Great Big World Out There

Well. Made it to Red Deer. It is colder than cold. -36 tonight so my car is plugged in. I spent the evening working on a presentation. That was fun.

I am tired - this is lame but I am done.

put things away

I got a lot accomplished today. I set up a new working arrangement on my desk here at home. Complete with docking station so I just have to drop it in and off I go.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Red Deer to attend that meeting. I might go a bit early and do some shopping at the christian bookstore down there. Or maybe I won't get going that early, or the roads will be terrible, or something. 

I made pizza for supper tonight. I was going to make pizza before I knew my sister and her kidlets were going to be coming too.  Now I just had to make more, so I tried a couple of different recipes. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my stand mixer? I make way more bread things these days now that I only have to throw things into the mixer, set the timer and completely forget about the dough until I wander by it some time later. Add to that the fancy proofing feature in my oven and I have no reason to ever buy bread again.

I made cinnamon buns again today. I think I am addicted to making the cinnamon buns. Can't eat them without getting sickly, but I eat them anyway because they are good.

The last batch I sent to Sylvia's house apparently disappeared quite quickly. I sent another 8 over there tonight and froze the rest in baggies. For when I need something quickly. To serve people. Who might be here.  Apparently Sarah ate 5 of the cinnamon buns that went to her house.

Heh. It's nice to know I can bake. Not that I didn't know that, but I haven't done much of it lately.  Next I want to try making bread. In a loaf. Not buns. 

Anyway. I'm tired and I should pack my suitcase before I leave tomorrow. Then I can finish putting things away so the maids can come on Wednesday.

 

effectiveness

This won't come as a shock to anyone who has ever dealt with the construction industry, but being a bitch works.  I actually wasn't that bitchy, only said 'damn doors' once and voila. As of this writing, my car is comfortably ensconced in it's car hole, away from the 60% chance of flurries. I expect that since my car is in the car hole it won't snow again until next November.  That's just how these things go for me.

At least I can park in my car hole now. I am beyond pleased about this.

Tomorrow I have to put in a full day of work. I also have to get to the bank, my toes done, deliver dog food to my dog, get cat food for my cat and read a bunch of stuff for a meeting I am going to on Saturday. Time to clean the house since it is about to descend into anarchy, also I need someone to come and feed my cat while I am gone and I should probably pick the dirty socks and underpants up off the floor.  I emptied all my garbages today and delivered them to the dumpster at my mom's house. Otherwise there would have been nothing for the garbage man to collect tomorrow morning.

I worked way longer today than I originally intended.  There was a lot of stuff I needed to get done that needed to be done there.  I think I'm caught up on everything that must be done in the office, including expense claims and purchasing reports and time sheets and so on. Synchronized my files to the network and now I think I can work on my work laptop. 

I am rather pleased by this development.

***

Almost time to go to Disneyland. I'm travelling alone so I won't have many pictures of myself in front of things like the castle, and the matterhorn and the small world ride. Last time I was there we used the photopass service and I don't remember paying a lot of money for the photos, maybe I got the low res versions from the website or something but they were decently ok.

What a terrible sentence - I think I need to leave it to keep myself humble. It's good to be humble.

Anyway. I have a photo plan. I wouldn't even need to bring my camera. Well, I will, but I'll bring the little one. To the parks. Or not. We'll see. 

Anyway. I am tired and I need to go to bed.  The end.

I should just shut up

I am perhaps too easy going. I am not in a hurry for most of the stuff for my house. When it gets done, it gets done. Whatever. 

I bought an effing vacuum system last July. I had the guy out in December to look around and he said he'd come back in January.  Now I booked him to come today, I was quite excited about it, and I get a phone call from the guy telling me he couldn't come today, because things weren't going so well for them.

For fucks sake. I am sick and tired of hearing that from people. I've heard it all. Too much snow (that one I can believe), I have pneumonia and I have to go to the ER instead of finishing the damn garage door install, I am expecting the dead grandmother excuse next.  So the vacuum guy tells me things were going badly for him, he can't come today (it was already 2pm, no shit sherlock). Then he tells me he doesn't want to come until all the duct work is done (my fresh air returns are not complete) because the HVAC guys are king and they'll just cut down whatever he does. 

