettin’. Have a good week all.
I have a few minutes to kill before my ride gets here.
I didn’t sleep much last night. I will be so happy when this is over.
The dealership called this morning. They still haven’t fixed the truck. The technician took it home and didn’t even make it home. He said the same thing I did; everything is fine and then everything blows up without warning. They called GM and GM said it is something in the wiring.
My options are to go get it and bring it home, not happening, or let them trace all the wiring and see if they can find the problem. They had to get my approval first. The bill could go as high as $600-700. I’m okay with that. I have no choice anyway.
During my most recent visit to my parents, we watched home movies from my dad’s time working for the Navy on Kodiak island. It’s weird that he’s been there, but no one else in the family’s been there.
Due to changes in health and safety rules, there are a number of places that I got to visit that are no longer accessible to visitors. When I was a child, my parents were permitted to drive across Hoover and Grand Coulee Dams. That’s no longer possible due to the security risk.
Need to go back to cleaning. I even cleaned out the closet full of cleaning stuff, including vacuuming the shelves and disposing of about ⅓ of the rags as they were taking too much space. Now that that’s done, I should use some of that cleaning stuff on the bathroom sinks. Fun times!
Strangest place would be an abandoned ICBM missile silo. Just me and some friends and flash lights.
These underground complexes are a LOT bigger than I thought they would be. A lot of crap had been left behind. It was VERY creepy. And looking back, quite dangerous.
First bathroom is clean - as in scrubbing the baseboards on my knees! Can’t recall the last time I did that - usually I just run the vacuum hose with the crevice tool over them. Anyway, one down, 2 to go. Started with the smallest one - was that maybe not the wisest approach??
FCD is on his way to check on the boat. Neither of us can recall the last time we were there. So sad… Maybe next year…
OK, get a quick beverage, then back to bathroom #2!!
Just pointin’ out that you were technically First! (since the 1st actual thread reply was the O.P. who apparently likes talkin’ to himself ) and therefore you very sadly missed the chance to point out how good it is to be juvenile.
And I just don’t know how to feel about that.
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from King of the Hill:
Peggy Hill: “Do you have any idea how DUMB ‘average’ is?!”
So you’re … a vampire from a tween novel?
Well, that’s … somewhat good news? I hope this means you’re healing. It can be frustrating, how slow the recovery process can feel.
But I’m genuinely glad to know the bigliest of swelling has subsided.
Yeah, right, the fuck we don’t.
My best to your daughter. NPD is a bitch to deal with, and the fallout can be scarring.
Sounds like the Funk Fairy visited JtheC then wandered over to your place.
The Funk Fairy can fuck off.
You will always and forever be a model of how to be a generous, selfless, and thoughtful human being.
That was a big milestone in my childhood: finally being allowed to have pierced ears!
If my dentist - or anyone else - offered me a 7 a.m. appointment, I’d just laugh.
Like, I have to be up earlier than that even? Put on a shirt & possibly even pants, too, and then also hafta go somewhere? What, like, on purpose?
To quote some of the high schoolers I work with: “Naw, fam. Nuh-uh.”
I got a bitter laugh out of this. So often, vehicles mysteriously act all polite around the mechanic, then as soon as you’re laughed off the premises and head home feeling embarrassed, hey! there’s that funny sound again.
That said, I’m so sorry you have this much shit on your plate.
Pro tip: next time, use the rags for that one particularly filthy cleaning task, then pitch them.
I like using socks where I’ve absolutely given up on finding the mate (or the mate was irreparably hole-ey) for this. Slip over hand, and dust/wipe cobwebs, etc. then slip back over your wrist & toss, with the mess neatly contained within the now-inside-out sock.
I’d say it is - low-hanging fruit and whatnot. Now there’s one full bathroom all the way done.
Okay, I’m up way too early & was too tired to eat much last night before Mr. Sandman punched me in the face, so I think imma go back to Wendy’s for another square shaped croissant { grumbles incoherently about corporate mumble mumble but purchases item anyway } then, hopefully, back to bed.
This job has turned one thing utterly topsy-turvy for me: driving home last night, I thought to myself, yet again: “I survived another weekend; thank GAWD it’s Monday!”
To be fair, I asked for it last time. Yanno - get it done early and get it over with. Plus if you’re first, you don’t need to worry about your appointment running late because someone ahead of you needed more attention. But I figure 8:30 is close enough to avoid most issues… theoretically…
Second bathroom is done - it was particularly gross since it’s the one the kids use. Plus I needed to scrub the tub - easily my most hated chore - even more than dusting!!! The floors in both are going to need to be replaced, but it’ll be done by pros this time. We put vinyl peel-n-press and the top veneer of vinyl is starting to delaminate. It’s been at least 13 years, so I guess we got our money’s worth. After we get back from our cruise, we’ll talk to our carpet/flooring guy. All the bedrooms should be recarpeted too, I suppose - they’re at least 15 years old. But so much furniture to move… must think on that.
Meanwhile, I just finished brunch, since I didn’t have breakfast before my appointment and I was stahvink! I’ll rest a bit before attacking the basement bathroom. Good times!
I’ve been there, but the Navy hasn’t been there since 1972, when it was turned over to the Coast Guard (who are still there).
