EL HOMO BLOGO

Relaxing & Boring Thursday

2012-01-26T22:32:00.001-06:00

The kids were nice enough to let me sleep in to the ripe hour of 8:30 this morning. Last night I decided that my sleep was suffering and I really needed to do some serious sleeping. So I took 2 sleeping pills. I described how I felt after taking two of these pills to a doctor and he said that is the hang over effect. Yeah, no wonder all you want to do is sleep.

Back on topic. I fed the kids and propped my door open then climbed back in to bed. My bed partner (cat) joined me and we dosed off together. I got woke up about an hour later by our mail order pharmacy, once again calling to verify our address. I let them go to voice mail. When I woke up next it was a little after 12 noon. My bed partner (cat) was at my feet. His mother was at my head and one of her daughters was sitting on my nightstand.

I got up and had Cinnamon Cream of Wheat and ate some fruit bite pastry that we picked up yesterday. That was delicious. Then my partner got up and had Corned Beef and Cabbage. That is a great meal but not for breakfast.

I was in the living room with cats all around me. There was one spot on the couch left for my partner and after he was done he joined us. He turned on the TV and we watched the History Channel. It was a show all about the Civil Rights Movement and the KKK. Wow, that was sure a different time and a different way of thinking. People say that Gay is the new black. To an extent that may be true but I think the black people went through more torture than us Gays. Particularly because it was about the color of their skin, which was easy to spot. You can’t tell a gay person unless he is wearing apparel that says I’m gay.

In any case discrimination and Civil Rights violations are wrong no matter what the reason or who they happen to. America is suppose to be the land of the free but I think that there are a lot of people that are held hostage. Be it a gay person afraid to hold hand, kiss or introduce his male companion as his partner, boyfriend or husband.

There is no question that America has progressed and learned from mistakes made in the past. However, there are still things wrong in the present day. Lots of things from the budget, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, equal rights for all, and the list goes on and on. I hope that we can turn things around for our country and that the people we elect to office will do the job we are paying them for. I also think that every politician should work for minimum wage for a year, then they will come closer to seeing the reality of the underpaid and the poor. It’s amazing how you can suddenly get a dose of reality and understand what it means to walk in another persons shoes.

Moving on to something less depressing. I wanted to take a nap but just couldn’t fall asleep. Too much noise and my partner was returning a call from this morning. His hearing aids. I said HIS HEARING AIDS ARE IN!

The phone message said call right away so we can get you in. He called and they don’t have any openings until next week. Wow, he thought he could get them tomorrow. That would have been great because I wouldn’t have to shout so much. Ah, well at least there is something to look forward to.

Tomorrow we are going to visit a local office complex that has been on my agenda for a little over a week. There are signs out front that list all of the businesses that are inside. I’m going take some notes and then e-mail or snail mail them a letter and resume. Cold calling is how I got my first job and I haven’t given up on it, but I realize the chances today of finding a job this way are really slim. Then were headed to the unemployment office and to the restaurant with the Groupon deal.

Today was a good day to sit inside with sweat pants on lounging around. The weather here is wet and cold. Who wants to go out in that if they don’t have to?

I’m suddenly hungry for a Krispy Kreme Doughnut. I saw this photo on-line and had to share it with you. Not only does it make me hungry for KKD but the guy in the photo isn’t bad.

I almost forgot I saw Mr. Sickie use the litter box. All is working normally. He still acts a little strange but he is eating and using the litter box. Makes me worry a little bit less, but I still worry about him. He’s off all of the medicine that he was on at the hospital. Now were back to the normal stuff.

That’s a wrap for Thursday! Happy Friday and have an awesome weekend. Here’s to health and may some wealth come my way. I’ve been seeing a lot of 7-7-7 lately in prices that I pay for things and on TV. I wonder if that means anything? Maybe just that I know what the number 7 looks like. Sort of like Cookie Monster knows what a cookie looks like.

Technology Thursday

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

This was just a catchy title and isn’t going to be a regular theme. I just feel compelled to share these tips with you, in the hopes that it may make your computing experience much more pleasant. I subscribe to the Oprah Winfrey saying “When you know better you do better.”

Before I get started, I must inform you that this knowledge is shared for you to use at your own risk. There are no warranties expressed or implied. In simple terms, if something goes wrong do not come crying to me. I am not and will not be compensated in any form by any of the companies that I mention. This is strictly a good will gesture on my part.

First on the list is backup. This is a subject that us IT Geeks preach about but no one listens, until it’s too late then there is nothing but regret. Then your calling us asking for us to work a miracle. Depending upon how important your data is, you may want to have extra copies at home and at a friends house. Personally, I use a service called Carbonite (www.carbonite.com). It’s on-line backup that you can’t beat. For $59 per year, per computer they give you unlimited on line back up. This is securely backed up to the cloud. The best part is that it’s effortless. You install and configure their software one time and then forget about it. As long as you have a broadband connection and your computer is turned on, your files will be backed up automatically. They have saved me a couple times when I deleted a file on accident and when I have wiped my machine and started from scratch. The best part is they will let you try the service before you buy for two full weeks.

If you can’t afford Carbonite or don’t think it’s right for you. Consider looking at Crash Plan (www.crashplan.com). From what I understand this will require you to have a broadband connection along with a friend that has a broadband connection. With their software they allow you each to backup your files to a friends computer. This is certainly a viable option but if you and your friend live in the same dwelling I would discourage this. Why? Simple a disaster takes out your dwelling be it fire, flood or whatever. Guess what both of your computers were wiped out and now you have no backup and you both loose your data.

No matter what solution you go with, back up your data and do it on a regular basis. Otherwise Murphy (as in the law of murphy) will strike and your data will be wiped out when you least expect it. That will leave you saying I wish I had backed up!

Ever put a program on your system and have trouble uninstalling it or wonder if when it uninstalled that all traces of it were wiped out? Simple solution use Revo Uninstaller. If you Google this, it will show up. They make a Professional version which costs money. I use the free version and it does a great job. I did try the pro version and found it to work equally as well but why spend the money when you can get what you want for free.

The third and final tip. Did you ever want to use your computer to view a file or pull up a document but your at a friends house or at work? Simple free solution. Use Log Me In (www.logmein.com). When you sign up, they will enroll you in a free 30 day trial. Go to account options and change it to the Free version. That will take away the ability to print and a couple other features. However, you will still have access to your PC. There are two layers of security here. The first is a password for your account, which you setup on line. The second is a unique password that is stored on your PC in the Log Me In software. This password is stored locally so no one will have access to it. If you forget it you will have to physically be in front of the computer in order to get it changed.

I found out about Log Me In when my GoToMyPC subscription expired. This is a competitor to Log Me In but both services work pretty similar. The difference is GoToMyPc is a pay only service. Being in the tech industry it’s always great to be able to log in to your home machine to test out if you can visit a website that others think is down or if you just want to browse the web at work but not wanting anyone to know where exactly your going. There are lots of reasons to have this regardless if your in the tech industry or not. Keep in mind that your machine will have to be powered on and your broadband connection will need to be up in order for either of these solutions to work.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and that they help you. Happy and safe computing!

Wet Wednesday

2012-01-25T23:47:00.001-06:00

Mr. Sickie didn’t want to sleep with me last night. That left me a little concerned. Considering I started him on a medication called Cosequin for his arthritis. I know that some of the side effects are upset stomach and diarrhea. He was supposed to get 2 pills but I only gave him 1 thinking that it would be easier on him.

I got woke up at 5:30 by Big Boy who wanted out of my room. I let him out and tried to go back to bed but TAZ’s pal threw a fit and I had to get up. So I fed them, had breakfast and watched TV. Mr. Sickie wasn’t interested in food and I instantly felt a HUGE amount of guilt and regret. He did want to sleep and eventually we wound up in bed together napping. I was able to hold his paw as we both drifted in and out of sleep.

One time I woke up I smelled this awful odor like someone went to the bathroom. I had to check every where when I got up and I determined that he had a bad case of gas. Wow be thankful you weren’t there!

My partner made it to the dentist. I got a shower hit the post office and cat food store. Where I spotted a hot guy, just doing his job. He couldn’t have been more than 20 but he was sure fine. The things that went through my mind. All I did was pass by him and go mm mm as in your fine! No reaction at all. That’s as close I have gone to flirt in a while.

Back home with the food and Mr. Sickie is eating. Plus he is waiting for more food. He watched me put out the wet food but seldom is able to get close enough to try it because his sisters throw a fit. They swat and hiss at him, so he retreats to his dry food. Nothing makes me happier lately than to hear the sound of food crunching in his mouth.

The vets office called yesterday and left a voice mail checking on him. Today the vet called and we spoke. She wants him to come back in a week to check his weight, as long as all is normal then no changes. I talked about still not seeing a bowel movement and she said give it until Saturday if you don’t see anything by then he should come back. Just because I don’t see anything doesn’t mean he isn’t going. I mean we have 7 of these little beasts and trying to sort out who did what in the litter box can be difficult to say the least. Strangely enough I usually have a good idea but it doesn’t mean I’m right.

As much as I didn’t want to I called my brother to see how things went on his interview. Turns out that it sounds like he has a job. They are waiting for the background check to come back along with verifying his references. It’s a 90 day right to hire position working afternoons. They are supposed to call him either later this week or early next week. Only time will tell.

If he gets a job before me that will be that much more depressing. However, he has some college and is fresh on the market so he is much more marketable than I am. Plus he said that it would be a very small cut in pay. I told him if they make you an offer, jump at it. You don’t want to be in my shoes 14 months later still looking.

Speaking of the job hunt, the ads this week are sparse for some reason. The last two weeks were filled with lots of positions but this week not so. What has me down is that we are almost done with the first month of the year and thus far no one has phoned for an interview or even so much as a telephone screen. I know there still are 4 working days left in the month but I don’t recall going a full month with nothing.

It’s been a cold, wet, rainy day here. Sounds like it will be that way for a couple days. As you can imagine that doesn’t do anything for my mood. Either tomorrow or Friday were going to visit the unemployment office so I can tell them I am still among the living. Then off to spend a Groupon deal at one of our favorite restaurants. My partner bought this a couple weeks ago as a treat for us. Hopefully, we don’t go over and it can be an even deal. It’s $30 or $35 worth of food for $16, not bad at all.

2 more days until the weekend. I put together a tech post that will be published here in about 16 minutes. It felt good to write it, that is a small part of what my jobs have entailed. It’s nice to be able to do that for fun but also to help stay current in my skills. I hope that you enjoy it and that you enjoy the rest of your week. Take care, I’m off to watch Ellen to see Mario Lopez model some underwear. I know I’m excited just thinking about it, even if he is straight!

Chowing Down

2012-01-24T21:38:00.001-06:00

The cat is still eating! It was great to have him sleep with me last night. We got in some good cuddle time and I know he missed me. I also believe he feels better, despite the fact he doesn’t like to take medicine. I still worry about him that he will suddenly stop eating, but the more time goes by with him being normal, the more that fear will diminish. He had some cuddle time with his brother this afternoon, which was nice to see.

Speaking of brothers mine called and told me that he’s got an interview tomorrow. It’s with a head hunter but they have him all set to bring ID and submit to a background check. Sounds like this might be more solid than I’m giving it credit for. He said that mom is freaking out, that she doesn’t know how she will survive with him back to work. It’s only been a month and she’s lived with him at work for a few years now. I mean eventually he will go back to work and she will have to deal with it. I pray that I am back to work before or by the time he returns to work. Otherwise she will make my life a living hell.

The job hunt for me is moving forward. Still no calls or emails. I am applying like crazy in the hopes something will give way soon. A couple weeks ago I bit the bullet and decided to apply for a job with a Religious Ministry. They asked all sorts of questions about where I went to church, how long I was going to church, the name of the church, a reference from the church and on. All of those questions bare no relevance on the job. I answered most with this has nothing to do with the job. I am more than qualified for this position but it’s a long haul from home. Today I got an e-mail that God told them I wasn’t the person they should pursue for this opportunity. However, I was told to rest assured that God has a plan for my life. This is a clear and blatant violation of the law in that they are discriminating against me due to my Religious beliefs. The fact that I told them I didn’t attend church and the way that I answered their questions that were not relevant to the job, no doubt are what caused them to reject me. Still I believe I have a case. Now the bigger question is should I file a charge of discrimination against them? I could get money or even a job out of this but it could take months, I could also walk away with nothing but a waste of time. The bigger problem here is should I mess with God’s anointed? I mean the bible preaches against it and while I don’t think he is doing a lot for me concerning a job, I don’t want to piss him off. My choice is to let it go. Not only because I don’t want the encounter the wrath of God but also because I think it would be a huge waste of my time. All I want is a decent full time job and to be happy. Going through this would just add to my stress. I am continuing to focus on my job search.

Today was another expensive day but not nearly as expensive as yesterdays vet bill. I got us a bite to eat, paid a doctor bill for my partner and filled up his truck with gas.

I got a pleasant surprise in today’s mail the February issue of Out Magazine arrived. Who’s on the cover but Neil Patrick Harris and his partner David Burtka. You all are aware with my obsession of NPH. It was nice to read their story about how they met, what they think of each other and how they manage to live their lives along with the adoption of their children. Out told me a couple months ago that my subscription had expired. I didn’t bother to renew, nor will I until I know I am financially stable, which given my present circumstances will be a while.

My partner is feeling a bit better today. We made it to see the foot doctor today. Tomorrow he’s got a dental appointment and then a friend of his will be stopping by for a bit. The weather tomorrow is forecast to be rather sloppy with a wintry mix but the temperatures by the afternoon will be high enough to melt away what ever falls. Now that’s the kind of winter I like. Bring on the snow, the ice and the cold for the morning. Then wipe it all away by the afternoon or at the very latest the next day.

The boys had me up early this morning and I have felt the effects on my body. I got back to sleep for a little bit, just long enough for the sick cat to wake me up. Then back to sleep for a bit only to be woken by the telephone. Geez I guess I should just give up and get out of bed, even if I am not well rested. That’s how my day started. I don’t mind getting up early it will help to condition my body for when I return to work, hopefully I get a job with day time hours that requires me to get up early or this might be counter productive.

I hope that you had a great Tuesday. Hang on because Wednesday is around the corner. I think we have another fast moving week on our hands! Be kind to each other and stay warm!

Home

2012-01-23T13:55:00.001-06:00

Well Mr Cat is home! He looked at food this morning but wouldn't eat. The vet was able to syringe feed him. He wasn't happy about it but he allowed it.

I got a bunch of medicine and 2 cans of liquid food. He was walking around when we got home. You could tell he was nervous. Then he calmed down and started to eat. We started with some wet food and he's been snacking on dry food. He has been peeing up a storm. I am waiting for some stool. I think that and him eating on his own spell recovery to me. I just hope he keeps chowing down.

At the vet they put us in the same room where we said goodbye to #1 son. I hate that room! The people the next door over came to say goodbye to their pet. As soon as I heard that I wanted to leave. I said a prayer for them.

The bill was out of this world. Not much help when one of my many worries is running out of money. At least he appears better so it's money well spent.

Time for a nap and then I have to figure out what's for supper. Praying the phone rings and I get an interview.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. Be kind to each other.

Monday–you know the drill MMM

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

SHOW ME THAT ASS

TIE ME UP AND DO DIRTY THINGS TO ME

DO IT TO ME NOW

NO SERVICE UNLESS YOUR SHIRTLESS

SMACK THAT ASS

The only way guys will ever get to sleep with Zac Effron. Wondering where I can get these.

Update

2012-01-22T17:14:00.001-06:00

The mass was food, which is good. Upon X-ray this morning his stomach was empty. He still has stool and now some gas. Still refusing to eat.

After we talked they decided to try a one time shot of Valium, which worked.
He ate a 1/2 can of wet food. Since this afternoon but he is back to his hunger strike.

I asked about his teeth being the problem and they thought of that already. Upon exam nothing obvious was showing. He will be spending another night in the hospital, not something that we want but it was highly suggested.

If we get to the point where a feeding tube is required they will do dental X-rays and look at his chomped closer. Typically mouth pain is not a reason why cats stop eating. His hunger strike remains a mystery.

One thing I can say is that when the boys loose their appetite getting it back is very difficult.

Tonight they are going to give him a buffet of dry food. They are also going to try syringe feeding him wet food to see if we can't jump start him eating again. I hope we don't need a feeding tube and he gets hungry and eats on his own.

I will keep you posted. If there are any typos here I composed this entire post from my iPhone.

Emergency Visit

2012-01-21T22:38:00.001-06:00

Just got home about 15 minutes ago from an Emergency trip to the vet. Turns out that our boys left leg has arthritis and at some point he blew his ACL. There is nothing surgical that can be done right now for this, he has to be managed with medicine.

What started the trip to the vet is he started crying. That was the breaking point for us.

The x-rays show a mass in his stomach. It could be and most probably is food. It could be something much worse. We wont know anything until tomorrow. The plan is to wait 6 to 8 hours and repeat x-rays. If it moved then it’s food. If it didn’t move then he will need to have it explored by putting a scope down to his stomach. Then depending upon what they find, it may need to be biopsied.

They did find stool waiting to come out, which is good. He is currently in the hospital getting fluids, medication to help calm him down. He was going crazy once we got him to the vet. They think that it’s a side effect from all of the medication that he is on. Once it all wears off he should hopefully return to his normal self.

Tonight won’t be an easy night. I’ve already got bad feelings about this, only because we have been down a similar road. There is the cost perspective as well. This won’t be cheap no matter which way it goes. However, we can save a lot of money if he doesn’t need the scope. So that is what I’m hoping for. My partner said that he witnessed him eat more than his usual one or two kibbles of food tonight.

More news sometime tomorrow.

Kitty

2012-01-21T20:23:00.001-06:00

Friday went back to the vet. Got a couple appetite stimulant pills and two doses of pain medicine. They loaded him up with both before we left. By the time we got home he was a slobbering mess. I got him cleaned up and calmed down. He ate a very small amount. Then it was nap time. Despite asking for x-rays the vet felt that it would probably be a waste of money given the way he presented.

Friday afternoon I noticed that he was limping and had moments when he would just cry out. Not sure what this is all about.

Today he isn’t any better. He eats a very small amount. Haven’t seen any urine or stool since late Wednesday. That concerns me. I mentioned that yesterday but it didn’t seem to trigger any alarms.

I called for an appointment today but they were booked with appointments and had a bunch of emergencies. Yesterday as we were checking out two teenagers brought in a dog that was just hit by a car. Nice to know there is still good people in the world.

Anyway, we have an appointment for Sunday morning. If he gets worse or anything changes he will go over right away. They are there 24 hours but the after hours calls cost more and are limited to emergencies only. I know enough from what we went through with Big Boy to watch his color and breathing. Thus far all is still normal.

Blood work results came back and from that he is the picture of perfect health. I just wish that was the reality of the matter.

Right now I’m thinking he got into something, he broke or injured a leg, or he is impacted. He hasn’t been to the bathroom that we know of since Wednesday, possibly early Thursday morning. That is a long time for a person or an animal to go without at least urination. He’s drinking a little bit but mostly just lays around.

Stay tuned for more updates. I don’t know why I’m going through all of the bad right now from unemployment, sick cats, taxes and running out of money. I guess I did something that pissed off God or the Universe or something. Things have to get better soon, a person can only take so much!

Poorer

2012-01-19T22:35:00.001-06:00

The cat had to go to the vet. He is hydrated, which is a good thing. Today he hasn’t eaten any food or drank any water. Just kind of laying around. He had me up at 6am because he was puking again. So the quick version is it was $265. He got blood work done (results should come back by Monday), 3 injections to help with the nausea and vomiting, the office visit and medicine for his IBS. Plus they called in a prescription to a local pharmacy that won’t be ready until tomorrow and that will probably be another $35. Poor thing was just happy to get back home. He wants to cuddle and watch TV. He should return to eating tomorrow, if not or if he gets worse we have to call. I hope he goes back to eating, otherwise he will probably have to check into the hospital.

As if that wasn’t depressing enough, I decided to see what Turbo Tax on-line would say I owed. Turns out I have to come up with $4 thousand dollars. We are going to pick up a copy of the software from a retail store, as we do every year. My hubby believes that the figures are wrong but I told him Turbo Tax is pretty well goof proof and I gave it the information and then it supplied the results. The thing that hit me the worse was tapping into my retirement there is tax plus a penalty for early withdrawal. Assuming these figures are right looks like I will have to make another withdrawal just to pay the taxes and that will leave me with about enough money left to file bankruptcy.

Believe it or not there is some good news in all of this. That is taxes aren’t due until April 15th so I have a few months to hopefully land a job, which if it pays enough should prevent me from having to file bankruptcy. The taxing agencies do take credit cards so that could be another avenue instead of taping my retirement again. That way if I did have to file bankruptcy the monies owed in taxes would essentially be wiped out. Right now I just have to wait and see how things play out.

We hit the grocery store today that was $100 from my pocket. Tomorrow is pet food day, plus the trip to the pharmacy so figure another $85 to $100.