To me that is code for I don't want to do your job anymore. How is that his problem? That's my problem.  And I am pretty certain that the returns are mostly done, just not connected. I am tired of excuses. Just tell me you don't want to do the job, deliver my damn vacuum and be done with it. 

Then the door people. The pneumonia door people. Told me he'd call me back to let me know when someone would be coming out, but he'd try to get someone for Saturday.

Not surprisingly, not a damn thing has happened yet. I am not surprised. Then I call the company and I can't get someone on the phone, they're going to call me back.

And they don't call me back before business hours are over. I am not surprised. I suppose I have to go there in person to get some action. Yet they can send me a bill, a month ago. Why they think I am going to give them ANY more money before the damn doors open is beyond me. Also, call your customers back!  So. Don't use Leduc Overhead Door.  I tried to go local with all my purchasing for this house, and so far it hasn't gained me a bloody thing. Other than a fistful of aggravation. 

So pissed off right now. Apparently to get anything done in the construction industry in less than 4 months you have to be a flaming ignorant asshole. That's really not my style but I'm mad now and will be their problem customer. I've just left a message with the door company's answering service. Insisting that they call me back tomorrow. Seriously. I ordered and paid the deposit for the doors in October. They were supposed to order them right away, took them til November. Then it took til the beginning of December for them to start installing the doors. Then we sat for nearly 2 months with me not able to drive into my garage  because the fucking doors don't open. No way to open them without the openers, which are not hooked up. They couldn't have left a chain or something to open them? Also, I'm not sure how I feel about doors that I need electricity to operate. Would have been nice to know that before they sold them to me, if that's how the door openers work.

Now I gotta go do some work. 

 

 

Ass end of a chicken

Wow. Talk about your long days. I didn't get home til 12:30 this morning. Then up and on the road again for another 3 visits.

I am tired. At a rough guess we weighed 400 birds today at an avg weight of 4 kg. That's a ton of chickens. Or is it tonne? I can't keep those straight.

In a fit of stupid, I left my laptop cord at home. Eff!!!! Now what do I do on the drive home?

I guess I will point out that this post is brought to you by my newly found iPod. Found it in a bag I used a couple of weeks ago. Wouldn't have thought to look there, but at least I found it.

Excuse me though. I have a beer with my name on it but I gotta find an opener. One bad thing about the hotel I am in tonight - no bottle opener! Otherwise my Dave hotel in the immediate area.

I also need to go cough up the chicken currently infesting my lungs.

Wow. That was a disgusting image. 5 more days til I am in the land of the mouse. And beaches! Don't forget the beaches ! And target and Joanns and us walmart.

Bliss! If only I had my beer..... G'night

Wet

I didn't have the heart to see how wet the basement was this morning. I could probably spend days down there. Sigh. I leave in a week for a cruise. Don't have spare time for this kind of thing.

I shall fill trucks with junk though. Oh yes I will. I will pack for my move. Hopefully before it all goes moldy.

That's all I have for this morning. Done am I.

And the snow is still falling

I gotta say - snow at the end of May is not my idea of fun. No point in bitching though, I have better things to waste my energy on.

I am sitting 34 pounds down from where I was in January. I wear size 9/10(!) and shopping has become fun. It is much better for one's ego to realize that the t-shirt you're trying on is too big. And it's a large. I used to buy 2x and up. To try on a medium is amazing. To have it be the best size - amazing.

I have to say - this whole thing wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It got harder once I wasn't doing all of my own cooking. I have to get back on that wagon. I haven't been on the straight and narrow path with staying gluten free. I had toast yesterday. Buns a couple days before that. Too much! My stomach is... Angry. I felt like this all the time before I started this journey. Sometimes I am willing to endure a stomach ache. Today - not worth it. I was miserable last night.

Sigh.

The snow kept me from planting anymore flowers. Maybe next weekend. Unless something else comes along. Like work encroaching on my life like it is this weekend.

Good times, I tell you. Now I must dash.

Stupid House

I am irked by the house in which I live.  When they built the basement, for reasons unknown they chose to make the walls 1 1/2" thick.  Not typically a problem in the big scheme of things.  Until, 50+ years after the house was built, I come along with my shiny new tv and shiny new wall mounting bracket and I need a 3 1/2 wall.