Intimidating, for sure. Even with a diplomatic passport (or perhaps because of it), you were never quite sure if you were safe. Followed everywhere by the KGB (or it’s local counterpart) of course.
So I started in smalls, heaving with Sloth Man. Who did reasonably well, and didn’t nail me in the head with a bag bag. Then it was over at the 200 Slide, doing the clean up and clerking, and dealing with smashed furniture. They had a sewer backup, and had to cut the water off. I had just enough water in the faucet to clean the filth off my arms. I got home and took my shower, then Spot went into the bathroom and screamed. I guess cats have Mondays, too.
You mean like meeting up with complete strangers in seedy dive bars?
Sorry the knee hurts at night, and the Ex is still Ex-ing, nellie
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” ― George Carlin
My uncle was forbidden to cross when he was there. Mainly because he did things on US subs, and then got a job as a contractor in West Germany working at a place that had enough antennas that he could probably read thoughts from 20 miles away.
Good morning, all. I can’t think offhand of strange places I’ve been, and feel sort of dull about milestones today. Maybe later in the week.
To answer a question from the previous thread, a not-strange place I was yesterday was flying to another state, picking up a loaded car for a family member, and driving it back to the other state. This was an 18-hour round trip and, as others have mentioned, the air quality in Cascadia is pretty crummy, so I’m quite tired this morning, though I feel accomplished. Not that the car is unpacked yet, but that will happen later, and I don’t have to do all of it.
Today is a milestone! For the first time ever, all 3 of the bathrooms are clean at the same time!!!
On the downside, the spray cleaner with bleach left spots on my shirt, so I sprayed it some more - it’ll either make a neat pattern or I’ll have a new grubby-work shirt.
According to the weather app, it’s raining here. But it’s not raining. It’s overcast and humid and generally ick out there. But no rain. Yet.
When the kids were little, I used to regularly get the earliest appointment possible. I liked to get it out of the way and get my day started. Now that they’re older and I’m… not as young… I’m finding that I hate first appointments of the day and would much rather make one for around 10am and then go on with my day.
I would never condone doing such a thing! (Hides all the pictures from the early 2000’s NYC DopeFests)
I don’t think I’ve been anywhere strange - unless you want to count a tour of the White House and the FBI when I was 12. Other than that, there really isn’t anything I can think of. I haven’t even been out of the US.
All the milestones I can think of are fairly boring too. I’ve survived almost 5 decades on the planet, been married 20 years on the 13th of September, am successfully helping my kids navigate school… but those are just like things that everyone does.
I had a good time yesterday playing D&D with some of the Nashville Poly People. I have a list of quotes (I believe I’m going to be the official quote monkey for the group, which is great because I love catching quotes) that I need to type up and post. I also need to redo my character since, instead of the One Shot that this was supposed to be, we’re now into the third meeting without resolution. So I think my sneaky thief will be tweaked a bit to make her more workable. I just wish the pre-gen hadn’t been halfling. I hate playing the typical race/class combos.
Still having a lot of problems with my hands, and I think things are getting worse. I’ll get quick tingles of numbness in both arms and legs when I move certain ways. I’ve got a message in to my doctor. What I’m really worried about is that it will mean back surgery again. But if it’s what I need, it’s what I need. I’m losing my ability to distinguish things by touch, to hold on to things with any weight, and to get up and down easily (because of the back pain). As much as I hate doing it, I’ve had to ask Hubby and the Kids to take over cleaning. I just can’t put the strength in to do a lot of the things that need to be done.
I am, however, going to be a sub for the PDO program I used to work for. This is the first time back since the pandemic and they lost a lot of families because the kids aged out. We used to have two programs - Tuesday/Thursday and Wednesday/Friday with a maximum of 24 kids for each session and 4 teachers plus the director. At the moment, we’ve got 7 kids, 2 teachers and the director and are only doing Tuesday/Thursday. So they need a good, reliable sub. I’ve had problems being there in the past when I was teaching - depression and back pan. But whenever I subbed, I was there and on point. I’m going over tomorrow to fill out the paperwork.
This week is a combination of busy and slow. Hubby has a new tutee, which should help with some of the money woes. CtE has therapy on Wednesday. BtY needs to get caught up on his past due work. My best friend is coming for the weekend on Friday, and the kids are out of school Friday and Monday. I’ve got several organizational things that I want to do, but that will all be time and energy dependent. None of it is a requirement, so the “Fishy’s resting and needs to occupy her mind” column is where that goes.
Though I do need to remember to put the link of CtE’s last fundraiser for Chorus on my FB in case anyone wants to buy it. They have a $100 fair share that they either need to pay out of pocket or fundraise for. Since I don’t have that at the moment, the fundraiser it is. We usually get my in-laws at the very least to buy. They’re doing CitySaver books which is great if you’re local, not so much if you aren’t. I’m just trying to remember my mantra of “Whatever will be will be”.
And now I’ve realized I’m sitting too much and really need to step away from the computer. I think I’m going to spend the rest of the day reading. Enjoy your Moandays, all!
To me, your years as a pilot will always be an important part of who you are, but since you’re not planning on flying any planes, I thought we should check in advance in case you’d rather not be called that.
Maybe next year…
) and therefore you very sadly missed the chance to point out how good it is to be juvenile.