I was always told it takes money to make money. I don’t have a lot but I am certainly ready to make money because it’s being spent like it’s water. It comes and goes faster than a stray cat.

Today was also recruiter call day. I got calls and e-mails for jobs that were once again 1/2 way across the country. I told them I’m not willing to relocate so if they get something in my neck of the woods, look me up. That pretty much ends those conversations and you never hear from those same people again. I shouldn’t and won’t move just to get a job. Conversely I think that if I was willing to move I would have had a job a long time ago. That’s sad.

I’m going to visit a couple sites and then go cuddle and watch TV with mister sickie. I was feeling pretty good until the whole tax thing came up. Crap it’s always something but I guess that is what keeps life interesting.

Happy Friday to you all. I hope you have a great weekend. Take care and be kind to one another!

The First Man

2012-01-18T22:20:00.001-06:00

So the other day I was thinking and decided to ask my partner. Suppose he runs for President of the United States and is elected. What would that make me, the first man? He laughed for a few minutes and then said that is a very good question. You know we made history during the last Presidential election by voting into office our very first black president. I think that eventually with time we will have our 1st openly gay president. Granted it may not happen during my lifetime but I believe it will happen. So how will you refer to his partner …. The first man, The first partner, The first person? It’s funny but it’s also a valid question. What do you think?

In other news Big Boy’s brother is sick. He went on a hunger strike as of this morning. Poor thing he threw up yesterday (hope your not eating and reading. If so I bet your not eating anymore, sorry about that) and hasn’t been the same since. He is drinking water and sticking close to me. We are bed buddies, meaning that he sleeps in my bed most every night and he takes up most of the bed, it’s only a twin. I need to upgrade just for him. He licks my arms like they are pork chops, something about the taste of me that he and his mother really like. I tried it and all I got was a mouth full of arm hair. Ick. Anyway, this poor guy he walks over to the food bowl and hunkers down like he is going to eat but then he just gives up and walks away. Then comes back and does the same thing again. I gave him some Recovery food, which is loaded with fat and other things that a very sick cat needs. He nibbled on it a little and walked away. Everyone else gobbled it up, despite it not being for them much less good for them. I’ve given him medicine for nausea which seemed to help a little. I gave him his regular medicine for IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) but thus far nothing. I’m wondering if it’s nausea or if he has a dental problem. My suspicion tells me it’s stomach related. He’s not one to get into things, he won’t even eat table scraps. He likes his crunchy dry food and seldom eats wet food. Unlike his brother who loves it all. I am worried about him and if things don’t improve tomorrow then he will be visiting the vet. Hunger strikes or lack of appetite is serious and while you don’t want to panic you can’t afford to wait more than 2 days max. I just want him back to being himself. The little fuzzy monsters eat money if it’s not food or littler it’s a vet visit. Always something, but I love them and can’t imagine life without a single one of them nor would I want to.

On the job front there wasn’t one job posting to respond to tonight and I looked & looked. I think that everyone went to black out Wednesday against SOPA & PIPA. That is all well and good but folks need jobs. No phone calls today either. Ah, well we still have 2 more days perhaps something will materialize.

Be kind to each other. I will be back with another update tomorrow.

Leave a message after the beep

2012-01-17T22:24:00.001-06:00

This morning I got a call from a recruiter who left me a voice mail message but started talking way before the beep. All I got was a thanks bye. I wonder how many people this person has placed? I mean it’s 2012 and answering machines & voice mail have been around for years. If you don’t know how to use either of them by now, then your pretty well up a creek!

With the Monday holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) there was a delay in job postings showing up on-line. Thankfully, tonight I was able to spend 2 full hours applying for work. I applied at a couple top notch places and feel pretty good tonight. Compared to how I felt yesterday and today that is a very good thing.

My partner went to the doctor today. He got some medicine changed around, was told he needs calcium to help increase his fingernail strength and he’s being changed to Uloric for his Gout. His hands and feet are horrible with the stuff. His foot doctor isn’t that happy so I suggested to ask about a change, turns out what he was taking was good but Uloric is super expensive and a little better. There will be a marginal improvement.

Since there was no mail yesterday we stopped today before heading to the doctor. My rewards card for Macaroni Grill was in, so we ate there afterwards. I used to love this place but the menu has changed multiple times and the food just isn’t as good as it used to be. We spent all $55 and the card was good for $50. The meal cost me $10 with the balance and tip, not bad at all. Just wish the food would have been better.

It’s the middle of January and if you can believe it I had to run the AC yesterday because the house got up to 89 degrees. Today it’s in the 30’s but yesterday was in the 60’s. Very strange weather! We even had a Tornado Watch last night and heavy storms rolled in around 2AM. It woke me and the boys up. They were worried but I told them go back to bed, you will be fine. That’s what I did and all was well this morning.

Nothing is planned or scheduled for the rest of the week. We need to visit the grocery store and probably the pet food store. Outside of that the next major event is next Tuesday when my partner goes to the foot doctor. Hopefully the phone will ring and I will have an interview or two lined up. That would be nice!

The heat is back on here and were doing our best to stay toasty warm. Not much else to say other than it’s a boring life. Can’t wait until I can complain about waking up early or working late. I’d like to have a job lined up this month but my goal is by Valentines Day. That would be a real sweetheart of a deal! Stay tuned and I will keep you posted.

How’s your week going so far? Take care and be well. Thanks as always for stopping by!

Music & Men must be Monday!

2012-01-16T02:00:00.000-06:00

BUTTS

LEATHER & BONDAGE

SHIRTLESS

SPANKING

SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE

Lastly a little bit of humor…..

HAPPY MONDAY!

Sexual Post

2012-01-15T23:17:00.001-06:00

-------------------------------------------------------A word of warning before I start. This post will talk about gay sex. If that is not your cup of tea, don’t read this post.----------------------------------------

For those of you still with me, here we go. So a while back I came across a video from Shotgun Video called Testicle Torture volume 4 Kickball. It sounded interesting enough. I watched it and I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was guys who were hard and someone would hit them in the nuts. They even have a special hammer of sorts. You could hear the cries and know they were in pain but they kept on taking the racking there nuts got. Finally they got off. Okay I understand a little pain with sex but this was way outside of my norm. I had no idea that anyone could or would enjoy that amount of pain with sex. I also wondered how there nuts felt the next day.

There was another video from the same company called Vacuum Pumper Studs which was about guys getting off from having there rods stuck in a suction device. That was hot and got me excited enough that I got off to it.

Yet another video again from the same company but this time I don’t remember the title showed a guy getting hit nuts tied to some small weights which looked hot. As the movie progressed more and more weights until they graduated to a boot. They also used electro stimulation which if done right will give you the orgasm of your life. However, from what I saw it looked like they were pouring on the power. Too much voltage and you’ll scream too.

Have you seen a cock and ball spreader? It’s a harness that separates your nuts. It looks hot. I tried this and man it hurt way too much for me. Proof that you can’t and maybe shouldn’t try to duplicate what you see in porn.

S&M is something that is enjoyable but I only like a minimal amount of pain. It is however fun to watch but there are many thing I have seen that I wouldn’t dare try because it looks like it is too much.

I think it’s good to spice things up once and a while because everyone needs a little spice. Do something different and out of the norm. That means sometimes giving control to someone else or doing something a little outside your comfort zone. Try it sometime I think you will have a great time and a great orgasm to go with the fun.

Another studio that I enjoy is Bound Gods. Not everything they produce is for me but clips with twinks or my favorite porn stars like Christian Owen or Noah Brooks make it a huge turn on. A fun thing that is common here is someone starts whacking off the slave and he’s begging to finish, just about the time he is ready they stop. Then a few minutes later the same thing. Try that when your whacking off, makes it so hot but you have to have the will power to stop before you get to the point of no return!

Well all of this hot talk is working me up so I guess it’s time to go have some fun of my own. What is the kinkiest thing you’ve done? If you haven’t done anything, what would you like to try?

Weekend Rap up

2012-01-15T22:36:00.001-06:00

Saturday I got up early and headed out to the bank and post office. We loafed at home for a good part of the day. We ventured out around 4pm to run some errands. My partner suggested Pizza Hut for supper, that is unusual. I know he’s catering to me. So I said okay. He had the salad bar and then our pizza was 1/2 taco and 1/2 super supreme. Normally we go with Pan but since they were out, had to settle for Hand Tossed. Pretty good stuff. He ate all but one piece of the Taco pizza and he loved it!

My entertainment was watching a little girl some where between age 8 to 10 play with the game pizza hut had. It was one of those claws that you control and when you get over the item you want (in this case stuffed animal) you press a button and the claw drops and tries to pick up the item. She was trying for a small stuffed tiger. It was $1 per play, which I think is a little excessive. Anyway, I watched her try 6 different times. Her face would light up and then when the claw let go you could see the disappointment written all over her face. She left with her mom. A guy walks up with his two daughters puts in a dollar and wins the tiger. He had to try to win another animal for his other girl but he gave up after he tried once. I have never ever seen anyone win anything from these machine. That is unless you count Chum lee on Pawn Stars wining his keys. I play these machines from time to time to win a stuffed animal for the kids but it never works out in my favor. Once or twice is my maximum. Then it’s time to walk away and I’m cheap so fifty cents per play for a total of one dollar is my max.

Sunday I woke up to hear one of the girls barfing in my room. Not exactly the wake up call I was looking for. I fed everyone at 9am, then went back to bed. My partner woke up around 11 and fed them again. That’s when I got up for the second time to stay up. He was making hamburger patties, while I was sitting down to eat Rice Krispy's. I cleaned out the water fountain for the kids today. I purchased a cleaning kit for it and man that made a huge difference. Now they have crystal clear water. Our supper was his famous Hamburgers in Gravy. They were burnt a little bit, which turns me off. Plus there was a little too much onion. He was in a hurry to fix this dish and it showed. I appreciated the effort and ate the meat. This is one of my favorite dishes that he fixes. Then I looked at the cat food and discovered that we had to venture out. Crap, I wanted to spend one day here at home, no such luck. Got the food and came back home. Watched TV for a bit. Then it was time to start laundry and look for a job. Now here I sit blogging.

I am waiting on one piece of paper to arrive from the government about my unemployment and then I will be all set to file my taxes. I have to purchase the software and then hope & pray I don’t get hit with a big bill. No taxes were taken out of my unemployment and I withdrew money from my 401k so there will be tax on that. I’d settle for breaking even. However, me thinks I will owe when I normally get a refund.

You may have noticed that the Form Spring widget is no longer on my page. That’s because it just didn’t work out. I didn’t get any questions and the hassle of logging in each day and seeing a form spring question of the day was rather annoying. So I decided to scrap it. Your not out of luck though, you can always ask a question by leaving a comment.

That the weekend wrap up. Hope you had fun whatever you did this weekend.

Finally Friday

2012-01-13T23:55:00.001-06:00

My daily ramble

I got up around 11, had some breakfast. Checked my e-mail and got a shower. Off to the post office, where I got no mail. It was all for my partner. Filled up both vehicles with windshield washer fluid. Started laundry for the kids, a couple towels and a blanket they lay on. Sat down in front of the computer and discovered how to put an ad on Craigslist. It was for a job not for sex. My word smith skills kicked into high gear and before I knew it my ad was published. Spent sometime in front of the TV and promptly fell asleep. Woke up in time to get ready to head out to the fish fry. On the way to the fish fry, we stopped at the bank for money and then gassed up the truck. We even washed it. Then it was off to the fish fry. I had a small amount of food but my partner kept picking up side items, so he ate a lot. Went to leave and discovered a pickup truck parked seriously crooked leaving my partner no room to get in. So I had to drive. The perks of a slightly smaller frame. :) Started and finished my job search. Put a 2nd ad on Craigslist. Then began visits to my regular reads. My partner upstairs starts screaming, I figured he did something wrong. Not too long my phone was ringing he told me that one of his classmates from High School passed away. He took it rather hard. Back in his day people were closer and High School was way different than it was for me. I spent sometime with him comforting him and talking. He’s the last guy left from his class. I told him this is one time when being last is a good thing. He was calm and headed back to his computer so I headed back to mine. We talked about tomorrow but neither of us really has any plans. He wants to visit the local hardware chain store for a couple things. I don’t think our weekend will be too exciting. I’m not looking for drama but some spice added to our daily life would be nice. Were both kind of depressed but for different reasons.

Religion

I feel my self slipping away from religion. It’s like I am the stereotypical gay person who has nothing to do with God much less religion. I mean no disrespect to anyone by my last remark. I feel as if he (God) let me down with loosing my job, making me wait for a new job, Big Boy getting sick and me running out of money. When I was working I used to pray everyday on the way to work for various people, for my partner, the children, work, my family and the world in general. It was a good feeling and my day wasn’t complete unless I prayed on the way to work.

Since I lost my job I prayed really hard for Big Boy to get better. Once he started to make progress, I stopped praying on a regular basis. I started out pretty heavy praying for a job. As I got rejected my prayers started to dwindle.

Now I know there is a God but with the events of the past year, I have had serious doubts. I thought of it from George Carlin’s perspective that I was talking to an invisible man and it was a waste of time and made no sense. With the direction my life has taken my faith has been shaken. It’s taking a whole lot out of me to write this!

There is a God and I remember the miracle he gave me with allowing me to say goodbye to my Grandmother. I’ve seen his work in my partners life bringing him through a divorce, stroke, serious car accident and cancer. I’ve seen him (God) working in other peoples lives. I just feel like he has me on terminal ignore, like nothing is happening in my life. I am ready for the times to get better but I don’t think that will happen until my faith has been repaired.

What caused me to realize this is that the employer in my back yard that I have wanted to work for, has another job opening. It’s very similar to what I applied and interviewed for last year. With the exception that this position involves working with servers. I was telling my partner about this and he took my hand and began to pray. Being the smart ass that I am I just blurted out a Hallelujah! My partner told me not to make fun of it or it wouldn’t come to pass. Then we started talking about religion and my feelings as described above.

I honestly feel now in hindsight that the opportunity that I passed over last week was God’s reward and answer to all of the prayers for a job. Instead of over looking a couple of comments, I decided to spit in God’s face and say it’s not good enough! I feel like he will not reward me again because I didn’t show respect for what materialized out of the blue. Maybe I did spit in God’s face by passing over the offer but the comments that were made were significant enough to me to send up warnings to walk away. It’s like a nurse applies for a position at a local hospital and they say okay, your hired but not as a nurse as a doctor. That person is qualified to be a Nurse, being a Doctor requires a lot more school & skills. The same thing in my field. A support technician is not a programmer or developer, that requires one to go to school and develop more skills and understanding of a particular programming language. Regardless what took place is done and cast in stone, there is no undoing it. I’ve got to move on but I can’t ignore my feelings of guilt.

In case your new or maybe I never really spelled it out. I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to Catholic grade school up until the 5th grade. I took the Catholic classes for kids that were in public school, called PSR classes. That was not something I looked forward to. I have been baptized, made my first communion and went through confirmation all in the Catholic church. I was raised that you have to go to mass (church) every Sunday and there was hardly a mass that I missed. Of course being kids me and my brother did our fair share of faking to be sick in order to get out of going because it was kind of boring. Just before my Grandmother got ill I converted to Assembly of God. I felt alive, appreciated and very close to God. Then enter in church politics after a year and the church split. I was for our pastor because he was/is a good guy but there were people out to get him and they succeeded. He started another church and we went to that for a while but it quickly fizzled. It’s been at least 10 years since I have been in church on a regular basis.

I was taught that God is everywhere, that being the case I see no reason to visit a building to worship him when I can do that from my own home and from my own heart.

Since I’m most positive that some of you are wondering about how I feel with me being a homo and how Christianity in general condemns homos if that isn’t part of the reason. I suppose it factors into my decision a little bit but I believe that God put us homo’s here for a reason. If he didn’t want us to exist we wouldn’t, it’s just that simple. I don’t think homosexuality is wrong but I do think that all of the negative talk about homosexuality has driven many people away from what is a Loving and Caring God. While I am not divorced from God, I am not as close as I once was. It’s up to me to change that and I think once I do thinks will really start to pop. Problem is that I don’t feel compelled to do so right now. I’m in a depression after being cast aside, rejected and passed over for so many fitting opportunities.

If you have some words of wisdom, I welcome them. If you pray say a prayer for me getting closer to God and strengthening my faith. While Jesus may not be everyone’s cup of tea I know that my life is better with him in it than without him at all.

Everyone has their own beliefs it is not my intention to push my beliefs on you but rather just to express them and air my feelings. I don’t feel comfortable trying to sell you on my beliefs or a religion. Religion is a lot like medicine. Some drugs work for most people but other people require alternatives and some people choose to go without medical care. What is right for one person isn’t always right for the next. You’re a human being and your able to make choices that work for you and your life, open your mind and live because it is my opinion you only get one shot at it. Might as well make the most of it!

Phew, what a rollercoaster of a post. I’m glad I got that out makes me feel better but also makes me feel a bit embarrassed and ashamed of myself. With all sincerity and respect I say God please help me!

3 Minute Car Wash

2012-01-12T22:59:00.001-06:00

I would go to that car wash, heck I’d even walk there. Who needs a car when you have so many hot guys! Makes me wish I worked at Andrew Christian. I hope you enjoyed the video.

Winter has arrived here! Plenty of cold weather, ice, snow and lots of wind. It’s been a hell of a day to be a Public Servant or a Tow Truck Driver. There isn’t much of the white powder on the ground but what little there is has caused many of problems and injuries. Were in for more over night.

Today was the visit to the other hearing aid place. Well, we took off with no phone number or address for the place. That is something that never happens when we head to a new place. However, someone (my partner) thought they knew where it was. Guess what it wasn’t where he thought it was. He had me driving in circles because he was positive it had to be at the place we were. Then I used my phone, couldn’t find the place on the internet. Next came the $2 call to 411 and they didn’t have any record of the place either. Then I called my brother and he used the phone book & computer, still no luck. So I was told drive around to a service station. Well service stations went out with high button shoes. We have gas stations. Turns out there wasn’t one of those in sight either. However, I did find a Walgreens so he went into use the phone book. Meanwhile I stayed warm in the truck and used my phone and Google directions. Turns out he remembered a street of where the place was. I put that in and gave the Google app permission to use our current location. He came back with no results. I showed him the phone and he watched it as I drove. The damn thing took us to the front door of the place. I didn’t know my phone was that smart. To think we almost gave up.

The test took a couple minutes and some of his responses had the Doctor laughing. We talked about what to get. He almost wound up with a clam shell until I spoke up and said what about all of your complaints. Turns out he will be getting a device that has a tiny tube that fits in his ear and the microphone fits behind the ear. It’s small and when it’s on it’s stealth. I couldn’t see it at all. We go back in about 3 weeks to pick them up. I can’t wait, then I can stop shouting and maybe we can have the TV at a decent volume. I hope he likes these better than the last ones.

The partner was up early making Chicken Stew. It’s chicken cut up, with chicken broth, celery, veggies and potatoes in a pressure cooker. He loves it. I think it’s just okay. It was marvelous when he first made it for me years ago. However, he took those left overs to work (when he was working) and they weren’t properly stored. Thus food poisoning on Thanksgiving Day. We spent the day together in the Emergency Room. So that is the story of why I don’t care much for it. He had this for supper.

I had left over Sloppy Joes. They were really good and I washed them all down with a Diet Dr. Pepper. Then followed desert which was a nap on the couch with two cats, one of them woke me up after 20 minutes. So you can say I had a cat nap or is that a cat scan? Either way it hit the spot.

Another slightly active but boring day. On the job hunt…I see a spike in my leads f this week compared to the last several weeks. That is a good thing, but now I need calls for interviews. I also wrote a place that I had interviewed at last year. They were dragging there feet in getting back to me. Turns out they chose someone else, no surprise to me. However, they are doing me a favor and holding on to my resume for 2 years. I guess they liked me, just not well enough to hire me.

My brother is getting scam responses asking him to submit his credit report to verify his identity and another response asked him to visit a 3rd party website to authenticate him. Then install a tool from the site and e-mail back a confirmation number. He felt they all were scams but asked me to confirm. I told him yep, don’t touch them. The first one is clearly a blatant attempt for identity theft. The second was obviously an attempt to install malicious software on his machine. I told him go with your gut, if you think it’s fishy then it probably is. These are typical results when applying for jobs from Craigslist. While I haven’t experienced this we are in two different fields.

When your down on your luck, without a job and trying to get employment there are people to take advantage of you. Identity Theft, Malicious Software, Tricking you into signing up to further your education, trying to sell you stuff you don’t need or want, etc. Now more than ever you have to be on guard when you apply for a job. It’s not like it was 5 or even 10 years ago, when it was safer. As time moves forward it’s only going to get worse.

