Week back from vacation

Went back to work a few weeks ago, then took last week off for Florida vacation. Worked yesterday, no off again until who knows. During the two weeks I worked, I completed everything available to do during PHASE 2.

It seems I have lapsed discussing my awesome life. Here's my youngest singing her first recital back in September.

 

 

I accomplished putting up baseboards prior to heading to Florida. Probably not a big deal to normal people, but I put off having them completed since we tore out the carpet back in 2003. My father in-law installed ones I had finished only to start doing his own thing and using up everything, thus leaving large areas lacking baseboard.

Hobbies

I see on Facebook memes about people not having hobbies.
Before the pandemic, my work had a meeting where we had an icebreaker where we drew a piece of paper and shared something about himself based upon the color of paper drawn.
My color of paper was to share my hobbies. Rather than say I like Pittsburgh sporting teams or reading or blogging I threw out that my hobbies are whatever my wife wants me to do.
My wife says I'm on my phone too much. I probably am, but I have nothing better to do. She gets annoyed by my wanting to do anything beyond doing her bidding. I'm probably over exaggerating.
Anyways, the icebreaker worked in the sense coworkers from other departments were more inclined to small talk.
Blogging haitus probably occurred to being busy. I have several blogs, but I ceased being active back in December across all of them due to my finally having a 1st shift job. With my being home when everyone else is, I don't have access to a computer like I used to have.
I have a number of interests. I don't follow the news as much since it's mostly fake in that it's insincere. I enjoy twitter, as a means of my info diet, but I mostly follow the Dilbert Guy. I try to to follow economic news, since I have a few 401(k) platforms which I used to monitor daily.
Discover Card says I have a credit score of 849.

less of a funk

Still meh, but I got up without trouble. Yesterday was a struggle.
Wife has been moody. Not sure if it's me or what.
I mowed the back yard, though the high was maybe 49 degrees.
COVID-19 check was deposited into our bank account.
My boss called said the hope was that we'll have jobs waiting for us when the stay at home order ends. He asked how I thought Monday went, I told him I guess okay. Told him I applied for the other opening as well. He said he let everyone he knew qualified for the opening know it posted.
I am not the typical GS-4. 
Skinwalker Ranch is a spooky place.

A sunny Wednesday

Bored. The new normal is a different form of meh. I think I may have sunburned my scalp.
We tried the new poptarts from Sam's Club, then watched the second episode of Skinwalker Ranch.
Nothing seemed urgent. I puttered. I was thinking of clearing my tools so a car could be moved into the garage, but someone wanted me to go to Aldi to get a fire pit. I puttered until the suggestion for a walk was made. Kief and I ended up going to the cemetery.

I think today was Tuesday

Officially been home... 2 weeks and started my 3rd, I think.

I'm completely done doing the bathroom. I put the sink and mirror back today.

It's tiny, but it's very nice.

I wasn't thrilled about screwing the sink into the wall, but given I had one inch tiles I screwed through the grout lines easily.

Started to clean up my garage. It's been my work space for sawing and such. I think I used every tool set I own during this project, so I had everything thrown about the carhole.

I really don't throw out anything I could use someday, so I hauled bunch of odd things into my barn/shed in addition to my saws. I still have to put my tool boxes/cases away, but I have random pieces misplaced that I am trying to sort back into the proper set.

My garage has been a mess for a while. I need to organize it.  The barn needs to be cleaned up as well.

Regardless, I still need to make room for a car to fit inside the garage. Especially, since we had breaks and shocks done for the Passat today.

paid to sit on my @$$

When I was working last night, the closing supervisor said something about my anniversary being today. I thought it was odd, but I didn't expect a cookie cake and a $50 giftcard to a steakhouse when I got to work today. I also didn't expect to be told to sit and hang out while others did my job.

I have to stay my shift to be paid my hours, but I don't have to do anything.
I don't hate my job, but my coworkers do.  It's not something that is to be blogging about but there are days like today that merit such. Two years cleaning a carwash sounds bad but I have people who care about my staying. I am fine with it as long as I can physically and financially manage to do so.

after busy weekend

Aside from heading into work, making dinner, and scheduling an appointment for our recently purchased vehicle, I didn't accomplish much. Didn't really try. I fed the kids other meals, but I forget myself once.
Never thought I would enjoy driving but the Passat changed that.

misc thoughts

Well, I did the three things I had hoped to accomplish before heading to work and some. Finished cleaning the Neon with vacuums and scrubbers(used two of each). Put together B's new bicycle. Mowed the back lawn. Loaded most of dishes in sink into dishwasher. Washed Neon* so that looks like came off a lot.