Bah.  I've solved the problem by building an ugly shelf.  It will do the job and I will save the wall mounting bracket for when I live in a place that has normal walls.  

***

I was quite clever and I took the old tv off to be donated before I even took the new one out of the box.  There were actually 2 other tvs that could have been donated, but I only took the one because I wasn't sure where the remote for the third tv was hiding.  Also had no idea if it would actually fit in my car, being full of recycling as it was.  

I took the afternoon off, you see, since owing to an inability to read the clock I stayed late last night and another night this week, and voila.  Might as well go home, no?  Best part - getting to the bank to change my RSP deduction amount and frequency.  Then while I was at it I decided to get really ambitious and I opened a tax free savings account.  If only I had $5000 to put in it.  Oh well.  I'll get there eventually.  I also got the paperwork I needed to change the account my student loan payments come out of.  I can stick money in that account every payday and 

***

My back is killing me from all of the lifting and stupid carrying I did this afternoon.  I carried around tvs but also cleaned out flowerbeds at church.  That was a wet and messy job.  Rotten and wet nasturtiums are thoroughly disgusting. They looked nice in the summer but I really couldn't leave that mess there over the winter.  I am sure someone would have disapproved.  

***

What else is new?  I'm watching the football game on my new tv.  I've got to find some kind of shelf thing to place my theatre system and satellite receiver upon.  It'd be nice to have a spot to put my fancy printer while I was at it.  Now that I have a fancy hi-def tv I kind of want to get a proper high def receiver for my home office.  How spoiled am I?  Two fancy high def tvs in a year (both paid for, thankyouverymuch).  

***

Might I just say that my back is killing me?  I might?  Thanks.

hockey

I sprang for the hd ppv of the oilers games this season.  The dude on the phone seemed surprised by the price - $200 was said in a state of bewilderment. 

Paying that much, it is not surprising I became agitated when the sound/picture did not work concurrently at the beginning of the game. 

My legs are really sore.  I keep stretching them out but nothing seems to really eliminate the pain.  I don't want to take more advil, since I had a migraine earlier today that needed 4 extra strength pills to kill.  I've had almost enough of migraines for a while. 

I need to go order some stuff for work.  Happy day.  Spending other people's money.

I shall write of my trip tomorrow. 

At the gas station

I just had an uncontrollable need for a coke and some packing tape.  Luckily I live within eyesight of a Flying J so I headed off there a couple minutes ago.  No packing tape, alas,  I will have to look harder in my own house.  There's got to be some around here somewhere.  

There was a woman in the store.  One of 'those' women.  The kind who smoked a pack a day too many, and speaks in volumes normally reserved for the stage.  My first notice of loud lady was when she loudly proclaimed that she was parked in the wrong spot - a spot that wasn't actually a parking spot.  She told her 9 year old kid to go move the car while she stirred her coffee (the kid did not in fact do this, despite her repeated requests).  At one point she loudly muttered, 'OH, did I lose my stir stick in here?'

I don't think it's the stir stick that's missing, if you catch my meaning.  

I was still looking for packing tape while shamelessly being amused by this crazy lady.  She moved on to the check out, pausing to remark loudly upon the cleverness of providing carrot cake for purchase by hungry customers.  (Imagine that, knowing your customers well enough to sell what they want!)

She then saw the sandwich display.  Whereupon she randomly asked her kids, 'If I let you slam 1 of your pops will you eat a bologna sandwich?'

Kids: 'YES!'

She loudly paid her bill ($1.56 in small change) and headed out to the car, talking yelling about how she had to phone the kids dad, he would think they were halfway to Saskatchewan, and they were in the wrong spot and also they needed to turn by the green arrow.

I was exhausted by the time I went to pay.  As I left the store, I saw loud lady loading her kids into the car, whereupon she pulled out of the 'wrong' spot.  While it is true that the spot she was in wasn't truly a legit parking spot, her solution was not really an improvement.  As I got in my car and backed out, I saw that she had chosen to back into the spot next to the non-spot.  The handicapped spot.  

She hadn't even backed in the whole way - so she effectively blocked traffic on that whole side of the gas station.

I went out the back exit, to keep the stink of stupid off me as much as possible.  I'm so pleased I had that coke craving.