Tomorrow’s adventure will be our supper trip that I agreed to. Were going to a VFW for Fish & Chicken. I get the Chicken and complain every time because they don’t have Ranch Dressing. This time we picked up a packet at the grocery store. I really don’t like the place it’s a small hike from home and lots of people, but since I am not working we can go extra early and avoid the crowd. They do have out of this world potato salad. Unless something else comes up, this should be our only trip out.

As of now nothing planned for Saturday or Sunday. Perhaps we can stay in and just enjoy looking outside at the snow. The cats are enjoying it but don’t seem to understand why it’s so cold by the windows. It’s funny to watch their faces light up as the wind starts to blow and the snow is flying. One of them was trying to jump for flakes.

That’s it for my blathering today. Since it will most likely be Friday or thereafter when you read this, I wish you all a great weekend!

Sloppy Joes for Breakfast

2012-01-11T23:08:00.001-06:00

The children were crying this morning so I decided since it was 9 AM I should at least feed them breakfast. I found that my partner was up already. The children were fed but of course wanted more so they were hoping I would give in. No such luck.

My partner was sitting at the table chowing down on Sloppy Joe he made it for our breakfast. That’s one meal that he hardly ever makes. He is of the belief or opinion that food is just food and it doesn’t matter when you eat it. Sort of like having White Castle for breakfast.

I went back to bed, tossed and turned but there was no getting back to sleep. So I got up and had some cereal and a piece of bakery. Then grabbed a shower, got dressed and was ready to go. Only problem my stomach said your not ready to go anywhere.

Not sure if my body is in weight loss mode or if I got sick from something but all I can tell you is that for about the next hour I was in pain on and off again. Used the bathroom and I’ve been back several times since.

We did leave the house to pay a couple bills and to go grocery shopping. I was told we needed a few things. I had no idea that we were going to buy the store again. I picked up some frozen lasagna and some frozen cheese garlic bread. That was my supper and the next meal that I ate many hours later. Lasagna was great as usual but frozen cheese garlic bread, ick.

I’ve completed watching Shameless via Showtime on Demand. I did something different this time in catching up on a show and watched the entire series backwards. Made it a bit more fun to follow. Thankfully the show is only in it’s 2nd season. Now I can’t wait for my next dose on Sunday. Hopefully Nurse Jackie will be back soon as well. Why is it most every series I enjoy on Showtime has drugs in it?

Tomorrow we visit an ENT Doctor to get new hearing aids for my partner. I hope this place is the same place that is on the provider list. I don’t want to hop to another hearing aid place. I miss the good old days of insurance where you could go where you wanted instead of having to cave to the insurance companies list of providers. Anyway, tomorrow should be fun because a bunch of winter is about to arrive. Supposed to be a real bad day tomorrow. Then again if you believe what is in the media you wouldn’t want to leave your house much less do anything else for fear that it might kill you.

I will be the driver tomorrow. I’m not worried about it, there won’t be any ice until after dark. See it’s suppose to snow over night, then thaw during the day and at night time it will refreeze forming ice. Yeah, okay. It really is hard to grasp that we are in January with all of the nice weather. Today it was in the upper 50’s, no jacket required!

Off to surf the net for a little bit, then it will be time for my evening routine and back to bed. We did get two lottery tickets today so maybe some luck will come our way. That would be super then I could give up looking for work and hire some folks to work for me. Dreams cost nothing, so might as well dream often!

Got A Question or want to know something?

2012-01-10T23:16:00.001-06:00

I thought that I would try something different. I created a Form Spring account. The purpose of Form Spring is to allow folks to ask questions and get answers.

You can ask me anything, really! That doesn’t mean I will answer everything but at least you can ask. So if there is something you have always wanted to know, ask away. Have questions about being gay or need some advice, ask away.

How do I ask a question? Look over to the right side and you should see a widget, right below the stat counter. Type in your question and then hit the send your question button. You can choose to by anonymous or type in your name, that part is totally up to you.

How do you get the answer? Easy you can browse over to my Form Spring account or check back here. See easy as 1 2 3.

I did this to interact with my followers a little better. It provides anonymity so hopefully it will garner attention from those of you who want privacy. I look forward to hearing from you.

If your using a mobile browser (i.e. smart phone) this might not work. You will need to view the full page as if your browsing from a Laptop or Desktop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ring, Ring goes the phone

2012-01-09T21:26:00.001-06:00

This weekend I spent time on all of the job boards updating my profile and resume. I would have never ever thought that the phone would start ringing off the hook for contract jobs that are cross country. I’m not moving for a job and a contract position isn’t of much interest to me, but if I have to I will entertain it.

The phone started at 8:00 AM and didn’t stop ringing until 11:00 AM. It wasn’t solid calls during that time but it was like a machine. I got a couple voice mails. My e-mail was full as well. Seems no matter what your career field, a few life insurance companies surface wanting you to become a sales person. If I wanted to I could sell ice to an Eskimo, but it’s not my cup of tea. Looking for a job has enough rejection, imagine a job where your rejected all of the time. No thanks!

So this afternoon I spent time again updating my profile and resume making sure that the only way to contact me was via e-mail. It took a little bit but I got it done. I think I will still get calls for a couple days but I’m hoping that things are a bit quieter tomorrow.

I really hoped that something would materialize today. While I know I made the right decision, it still feels kind of wrong today. Only because I am back in the trenches of looking and well I am sort of desperate. However, it’s like I heard on Oprah “When you see crazy coming, cross the street”. That is exactly what I did.

Today was Hearing Aid Day. My partner had made an appointment to get new Hearing Aids despite the fact he hardly wore the old ones. Turns out the place that he initially went to is no longer a preferred provider with his insurance. Now he has to make an appointment with another place and we get to start the process all over again. The good news is that his insurance now pays for the middle of the road hearing aid, so he will be getting a better product than what he had.

We stopped in at a new local bar & grill that opened. The bar has been open for weeks but the grill part only started up last week. They have a very limited menu. We both had Chicken Salad Sandwiches and split a side order of fries. Washed that all down with a soda. The whole thing was $17, which is really cheap. The sandwich was damn good, so good I could have eaten a 2nd.

Now to my new addictions. TV Shows. First up is on Showtime and it’s called Shameless. It’s about a totally dysfunctional family and it plays out like a soap opera. Ian Gallagher is one of the characters who is young and gay. This character is played by Cameron Monaghan who is a fine looking young man. I found this show by searching for Steve Howey (played Van on Reba). I like him as well but he has grown a bit unattractive for my taste, he is still a good actor and he’s packing some serious guns (arms – muscle). Wow!

The second show I discovered with my partner. We were sitting down the other day and they had a marathon of American Restoration on. It’s amazing how they turn junk into beautiful like new functional items. Rick Dale is often on Pawn Stars, another show I like. Anyway Rick Dale runs the business and employs a small crew. Of which his son Tyler is part of the crew. Damn this kid is 17 so he’s not legal but I can dream. He’s also got multi colored hair. He is straight. However I am certain that he turns heads no matter where he goes. Use the power of Google and you can find out what these guys look like.

Mr. TAZ is sick and between him and Big Boy’s brother they have kept me busy cleaning up messes today. Hopefully it’s only a temporary thing. TAZ worries me because his breath smells like his butt and that was the start of problems for our late #1 son. However, he acts perfectly normal. It’s like he gorges himself on purpose. Never a dull moment around here. Now if the darn phone would only ring with a valid full time permanent opportunity paying decent money I would be a much happier person.

That pretty well wraps up my Monday. How was yours?

Monday, Music & Men

2012-01-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

Remember buying your first album? Mine was by Firefall and the album was Elan. It was on sale at the record store for $0.99 and with tax it was $1.05. I can picture the moment like it was yesterday. To think how far the world and technology has come. I remember when CD’s (Compact Disc) came out and everyone thought they were the best. Now we have digital music and you don’t have to have physical media of any kind to hear the song, regardless of how you obtained it. If you would have told that to someone back in the late 70’s to early 80’s they would have thought you were quite a dreamer! I like not having physical media and I think digital sounds far better, plus you don’t have to worry about the record or cd getting scratched or the tape being eaten by your player. You just have to hope that your iPod or iPhone or MP3 player doesn’t fail. I wonder how far technology will come in another 40 years and how music will be played. If I’m lucky enough to stick around I will know the answer to that question. I doubt that I will be blogging in 40 years from now, but then again I never thought I would get into blogging at all, so I guess anything is possible!

Happy Monday!

Sunday is better!

2012-01-08T20:56:00.001-06:00

Big Boy is doing much better, he’s pretty well back to normal. Not sure what yesterday was all about, just glad it’s behind us.

Big Boy’s sister got sick last night but it was a one time thing and she was done and back to her normal self.

Today everyone is lazy, which is normal mode around here. Big Boy had me up at 6 to let him out of my room. Then it was back to bed for a couple hours. I was up a little after 9. Fed everyone breakfast including myself. Sat around for a while and watched some TV. Then around 12 it was nap time. Woke up at 2 and me & the partner stepped out for a bite to eat.

My partner discovered that one of his friends is heavy in HR and has been with several notable company's in the area. He asked me if it was okay if he contacted him and asked about a job for me. He didn’t have to ask, of course go ahead. I prefer the electronic method but my partner feels that the US Mail is a better approach. So we both wrote letters to his friend. It certainly can’t hurt anything. Another case of networking. The letters will be mailed tomorrow and then we wait.

Now I’m catching up on laundry, made my themed post for Monday and going to surf the web and try not to think about Taco Bell, which sounds really good right about now.

I hope that you had a great weekend. Here is to this week. This week has got to be better than last week! I hope that you have a great week! Take care.

Saturday

2012-01-07T23:15:00.001-06:00

I woke up early and headed out to the jewelry store to get a new watch battery. Something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Funny thing is I paid a small fortune for the watch but I don’t wear it often because it bothers my wrist. Anyway, the battery was free thanks to a warranty the store offers. In talking with the folks there one of the ladies told me about her son who is in charge of an IT Department for a local major hospital in the area. I’ve been trying to get on at that place for years but always get rejected. So once she heard I was looking, she gave me her sons name and I’ve already reached out to him. Maybe he can help me or at least point me in the direction of someone who can help. Just think if it wasn’t for the battery I would have never gotten this information. It’s all about Networking these days, it’s not what you know but who you know. Shame I don’t know many people. :)

My partner took me out to a Spaghetti place I have wanted to visit. Decent food, cheap prices and you get your money’s worth. Love those kind of places! We will be back.

Big Boy has been vomiting off an on all day long. Poor thing you can see it in his face, he doesn’t feel good. I’ve given him some medicine for nausea but it didn’t seem to help much. If he is like this tomorrow then we will be visiting the vet. Last time this happened they gave him a shot and in 24 hours he was back to normal. I hope vet or no vet that he is okay. He’s got us both worried.

That’s about as exciting as it gets here on Saturday. I am still thinking of the events of this past week. I hope next week is much better!

M@rvin I miss your blog. I tried to e-mail you but it bounced. I hope that you are still reading this and will reach out to me. I really enjoyed your site and exchanging comments.

I finally made it through the bulk of my regular reads, wow four days and you can miss a lot. Now it is upstairs to check on our boy and try to relax. Maybe have a bowl of Chocolate Ice Cream, yeah that’s it with some Raspberry Sauce. I hear it calling my name. Hope I didn’t make you too hungry :) !

It is back to unemployment :(

2012-01-06T19:53:00.001-06:00

After much thinking, I came to the decision to walk away from this. It is what felt right to me. Now that it is done, it feels right. I think you too will agree with me once you hear the rest of the story.

I decided that I probably wasn’t the first person this happened to and that someone needed to know about my concerns besides the boss. I talked with the HR Manager, who informed me that this was her first day in the role. The previous HR Manager was fired. Wow, that right there said it all to me. This place is run on a shoe string and they are in total chaos. I explained what happened and she was shocked and totally understood why I wanted to walk away. She told me that she would take my concerns to this guys boss. Then she asked me if I talked with my boss about this and if he knew I wasn’t coming in on Monday. I said no. She said okay I will inform him and we will make this right. I got apology after apology. I told her that after we hung up I was headed to the post office and their security card would be in the mail. I sent it via Certified Mail so that I have a record they got it.

When I got home my boss was on the phone. He told me that he was very surprised that I had a change of heart and he thought I was the right person for the job. He wanted to know what happened and if he said or did anything to cause me to arrive at my decision. Since he asked I was honest and explained it to him. He apologized for the first remark and acknowledged that was poor judgment on his part. Then he told me that common sense should have told me that I was the person they wanted, otherwise he would have never called me. When you make a blanket comment like “I hated everyone I interviewed” that applies to everyone, how was I suppose to know he was talking about everyone BUT me? As for the second comment about hiring the wrong person, he denied that. I told him we didn’t have any witnesses but I know what I heard, he could deny it all he wanted. Then he told me how upset he was by my decision because he really looked forward to working with me. There was an awkward long pause and I said okay. Then he wished me well and apologized again and that was the end of the conversation.

My partner totally supports my decision now and believes it was the right move. He told me that he would have never taken the security card he would have declined the position then and there. I told him that I valued his opinion and that I wanted to hear from him, maybe I was looking at the whole thing wrong. He said no you were just more patient in making your decision. The response by the HR person saying that this was her first day in the position and the last person was fired only hammered home to my partner that this was the best way to go!

We both have lost about 2 days sleep over this. It was a small strain on our relationship. While I so wanted this to work out and be back to working. There is something to be said for peace of mind. Emotionally & Psychologically it was the right move. Financially it was the wrong move. All I know is that we can both get some much needed rest and hopefully resume a normal life.

In any case it’s over now so I can move forward and find my next adventure. Here’s hoping it comes soon. I’m behind by 3 days so looking for a job tonight should pay off big time. Please resume your thoughts and prayers because I can still use all I can get. Thank you for stopping by.

Back to Unemployment??

2012-01-05T21:17:00.001-06:00

I got to bed late and slept sound for a couple hours. I was awake at 4am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Of course once it was with in a 1/2 hour of time to get up, I started feeling sleepy. Still I forced myself to stay awake. I went through the hurdles and made it out the door. I heard about a traffic accident and knew that I was headed into some serious backed up traffic. Still my uber planning skills prevailed and despite getting lost once, I made it with a 1/2 hour to spare!

Once I got inside the tables were turned on me and my new boss thought that I was there for my first day of work. I explained that wasn’t part of our conversation last night. He wasn’t to thrilled when I reminded him of that but he said he understood. He told me about some work that was taking place Friday night and thought that I would want to be involved in that. Again I had to remind him of our conversation that my mutually agreed start date would be Monday. He then told me that he didn’t like a single person he interviewed for the job. Okay, so why am I sitting here? I didn’t even ask, I thought it was a stupid statement for him to make. On the tour he started talking about programming languages and said at how thrilled he was that I had the experience they were looking for. I stopped him and said that’s not me, I am not a programmer. To which he responded oh, I guess I’ve got the wrong person. That’s when internally I went OH FUCK!

So I got the grand tour (don’t remember 1/2 of what he said, lots to absorb) and got my security card to be able to swipe in. Before I departed he gave me his card and said if anything comes up, please be sure to call me. Sort of like he is anticipating something.

Everything internally is telling me to walk away from this. It’s going to end in DOOM and leave me feeling worse about myself. I explained the situation to my partner and he is telling me to stick it out. Try it and see what happens, give it a week and if you see that you can’t do it, then say something. Better yet, participate in the Friday night work and that right there will tell you if you can or if you can’t do it. Then you will know and be able to make an informed decision instead of throwing up your hands and being a quitter. That’s a little abrasive but I see his point.

My mind was made up this afternoon to go in on Monday and give it a shot, keeping my mouth closed. Then I talked to a friend of mine. I left out what I thought and let him tell me what he thought. His reaction was this guy sounds like he flies by the seat of his pants and you won’t know if your working with Dr. Jeckel or Mr. Hyde. He said dude if I were you I would run away from this as fast as you can. His words, it’s got DOOM written all over it. You don’t need that.

NOW I am really perplexed. I want a job and to be employed, I mean that has been the long quest. However, the boss man can’t remember a conversation that took place less than 24 hours ago. He said he thinks he has the wrong person, sounds like his memory is really fuzzy. He has no emotions, everything is just OK. My thought is that he was under the gun to hire some one so he took a shot in the dark.

If I walk away from this it could jeopardize my unemployment. If I stick with it, I will be on pins and needles. Not to mention a huge ball of nerves and totally uncomfortable. No one else but me is in control right now. I’ve got to make the decision I think is best for me.

This is a position that I hope no one else is ever put in. It is the most difficult decision I have had to make in a very long time. Right now I am leaning towards walking away. This isn’t going to be a good fit for me or them. The year is still very young and the odds of another offer coming my way is pretty good. Especially since I’ve applied to most every company in the area once.

Thinking about this situation reminded me of the phrase that I heard many times before in life. God will never give you a challenge greater than you can handle. Okay, now I feel like I’m throwing my hands up.

Utterly perplexed is what I am at this point. I’m thinking maybe just laying things out on the table. Explain that in thinking about the conversations we have had over the past couple days and the job in general, I think that I am being given credit for experience that I don’t have. My resume displays a clear and accurate picture of my qualifications. I am not adverse to learning but I don’t want to be thought of as something I am not. I don’t want to get him in trouble or waste their time and I certainly don’t want to get myself into trouble. If he understands that and is agreeable then I think this just might work out for both of us. If he doesn’t understand then it’s time to walk away and cut our losses.

I will be agonizing over this all night. My decision what ever it is will be made tomorrow. Check back then to find out what occurred. Sure would be nice if I got another offer tomorrow morning, then my decision would be made for me! I’m not looking to anger God, make my partner or anyone think less of me, I just want to do what is best for me and get back to work, with a job that I am comfortable in.

YES–Back to work for real!

2012-01-04T19:41:00.001-06:00

I went through the interview this morning. Very hard to read these folks. Seems like a decent place to work, despite the drive. I’m suppose to hear something by the end of the week.

Grabbed a bite to eat, got cat food and came home. Settled into a nap, until the cats and my partners phone kept waking me up. So maybe I got an hours sleep. I was thankful it was all over with and now I could relax.

HERE is the start of the GOOD PART--->My phone rang about 5:15 and the voice on the other end asked me if I was still interested in a job that I interviewed for early last month. I said yes. I was offered the position on a trial basis (i.e. I’m starting out as a contractor). If they like me after 90 days then I will become a full time employee. The pay is a $5,400 dollar cut from what I was making. All things considered that is not bad at all! Now for the big part I have to report tomorrow morning at the early hour of 8:30. I will have to get up at 6:00 AM so that I have enough time for feeding the kids, giving medication, getting breakfast and a shower. Tomorrow is all about paperwork or so I have been told. I’m not taking a lunch but if things change and I have to stay all day, I’ve got money to buy lunch some place. My actual start date should be Monday. This is a job where travel is involved but it’s suppose to be occasional at a max like 2 days in a row, I think maybe twice a year possibly more. That part will be new and awkward, but I know we will deal with it when the time comes. For now my biggest challenge is just getting back into the swing of things! I don’t know any more than that.

I am in a state of total shock. I have serious reservations about this job in that it’s the next step up in my career. I’m not sure if this is going to work out or not. I will go into it with a positive attitude and give it my very best. I just hope and pray that this is a good fit for both the company and myself. I so want this to work because looking for a job totally sucks. Right now I’m glad that I will be done with job searching and the dreaded reporting in person.

A HUGE Thank You to Jude and everyone else who has been praying for me. I’m honestly not sure why it took this long. My suspicions are to help Big Boy and to help out my partner. I hope that this means the crisis’ here at home are done with and things are only going to get better from here!

I will keep you posted on how things go, but realize that there may be periods of no posts, because I simply couldn’t fit it in. Getting back into the swing of things after a year will be awkward and difficult at first. I’m all about routines and schedules. I know that part of Sundays will be spent cleaning the house so I will be ready to take out the trash when I get home on Monday’s. I’ve also got some concern about how my new job will affect the kids. Especially Big Boy. Cat’s hate change and if he perceives this change as stress, then it could have a negative impact on him. Right now I can’t worry about that my concern has to be on me and performing.

One thing I know is that I will be thankful when the paperwork is done so I can come home and relax. I’ve got to go shopping for dress pants. I look forward to enjoying my final Friday and weekend as “unemployed”. Once I know what my hours will be, I will be getting up early Friday, Saturday and Sunday to prepare for Monday. I will hate it but it’s the best way to recondition my body.

A few months back I prepared a list of things that I would be thankful for once I got a job offer. It was done with the anticipation that I would be going back to work for the big employer in my back yard, that just didn’t work out. I still to this day have heard nothing from them. If they called today, I would jump at that opportunity even though it paid less. It’s like a guarantee of a job for life! Anyway, here’s the list….

· Don’t think people at work are really your friends.

· Never under any circumstances trust or befriend an HR person. It took me two times to learn this lesson. There won’t be a third.

· While you may bitch, gripe and groan about your job. If you lost it you realize when you’re on the outside that things weren’t all that bad.

· Be thankful for your job. It’s still okay to bitch, gripe and groan if it helps you let off steam but don’t take it for granted.