I didn't finish dishes because I had to get to work early to use my associate card. Technically I was at work when I washed my car, but I hadn't clocked in yet. Amazing what a premium car wash can do to a car's finish, it just buffed all the scuffs and minor scratches invisible. Mike's Carwash is great to cars. Not sure I'd pay the $17, but it's worth it when considering how lousy a handwashed car looks in comparison. Then again, other places do it for less, but I'm too cheap to compare the competition.

J seemed to think well of my accomplishments of solitude. She brought back a pie from her folks that was all mine since no one wanted apple. Sadly, I didn't expect it to be in box that said "baked in store" upon it. At least it wasn't made in China, I guess. Apple Pie is good, regardless of its preparation most of the time(Hostess "fruit pie," for example, is edible in a yummy animal fat sort of way).

AW, had a great day, all and all. Saw the Cordery family at Americana Festival, so they got to meet the rest of my beautiful family and K. They reiterated the cookout as being family friendly, but I doubt J and K would be comfortable there. I'm gonna bone up on small arms so I can follow conversations less ignorantly.

Nothing is as American as apple pie, supposedly, and I found myself wondering what a friend of mine posted upon her FB timeline. I'm not sure what it was, but I fear it was French toast. Last year, Boom posted pics of his fam, and one of his silly daughters wore shirt donning a Union Jack!  Have you seen Boom's mugshot? It's better than all of his selfies, I think, but I could be wrong and just plain mean.

J doesn't FB. She doesn't do a lot of things, but she is a good mother. I wonder how she'll be as an aunt. Not sure how I'll be as an uncle. I'll be a better uncle than any K has, is all I can shoot to be. The bar has been set so low.

I wonder how long I can go without blogging. Not going to try anything, just pondering... I only check FB for messages from former Hookers and I check Twitter for the fascinating trips LSD always seems to take. I could give up FB and Twitter, since everyone has my number or email if I am needed to be reached, I suppose.

Why anyone leaves the home fascinates me, so I'm lucky to be with J. Her reasons for venturing out are very simple logical reasons.

I wonder if there's a term for friendships that social media distort in significance. I mean I can be gone from the face of the Earth, then boom, there every day or so like time never passed or shifted or quaked. Transitioned?

Was tempted to say random thoughts as post heading, but that would suggest thoughtlessness as a motivator of much of the musings which were explicitly confined to real events significant to today (now yesterday).

Lorde helped me clean my car. Not sure about all the tennis references, though. Lorde only knows, I suppose.

why bleach

Anyone from my dorm days could say a number of things about me, and I doubt I could argue. I don't remember stuff beyond conversations with a few people, but the smell of bleach always makes me think of how easy my co-op job was.
I cleaned the bathroom for my floor during most of my two years in the dorm. As part of the reduced boarding rate, everyone there worked in some capacity 5-8 hours a week, supposedly. I never had a scheduled job, so I didn't work by the hour like the office and cafeteria people did. All I had to do was make sure the stuff I had to clean was done before 9pm, and I didn't have a supervisor to make sure my job was done well or done at all.
I had the cleanest bathroom in the whole dorm, I was told by countless people.
See, I was probably the only person that even tried to clean daily. I may have worked an average of 15 minutes a day, but they were efficient minutes. 4 toilets, 4 sinks, and 4 shower stalls stay clean if you are not afraid to use bleach, otherwise mold and such take over very quickly.
I'm essentially doing the same job I had in the dorm, but I clean a carwash. I hate cleaning my house and other things, but I don't mind cleaning for other people willing to pay me. My standards are higher than most, so when I do a meh job by my standards, I get praise. Meh isn't my standard for home and I can't clean to my standard so I just assume not clean, most of the time.
I'm having a good day, thus far. I need to clean though.

bleach

Not sure, but I seemed to have gotten stuck in time at work. I got done earlier than usual, though I chilled a couple times to breathe unbleached air.
I feel like I went swimming.
Annoyed with social media communication. My fingers must be defective. Reminds me that summer is coming. AW, I use my phone too much for my liking so I will refrain from certain apps.
Soooo don't want to go east to visit folks, but I have a bad feeling. Called mom on way to work since no one called regarding dad aside from brother who was home from a funeral in Montreal. AW, dad has a clot in his leg so no idea when he'll transferred from hospital. He's been in there three weeks now.
Annoyed that I ask questions that never get answered. I must ask dumb questions, or unanswerable ones.
I need structure beyond herding children. I'm going to be bored when D becomes independent. Vasectomy makes sense given our resources and insurance deductibles ASU will be met, but I enjoy chaos of little ones. D rolled onto her bellow today. She likes Tom Jones. J was bothered I knew words to What's New Pussy Cat. I played it for D enough times to know basic lines are nose, eyes and lips.
I feel like a cicada. I am out of sight and mind long stretches and come back in an over the top fashion.
Hiatus BD. I'm overzealous with my lack of structure to pursue unproductive endeavors...bad dad.

you don't have to be... but helps.

