Beep Beep

I woke up one morning to a beeping sound in the bedroom. I had not set the alarm the previously night. So I went over and thought maybe the phone was out of batteries. I pulled the phone cord out of the wall. Then I heard the beeping again.

I decided to turn off the air conditioning to eliminate the noise in the room. What is this? The A/C would not turn off. In fact, none of the control on the front panel of the window air conditioner were working. And somehow the temperature on the A/C was set to 60 degrees. Now that's cold even for Momoko's tastes.

I finally came up with an idea of what was happening. Some mysterious force was telling the A/C to lower its temperature. If the A/C is set to the lowest temp (60 degrees), then it beeps if you try to lower the temperature. I tell you. We had problem with this A/C from the beginning. The remote control stopped working in the first month. Since then it at least cooled the room.

I wish it were simple to just replace the A/C unit. But I had the handy man cut a whole in the wall and install it there instead of in a window. So I have ordered another A/C from a more reputable brand. Let's hope the handy man can replace it with this defective one without costing us too much more $$$. For now we are sleeping with the 60 degrees setting.

Kit Kat Returns

Today Kit Kat was scheduled to return home from visiting her dad. I work closer to the airport. So I was supposed to pick her up after work.

During the work day, I got a call from Little Kat. He said that Kit Kat had no boarded the plane. What he meant was that her flight was delayed. I called her and found it was at least 30 minutes late.

With the extra time, Momomko instructed me to eay on my own since it would be late before I got home. I went to the local BBQ place and got a burger and fries.

After dinner I ran into some heavy traffic on the highway. Then I was surprised at the airport when they closed the garage level where I normally park. It took a while to find a spot on another crowded garage level.

I though I was okay because it was still early. However Kit Kat's flight made up some time in the air. Luckily I met Kit Kat at the baggage claim. We got home pretty quickly and celebrated Kit Kat's birthday a day late.

The Voyage Home

With our vacation over, it was time to drive home from the hotel. Momoko was scheduled to do the drive. She followed the directions from the GPS in her car. However we found ourselves off track. The plan was to eat breakfast at Sonic along the way. But the car took us too far North.

I got on my iPhone and looked up Sonic online. Luckily they had a restaurant up North. We recalcuated our reoute with the GPS and arrived. This Sonic was weird in that it had indoor sit down tables. We got our breakfast on.

Momoko continued driving us home. She was tired and wanted some coca cola. Little Kat could not find the Cherry Coke we packed. Then it started to rain just in time for us to cross the huge bridge. Eventually we got home. The grass had grown very high. I went out and weeded some dandelions. Then I cut the lawn in the rain.

Next step is to host Easter dinner. Momoko is in charge of cooking as Kit Kat is away visiting daddy.

Get Cracking

Momoko did some research for our dinner tonight. Little Kat wanted some crabs. So we headed for a seafood house that was on the 8th floor of a hotel. You were supposed to be able to look out on the ocean as you ate. We drove up and saw the neon sign for the restaurant. However when we go to the top floor, there was only a bar left there.

Next we headed to one of our favorite seafood restaurants. It was closed. Momomoko wanted me to drive to the other side of town. I was tired of driving all day. Instead we stopped at a crab shack close to our house. Momoko got all you can eat crabs. Little Kat got 2 pounds of Alaskan king crab legs. Both of them went through the pain of shucking crabs.

I ate shrimp. Little Kat took home his french fries and salad. We stopped by the ice cream place to get Momoko a scoop of ice cream. She got it on a waffle cone.

Black Ops

Today is the last full day of our beach vacation. I broke down and decided to go to the skillet house for breakfast. They don't have any bread there. They only serve crepes. We all ordered omlets. They were huge.

After breakfast we headed to our usual boardwalk. We rented Little Kat one of those low riding bikes. He went off riding by himself. Momoko and I sat on a bench while he rode. Then we did some shopping. Momoko bought Little Kat a Call of Duty "Black Ops" sweatshirt. We got lunch at a restaurant named after Little Kat.