· Unemployment is something you can’t survive on. Have a nest egg that you can live off of for a year to at most two years. It can easily take 6 months to a year or longer to recover. Look at me!

· Value and treasure the time you are able to spend with your pets, because they won’t be here forever.

· Veterinarians are expensive and most want to throw in the towel and give up way too early. If you love your pet and can spare the money, keep going until your pet gets well or you reach a hurdle that both of you (you and your pet) can’t overcome. Go with your heart, it is a great guide.

· Time off is great but don’t wish that you could spend forever on the couch, because you might get your wish.

· Be very careful who you trust at work. People today have no problem turning on you or stepping on you to further their careers.

· Make sure you keep your resume current.

· Keep any written positive feedback that you get. Organize it into a book or keep it in a folder so you can show prospective employers. To see others bragging about your work could be the extra edge that sets you apart from everyone else.

· If you employer offers Educational Assistance take them up on it. A college degree, a certification or whatever it is can only help you in the long run. Your present employer might even increase your salary because of your accomplishment. It can also be used as a bargaining point at your next review.

· Be thankful for what you have because it can all be gone in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow is not promised to you.

· If you’re owed something by your employer get it in writing. Written communication is what employers live by to hang people out to dry. Turn the tables and make sure you stay a step ahead.

I will be doing a little surfing on the net, but it won’t be much tonight. NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) was on The Price is Right today, I recorded it so hopefully it will be a good show to wind down the evening. I found out about it by watching his Twitter account. It’s amazing what you can learn from the internet!

Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers and continued support. Me and my family really appreciate what you have done. Here’s to a continuing brighter 2012 for all of us! May this be OUR year!

First Tuesday of 2012

2012-01-03T21:37:00.001-06:00

The day started with an early morning wake up call, my body simple woke up at 6:30. I tossed and turned but there was no going back to sleep. Once the cats knew I was up, it’s all over with. It’s meow until I get up and get breakfast for them. The house was cold, so I kicked up the furnace. Then I got a small bowl of Blueberry Mini Wheat's as Reba played on the TV. I didn’t have to be up until 8:30 AM. I kicked back and watched a couple Reba episodes and then some Will & Grace. It was time to get going.

I drove my partner to see the Ostomy Nurse. As usual we were early, that is like a trademark for me. Not a bad trademark either! He had an appointment but of course she was running behind. We had to wait 15 minutes, which didn’t sit well but he sucked it up, after complaining to me. She helped him find a solution to his problems and $100 something dollars later we were able to walk out the door. Ostomy supplies are extremely expensive and once again it reminds me I’m in the wrong business.

We stopped at a buffet for lunch and then swung by my brothers so I could drop off his resumes. Then it was home to rest for a couple hours and off to the grocery store. You know the best thing about the grocery store? It’s watching the male cart collectors push a bunch of carts up hill into the store. They have to wear Dockers or some form of dress pants, which typically show off their bums. In the summer it’s a better show because you might even see some muscle. Wow, some of those guys could push my cart any day.

This was the one trip to the store where they were out of motorized carts. My partner had to push a normal cart and he looked perfectly fine. The trip went 10 times faster than if he was in the motorized cart. One lady that had one of them, damn near hit me. Thankfully my spider like reflexes saved me!

Talked with my brother this afternoon and I did some more PC support work. He is really depressed about his job situation. He hasn’t had to look for work for a long time. I answered some questions and gave him advice. He’s got the perk or benefit of hearing mistakes I have made and not having to repeat them. I’ve given him all of the tools and advice that I can, now it’s up to him. He’s started answering ads today. It’s no fun to look for a job but wait until his first interview. I think he will see the pay off! Hopefully, he doesn’t have to wait too long for that to happen. Who knows he may be back to work before me. Time will tell.

Going to talk about guys and sex. If that’s not your cup of tea, then you should skip this paragraph. I was very surprised to see all of the photos from my Monday post showed up. Normally one or two seems to not make it. Hopefully, I didn’t jinx anything. I’ve been addicted to searching for more hot guys to post. Now that I know what a few of you want, makes my job a little easier. I get all worked up after seeing photos but then my focus shifts and before you know it I am starting my nightly bedtime routine. I am very horny but sometimes it takes me a day or two before I do something about it. Each time I experience release I say I’ve got to do this more often. Sounds like a good idea but then I put it off. I wonder if this is a part of getting old, having too much on my mind or if I am becoming increasingly lazy. I’ve also been thinking of my first sexual experience a lot. I would love to go back to those times, because they were seriously orgasmic and a lot of fun. I think I just need to have sex with another human where I can do what I do best and that my friends is give head. It’s been 10 plus years since I have been able to do that. Yeah, I know I’m loyal and faithful. I wish my partner wasn’t broken (for lack of better wording) because I know we could be having lots of fun. I know I could find someone but I’m not looking for a one night stand, plus with all of the diseases out there who knows what your opening yourself up to. Ah, well back to my hand, porn, toys and fantasy's. Feels liberating to put all of this into words and post it.

Now it’s back to surfing the net for my regular reads and then I see a small bowl of Chocolate Ice Cream in my future. I’ve been craving that for the longest time. Then it will be time to wind down and prepare for the big interview tomorrow. That means another early to rise day. I still don’t see how my body will ever adjust to getting up early when I do finally return to work. Ah, well I will deal with that when it happens. For now it’s all about landing a job.

I hope that your week is off to a good start and that 2012 thus far has been pleasant. I will talk with you peeps later. Take care!

MMM–Happy 1st Monday of 2012!

2012-01-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Now some humor to make most of you smile!

Are you smiling yet?

Working on New Years Day

2012-01-01T22:45:00.001-06:00

I spent most of the entire day working. Unfortunately it wasn’t a real job but rather charity for my brother. I remote controlled into his machine and tuned things up. I also switched him to the free antivirus offered by Microsoft (called Security Essentials). Then I scanned for malware, spyware, viruses, etc. Since he rarely uses his machine, it was no surprise that it was clean. I updated the Firmware on his router and checked out his routers configuration. He initially followed the guided setup and surprisingly it was very close to being perfect. There were a couple things that were turned on to allow bad guys in, but I quickly shut that down.

Then the next hardest task was to extract information from him about his work experience. I put together a new resume for him. It follows the format of my resume, which I have been complimented on many times. He’s only got 2 pages compared to my 4. I wish that I could condense things down to two pages but those days are long over.

We finalized the document pretty quickly, only a couple minor changes. Then I gave him a copy in three formats. Word, PDF and Plain Text. As if that wasn’t enough I printed out several copies for him. First on my laser printer and then on my partners Xerox which does magazine quality printing. I used my resume paper and finally burnt all of the documents to a CD. I’ve got to take it all down to him within the next couple days.

Phew, it felt pretty much like a normal work day to me. Something that I haven’t experienced for a while. He said wow you really have this computer stuff down. I told him I should because I’ve got 10 years experience. If I don’t know it by now then something is wrong.

I did take a break around 5pm to eat some Corned Beef and a little cabbage. That was my first meal of the day and I had been up since 11:30 am. Didn’t go to bed until 5 am. We didn’t go visit our friends because my partner just wasn’t up to it. I liked loafing at home anyways. Then because I mentioned Chocolate Ice Cream a couple days ago, my partner has been wanting it ever since. I gave in and we went to the bank for him to get out some money and then to our local Sonic for 2 Chocolate Milk Shakes. Never had a shake from them but it sure was good. We only wound up there because Wendy’s was closed otherwise we would have had Frostys. My partner really wanted me to drive to White Castle for their famous THICK Chocolate Shake. For all of you guys that love oral, I’m a very good sucker and even I can’t consume this THICK shake with a straw. It’s by spoon or not at all. :)

Yesterday afternoon Big Boy started running from me. No matter what he was doing as soon as he saw me, it was up and off he went. Like he was deathly afraid of me. It hurt my feelings. My partner could come in the room and nothing would happen but if I appeared he was running for the hills. I didn’t do anything to him other than give him his medicine and clean his rear end. Turns out I think he though I was going to clean his rear end and he absolutely hates that! I’m as gentle as I can be and he is so large he is incapable of taking care of this on his own. No one else is going to do it. It’s not a task I look forward to and to clean up afterwards the only way I can get the smell off of my hands is to use shampoo. Normal soap and water, no matter how hard I scrub does nothing.

The New Year came in with no problems here. The neighbor that normally has fireworks had nothing this year. I guess the economy is affecting everything and everyone in one way or another. There were a few pops of firecrackers but that is it. Normally it’s guns, fireworks and the cats scramble. This year they didn’t even flinch. Which is a very good thing.

Now I’m tired enough to retire for the night but there is a part of me that wants to keep going. I’ve got some presents from the kids to clean up but surfing the net seems much better to me. I hope that you enjoyed the first day of the New Year. Most people have tomorrow off, because big business celebrates the Sunday holiday on Monday. So if that applies to you, I hope that you enjoy the extra day!

Off to the internet. Take care!

Happy New Year - 2012

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 92 WAYS…..

Afghan – Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans - Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian - Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian - Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic - Kul ‘am wa antum bikhair
Assyrian - Sheta Brikhta
Azeri - Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali - Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Breton [Celtic Brythonic language] - Bloavezh Mat
Bulgarian - ×åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà, pronounced “Chestita Nova Godina”
Cambodian – Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan – Bon Any Nou
Chinese - 新年快乐, Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican Language - Pace e Salute
Croatian - Sretna Nova godina!
Czech - Šťastný Nový rok (or Stastny Novy rok)
Danish - Godt Nytår
Dhivehi - Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch - Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
Eskimo - Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto - Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians - Head uut aastat!
Ethiopian – Melkam Addis Amet YihuneliwoI!
Finnish - Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French - Bonne Annee
Gaelic - Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician [NorthWestern Spain] - Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German - Prosit Neujahr
Georgian - Gilotsavt Akhal Tsels!
Greek Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati - Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian - Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew - L’Shannah Tovah
Hindi - Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong Kong (Cantonese) – Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian - Boldog Ooy Ayvet
Indonesian - Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian - Sal -e- no mobarak
Iraqi - Sanah Jadidah
Irish - Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian – Felice anno nuovo
Japan – Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle - Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada – Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii – Somwaka Ompyia Omuya
Khmer – Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea – Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish – Newroz Pirozbe
Latvian – Laimīgo Jauno Gadu!
Lithuanian – Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian - Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian – Srekjna Nova Godina
Madagascar – Tratry ny taona
Malay – Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi – Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam - Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Mizo - Kum Thar Chibai
Maltese - Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal - Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian - Godt Nyttår
Papua New Guinea - Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines) – Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto – Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian - Sal -e- no mobarak
Philippines - Manigong Bagong Taon!
Polish – Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese – Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi – Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian – An Nou Fericit
Russian - S Novim Godom
Samoa - Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian - Sretna nova godina
Sindhi - Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese - Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki - Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak - Stastny Novy rok
Slovenian - Sreèno novo leto
Somali - Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish - Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili - Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish - Gott nytt år!
Sudanese - Warsa Enggal
Tamil - Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Tibetian - Losar Tashi Delek
Telegu - Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai - Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish - Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian - Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu - Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek - Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese - Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh – Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Wishing you and yours the very best in 2012.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

1 More Day left | 6 year Blog Birthday

2011-12-30T23:29:00.001-06:00

So we have one final day left in 2011. Wow, what a year. Unfortunately, not a lot of good happened. I’m thankful for all of the interviews I got and that Big Boy was able to ring in this year with us at home. What a rocky road for this poor cat. Thankfully he is way better than what he was last time at this year. I miss all of the money I shelled out not only on him but everything else. I am saddened that I had to tap into my retirement savings multiple times, but thankful that the money was there to keep me going.

I don’t make New years resolutions because I think it’s a waste of time. You try and try but eventually something happens and poof it goes to the back of your mind or you simply forget about it. If you make resolutions I hope that your successful.

My plans for 2012 are to hopefully gain stable full time employment that pays a decent wage, to be able to save money for what ever the next emergency is and to hopefully be able to replenish my retirement savings. I plan on staying on top of all of my pets health and watching out for my partner.

My hope is that this time next year I will be happier, employed and everything will be perfect and calm. So life goes back to that state of normal. I also hope that I can say that in general 2012 is a better year.

Time really does fly by. I started this blog back in 2005 on this day. Hard to believe it’s been 6 years. A lot has occurred in that time. I’m thankful for all of those that take time to visit and leave comments. I hope to continue this for years to come. I am especially grateful to Blogger for providing this free service and hosting all of the rants, raves, photos and mindless blather that I post.

On a more normal note. Things seemed better this morning when I woke up. I felt a sense of relief and I felt kind of silly for going on in my last post. Big Boy appears to be doing much better. I picked up more medicine for him today. We were up bring and early at 7am. I’ve tried to cut back on the amount of food I give everyone and make sure that Big Boy gets special low fat food. That part is not working out too well, as I suspected.

TAZ has been sick from 7am off an on all day long. He acts perfectly normal like nothing is wrong. However, he pukes so I know something is wrong. I’ve given him medicine for fur balls and also for nausea. If this continues he will have to see the vet. I pray that he goes back to normal so we can avoid the vet.

Momma has been chewing and licking all day long. I put some flea medicine on her last night in the hopes it would help but no such luck. Now she smells like medicine and itches too. She is eating and I don’t see any other problems.

My brothers euphoria wore off and he is in a state of depression. He wants me to help him with his resume, which is no big deal. Only problem is we are in two different areas. He is into manual labor and I am into the technical side. I’m going to give it my best shot. He unfortunately is in no hurry. He still really wants to sit around. I explained to him that since he has filed for unemployment he needs to look for work now. I told him that a job isn’t going to come knocking on the door. I think he just wants time to sulk and take it all in. Besides that doing nothing for a couple days is something that I know he can enjoy. However, anything past this weekend is one day too many.

I’m preparing for my interview next week, getting all of the documents they want plus other stuff I want to present ready. I hope that I make a positive impression and they hire me. Of course after the interview I may sing a different tune, but I think not. The only thing is that since I have been unemployed I have not had one sinus infection. I think with being around people and kids especially that germs will be every where. I just hope my immune system has had enough rest and can fight off any thing that comes my way.

Time to browse the net and see what is new in the world. I hope that you have a very safe holiday weekend. If your drinking please do find a designated driver. Way too many innocent people get hurt and/or killed. I hope 2012 is a better year for all of us, even if this *might* be the last year we are on earth. Although I think it will be like Y2K nothing will happen. God I’m getting old!

Thank you one and all for spending this year with me. Here’s to the New Year. Cheers!

Worried lots of bad news

2011-12-30T00:04:00.001-06:00

* Warning* This post might leave you depressed. Read at your own risk.

Hi my name is Jeremy and I am a perpetual worrier. Yes, I worry about a lot of things, especially things I can’t control. Been that way all my life. Wish I could quit but there is no pill, patch or way to rewire my brain. So I continue to worry.

My latest worry is our Big Boy (cat). He has been coughing more and more, last night he got himself all worked up just after using the litter box. I’ve listened to him with the stethoscope several times. One time he sounds okay, the next sounds bad. I’ve increased his medicine in the hopes it will help. He was originally supposed to have it 3 times a day and I have been getting away with once a day and even once every other day. Now it seems like he really needs it.

This could all be fluid from the left side that the vet didn’t want to drain last time. I’m not sure. I feel that if we take him back, the vet won’t want to go any further with him and will force us to make a decision. I’m scared of loosing him. It’s like I can feel it in the air, that it is going to happen and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. I pray that I am wrong. He’s only 7 and that is far too short a life for any animal.

Last night I felt so guilty that I used my iPhone to Google his condition and found that a special diet low in fat is highly recommended. Now I feel really guilty because he has been eating normal food, that has too high of a fat level. Now I understand the need for a special diet. If the vet would have just said something like that, perhaps he would be doing better today. I’ve looked at the fat levels in the food and it’s 3% up to 10%.

What does he have? It’s called a idiopathic chylothorax. The idiopathic part means they have no idea why this is occurring. It would be nice if the fluid would disappear or at least calm down to allow him to breath normal to semi-normal. I don’t mind paying to have the fluid tapped out of him but you can only do that so many times before you graduate to a chest tube. I’ve seen chest tubes put in on live people with no anesthesia because it’s life or death and it fucking hurts. It hurts me just to watch. My grandma had one when they went in to biopsy her lungs and the surgeon nicked her lung and it deflated.

The partner and I have had many conversations, but right now we are both cautiously guarded and watching him very close.

In other news my brother phoned twice today, both times we were out. He didn’t leave a message and I saw his number on caller id. Normally, I don’t return calls off of that, I figure if you want me you will leave a message or you will call back.

Well I phoned him back tonight after I discovered that he phoned and turns out he lost his job today. He was working for a guy that ran some golf business among other things. Anyway, there was supposed to be a merger with a much larger nationally known company. In anticipation of that the guy got a bunch of new equipment/technology and hired people like crazy. They were all ramped up and everyone was eager with anticipation.

However, from what I know it sounds like the merger went through on paper but the company never sent over any orders. There was and still is talk of a lawsuit. Anyway, it’s been months that this guy has been paying my brother and all of these other folks to sit around for 8 hours a day and do nothing. It was a few weeks back and my brother and his boss were talking, so he knew this was coming down but he was assured that his job was safe. Like most bosses, he lied because he didn’t want to loose anyone in the hopes that things would turn around. Everyone got a very small bonus for the holidays. He paid everyone thru the end of the week. The news broke around 2:30 this afternoon and he told everyone they could take off and there was no need to show up tomorrow. If things in fact ever do turn around he promised to hire everyone back.

One would think that this would be devastating news and rock one to the core. Especially if this was the first time it happened to you. Not my brother, he is all bubbly and excited. He looks forward to sitting on his ass for at least two weeks and collecting some unemployment. Our mom is in tears and beside herself, which despite her altered mental status is what I consider a much more appropriate reaction. My brother isn’t worried because he is and has been quite the miser over the years. He’s got money tied up in investments, stocks, bonds and savings. So regardless of what he gets for unemployment he is set for a quite sometime.

I told him to look at me and how last year at this time I thought after the 1st of the year I would be back to work. Here we are a year later and I am still looking. The market isn’t like it used to be and I told him to look and apply as much as he can. The shorter the time goes by and he gets back to work the better it looks. The more time passes the less likely people are going to hire you. They figure there is something wrong with you, even though that isn’t true. He’s been unemployed before he went for almost a year after quitting a job he didn’t like before he found this golf thing some 3 years ago.

My partner is having some issues with his stoma (colostomy). He’s been complaining about it off an on for months. Now he thinks that he will need some additional surgery. I told him before he goes to see a doctor about it, one of the places that sells supplies offers a consultation with an Ostomy Nurse. So he called today, it used to be $20 now it’s between $25 and $50 depending upon what she has to say. Were going to see her next week and see what can be done for him. I believe this is simply another case of user error and he is doing something wrong. He’s managed this thing fine for years and now all of a sudden he is having problems. Perhaps it’s time for a different product or a different technique. Anything but surgery is fine by me. Surgery involves risks and right now I am so not a gambling man!

We finally made it to the grocery store today. Remember the shocking news from last week when we found out Lawn Boy was a daddy. Now we find out that he is engaged (which is totally fine) and his bride to be is one of those High Maintenance Women. She convinced him to buy her a brand new Volvo. I suspect that come spring when he checks back in with us, he will be wanting more money. I mean I’m happy for him it’s nice to be able to provide and get nice things. However, I think I am going to wind up mowing the grass myself, sneezing and wheezing the whole time. I’m not even sure that I will have enough money to pay him at his old rates. He’s been good to us in that the price has always remained the same. I hope it works out for both of us. This woman I think saw a cash cow and now he is in deep and if he ever changes his mind, he will pay dearly to get out of the relationship. I sure hope she is the one for him.

So I started with a cat concern and I’m going to end with one as well. I found out today that Momma who has been eating her fur and itching for months, is the one who has been puking and has a little blood in her stool. I really feel bad for her and want to get her relief. However, it’ the million dollar work up that I can’t afford. So I am worried about her as well. However, I think her condition is far better than her sons. Still I think a visit to the vet is in her future. She won’t like it anymore than I do but maybe it can get her back to normal.

What do I need to make it? Patience, Wisdom, Money and a job. If all of those could come along like now, that would be great. I would however give them all up in a Nano second if I knew there was a cure for Big Boy. I’d rather suffer than see my kids suffer. Ah, well here is to the New Year.

That’s my concerns and complaints for the day. Thanks for reading. I hope I didn’t depress you! I know we all have our troubles, it just seems like some of us have more than others at times.

Normally sad day

2011-12-28T23:54:00.001-06:00

Today is normally a sad day for me. 21 Years ago on this day my grandmother passed away. This was my first experience with the death of a human in my immediate family. I had been to lots of funerals, but thought that I would be more grown up and ready for when it hit home.