I lied. My phone is set to go at 4:05am (DST). I awoke to THE VELVET UNDERGROUND LYRICS - Run Run Run - on iheartradio's The Velvet Underground & Nico channel.
Today, I was more aware of my VU wakeup, hence my recollection.
The blog theme of this morning is masochism... yes, I awoke to Venus in Furs.
AW, a while ago, my employer had new signs made for the lot stating its award as one of the "Best Employers in Ohio." I wondered if companies intentional hired masochists to achieve such distinction. I know I took a personality test as part of the hiring process...

$2.15

So K has a letter in his bag sent home from the school cafeteria stating he owes money, though I know he wouldn't eat anything there. It's  a pittance, so I don't care to argue. K had a fit when I gave him money this morning. I think it was more about being late for his spot in line for the bus than his letter from school.

J was home yesterday. She is off Friday for the kids' last day of school. She worked Sunday, and she is representing her work Saturday. Weird timing, but she's able to do her own schedule now. We ran errands between downpours. Felt bad at Aldi as the older gentleman in front of me in checkout had to return $20 worth of stuff for he was short. He only had EBT and a wad of cash. EBT had $32 on it and his wad of cash was less than $62, evidently. He apologized to me because the ordeal added 5-10 minutes to my shopping trip. I wish I had cash to have given him, but I imagine that would have made him feel worse.

Rain yesterday meant work was dead. I had three days off and didn't feel like staying the whole 5 hours I'm allotted. Tonight is gonna be horrid because I got pit  duty.

Got the new phones from Walmart, and we're doing the Family Mobile plan that's under $40/ line for unlimited calls, texts, and web searching. I hate Walmart, but their service is actually T-Mobile. I hate Walmart for the lack of employees capable of doing customer service. Just because the item is said to be available instore, doesn't mean it is. Ordering for instore pickup of Internet purchases is easy but actual pickup takes roughly 30 minutes to check out since they don't staff the Walmart.com counter. The "T-Mobile" tech support is probably in India. They are helpful, unlike their website https://www.myfamilymobile.com/.

$115 question

So I work at a place that has a customer centric bonus system, which since am not around customers disqualifies me from bonuses. I get paid a flat hourly rate and time and a half on observed holidays.
Anyways a guy isn't around anymore so rather than give him his bonus, I got it. Wasn't expected an Amazon gift card, and I am not going to turn down $.
Think we'll use it towards new phones. I'm not sure I really want a smart phone given I don't want to be like those people at parks absorbed into their phones, but peer pressure dictates a change. I'm not going to spend much more on a plan until I feel comfortable with my finances, so I'm really just putting my toe into the smartphone realm.

ears and fears

This is the time of year that I begin to sweat myself silly at the carwash. It's like a sauna, so I turn on exhaust fans to combat the humidity. The fans are loud, so I wear earplugs. I'm not fond of the variety we have available now and have switched between my old pairs and the newer ones. Well, today I've had a pressure feeling in my left ear that is mild but I senses are a bit annoyed by K's voice and feel slightly off balance. I'm starving at the moment but I have to fast if I want to get my bloodwork done in the morning.
Such a nice day. The girls let me "sleep" in until after 10, so the day was slow going but I felt productive when I needed to be on the go. Still odds and ends for tomorrow to do, but I have to be up early to take kids to school since B has a fieldtrip in the morning. Maybe I'll take her out and about before K comes home, seeing I have to pick her up around 1:30. There are a couple things to do in the window they are both away... but only one is most desirable if I can uphold my fast through the night.
I've had a lot of cake as a result of B's birthday bonaza. I fear my sugar will be out of sorts in the blood drawn this week regardless of my fasting.
I did stuff today, but I can't say I used my time completely well. I need to give up  Facebook. I lost a bit of my day without accomplishing much when I  checked fb this morning. I need to be more organized with my day. Blog is productive if I'm working on organizing my thoughts, right?

return of Mehnday

I still love Mondays, but I had a rough go at getting started. Having three kids will do that, I suppose. Just got a bit of kinks in my back and such that will work themselves out after coffee and such.