The truth is your never ready. Grandma had a brain tumor and lung cancer. The plan was to do surgery on the tumor but when they (the doctors) discovered spots showing on her lungs on an x-ray they (the doctors) wanted to biopsy it and see what they were dealing with. This was not a state of the art facility and I pressed my mom and grandfather to transfer her to a better facility. My reason being better care and a better outcome. However, they didn’t listen to me. I mean I was only 19 and according to them I didn’t know shit.

I was closer to God and involved in a church. So faith and praying did a lot for me. I cried many tears over the situation, but I knew there was nothing I could do to change it and that feeling of helplessness is what irked me the most.

Now for all of you that say miracles don’t exist or God doesn’t hear you. My grandma was in a coma for weeks. The night of the 27th I went to see her with the guy that is my partner now. We had a serious snow storm in the area and more was falling. We got to the hospital with very little time remaining for visitors hours. We still went in and when I walked into her room…. she was awake, lucid and acting perfectly normal. She couldn’t talk all that well. But we did carry on a conversation. She had stopped eating but suddenly she was hungry and told me a steak sure would hit the spot. I read her some of the get well cards she had. The nurses and my partner had to pry me away from the room. I didn’t want to leave because I was very close to her and this was the most we had talked in months. I was also under the illusion that she was getting better. I told my family what I saw and that got everyone excited. The next night when me and my brother got home from work, my answering machine had a message on it from my mom that said get to the hospital grandma is dying. God allowed her to wake up and say goodbye to me, even though neither one of us knew that is what was happening. My partner knew but didn’t tell me. That day (the 27th) and that conversation is something that is etched into my brain and I will NEVER forget! Had I known I would have never left the room because I was having the best time. So while I shake my fists at God and get mad at him because it seems like he isn’t listening, I know that he takes it all in. Miracles still happen today!

Normally this day I would be seriously depressed and that happened for years after she was gone. Just reflecting on her memory got me sad. Today there is kind of a numb feeling but it doesn’t affect me like it used to. I never thought I would get over losing her, but as time passed it made it easier. You don’t get over someone dying, you just get used to the fact they are no longer here.

That life changing event of losing her caused me to grow up really quick. I learned quickly that even family can and will crap all over you. There truly is only one person in this world you can depend on and that is yourself. Most every time I put my faith into someone else be it personal or professionally, they let me down.

While I know my grandmother didn’t approve of me being gay, she would still be proud at the man I turned out to be. She would be proud of the success in my life and how I made something of myself, when everyone told me that I was a looser. I would wind up spending my life in jail. It’s true if you hear something over and over again, you begin to believe it’s truth. My how wrong they were! She would also be surprised that I turned into a cat person and that church, much less the Catholic Church isn’t a part of my life. She didn’t like cats but I think she would have fallen in love with every one of the kids. She would also be surprised that I am with an older man and how I supported him in his times of need (stroke, cancer, etc.). All in all I think I turned out pretty well and a far cry from what everyone thought I would turn into. My success wasn’t to prove them wrong, it was rather to prove to myself that I had it in me all along!

It is my strongest belief that grandma is in heaven and having the time of her life. She was a fun loving, witty person who could always manage to inject humor into most every situation. My grandfather was a lucky guy and I totally see why he married her. Someday I hope to be reunited with her in heaven. Until then, I forge forward with my life and make the best of things.

Lazy Tuesday

2011-12-27T23:27:00.001-06:00

Monday I was able to meet up with my mom and brother. We had breakfast at Denny’s and chatted a while. I think it was like an hour and a half. They had to run to the grocery store so we motored home. Kind of a nice day lazy day. Last night I broke out Home Alone 2 and plugged in the old entertainment center here in the basement. Turned out the lights and watched the movie sitting in the dark, just like old times. It was like a calling card for the kids because I was loaded with cats. They don’t like the stereo on because it’s too loud for them, if there is a gun shot or some loud noise, they will freak and run upstairs. Thankfully I had them for most of the movie, until towards the end when the fireworks went off. I also managed to get the trash outside in the pouring rain. Good times!

It was a boring Tuesday around here. Just dozed off an on all day, watched TV and played with the kids. We had our first snow fall last night, so there was something extra special about being lazy today. It was only 1 inch and it’s melted away. Still it was pretty while it lasted. The weather has been strange for a while around here and I don’t see any signs of a normal winter yet. Were talking upper 50’s towards the end of the week. In December? That’s unheard of. Watch I will land a job, then we will get pelted with bad weather and the temperatures will drop. That is the kind of luck I have. :)

With the holiday being on Monday it’s messed up my week. I will go through the same thing next week as well, but after that I should spring back to “normal”. I found one job positing tonight and had contact with two other prospective employers today. So I have met my minimum for the week. My hope is that next week since we start a new year that the postings start flooding in.

I discovered by accident a new dip that my partner likes. Make Heinz all natural Sloppy Joe, eat what you want and save the rest. When your hungry, take the left over joes and put the in a bowl, pour on some Tostitos Medium Cheese Caso. Then nuke that and serve with Tostios chips. It’s cheesy and beefy, you get the crunch from the chips. Ole! We like it. I think up little things like this all the time but rarely do they ever turn into reality.

Last night Big Boy was coughing and I went to comfort and calm him down. I broke out the stethoscope and gave a listen. I’m no doctor nor do I have any medical training (unless you count playing doctor <grin>) but I heard fluid crackling. I did something new and put the scope up to his throat and you can heart him struggle a little bit to breathe. It sounds like your listening to a 6 pack a day smoker. Poor guy. I said a prayer for him right there. Although it might sound worse than it actually is, again I’m no doctor. He’s not in distress and his breathing rate is within tolerance of normal. The only thing I didn’t like was that he wouldn’t sleep with me last night. I hope that he comes in tonight. As much as I bitch I kind of enjoy the wake up call in the morning, lets me know he is still kicking. Tonight we had a long talk about him and what the future holds. Neither of us are ready to make any life altering decisions right now. We did talk about surgery to correct his problem but there is the money (which really isn’t a factor for me, if it will make him better, I would gladly give up what little money I have). The bigger issue here is could he tolerate the surgery and what kind of life would he have afterwards. Last year took a lot out of him (and us) and I don’t want to put him through anything unnecessarily. Right now he’s acting normal, so we just keep watch and play it by ear, which is what we have been doing. I have been good about knowing when it’s time to go back. I want him to get better or at least remain stable. If it wasn’t for this silly fluid he would be just fine!

Time to change the subject. So you may have noticed a couple subtle changes. First I threw out Blog Patrol or should I say they threw me out. I’ve had an account with them for years, but when I log in now it says invalid user. It looks like I’m logged in but I can’t get anything to display. So I moved over to Site Meter. The hardest part was getting the color scheme to match my blog. They seem to have a much better interface and they will even e-mail you the stats on your site. Not bad at all for being a free product. So if your looking for a stat counter for your site, I recommend Site Meter. The other change I made was some of my links are no more. Sites went by the way side or have content that hasn’t been updated in ages so I figured the site/blog went out of business.

I know there are many of you out there that read or should I say view my site. The stat counter says it all and I am totally amazed that people from all over the globe stop by. If you have a blog that you would like me to link to, leave a note in the comments (which are now called thoughts). I’m happy to trade links. Also, don’t be shy or afraid to leave comments. It truly makes my day when I hear from a reader. Especially if your commenting on photos, I get a little excited and it also lets me know what you guys like to see. I want to continue to build a great blog that folks enjoy visiting.

So 4 more days and it will be a New Year. I’m ready for a change and to move in to 2012. I hope it’s a better year for everyone, even if it’s predicted that the world will come to an end. I personally don’t think that will happen in 2012. What about you, do you think 2012 will be our last year here on planet earth? Let me know.

Be careful out there and stay warm!

MMM–Monday again

2011-12-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

Hope you all had a good holiday!

Enjoy the very last week and have fun. One holiday down, one more to go!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

The day that most kids have been waiting for, counting down to is finally here. Yes, it’s Christmas!

I remember the joy of being a child and waking up Christmas morning to find presents under the tree. It was always fun to rip open the paper. There was lots of noise between me and my brother. It’s the only day of the entire year that we didn’t mind getting up early. Heck, it was difficult to get to sleep from all of the excitement.

Being an Adult now kind of takes some of the fun out of it. Plus since my grandparents are no longer with us, Christmas just doesn’t feel or mean the same to me. It’s a family holiday. Going to church, exchanging gifts and having a nice meal together.

Today me and my partner are visiting some friends for a meal, some conversation and will return home this evening with fond memories of yet another Christmas. I am happy that I am able to spend the day with him. I know time isn’t exactly on our side, since he is older than me. I have a train calendar that I give him every year. I don’t expect anything from him. This year has been one we both would like to forget.

My gift to you is this, cherish every moment with those you love and care for. Be it a person or a pet. Everyone passes away sooner or later. If you have a grudge against someone, be the bigger person and break the ice, apologize and get back into good graces. Life is far too short!

If you need some holiday movies to watch, my recommendation is the Home Alone series. The first and second ones are my favorites. The Associate with Whoopi Goldberg is also another good one.

Thanks very much for stopping by.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

I found this photo on-line while surfing. It looks very much my little boy that we lost last year. It also looks something like TAZ. So I printed it out and gave it to my partner. I said I dressed TAZ up and we took a photo for you. He laughed and laughed. Then he said how did you get him … oh … never mind. He thought it was real until he took a closer look at the face. Put nothing past me, if I had an outfit like that I would dress up a cat or two, but I would be wearing my own shade of red. That’s right blood from being clawed up. Still it’s a cute photo.

Well only one more day to wait until the BIG day is here. I hope that your holiday is filled with lots of joy, family and friends. If you get a gift or two, that would be great. It’s mainly about being with those that we care about and sharing the moment and of course some food!

Here’s my favorite Christmas Song of all time….

Here’s a spoof of the same song by Bob Rivers called Carol of the Bartenders. Funny but it’s got a good message about drinking and driving…simply don’t do it!

Friday

2011-12-23T20:51:00.001-06:00

So the politicians finally worked out a deal with the Payroll Tax and Unemployment extension. Were good for two months. It is anticipated that when they (the politicians) return from there long holiday break they will hammer out a deal to grant another year long extension. However, that remains to be seen and is only speculation at this point.

I phoned the unemployment folks today and was told that I’m good up until March. Extensions are automatic, so I don’t need to do anything. Just keep on with my job search, filing my claims and report in every four weeks. That is some good news and I felt it was sort of a Christmas present in its self. Might not be much but it does eliminate some worry for me. My funds are still limited but every extra dollar I can get helps.

As you would imagine most places were closed today, especially if they gave Christmas Eve as a holiday. Most places will be closed on Monday as well. This is a nice sweet 4 day weekend for most working folks. Wish I was able to count myself among them. Anyway, job postings today were really sparse. I have called it a week because I know nothing will be posted over the next two days. That doesn’t mean I won’t be looking but my hopes aren’t up. I believe that come Tuesday, things will start up full force especially for those places that want to fill positions early in January. Come on New Year it’s got to be better than this year has been!

Yesterday we did our grocery shopping. The place was packed like everything was on sale. Seems that every one thought it was discount Thursday but it wasn’t. My partner packed away the meat in our cart as I started to watch the dollars fly out of my wallet. We did a decent amount of shopping, but as usual I curtailed what I wanted to help cut costs. Checking out of the place was absolute bedlam. We were fortunate enough to get in a line with a checker that we talk with often. She lives close to our Lawn Boy so I get an inside scoop on what he’s been up to. Turns out he knocked up his live in girl friend and they had a baby. Yuk, I can’t believe that handsome hunk of man did it with a woman. While I’m surprised, it still doesn’t mean I can’t lust after him. I’m happy that he had a baby but it’s also surprising he never impressed me as the family type. He seemed to like the single guy life. Ah, well I suppose one can change their mind.

One of my hobbies is listening to my scanner that monitors police, fire and ems. This month has been the busiest in a long time. Murder, Robbery, High Speed Chases, shoplifting and DUI/DWI are all on the rise here. Makes me thankful that I am at home and not out in public. I suppose with the economy the way it is people rob and steal to get money or items for Christmas, since a lot of folks can’t afford to give gifts. I suppose the increase in crime in my general area is also being felt in many other cities across America. There have also been a lot of calls for suicides, which is normal for this time of year. I don’t know what happened but a couple years after we moved in a lady that lived down the street tried something and she wound up paralyzed in a wheel chair. Very sad state of affairs. I remember hearing the call and watching the emergency vehicles out the front window as the snow was falling.

I’m about to switch gears from normal to sexual. So if you would rather not read about that, we should part here. Be sure to come back tomorrow and on Christmas day.

So I watch the show 1 Girl 5 Gays on Logo regularly. David Robert is by far the cast member of the show I’d love to hook up with most. This weeks show was all High School Guys, which was a different twist. Nice to see some even younger guys on the show. They were all cute but much too young I believe to be considered legal. The week before the guys were talking about a Pig Roast. I thought that was an odd thing to talk about. Then I quickly realized they were talking about a sex act and not a real pig roast. LOL! So in case your like me and had no idea it’s when you get both holes plugged. The question was which position would you want to be in if you were involved in a Pig Roast? Most said they would love to be the pig. I agree, that sounds like the best place to be. It’s always been a fantasy of mine and something hot to see on film but I never in a million years would have ever known that it was referred to as a Pig Roast. Now every time I eat BBQ I will think of that and probably get a rise in my Levi’s. LOL! That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Unusual

2011-12-21T22:40:00.001-06:00

Our friend showed up early this morning as planned. We got a $50 gift card, that we are putting towards grocery's. It was a nice gesture but then again we have done a lot for this person over the years. We had about a half hour of conversation, which was good. Nice to catch up.

Afterwards, me and my partner left and went to the pancake place that just opened in town. This was the place I was suppose to be the manager of. Funny thing I saw one of the guys I interviewed with and I saw the guy that interviewed for the job before me. Guess what? He got the job. I think they were looking for someone who had retail and/or restaurant experience. While I have spent more time in restaurants, it’s been as a customer and not as a manager. Sadly, that experience doesn’t count.

We grabbed the mail after our meal and then it was home for a nice winter’s day nap. I didn’t get to sleep but a 1/2 hour because I had cats crawling all over me. So I got up and fed them, which is exactly what they wanted.

Next it was time for me to head out to get them (the cats) more food. I told my partner I was leaving and then he asked me to stop for Hot Dog Buns. I hate going multiple places by myself, I am the in and out, time to get back home type person. That was the run I was prepared to make. We did some bantering and I left.

As soon as I left I started thinking about Sam’s and how we saw stuff cheaper down there. I checked my wallet and sure enough my membership card was there. I decided instead of going across the street it was time to get away from it all and visit Sam’s.

I got plenty of cat food, the cats will soon grow tired of it because it’s a limited variety but when they have no other choice, I am sure they will give in and eat it. I got 100 pound of litter, 32 cans of Diet Coke and 16 Hot Dog Buns. Then I filled up my tank with fuel and dropped $100. It was nice to get away. I did something out of the norm, something that no one would have ever predicted that I would do. That is visit Sam’s by myself, much less during the Christmas Holiday Season. It was wall to wall people. I had to park out in left field, but it was so worth it!

I unloaded everything when I got home. My partner surprisingly never called to check up on me, but normally he would have. I gave him the package of 16 Hot Dog Buns and then he said, where in the world did you get this? I told him Sam’s. He just looked at me and said SAMS!? I said yes. No way, you didn’t go there. Yes, I did and here’s the receipt to prove it. Holy Cow!

I got to rest for a while and we had a late supper. Kind of a nice ending to the day. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day, oh what fun it will be. How do you spell cattle call? I spell it Grocery Shopping. :)

My very first job interview of the New Year has been scheduled. I got a call today for an ad I answered last week. It’s a low paying job but it’s in my field and an hour away from home. I was told up front it would be a panel interview. While I know they have a copier and a printer, they told me to bring multiple copies of my resume. Strange but okay. There are also some other documents they want. I will be well prepared and hopefully will impress them so much they will hire me on the spot. However, right now all I can do is hope and pray.

Long day, Jeremy is tired. Surfing the web for a little bit and then I guess I will tackle the horrible task of trapping our shy girl to trim her claws, clean her ear. I need to brush her and would like to put flea medicine on. We will see what she allows. Claw trimming is mandatory. Thank God for Welding Gloves or she would have me mauled to death. Did I mention she is shy. She gets defensive as does any animal when provoked, she is mad at me for anywhere from an hour to a day and then we make up and all is right in the world. I love her so much, just wish she would open up. It’s been 7 years and I don’t think anything will change.

Here’s to Thursday. May it be short, productive and net me another interview. Take care everyone and be safe if your holiday shopping, it’s crazy out there!

Spoke too soon

2011-12-20T23:42:00.001-06:00

So I spoke too soon on the Unemployment extension. Apparently our politicians are still trying to hammer out a deal. The Unemployment extension is tied in with the Payroll Tax cut bill. Click here to learn more. From the way it sounds, nothing will happen before the end of the year. I suspect this will be the first item on the agenda when the lawmakers return to Washington. It’s like a woman on the news said tonight. They (politicians) don’t care about us, they don’t even acknowledge that we exist. I think they acknowledge us but only when it comes time to vote. Ah, well I hope they hammer something out soon, lots of people are depending upon this!

Big Boy had a coughing spell tonight. He’s got us worried. However, he is acting perfectly normal. Eating, sleeping and just being a loaf. Last night I was looking all over the place for him to come to bed and he was already there. Sleeping between the chair and my bed. His brother sleeps in bed with me. Me and my two boys! They love each other as much as they love me. It’s nice to have animals because they don’t judge you, they just soak up the love and eat the food you put out for them. Sometimes I wish I was a well cared for cat.

Me and my brother have been emailing back and forth. He told me how mom wants to see me, it would really make her Christmas. So I tried to schedule something but he doesn’t want to be tied to a schedule. He would rather take the let’s wait and see approach. Okay, wait and see but you won’t be seeing me. I am the type of person who likes to plan things out and not go all free willy nilly. I’ve always been that way but now more so that I am older, a schedule is a great thing to have. I suggested that we grab a bite to eat. Their house smells and he smokes like a locomotive. Put him in a restaurant and he can’t smoke. Good food helps put everyone in a good mood. Watch that will be the next slogan for Arby’s, well you heard it here first. :)

Speaking of getting older, I found a photo copy of my very first drivers license. Despite the photograph of me being in black and white, I said DAMN I really was hot stuff. Now look at me, I’m old. I should have worked it more when I was younger, could have had a lot more tail but then again I could have a disease too. I just wish I looked a bit cuter and younger.

So I am trying to get into the holiday mood but as usual it’s just not working. Perhaps it will hit me on Christmas Day, even if only for a couple minutes, sure would be nice. My partner told me that a friend of ours is stopping by in the morning at 10 AM. Gee no beauty rest for me (then again it doesn’t do any good). We have been trying to catch up forever so it will be a nice treat for a Wednesday morning. Maybe afterwards we can get some groceries. Guess I should close and go start my wind down routine. It will make the kids happy. They love to watch TV with daddy. Hope all is warm and well in your world.

Music, Men on Monday ---MMM Good!

2011-12-19T02:00:00.000-06:00

Since we all want something or someone this holiday season, I felt this song was appropriate. I hope you get what your wishing for, no mater what it is!

Now on to the MEN

Long Day–The Big Boy Update

2011-12-18T21:54:00.001-06:00

Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep last night. I got a call this morning around 10:30 that they were planning to work on him at 11 and another call would follow. I went back to bed.

My partner got up around noon and decided to call over, not knowing what I had been told. I got out of bed about a half hour later and he told me that it’s all done and the vet would be calling back.

That call came just after he said those words. Big Boy was doing great but his respirations (breaths per minute) were up. They wanted to keep him to watch his breathing and make sure he was okay. We declined and said we would be there in about a half hour to pick him up.

I got a quick shower, got dressed and off we went. There is still some fluid on the right side but there isn’t enough there to fool with. The left side had one ounce of fluid and is totally dry now. He was sure happy to see us!

The bill was $260 which was nice surprise. Either I thought they would charge more than they did or we got some volume discount. No matter what it is I am not questioning it. I’m thankful, very thankful that it was less than I anticipated.

It’s taken most of the day to calm the big fella down but he is finally resting comfortably and breathing appears to be under control. I learned how to check that today. For fifteen seconds, watch them breathe and every time you see movement, count it. Take that number and multiply it by 4 and that is the breaths per minute. He was originally around 60 and were told normal for him is 40.

Here’s hoping that we can go 6 months or more before we have to repeat this experience. It would be even better if the fluid just never came back and we never had to experience this again. This is the only set back or complication he has from his illness of last year. Which all things considered is pretty good.

Just glad to have him home, doing well and maybe just maybe I can finally get some decent sleep. I’ve napped off and on all day but it’s short lived because someone or something will wake me up.

Thank you all for your thoughts an prayers, they are much appreciated!

Early Sunday

2011-12-18T00:35:00.001-06:00

Big Boy has been breathing pretty heavy lately. My partner remarked this morning that it looks like he is swelling. I dismissed it thinking ah, he’s just a Big Boy. I walked into the kitchen last night and saw Big Boy coughing and in distress. He eventually walked away from me and was trying to settle down. I gave him a couple minutes to himself but then I got the stethoscope and gave a listen. You could hear the fluid crackle and he was wheezing. While he wasn’t in respiratory distress, I figured better safe than sorry.

We scooped him up and made an Emergency After Hours trip to the vet. One of our favorite vets was working and she offered to let us wait while she did the work. She took a listen and knew it was time for draining. He’s got fluid on both sides. We waited for about a 1/2 hour and we were asked if he could spend the night (at no charge). They were having problems tapping the fluid out. While they got some, there is still some they can’t get. Our regular vet that we see will be in bright and early. She has much better luck and a special trick to get all of the fluid out. So he’s spending the night as much as we don’t like it. My guess is that this will set me back about $500. I know the emergency visit is $140, x-rays are around $180, factor in oxygen and the labor of the procedure and bam your there. I hope I am wrong but I know how the vet operates, it’s all about money.

The good news is that while we were waiting I checked on the news and found that the government passed a 2 month extension on unemployment. I will be calling next week to find out how that applies to me. My way of thinking is that I should get 2 additional months but who knows, it’s the government and that means complications and simple things don’t always work out like you know they should.

In other news I have been wanting to clean out a closet that I know is full of junk. I just haven’t quite been in the mood. I was yesterday afternoon and man I threw out lots of stuff. The trash man won’t be happy but thankfully we don’t pay by the bag. There is plenty more to go I’ve got a utility room and another closet but those are being saved for another day. It’s amazing what you can find when you aren’t looking for it. There was all sorts of stuff that I had been wondering about.

In the middle of cleaning I found out our friends have decided to invite us down for Christmas dinner. We are having Ham and other stuff this year. Thank God for that because Standing Rib Roast sucks! I am not one for hot ham but it’s not roast so I will probably just keep my mouth shut and eat it. It’s a free meal, so why not!

Friday night I made a call to my brother to find out what is going on with him. We yacked away for some 2 hours. I thought he would never shut up. Sounds like he might loose his job as well, because work has slowed way down. It’s to the point where he goes in and wonders how he will occupy himself for 8 hours a day. He said it’s been that way for months and everyone is bored.

Mom is slipping again and still thinks they are coming to take her away. I told him that she will never get over that and he can’t try as much as he wants to explain it to her but her mind is in outer space but her body is on planet earth. It would be easier on him if he would just give up and go with the flow. The guardianship thing is done, which is good. Mom’s drivers license she thinks is good for 4 years but it’s only good for 1 because of her vision problems. Then he told me she has driven a couple times. She can’t make it into fifth gear she always shifts into third from fourth gear. That’s why I like my automatic, no stick or clutch to play with. Just shift into drive and press on the gas.

During the week I have my evening routine which end with an hour of Family Feud before I start my job search. It’s time I spend with the kids and I really enjoy the show. Well for the past 4 days this family was on with the hottest guy named Alessio. I know his last name but feel compelled to keep it a secret. I found him through some internet searching. Take a look at the photos below and I’m sure you will agree with me he’s hot. Unfortunately, he is very straight. If he ever changed teams I wouldn’t mind hitting that! <grin> <blush>

That’s all I know for now. I’m headed to watch TV and relax until my early morning wake up call comes in a few hours on when we can spring Big Boy from the vet. I’m crossing my fingers that all goes well and the bill won’t be as bad as I anticipate. Check back tomorrow for an update. Good Night for now.

Latest Happenings

2011-12-15T23:29:00.001-06:00

My batteries for my UPS arrived this morning. Oddly enough delivered by UPS. I was kind of thankful for that because FedEx always fucks up and delivers our packages to other houses in the subdivision. Too many streets that are named similar (i.e. sugar wood court, sugar hills drive, sugar bay lane).

I looked all fine in my underwear walking out to the front porch and grabbing the surprisingly heavy batteries. One of these days someone is going to see me and then I will regret it. Until then I just press the envelope. I mean I could go out naked, which would be a whole lot worse.

The batteries installed easy and quick. The hardest part of the whole job was unplugging everything, unplugging the UPS and setting it up on my desk so I could do the work. Took about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Since I got the “bad news” I’ve been eating and sleeping a lot. Doing more of both than I should. Yesterday we had frozen Chicken nuggets for supper. It was quick & easy. There were some instant mashed potatoes that were okay, but I didn’t eat much of them. We made a late night run to White Castle, which was fun. As I type this I’m ready to go there again, but I won’t.

I believe if the politicians pass another unemployment extension, it would mean extended benefits for me. However, I’m not 100%. I’m waiting for that to happen, then I will call to check into it. I’ve been in hyper drive when it comes to applying for a job. I’ve been looking anywhere and everywhere I can. We (me and my partner) honestly believe that something will break either towards the end of this month or in January for sure. Not to be negative but we thought the same thing last year. I just hope we are correct this time.

I caught up on TV last night. Thank God the Real World ended. Those people were getting on my damn nerves. I hope the next cast doesn’t fight as much and they pick some hotter folks. This season sucked! I can’t believe that show is still on the air, but that’s part of what started reality TV. Who would have thought that would have caught on?

Took the car out today for a ~~spin~~ small trip. We went to visit the only buffet that I like, it’s about 50 miles away from home. Of course I drove 5 miles over the posted limit. I still got bitched at by my partner. He would have driven much faster but hey, I’m in no hurry. I had my cell phone and no one called. <boo hiss> However, there is always tomorrow.

Last night I placed an order for my allergy meds from Canada. I went to the place I have been doing business with for years. They revamped their website and raised prices. What used to cost me $65 now costs $120. It’s the same thing but I guess they need someone to help pay for the redesign of the website. Needless to say that someone wasn’t me. I found a new place and spent $68 but that is far better than $120. I wish this was still available here in the US and by prescription. That would save me some money.

That is as about as exciting as it gets here. I am thinking I will eventually snap back to normal. I feel almost normal now, but there is still a slight bit of depression. This is the single biggest challenge of my life. I’ve dealt with some pretty big things but this one by far is the largest and has the most impact. I’m eager to put this behind me and move forward!

Thanks for your support and for stopping by to check on me. Happy Friday!

7 Weeks …

2011-12-13T20:19:00.001-06:00

I called the unemployment people and found out that my claim year had expired. The system automatically makes you start a new claim. I explained that I was on an extension and wanted to ensure that I got paid for last week. I was told that I would have to call back and file via the automated telephone system. Then I was informed that I only had 8 weeks of unemployment left. Whoa!

I called back the automated system. It couldn’t file my claim. So I had to call back to speak to a person. Of course all of the lines were busy so I had to keep retrying for about an hour. Finally, I broke through. I was put on hold for 15 minutes and then I got to speak to another person.

I had to tell my story all over again. This person was really on the ball. She explained to me what happened in the system, that I was going to get some information in the mail but I should ignore that. Then she filed my claim for last week. Finally, she told me that I did in fact only have 8 weeks left, but after this claim was processed it would be 7 weeks. If I can find a part time job that earns me at least $1,700 then I could submit that and it would start a new claim, which would enable me to continue receiving benefits.

WOW I felt like the world was coming to an end. I was in shock, upset and depressed all at the same time. I’ve sought work in other industries (i.e. food service and retail) but no one wants me because they think that once I find work in my field, that I will leave. Which is probably true. I’m not longing to work at Wal-Mart or in Food Service for any lengthy period of time.

It’s all a bit overwhelming and makes me want to just go to sleep and not ever wake up again. It’s hard to fathom that I have worked all of my life, doing the right thing, putting in extra hours and going the extra mile. Then one day some miserable sun of a bitch decides that he doesn’t like me, shoves me out in the cold and I slowly loose everything. It’s not right nor fair. However, them are the cards I have been dealt. I only hope and pray something comes along quickly. If it doesn’t my future doesn’t look too bright.

Here’s to my next future job, hurry up and get here. I need you now more than ever!

Problems - UGH

2011-12-12T22:51:00.001-06:00

My partner answered the door this morning, forgetting the alarm was on. I got quite the wake up call when the siren went off. It was 11:30 AM so I guess I should have been out of bed any way.

The rest of the day was relaxing. As usual when I put in for my nap, my partner was going full bore making noise. I got to sleep and he woke me up an hour later with his racket.

We went to IHOP for supper. I tried the Egg Nog Pancakes. The butter rum sauce made them taste bad. I had just finished my Chicken Fajita Omelet, which was stellar as always. Next time I will stick with an English Muffin, that’s a nice touch to an Omelet.

My partner was really wondering about my mom and he asked me to call her. So because of his nagging I have an update for you. The surgeon did in fact pull the correct teeth. Her dentist told her that they were the lower teeth, which is what he removed. I guess she got confused and thought it was the uppers. She is healing well and back to eating normal food, which is good.

My next problem occurred when I sat down in front of my computer. I saw that my UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) was showing a problem. In case your not familiar with them, it’s a battery that takes over if the unit senses there is no power. Then depending on settings it will shut your machine down or keep it running on battery. Once the battery is gone though your out of luck. It’s a nice thing to have not only to protect your computer equipment but to ensure that it won’t bounce up and down if the power bounces. Most companies have larger units to protect their computer rooms, where the servers are at. Anyway, I thought it would be a click and all would be well. Nope, my battery is well over three years old and it finally gave up the ghost. So I had to order a new battery. There goes $100 more. However, this thing has saved me more than once so it’s worth the money. The expense just comes at a bad time.

Then my next problem cropped up. I went to check on my unemployment. Turns out the system opened up a whole new claim for me, when it should not have. Now I have to call them tomorrow to get things back on the straight and narrow. Lord only knows how much red tape I will have to go through. I so loathe having to call them.

Plus I got a notice today in the mail they are starting to phase out the extended benefits. So if I don’t have a job by June as I read the notice I won’t be getting unemployment. With my expenses being what they are now, I suspect I will be truly broke long before June unless of course a job comes through. Right now all I can do is keep pressing forward. It’s not easy but I’m trying.

If these are the only problem I will have this week, then I think things will be fairly easy. I just hope and pray nothing else crops up.

Last night Big Boy exerted himself when he was using the restroom and he went into Respiratory Distress. Thankfully I caught it as soon as it happened. I just did what I saw the vet do, which is comfort him and tell him everything was okay. That was enough to calm things down and it only lasted two minutes. I thought sure he was going to the vet, but thankfully he was okay. Me thinks his fluid is building up and it’s probably time to drain it. He acted up like this but all the time when we first discovered it and they drained it then. Right now we are keeping a close 4 eyes on him. Last year around this time was when the roller coaster ride with him started. We don’t have the money to pump into him. I will gladly do what I can before we are boxed into a corner. While he is far better now than he was last time at this year, I know that eventually he will die or we will have to make a decision to let him go. My hope is that will be years before we get to that point. Stay tuned and I will keep you posted.

Like sands through the hour glass so are the days of our lives!

Music & Men on Monday–mmm Good!

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Tech Tips

2011-12-11T22:37:00.001-06:00

Voice Mail

Most everyone has Voice Mail be it at home, on your cell phone or at the office. It is very important to set a password for each of your mailboxes, especially your cell phone. Why? Because hackers have discovered that if they spoof (fake) caller id to be the same as your cell number and there is no password, the cellular Voice Mail system thinks it’s you calling to check your messages from your cell phone. This gives the hacker instant access to your messages (both new and saved) as well as your greeting. They can of course change the password but most won’t go that far, especially if they are interested in stalking you, all be it by Voice Mail.

Most cellular carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc.) have patched their systems to make them immune to this hack but it’s better to be safe than sorry, so you don’t miss that important message.

What’s a good password. Something easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. Don’t use simple numbers like 1234 or the last 4 numbers of your phone number. If your system allows it, you should choose a password that is seven to ten digits in length. Maybe it’s a combination of your home address, your birthday and your favorite number. Maybe it’s a phone number of a friend or relative.

Calling Windows Users …

Your system is probably set to run Windows Update on a regular basis. While it’s good to keep on top of security flaws and patches released from Microsoft, hackers have discovered ways into systems via flaws in out dated software. Typically this happens with older versions of Flash and Adobe Products. How can you stay on top of it all?

Easy, there is a new product I just heard of called Secunia PSI (Personal Software Inspector). This FREE piece of software will scan your system to ensure that you are using the latest version of software and will notify you if you’ve missed a Windows Update or if it finds other security flaws. You can get this by visiting http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/?gclid=CIG6lJTa-6wCFQLrKgod0z5W8Q

Click on the Download link on the right hand side of the page. Once installed follow the instructions on the screen to complete a scan and find out how your system is.

I found that I had 2 pieces of out dated software on my system. I clicked on a Install Solution link and was redirected to the manufacturers websites and installed the latest version of the software.

These are just 2 ways you can keep a step ahead of the bad guys. Feel free to pass these tips on to family, friends or whomever you think might enjoy them.

Happy Computing!

Life Update & Food

2011-12-11T00:08:00.001-06:00

* WARNING * This post may make you hungry, proceed at your own risk. Remember you have been warned!

I had my interview on Thursday. The place was a little difficult to get to but thankfully I had my Google Map. I checked in and was waiting when I looked below my jacket to find my shirt drenched in sweat. Yikes! That’s not supposed to happen. It’s winter outside so I had on my leather jacket/coat, my dress shirt and below that a t-shirt (which I normally don’t wear except when I’m dressing up). The guy kept me waiting forever.

*RANT* Seriously, what is it with professional people. They are anything but professional. Damn near every one of them doesn’t know how to tell time or how to manage time. An appointment is made so that you can meet up with someone or a group of people at a precise time. When your more than 5 minutes late, makes me want to walk out like we could do in High School when the teacher was late. Jeez!

Okay so back on track. We met up and he had to grab something so I took the time to see how I could position my arms to prevent him from seeing the sweat that was pouring out of my body. He came back and we started. I could tell that he hadn’t done many interviews before. He kept talking about this sheet of paper that HR prepared with questions he could and couldn’t ask but he lost it. Well, he didn’t ask anything that was off limits, which is good.

Long story semi-short I learned that they had let two folks in IT go over the past two years. They chopped off too much and now they are buried in work. There is even more stuff coming next year. That right there makes me nervous. If they hire me and I get them caught up are they going t let me go? There is some occasional local travel as well as cross country travel that all would involve either one very long day or a night or two stay. I know that I don’t have all of the skills they are looking for but I am not opposed to learning, I mean knowledge is power and that also helps with the motivation factor. I got a small tour of the place and met a couple of the other folks in IT. He liked me but this was only the 1st round. They have spoken with about 3 or 4 other people. Not sure what the next steps are or when a decision will be made. I avoided asking those questions. I will stay tuned and see what happens.

After the interview my partner took me to a German restaurant that he always wanted to try. I am not all that big on German food but if it’s fixed right (and there is only one place I like, but it’s a long way from home) it can be really good. I got a diet soda and every time I took a drink it tasted like the rim of the glass had sugar on it, gross. I stuck to my water and had an occasional sip of the soda. We both had a 3 sausage sampler with sauerkraut and potato pancakes. My grandfather used to make potato pancakes so that was a nice and different thing to have. We were both stuffed and waddled to the car.

Friday was my phone interview. That in my opinion didn’t go very well at all. This place and one other place that reached out to me, want a traveling technician. Meaning you use your car and go from client to client. No thanks, I’m not running up miles on my car. Not to mention I’d have to change my auto insurance to be written for business. That’s uber expensive! The interviewer mentioned that they are located in a place where parking is at a premium. I asked if they provided parking and was told “oh honey, I work from home and have no idea but I would imagine they have a lot”. Seriously? I can understand working from home but you mean to tell me you have never been to the office? What kind of recruiter are you?

Hubby had a buy one get one free breakfast coupon for Bob Evans. So we went there and had a nice meal. Too bad my stomach was on the fritz from all of the German food. I was full when I left but once I got home I was hungry again. Yeah, that kind of on the fritz.

That brings us to today. I mentioned early this morning how I really wanted a nice Spaghetti and Garlic Bread dinner. There was a new Italian Place that opened up. Some friends of ours went and said it was good. They love to drink so they spent $100 on a meal. We were told you could eat there for cheap.

So we went there tonight. For starters, there was a coat check as soon as you walked in the door. I knew right then that this was not going to be a cheap meal at all. Then I saw a waterfall built into the wall and we were lead into the dining area. We seated, menus and then water. Unfortunately, they had neither Spaghetti or Garlic Bread. I had Cannelloni and my partner had a Pork Chop. Desert was Bananas Foster made table side. Holy cow what a presentation. When I saw the liquor I thought I wouldn’t like it but damn it was good. I was still hungry after finishing that, so I ordered a Cannoli which we split. With tip the meal was $80. Jesus that’s like a weeks worth of groceries. If I was working at my old job I would have never batted an eye but holy cow that is a lot of money for a meal. My partner kept saying we will be going back. I told him he would have to supply the cash.

My stomach is better today but damn I left hungry and it hasn’t gone away. We have nothing more than oatmeal to eat here and I’m starting to think White Castle but then I think of my stomach. Wouldn’t want to upset it.

So are you hungry yet? For some reason I feel really optimistic about the job situation. I guess I’m going through the upswing of emotions, which sure beats the downswing. This week has been quite busy and there were a couple of cream of the crop jobs that I really want. One of which is working for a local radio station, I would think that would be cool. Except for the part where your on call 24 by 7 and it’s a salaried position. Ah well right now I will settle for just getting back to work.

That’s all I know right now. The kids are doing well. I have put out cat nip for them two night in a row. They all love it and it seems to breed harmony at least for five minutes, which is nice.

I hope your week has been a good one and that your enjoying your weekend. I’m off to find something on TV and maybe that will help me forget about the fact I’m wanting food! Cheers to one and all.

Mid Week

2011-12-07T23:36:00.001-06:00

Well the mystery is solved, my unemployment claim went through without a problem. I completed my check in and all is well. What a relief! I will be extra careful when I file this week.

On the trip over to check in (I feel like I’m a criminal on parole or something) with the unemployment people, we had an interesting thing happen. I stopped for a red light. The light changed for traffic to make left turns. Then the light changed to green for me. Cars were still making left turns in front of me, not one but five. Finally I got tired of it. I laid on the horn and pressed on the gas. That scared the shit out of my partner who had no idea what I was going to do. It’s my turn, get out of my way because I’m coming through! He said in hindsight that I handled the situation really well.

No word from mom on the tooth situation. I’m interested to hear how that turns out.

Today we spent the entire day at home. I made Cinnamon Rolls when I got up, had two of them and some milk. They were really good. Checked my e-mail and found a request for an interview. Talk about a great morning! I got the interview setup for tomorrow, despite not having high hopes of actually getting the job. After that the sugar wore off and I had to sleep, just for an hour. Trying to find an hour where everyone and everything is totally quiet here is difficult. However, I found time and an hour is all I got.

Heard about this flaw in Facebook that allowed you to view private photos of your friends. The flaw has been fixed. Wished I would have known about it BEFORE they fixed it. There is this guy that I’m friends with, we used to work together. Anyway, it’s been my mission since we met to find a shirtless picture of him. He won’t allow me to view his photos online so I’m kind of sunk. I did do some on-line searching and there are plenty of videos and sites that tell you to complete three surveys, enter in some keywords and bam, just like that your viewing private photos. They make it sound really easy, but once you start it’s a click fest of pop ups and offer, after offer, after offer. The process is madding. After 10 minutes I finally gave up. I still have hopes of seeing him shirtless, but I don’t think that will happen. However, I can still have hope, there’s no charge for that!

I’ve been sitting in front of this machine way too long tonight. My neck and shoulders are killing me. The children are yelping for me to come upstairs. I suppose they are hungry because it’s early for us to go to bed. Besides that with my nap I’m going to be up for a while

Speaking of the children, our little girl is better. She is showing signs of being more like her old self today. I’ve kept a close eye on her and I believe it’s safe to say she is fine. Still won’t let me get to close but I do get to pet her now and then but only on her terms.

I leave you with this little gem I found on-line today. Made me think I need to visit this place and get really close. ) I thought it was good for a laugh. Thanks for stopping by!

MMM–Music, Men on Monday. YUMMY!

2011-12-05T01:00:00.000-06:00

Because of some of the feedback I got from the ‘Hanky Code’ post I have included new themes of Sexually Suggestive and Leather & Bondage. They join the usual categories of Spanking, Shirtless and Butts. So there should be something here for everyone to enjoy. Got a fetish or something special you’d like to see? Easy enough, leave a comment and I will see what I can do to accommodate. Enjoy!

I am happy it’s finally December because I’m able to look at one of my favorite porn stars on the calendar above my desk. It’s none other than Blu Kennedy. Too bad he retired from the business. He is on a calendar from Jet Set Men called Tackle, which is the title of a porn movie. The things I’d love to do with him, simply too sinful to list here! :)

Here’s a g-rated photo I snapped of him from the calendar just for you.