The Apple 5S commercial has turned me against Pixies Gigantic in a degree, but for unrelated reasons I now think of bigamy. Between "Big, Big love" and "Hey Paul, Hey Paul," I get Big Love and Poly on the brain.

I still like the song, unlike Cash's Ring of Fire that conjures unpleasant thoughts of STDS between the title and the "and it burns, burns, burns."

Seriously, feel like I have pain from doing something athletic. I know its work related and that it will go away once I adjust to the grind. Weird thing is that I awake hungry when I eat before bed. I probably burn enough calories to maybe eat twice the caloric intake a person who sits at a desk should indulge during the day.

I need to eat better in addition to eating more.  Should start running and doing "exercise," to assist in deterring the aches and pains. Not that I'll ever see anyone from my hometown anytime soon, but it would be nice to make myself unrecognizable in a healthy, manly sort of way. 

12 weeks go fast.

J heads back to work. Not sure how things will go. She's been home so long that I forget what it's like to not have her around in some capacity.
Thankfully, the kids will be home this week so I don't have to be up and ready for them to be off to school, yet. Unfortunately, having a baby means nothing can be predictable until we get a routine. J and D have their routine, but D and I do not.
K and B survived J's going back to work, so D should be fine too. I just need to be better than I was with them.

Annoyed

Spent some of the day watching the kids on their bikes. The helmet we bought B before X-mas and hadn't taken out of packaging until today because it was yucky out all winter was missing part of its chin strap, making it unusable.

K painted his pinewood derby car. It will need repainted. He lacks patience and concentration when things aren't about Star Wars.

Work was busy today, so I was busy cleaning up. Some days I hate it, but it's mostly because I have aches from it.. It's a workout, so I will adjust.

toilets, sinks, floors, and other things

Today's my anniversary at work, so naturally it was one of those annoying nights that everything is out of sorts.
The store had a remodel start in the early part of summer. Every so often strange guys would be there tearing up stuff. Never anything for more than a few days in a row, and not always weeks in a row. Different crews sporadically did things to the walls, floor, wiring, cameras, and blowers.
In late summer, the new building was starting to be built. Took a while to tear down the old building and the new building was just a shell until I got back from paternity leave. Now the main building has had its office space gutted.
Today we didn't have a toilet. It's just a weird transition all around, and it has got me thinking negative thoughts. I know that things will be fine and honky dory, eventually, but there's been not many moments of sameness. Between the personnel turnover and the building transformation, I feel like I've been there much longer than a year.
This is actually my third job where I've endured drastic change. Target didn't have freezers when I started back in the day. My old office at the hospital got turned into HR when we moved locations.
All things will pass, just wish I didn't notice it so much.

one headlight

As I motored into work last night, I had the sense that my driver's side headlight was out. I kept thinking about if it was out, then how had it been out. I drive mostly at night, so I would think I would have noticed it soon as occurred, but there were a bit of snowy and cold days when I last drove at night. Visibility was poor with a single headlight,  so I think I would have noticed it when the high was was snow covered and hard to see the yellow and white lines.

I have spare bulbs to replace the light. I bought a two pack when the last one went out since at least two of our cars use the same bulb. Of course, I have two lights because I replaced the p/s headlight housing last spring and a bulb came with it from Ebay.

I hate changing headlights. Used to be able to put my hand in and pull out the light and replace it without much effort, now I have to remove the housing and ponder how to put it back in. Very thankful for Youtube.

After having a week off with new baby D, I found myself recalling the smells I first encountering when I started my job last year. Amazing how one's senses adapt and need a week away to make the obvious notable again.

up all night

Normally, I go to bed around 3am. Today I had been effectively up since 3am until 9am. Breastfed babies eat frequently, so someone has to be up every couple hours or so to feed said babies.

I think that J and I have devised that we share the burden of being on-call, but it's not an equal billing. I didn't get cut open and have regular pain/soreness, and I cannot actually feed D until J starts to pump in the seemingly distant future. What I can do is make sure D actually wants to eat when she awakes, and that J can rest when she's not needed to feed D.

When B woke up after K got on the bus, she wanted to see the baby and/or mom who were both sleeping. B decided to go back to bed, which prompted me to do the same. I got up again in time to get B ready for her bus.

Routine. No such thing exists when you have a newborn. Regardless, I am heading into work tomorrow night.