Have a great week!

Medical Mistake

2011-12-04T21:45:00.001-06:00

Got a call from my mom this morning. She is recovering pretty well. The pain medicine has made her drowsy so she has spent a lot of time in bed. Then she tells me the surgeon pulled the wrong teeth. No joke! They were supposed to go after the uppers and instead went after the lowers. No wonder the price was so much less. She is calling her dentist tomorrow to find out what the next step should be. Personally, I think it’s called Medical Malpractice and she could sue if it’s true. At the very least I think the 2nd surgery should be free, if in fact this guy did make a mistake.

Her dentist sent her with paperwork that she turned in on the day of the surgery. It had the teeth in question circled showing that is what he was supposed to remove. Plus I’m sure they talked about things before she was knocked out, too bad I wasn’t in the room as a witness. My brother thinks that it’s all apart of her mental condition and that there was no mistake made. I suppose only time will tell.

I got a call yesterday from a head hunter who wants to interview me via phone for two positions. We are going to talk next week. While I am not excited, I am thankful that the phone rang. Hopefully, this is the start of a long line of calls to pour in over this week. I don’t have high hopes of finding something before the 1st of the year, but it would sure be nice. I am hopeful that next year will be much, much better than the past year. This past week wasn’t all that bad, Friday & Saturday things picked up and I was able to make a decent amount of contacts.

Tonight I filed my unemployment claim as I always do on Sundays via the internet. They re-worked the webpages and tried to make things more fancy. I also had two cats begging for food. My concentration wasn’t there and I got to the part where I usually get a confirmation number, but there wasn’t anything on the screen. I hit the back key and that screwed it all up. So I have to wait until tomorrow to find out if the claim went through or if I have to start all over. Next week I will be sure to concentrate!

Last night we headed out to see some Christmas lights. It was extra dark and raining. Visibility was poor but I got us there and back with no problems! I can tell I’m getting older because night driving, especially in the rain really sucks! It was a nice get away.

Our little girl seems to be on the mend but I can tell that she isn’t quite 100% yet. She has had two doses of probiotics. While I would like to give her more we only had those two. It’s what the vet usually has us do when one of there digestive systems get out of whack. Thus far there have been no further problems. However, if we see anything there will be no hesitation, off to the vet she goes. The one thing I hate about cats is that they are the masters of disguise. They appear to be all loving and normal but in reality they are dying. They just don’t want you to know. It’s a defense mechanism, to prevent predators from attacking them if they are in the wild. Kind of neat for being out in the wild but for being a house cat it sucks because as an owner you are never quite certain if big is going on or if it’s minor. I’ve just calmed down about running over to the vet because it’s usually $100 or more per visit and money is something that is very tight.

That’s the latest from me. I’m off to work on Monday’s post to find some good music and hot guys for you. Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by.

The very latest–2 days in 1

2011-12-03T00:17:00.001-06:00

Thursday morning woke up very early to get mom to her Oral Surgery appointment. We were a half hour early. The doctor of course was running behind. We had to wait an hour before they took her. I didn’t get it they took other people that came in after her, operated on them and they were out the door. I guess she just picked a turtle for an oral surgeon.

She was very nervous. I remember those feelings. Wisdom teeth are God’s way of keeping Oral Surgeons in business. Kind of funny how your born with several things you don’t really need. Wisdom teeth, gallbladder and appendix.

After about 45 minutes they called for me and I went back through this maze to a tiny hole in the wall with a cot. It was a very old building that used to be a radio station of all things. Anyway, there she was sitting up right and her mouth stuffed full of gauze. God what a beautiful site, if they only would have sewn her mouth shut it would have been a complete masterpiece. :) She of course was talking up a storm and I told her that I couldn’t understand a word, it was like she was speaking a foreign language. The nurse however could understand her just fine.

The nurse told us that it would be a little bit because the doctor was finishing up with the chart and he needed to write a prescription for pain. She chimed in oh I’ve got Vicodin at home, no need for pain pills. Wow, the old mom would have NEVER said a word.

I got a laundry list of instructions and then we headed to the payment desk. Since the doctor didn’t have to write a prescription that sped up the process. They asked for five hundred something and moms face looked like she wasn’t expecting that. Actually they quoted her well over a thousand dollars but the teeth were easy to remove so the price went down. Wow! I could pull teeth all day for that kind of money, CHA CHING!

We got her home, stopped for a sandwich, grabbed the mail and finally we were home by 3pm. What a day!

My partner went to his Christmas Party, it was an okay time but he wasn’t as excited as he normally is. His back has been bothering him all day. Lower back to be specific, when he moves the wrong way he lets out this gut wrenching scream that scares me. He screamed just as loud last year when he broke his back. Normally he is quiet about pain, so when he says something hurts I know he is really suffering. I was after him all day to phone the doctor but he didn’t want to. He just had me putting icy hot on his back. He now plans on calling the doctor tomorrow. Chances are he will just get pain medicine but it would be nice if they gave him something for arthritis because I think that plays into this.

We have a sick little girl. It’s the one with fear of people. She puked this morning. Then again this afternoon. Just as my partner was leaving she threw up blood. Then she disappeared. When I was eating some chips she came over to beg, which is not unusual. He wanted to run her to the vet but it’s normal for a little blood to come up from her when she pukes multiple times. Right now were keeping an eye on her. If this continues tonight or tomorrow, then she will instantly get a trip to the vet. She loves to pick up, chew, and eat odd things. So for all I know she has a paper clip in her stomach, but I sure hope not. I love her lots but I’m trying to cut back on vet bills. We have given them way too much money.

That’s Thursday. Was your Thursday better or worse than mine?

Friday was an okay day. Our little girl seems better, but we are still keeping a close eye on her. My partner started his first day on insulin. Like every time before he got nauseated. I’m guessing that this will be a normal reaction and after a few days, he will be calling the doctor to say I want off this and give me a pill. That is what has happened every other time he has tried insulin. He’s a Type II Diabetic which is non insulin dependent. Medical science uses diet, exercise and pills to control the blood sugar.

We decided after a few hours of being up at noon, to go out to get a bite to eat. I had to move my partners truck and when you turn the engine off, you can really smell the oil. I guess that I am going to have to part with more cash and get that fixed. He can’t be driving that thing around because it will only get worse and that will probably mean more money out of my pocket. I don’t want to spend my money like that but he will never have the money to fix it, so I figure while I’ve got the funds why not spend them on something worth while.

Anyway, he got some BBQ Ribs which he loves. I had Pepperoni Spaghetti and Garlic Bread. That is the only meal each of us has had all day. It was around 3pm. At 10pm I checked my sugar and I was running high. I so wanted something sweet but elected to skip it. After I’m done with this update, I’m checking it again because it’s after midnight. Not that I want any food now. I’m tired and ready for bed.

I got a call from a friend and we chatted for a bit. Turns out he was telling me all of his woes from work, most of which sounded like mine. I don’t know for sure but I believe that come the 1st of the year he will be a competitor to me in the job market. However, he has much more experience than I and he’s already got a job, so chances are his competition will be short lived, as I think he will land something quickly.

Speaking of jobs, man tonight was busy. I found four ads to apply for. I really liked one of the positions they said company confidential but when you look at the domain name and browse to it, the anonymity was no more. It’s a great company. The only downfall from my point of view is there is travel involved, it’s monthly but sounds like it may be a couple days out of the week. If they call for an interview I’m sure I will find out more.

I got up the courage to call and check up on my mom. She didn’t answer the phone. Not a surprise, I’m guessing she was probably knocked out or just didn’t feel like talking. I remember all of the things she is going through and the 1st and 2nd days were no picnic.

The weekend has no big plans, it’s suppose to rain all weekend long. Good sleeping weather and a perfect excuse to stay home. I think we will be having roast beef tomorrow, at least that is what the chef (my partner) suggested. I won’t like it but I can but some BBQ sauce on it and that will make it palatable for me.

Okay so this two day post has gotten really long. I’m going to publish it and call it a night. Hope all is well in your world and that you are happy, safe and warm!

My Hanky Code / Arm Band Answers

2011-12-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I posted about the Hanky Code and the different colors. As promised, here are the colors I would wear…..

Dark Pink - Light Blue - D. Blue - White - Grey (All on both arms).

Am I naughtier than you thought? Well now you know even more interesting things about me! :)

I learned a thing or two about you guys. In the future you will see some photos that match some of the interests of your responses. It’s never too late to respond or share a fetish/theme that you would like to see. No promises but I will certainly do my best to accommodate.

Hope you had fun. Thanks everyone!

World AIDS Day

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Today is World AIDS Day. You can find a ton of information on this subject with the help of Google. If your in the US, click on the hyperlink ------------------>HERE

You can find information on where to get tested and more by scrolling to the bottom of the page (in the hyperlink) by just putting in your ZIP Code.

Modern Medicine has certainly made great strides in combatting AIDS and people are living healthier and longer lives today, than when it was first discovered. Sadly there is still no known cure. I’ve got no doubt that one day a cure will be found!

My closest encounter with AIDS is when I was tested back in the 90’s when my grandmother was dying. I had stopped eating and was in a state of grief. My mom thought for sure I had AIDS so she informed our family doctor that I was gay and that she thought I was dying of AIDS. The doctor wrote an order and I was tested. Back then it took a whopping 5 days to get the results. Those were the longest 5 days of my life. While I was fairly confident that I didn’t have it, still the what if’s go through your mind. I had a difficult time getting the results but they finally came in as NEGATIVE. I was never so happy in my life to be negative.

I have not been tested since. Why? Because I’ve only had one sexual partner since the test and that would be my partner. My last doctor really wanted to test me after I told him I was gay. I never gave in. My present doctor has extended the offer to me but I still declined. Just for the heck of it someday I may give in. Since my partners surgery some ten years ago, my sexual partner has been my right hand. You can’t get AIDS from that! It’s not fun going without “the real thing” but it is much safer.

If you want to get even more up close and personal with this disease, watch the movie Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. While it’s a few years old, it still is a very good movie. A warning grab your tissues because you will need them.

This candle is in memory of those who have lost their lives to this disease. This candle burns with hope that a cure will be found!

Wacky Wednesday

2011-11-30T21:59:00.001-06:00

Woke up by Big Boy at 7am for the 2nd day in a row. Fed the children breakfast, had a bowl of oatmeal and then headed back to bed. Watched an episode of Reba and then several of Will & Grace. Finally a couple hours went by and I was sleepy again. Back to sleep and up at a little afternoon. Of course the children see me again, so that means more food for them. They got lunch. I got a shower and we went to the grocery store, oh joy.

While we were in the store for a decent amount of time, it still feels like we rushed in and out. I always hold back and only get a couple of the things I want and then I’m wondering why I’m hungry. I try to be cheap where I can. My partner on the other hand bought a bunch of frozen Chinese dinners, a couple pieces of meat that I don’t like and a few other indulgences. We had a limit of $120 and spent $145.

His truck was running on fumes so I popped for gas, which cost me $37.00. That’s only because we need to visit the unemployment office by the end of next week. Plus tomorrow we are taking my mom to the Oral Surgeon. I’m so not looking forward to that. However, she won’t want to go out to eat afterwards! We may get something light while we are out, but probably not.

My partner has a Christmas Party to attend tomorrow night as well. He wants me to come along but I pass each and every year. These are his friends and it’s at a buffet that I don’t like. I will stay home with the kids and have frozen lasagna or left overs. I won’t starve! Since he is getting older not a day goes by that he doesn’t drop something. He is afraid he will drop his tray. I told him to ask for help, he did last year and wound up coming home with a complete place setting of silverware in his pocket. He put it there and forgot all about it. I told him to take it back, but I know he won’t. Everything will work out!

The telephone has been quiet this week, with the exception of my mom and a couple friends calling. I really would like an interview or two. Perhaps even a 2nd interview. I know it will happen in time. The job leads have slowed way down. It’s Wednesday and I am at a whopping 4 total. The week isn’t over yet but I don’t have high hopes that I will see too much for the remainder of this week.

Hope that all is going well in your world. Are you staying warm? Yeah, winter is here even though it’s not official yet. I like to check the weather in Miami FL that always warms me a little bit. Wish I were there! Take care.

Guys, before I run off be sure to leave some feedback on my Hanky Code post from last Friday. It’s fun plus it gives me an idea of the types of guys and fetishes that your into, so I can post more of what you like. I will be posting my answers on Friday, so be sure to check back!

Hello Winter

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

It’s that time of the year again. Long Sleeves, Hats, Coats and trying to stay warm. It’s been in the 30’s here most of the day and we have had off and on rain. It will be a little warmer tomorrow (Tuesday) but the rain will be sticking around. The rest of the week is cold and windy. Bleh, I want my summer back!

My neck is bothering me so I spent most of the day in bed. I was up for a short time, had some pie and then had to lay back down. I wound up falling asleep and it wasn’t until 4pm that we got started. Neither of us was feeling all that well. We got a small bite to eat and got the mail. Wow, that’s the day. Unless you want to include in the part where I gathered the trash and took it outside.

I was very surprised that I found two jobs to apply for today. I know that it will be slow and slim pickings at least until January. However, I will still keep on looking because you never know when your going to find the ad that turns into an offer.

Now it’s off to watch and clean off my TiVo from Monday night television. Stay warm and be safe.

MMM–It’s that time again

2011-11-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

A little something for everyone from music to photos. Hope I made your Monday!

Holiday Humor

2011-11-27T21:26:00.001-06:00

How I spent my black Friday

2011-11-25T23:17:00.001-06:00

I woke up at noon. Had a slice of Pumpkin Pie and a glass of milk for Breakfast. All night long I was thinking about our friends that we celebrated Thanksgiving with. They never had a Chocolate Pecan Pie. So I suggested to my partner that we go pick one up and take it to them. Sounded like a great idea. We got dressed and off we went.

I should back up a little bit. After we agreed to this, my mom called. She is having a wisdom tooth pulled in a couple weeks by an Oral Surgeon, she will be KO so she needs a driver. I so wanted to say, you’ve got your license what’s the problem? It might have to be put off, depending upon if there is pre-work that needs to be done. I won’t know that until early next week. Oh JOY! Like I said to my partner I never knew she had all of her wisdom teeth, I mean she isn’t wise at all. :)

Arrived at Cracker Barrel about 45 minutes later and got the pie, they were almost out. Thankfully we got there in time. Had lunch and then departed to our friends house.

The sun was in my eyes most of the drive down and all the way back. I love sunshine but not in my eyes. Anyway, they were very surprised to see us again and with a pie, wow.

I heard a story over the summer about a guy who started a Pay It Forward at a McDonalds drive thru. He paid for the person behind him and the trend started and lasted for hours. Ever since then I’ve wanted to help a stranger by doing something nice. Only problem is my money is limited. The pie didn’t cost that much and it’s the closest I will come to helping a stranger for now.

After we dropped off the pie, headed back home and that is where we have been ever since. I finished off the Cesar Salad and had some Cold Ziti around 6pm while I watched my hour of Family Feud. I had to fight off the kids to eat but it was well worth it. They got fed too but human food always seems to get their attention regardless if they have a plate of cat food in front of them. Makes me wonder if their food is really that bad or if they are just being nosy!

It’s taken 2 days but I finally made it through all of my regular reads, saw some interesting stuff. Blogger has given me some problems on one site saying that my account isn’t authorized when I try to comment. I did some research and apparently it has to do with my browser settings and the fact I have a pop up blocker enabled. I saw some duplicate comments left here yesterday and today, so I’m thinking it might not be limited to just me.

In searching the net I found out that Neil Patrick Harris will be in this months edition of Details Magazine. He talks about everything from Harold & Kumar, Marriage, Being Gay to hosting shows. Since I don’t get that magazine I was able to find some of the interview on-line. This just makes me want him even more. A night with NPH would be epic for me, well that is as long as we could do what I wanted! :) I’ll be you have a good idea of what I’d like to do. Ah, well it’s only a dream and that doesn’t cost anything.

Hope all is well in your world. Stay warm and be safe.

The Hanky Code

2011-11-25T22:02:00.001-06:00

Davey Wavey just did a vlog on the Hanky Code. It’s something that has been around since the 1970’s. It was how Gay guys communicated what they were into sexually. Now we have all sorts of Social Media outlets, apps, etc. However, guys still use the Hank Code in Leather Bars by wearing various color arm bands. They call it flagging. If you wear the band on the Right it means you are the bottom or you want to receive. Wear it on the Left and it means you want to top or you want to give. Sounds like a line from the 1,000 Pyramid. Wow, I just dated myself! Back in the 70’s guys used to wear different color handkerchiefs in their back pockets to convey their sexual preferences.

Here are the colors as I got them from Davey’s post:

Dark Pink – Nipple Play
Yellow – Water Sports (I don’t mean water polo either)
Brown – Scat
Teal - Cock & Ball Torture
Light Blue – Oral
Medium Blue – Uniforms
Hunter Green – Daddy Boy Sex
Grey – Bondage
Black – Heavy S&M
Red – Fisting
Purple – Piercings
Light Pink – Dildos
Dark Blue – Anal
Sand – Sweat & Tears
Kelly Green – Prostitution
White – Safe Sex
Charcoal – Latex
Gold – Size Queen
Light Yellow – Spitting
Orange – Means your in to ANYTHING

Now for the fun part. Let’s suppose your going to a Leather Bar. Leave a comment and tell me what color arm bands you would be wearing and if they would be on the left, the right or both arms. Then tell me which color bands you think I would wear and if they would be on the left, right or both arms.

Okay so some of you are saying, wow that’s kind of HOT and I want to play along but I don’t want the world to know. Not a problem, put the word PRIVATE in your comment and I will be the only one who sees it.

I will post my colors and which arm or arms I would wear them. Check back on Friday for my answers. I do hope you will play along.

Answer to 11 11 11 Question

2011-11-25T00:59:00.001-06:00

Back on the 11th of November I asked you to visit a website and tell me who the porn star was. I know one person was working on that. I just realized that time slipped away from me and your probably all wondering, well who is he?

None other than Jeff Stryker. He is known for his large tool in Gay, Straight and BI movies. That’s him in the photo below. If you click on the hyperlink on his name, it will take you to a Wikipedia page that lists his movies and more information than you possibly could ever want to know. You can also search Google Images for many more photos of him, if your interested.

Post from a Turkey

2011-11-25T00:00:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without Adam Sandler’s Thanksgiving Song. Give it a listen below. When I first heard this years ago I nearly drove off the road with laughter.

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my computer to Windows 7. After I did it I remembered all of the reasons why I hated this OS. I started out with connectivity problems. I chased my tail in forums trying to resolve the issue when it came to me. I uninstalled my Security Suite Software (Antivirus/Firewall/Malware/Spyware) and rebooted. Presto. Problem solved. Then I reinstalled it and presto all is well.

Then I searched on how to get the Quick Launch Bar back, that was easy enough. Then I had these two annoying icons on my desktop. One is called Libraries and the other is Home Group. I searched and searched, I was only able to rid myself of the Home Group icon. The libraries icon has stayed put, so I gave up and just filed it away on my desktop, blends in like camouflage.

Now I am totally happy with the system. I feel like I got a new computer but it’s just an OS upgrade. Everything seems clearer on the screen and has a bit more color/life to it. So if your thinking of upgrading or you want a new machine, don’t fear Windows 7 it’s fine.

Now Windows 8 from what I have seen of that and the “metro” interface, I think it sucks. I wouldn’t want it on a phone, tablet or any pc. So despite the fact it’s not out yet, I can’t see myself upgrading to that. Then again I never saw it in the cards for Windows 7.

Turkey Day…. It went off without a hitch. Our guests thought there would be traffic jams, so we had to arrive super early at their place and consequently we got to the restaurant super early. Last time that happened they made us wait but this year it was immediate seating. Before I even talk about the food, there was this super hot guy sitting across from us. I was taking photos of the food and the restaurant in general so it wouldn’t be obvious when I took a photo of him. Every photo turned out great except that one. The camera didn’t want to focus. Damn!

So the food was great. We had the usual Ham & Turkey with plenty of sides. We have tons of pasta left over. Baked Ziti just like last year. I love that stuff. I saw Chocolate Cake on the menu for desert but decided to let everyone else decide on desert and not make an issue of it. Damn, I should have put in my two cents for that cake. We had Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake and Apple Crosdata. They were good but they were no chocolate cake.

It took us two and a half hours to go through 5 courses. Seemed like it all took five minutes but it was much longer than that. We also got the left overs! Plus I got extra Turkey & Dressing to take home. NICE!

After we dropped out guests off back at their place, I headed over to the cemetery to visit Grandma & Grandpa’s Grave. It was a very nice day and I haven’t been by in a while. The headstone has sunk and as usual they didn’t have any flowers. I kept hearing Grandpa’s voice say grab those flowers on that other grave and put them over here. It something he would and has done! However, I didn’t. It’s been years since they passed away but it feels like it was only yesterday.

I’m listening to the police dealing with all of the Black Friday shoppers at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy. They sure have their hands full. I’m much happier to be far away from that. From what I hear there are mobs and mobs of people everywhere. My luck would be whatever I wanted they would be sold out of or I would be trampled to death. So it’s easier to stay home. There isn’t anything that I want/need outside of the oblivious (a job) and you can’t get that on a store shelf. Everything else is available on-line and can be shipped. I’d much rather do any shopping that way, avoid the crowds and wait in anticipation for the delivery. Something to look forward to each day.

If your brave enough to shop today, please be careful. Good Luck!

Remember to Give Thanks!

2011-11-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

It’s Thanksgiving here in the USA! I hope that you enjoy this special holiday! Most people think that the whole point of this day is to pig out on food. Don’t loose sight of giving thanks for all of the wonderful things in your life. I think I heard someone say they don’t have anything to be thankful for. Hey, I’ve had a shitty year and even I have plenty to be thankful for.

For starters there is a place to live, a car, my partner, the animals, my health, my retirement savings (for without this I would have been sunk a long time ago) and let’s not forget unemployment insurance. Plus there is the food and the friends that I will be spending the day with. Then there is my blog and all of the readers that I have. See if I can come up with a list (that is in no particular order) then you can certainly find something, even one thing to be thankful for.

The holidays for some aren’t the same because the loss of a loved one. I sympathize with you and know what your going through. Christmas is my tough holiday because I lost my grandmother around that time. Thought it’s been many years ago, each year it feels like it just happened. I know that she would have wanted me to go on and make her proud and I believe I’ve accomplished that.

It’s hard to believe that last year at this time I was bored and thought of my employer and doing some preventative maintenance that went awry. That + a boss who was on a witch hunt = the end of my job. I thought then that 2 or 3 months tops and I would be back working again.

I’m thankful for all of the ads that I have answered, people I have interviewed and interacted with. That whole experience has helped make my interviewing skills sharper and polished me up a little. Now I’d really be thankful if someone gave me a job. Here’s to hoping that come next Thanksgiving the future is much brighter for me and that I have a decent job and perhaps have been able to save some of the money I have had to use.

If your deep frying your Turkey, please be careful. Watch the news and I’m sure you will learn that someone set there house on fire because they didn’t know what they were doing. It might be a holiday but common sense and safety never take holidays.

If you are brave enough to go shopping tomorrow on Black Friday, then I pray that you will be safe. Remember that bargain isn’t worth your life. Seems like every year someone gets hurt or dies in a shopping event. I think we should be like Canada and rename it from Black Friday to Boxing Day because everyone here is boxing to get to the bargain. I’m sure it’s the same there.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Dishwashing Derby

2011-11-22T21:45:00.001-06:00

Today was a “lazy” day. We didn’t plan it that way but it worked out that way. Of course I was the lazy one. My partner was fixing his version of Thanksgiving.

We had a Turkey breast, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Dressing, and Cranberries.

He actually used real potatoes and heavy whipping cream to make the mashed potatoes. He typically makes instant but because I complained about the taste, he tried the real thing. Damn they were good. Not as good as some of the restaurants' we have visited but very close!

There is enough food to feed a family of 5. I just don’t get it. Every year this happens. We make reservations to go out and either before or after that, he has to make his version. Why go out, it would be easier to stay home, pocket the money and call it a day. Perhaps I am just crazy.

Now that every dish in the house is dirty or so it seems, I am running the Dishwashing Derby. We are on our 2nd load and there is at least one more to go. I’m using the new dishwashing tablets from Sam’s by Cascade called something like Extra Fresh Clean. Whatever it’s called it’s doing a great job and smells great as well. I will be thankful when the derby is over.

So our lawmakers can’t figure out a way to manage budget cuts here in the US. There are many things on the line, one of which is unemployment. Unless they come up with some agreement, people who are receiving benefits on an extension will be cut off in January. CBS Evening News interviewed a woman who has been looking for a job for a year and a half. She was an Office Manager and now is over or under qualified for all of the positions she has applied for. She is taking an accounting course in the hopes that she will be able to land a job. She has gone through her savings and is behind on her bills, including her house payments.

I know I’m not alone and there are actually folks who are worse off than me. It’s just a sad situation all over. This holiday season won’t be that enjoyable for lots of folks. If your employed, you’ve got something to be grateful and thankful for. Don’t take your job for granted, no matter how crappy it is or how bad things are at work, being employed is far better than being out of work.

On the job front I received an e-mail today that asked me to take one of those behavioral surveys. They said to allow 20 minutes. This was the simplest thing I have done thus far. There were two screens, one listed all of these things like being dishonest, stealing, being confident. The object was to put them in the order from good to bad. I had to do that twice and presto I’m done. It said it was generating a report. I thought maybe it would spit something out for me, but no such luck. This was for a job I interviewed for a couple weeks ago. Now I sit and wait for the next step, which I believe should be a 2nd interview. Outside of that it’s pretty quiet as I suspect this week will be. Lots of folks take this week off, so perhaps things will heat up next week.

In surfing the net tonight I found an interesting fact photo about masturbation. It appears below. Interesting facts. :)

Shopping Trips

2011-11-21T21:31:00.001-06:00

Today was the day to get food and a few other items we needed. We went back to Sam’s Club and I dropped $91 this time on soda, vitamins, alcohol swabs, allergy medicine, dinner rolls and 2 pies. The place was packed wall to wall people. Like it was the day after thanksgiving.

Then we visited the grocery store to get a few other things. I think that was around $75. They too were packed wall to wall people. However, the checkout lines were not all that full.

I spoke with my mom this evening. I called her. I know it’s a shocker! She did in fact get her drivers license and my brother let her drive home afterwards. Scary! I don’t think she will be doing that much driving, at least I hope not.

The house is clean, my partner has a bunch of long sleeve shirts and nice pants to wear. I wonder what he will pick out to wear on Turkey day? I still have yet to get my laundry done, but that is the way it goes. I put everyone before myself. Now I’m burnout and lazy. Since it’s just me were talking about I figure it’s not that big of a deal. I will get to it eventually. Plus I hate going from short to long sleeves. However, the weather seems to have changed to long sleeve weather.

On the job front the evening news was packed full of stories of local companies hiring. They made it sound like these two or three companies were going to solve the unemployment problem in the area. None of the jobs were in my field. I did find a couple leads online. I suspect this will be a tough week with the holiday(s), I have made my quota which is my first concern. The 2nd concern is getting as many leads as I can, the more the better off my chances.

Just because it’s the holidays and I had a couple extra dollars, I decided to buy 2 lottery tickets. Who knows maybe I will be able to give thanks for winning the jackpot, either one would be enough to take care of me for a very long time. Ah well, at least dreams do not cost anything!

MMM–Another MMM Munday

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

K.T. Oslin – 80’s Ladies A co-worker at my very first job told me about her and I’ve been hooked ever since. I enjoy most every song she sings. What a classy lady!

Reba McEntire – Love her singing too. The show Reba was great, especially Steve Howey. Too bad it’s not in production anymore, but it’s in reruns.

Dolly Parton – Most guys love her for her boobs. I think she has a great voice and is a great entertainer. Her boobs never did a thing for me, maybe that’s because I’m gay!

It’s raining MEN

Waddup

2011-11-19T23:35:00.001-06:00

Life Update

We had lunch with my mom on Friday @ Olive Garden. I ordered a pizza with Sausage and Pepperoni, it was good but it was by far the greasiest pizza I have ever eaten. Had to use a fork to eat most of it because it was so hot.

The waiter tried to talk my mom into getting something besides soup and salad, she was pretty firm about what she wanted. My partner had Shrimp Primavera that only had 7 small shrimp in it.

My mom couldn’t see well enough to read the total on the check, she handed it to me and asked me what it said. I told her the amount and she left a $10 tip, which was way too much. Service was slow, refills didn’t come fast enough on drinks.

Mom asked if we would take her for a ride, she just wanted to get out of the house. She told me how that Saturday she was suppose to get her license. Yeah, okay she can’t read the total of the bill but she can see well enough to drive. Eh? Something is wrong with that picture.

So during the trip we ran into lots of construction in the area. There was a pile of traffic that we got into. My partner has this thing where he lets the car in front of him go way up the road (there was enough room for 12 cars) and he doesn’t understand why that upsets me. I told him he was holding up traffic and then we started arguing. He told me that he could only go as far as the car in front of him. Anyway, that put my mom into tears she didn’t like to hear us argue. Were just like any married couple bickering back and forth – sometimes it’s play and other times (like this) it’s not in play. However, it was over as quick as it started.

As we were headed back to mom’s place, she kept saying I’m in no hurry to get back home. Then she asked me to call her more often and said that she missed me. I didn’t come back with I miss you and so she questioned me don’t you miss me. I suspect that she could tell that I wasn’t being genuine when I said yes. I know that sounds really bad but I honestly don’t miss her. She is a huge ball of problems right now and it’s all I can do to take care of me, my partner, the kids and this place. I certainly don’t need to add to the fire. There is much more going on in my life than I can or choose to publish here. Just trust me when I say I’m at Defcon 2 and stage 1 is approaching faster than I want it to.

Ooh Ahh Drill Me

So today I had my 6 month check up at the Dentist. As usual they were not on time. However, I was pleased as punch to see that I got a different hygienist. The one who normally takes care of me doesn’t have much of a personality and seems like a ditz. Anyway, were going along and then she asked me the dreaded question what do you do for a living. I responded with I am in IT. Ah, where do you work? I wish she hadn’t asked that question. I kept my composure and told her that I was presently out of a job. That isn’t something I like saying and I actually was hoping to not mention it. I mean I managed to skip by on my last visit. I don’t know about your dentist but mine makes notes from conversations, so they will have something to talk about next time. So I am sure I will be asked again in six months if I found a job. I am just hoping she didn’t right that down.

My mouth passed with flying colors as usual. There is a filling that the dentist wants to drill out and replace, it looks like a cavity is forming. They have been watching it for a while. I was told that it’s a minor maintenance project but that I would probably have to take care of it next year. It’s not dire right now. I am so not looking forward to that. Especially because (hopefully) I will be working by the time I got back and that will require me to take time from work.

See you thought I was talking about a different kind of drilling. You just never know where I’m going to go. :)

The job search

There were no ads for me to apply to yesterday. I checked again today but as usual with the weekend, there isn’t much. This is by far the slowest week since I began this process 51 weeks ago. I’ve got a total of 8 contacts. Don’t get me wrong I’m thankful for 8 contacts but I sure would have liked to have many more.

I’ve heard nothing from the restaurant folks thus far.

Considering that tomorrow will be the start of week 52 or the 1 year mark I decided to make a list of all of the interviews that I have had. I was surprised that I was only able to list 23 and 2 of those were by telephone. I’ve got 3 interviews that are pending decisions. One is the local job I really want, two is the restaurant job (although I think we know how that is going to turn out) and three is the engineering place I went to last week. Pouring over the long list of contacts that I have made, I am utterly befuddled as to why someone hasn’t hired me by now. It just makes no sense to me. I don’t have college or certifications BUT I do have many years of experience. Ah, well here’s hoping that this job search business ends really soon.

Friday night I got curious to see if I could pass an exam for a certification called the A+ which is otherwise known as CompTia A+. There are two exams you have to take in order to be certified. They give you an hour for each one. One had 23 and the other had 26 questions (I think). My theory was that I’m fairly smart, I was pretty confident that I could pass. If that was the case, I would just schedule an appointment and pay to take the test. Adding that certification to my list of skills would do nothing but help me. Sadly I failed and thankfully it was only a practice test. My weak area is security. Hardware and Software were easy to pass. Paying a place to study is expensive and so is the test. I’m not sure that I want to pursue that with my own funds, since they are limited right now. It was good to know where I stand though.

$300 Pie

That Pumpkin Pie is all gone. My partner wants to go back and get a couple more along with a couple other items we need. I told him that was okay but we seriously have to hold costs down. He wanted to stop by today after the dentist but I figured the place would be crawling with people since it was the weekend. I figure waiting until Monday would be smarter. I looked on-line at Sam’s website just to see if they sold Windows 7 and sure enough they do. Then I looked up the Pumpkin Pie and saw that they still have some but it’s very limited. I think we might head there tomorrow, despite it being against my will. I equate Sam’s with visiting the grocery store and a hillbilly convention all rolled into one. No one knows where they are going, what they are looking for and manners well no one seems to have them. Then there is the checkout lines which are usually very long. Don’t get me wrong they have bargains but I’d rather have it all shipped to my door than visit the store. My partner on the other hand thinks it’s easier to visit the store. Easy for him, he is in one of those motorized shopping carts and he WILL hit people, he doesn’t care. I told him last time we needed a sign that says Gang Way Student Driver. He got a good kick out of that, but I was serious. I’ve been hit by him (it was an accident) in one of those damn things and it hurts like hell.

That brings us current on my life events. The MMM Monday post is done. As is my Thanksgiving Day post. See I’ve just been busy. Now I’m off to clean up after the children and try to unwind from the day and prepare for whatever tomorrow brings. Hope your having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday

2011-11-17T19:38:00.001-06:00

Life

Today we went out to get hair cuts and run a couple errands. We arrived at my partners favorite place for a hair cut and they asked if we had an appointment. To which I replied no, don’t you take walk in’s anymore. The lady said we sure do but our appointments come first. Seriously? The place is empty and everyone is standing around, you can’t spare 2 people to cut our hair, which wouldn’t take over 5 minutes tops. Nope we have appointments coming in. Well good then you just take care of them and we will never come back. Oh so do you want to make an appointment? That would be a NO. We were both a little peeved over that.

We are sticking to our normal plan of me doing the hair cutting. I don’t like that because my partner trims the back of my head and never quite takes enough off and it doesn’t look like a pro did it. Ah, well it will save us or should I say me some money!

Not expecting it we found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands. We just came home and sat around. I eventually fell asleep and finally I couldn’t take the boredom any longer. So we went back to the place with the hot guy from last weekend. He was there and so was 1/2 of the planet the place was packed. There went the haircut money.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my mom called in tears today and left a message that asked me to call her back. When I did she wanted to know if we could go to lunch tomorrow, she said she would buy. Okay so were going to Olive Garden. I’m sure it will be the same old stuff about “they” are coming to get me and I’m going to jail. She told me that her doctor saw improvement in her vision and she should be getting her drivers license back on Saturday. Good to know so I can stay off the road! I can’t wait until lunch is over with, I’m sure that it will be a very tense time for me.

Job Hunt

So yesterday I got a call from the Restaurant people with a message that they were doing interviews in the area and wanted to meet with me. I called back and left a message and reminded them that I interviewed last week with them. I’m happy to meet again but I need at least a days notice.

This morning I got a wake up call from the guy that I interviewed with last week. He said that he really wanted to talk with me. I said okay a 2nd interview. That threw him he said who is this. I told him and reminded him of our meeting last week. Oh a jeez sorry about that we got you mixed up but I’m glad it happened like this. I wanted to reach out to you. We do want a 2nd interview maybe tomorrow or next week, but we will be in touch. Please know that we are still interested in you.

Yeah I think someone got caught with their pants down. I don’t believe that I will ever hear from them again. They just have so many people that have applied and it is probably hard to keep track of everyone. Besides that I really don’t want to work in a restaurant but if they pay enough and come through with an offer I would gladly take it.

That’s all of the blathering I have for you today. It’s a boring day. I need to get to cutting hair and I’m still working on getting my data transferred to the new drive. That should have completed over night but there was an error and I didn’t know about it until I checked on things this morning. I should have known that was a sign of things to come!

USB 3.0

2011-11-16T20:25:00.001-06:00

I’m a tech savvy guy but I didn’t know anything about USB 3.0, that is until today. That external hard drive I purchased is USB 3.0 compatible. With a different version of USB comes a different connector. If there wasn’t a cable included I would have been in trouble.

So if your thinking of getting a new printer, scanner, external hard drive or anything that runs on USB 3.0 make sure that a cable comes with it or you won’t be very happy when you get home.

In my case the end that plugs into the computer looks like normal USB. The end that plugs in to the device looks like the photo below. 3.0 is compatible with 2.0, so while I don’t have any 3.0 ports on my machine it works fine. The only difference between 2 and 3 is the connectors and speed.

Thought I’d mention this just in case. Happy computing!

The $300 Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-16T20:15:00.001-06:00

Like so many people I have a membership to a discount warehouse club called Sam’s Club. We visit about once every six months on average.

The best thing there is the bakery, most everything is made fresh in the store. Well my partner decided that we needed a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. He wanted to go down next week, but I stupidly said let’s avoid the rush and go this week. He thought that sounded like a good idea, so that’s where we went today.

Other things that we needed/wanted crossed our paths. We got 13 items, in no particular order here they are:

Pumpkin Pie
Paper Towels
Toilet Paper
Turkey Breast
Cat Treats
Cat Food
Kleenex
Dishwashing Soap
Chicken Broth x 4
A 2 TB USB External Hard Drive

I was a little surprised that we spent $300 and we just went in for a pie. Plus I had the pleasure of using the self check out. For that amount of money I should have let someone else do the scanning work. Looking for that silly barcode can be quite the chore! It’s very rare that we leave Sam’s with a bill less than $200. The strange part is that I feel like I forgot to scan something, but everything matches up with the receipt. I could have gotten my drive for free, because the lady at the door didn’t look our items over very well. However, I’d rather be honest it causes far less problems!

I know your thinking it was the hard drive that cost a bunch, no actually it was only $137, which was decently priced. I needed it for storage for all of my media. I should be set for quite sometime now.

What’s that saying? A fool and his money soon part ways. Looks like I’m the fool today. I had a slice of that ever so expensive pie and it was very good! Sad it will be gone probably by the weekend. I just hope that we don’t go back next week.

New Daily Read

2011-11-15T23:14:00.001-06:00

I was browsing the internet, looking for some cool new blogs and daily reads. When I landed on Mostly Unfabulous. It’s all about the social life of a grad student, who is gay (surprise). I’ve placed a link to this site in my Adult Reads (NSFW). The only reason why I chose NSFW is some of you might have an objection with some of the photos. They are pretty *HOT* if I do say so myself!!!

So stop on by and I think you too will be hooked on this site like I am! If you have a site that you would like me to link to, place it in the comments. In the mean time I’m on the hunt for more cool new blogs to read!

It’s only Tuesday

2011-11-15T23:03:00.001-06:00

Life

This morning I woke up and felt horrible. My stomach was shredded and I instantly new that last nights supper was probably the culprit. I had an hour before I needed to be up, so I went back to bed. That hour went by quickly and I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere for a while. Every bone in my body hurt. My partner was talking and my head was screaming shut up.

He had a doctors appointment and I was going to go with him, but since I felt bad I stayed home. I didn’t like that but it’s the way it went. He did fine all by himself.

I woke up close to 2pm and hauled out of bed, felt pretty good. Been going strong ever since. I guess it’s gone, with the exception of the back pain I have had for the past few days. I will be glad when that goes away.

The one thing I can say with certainty is that since I have been home, my health has been much better. <knocks on wood>.

Job situation

I got an e-mail this afternoon from a place that I applied to. They asked me to complete an application and said they would be in touch. It’s a job I really don’t want, but hey it’s a job.

I have found a few new opportunities on-line, which is always a good thing. My partner is rooting for the last place I went last week, you remember the place where I’d be in over my head. I’m still rooting for the local job that I haven’t heard anything from. Ah, well at this point I think we both just want me to get back to work, that will be a blessing for both of us.

Animals

There all doing okay for the most part. I’ve got a couple with diarrhea again, I hope that is short lived. I hate cleaning up after them, but I know it’s part of what I signed up when we took them in.

They all know when you don’t feel good and they flock all over me. Laying everywhere they can just to be close to you. That’s great until you try to move, breathe or just get comfy.

HOT Waiter

Over the weekend we went back to a new local restaurant, that we both like. We each had a decent meal. I got this huge burger that was way more than I was in the mood for. I also got to see a hotty. Blue eyes and blond hair. Yeah, I’m a sucker for those two things. Then he bent over while cleaning a booth and I suddenly lost interest in my meal. My partner said that my eyes were going to burn a hole into him if I kept looking at him. He stopped by our table and got us refills and took away some dishes. He kept asking us if there was anything else we needed and was nervously hanging out in our area. I know he was bored, but my partner thought it was because of me. Yeah, don’t I wish. I kept thinking about his fine buns and the naughty things I wanted to do to him. Do you blame me for wanting to go back? Always an extra perk when you have a fine looking young man to drool over.

Humor

Like to laugh? I know what a silly question. Pick out a couple of your favorite TV shows and then head over to You Tube and put in your shows name followed by the word bloopers. I’ve done this for How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. There is some funny stuff that will keep you entertained for a little while.

That’s all I’ve got for now but it’s only Tuesday. Who knows what the rest of the week has in store for us? Whatever it is I hope it’s all good! Be well and stay warm.