Back at the hotel, Momoko went with Little Kat for swimming in the indoor poor. Then I went with him to ice skate. He could not lace his boots tight enough. I had to do it for him. Fail. He tried skating for a while. But he was unable to display the mad skills that Kit Kat says he had.

Right now Momoko and Little Kat are playing out on a cold beach. I am sure they will warm up later when we go to dinner. Oh yeah. I used a coupon to help buy a big snow globe in the hotel gift shop. That one is for the memories.

Getting to Rio

We were planning to eat breakfast at some skillet restaurant. Then I found out they only served crepes. Fail. We went back to a restaurant we ate at before. They gave Little Kat a beach ball with his meal.

Next we headed to the board walk. Little Kat rented a fun cycle. It is a type of bike where you sit close to the ground. You need to lean to turn. He almost wiped out once when he went too fast. He also lost a shoe while trying to get started.

Momomoko and I took an afternoon nap. Then we planned to go to the local movier theater. Momoko researched it and heard that it was smelly, literally. So we drove to the closest big city. That had the advantage of being close to a Sonic. We saw Rio. It was better than I though.

Maze of Mirrors

Today we ate leftovers for breakfast. Then we drove down to the boardwalk. The plan was to ride some bikes first. Little Kat looked at a low bike that resembled a Big Wheel. We ended up renting a two man bike where you side side by side. It had four wheels. I let Little Kat steer the thing for about half the time. We saw Kit Kat's friends on the boardwalk who happened to be vacationing at the beach this week.

After resting from bike riding, we went to lunch. We walked a few blocks until we saw Little Kat's sub shop. It was named after him. So we had to go in. The food was delicious. After lunch Momoko shopped at every single jewelry store on the strip. There were a lot of them.

Before heading back to the hotel, Little Kat wanted to go to Ripley's Believe it or Not. We quizzed him. He really wanted to go to the optional Mirror Maze and Lazer Room. I did not fell like going, especially after seeing the prices. We tried to get Little Kat to go by himself. But he would not do it. In the end, I went with Little Kat to just the mirror maze. It was pretty difficult. They had some rotating mirrors in the middle that changed the maze around. We went through the thing 3 times before joining Momoko at the exit.

Next we plan to go to the movies and/or ice skating. This is turning out to be a full day.

Freezing on the Beach

Today was the first full day of vacation. We slept in. Then we had some breakfast at Denny's. The plan was to sit out on the beach after breakfast.

Momoko decided instead for us to drive down to the boardwalk. Little Kat discovered the biggest tire in the world. It was part of Ripley's Believe it or Not. Momoko bought us some lemonade. Little Kat tried to talk us into renting a four-person bicycle. He failed.

When we got back, I called the front desk and asked us for some housekeeping to clean out room. We went out to a cold beach. It got colder when the clouds came. Momoko decided we should go to lunch. I dropped by the front desk and asked when our room would be cleaned. The guy st the desk said I had just called him, and to give it some time. Fail.

We drove up and down the strip, tring to find a new place to eat. I wanted some subs. Most of the sub shops were actually liquor stores. Others were closed or empty. We finally settled on an ice cream and sub shop. It hit the spot.

After returning to the hotel a few hours later, I found that housekeeping had still not taken care of our room. I found the dude at the front desk who I spoked to before. He made some calls. I asked him when exactly the housekeeping would be in our room. He told me 5 minutes. Finally we got some service. No tip for these slackers. I don't know who to blame first - the housekeeping or the front desk.

Vacation Begins

Yesterday I woke up. There was one thing to do before leaving for vacation. I had to do a load of laundry. I figured this would work fine, as I do laudry every Sunday. Little Kat somehow woke up earlier and started his own load of laundry. He is supposed to do that on Friday and Saturday every week. This put us an hour or so behind schedule.

We made some of the time up on the road. There was a scheduled spot at a Sonic drive in about an hour from the beach. It was a little out of the way. Before we got there, Momomoko spotted a Sonic right on the road we were driving. We were hungry and chowed down.

An hour or so later we arrived at the beach. The room was good. Momoko and I both had our own beds. Little Kat had a surprise fold out couch. We turned the air conditioning on. But the room kept getting hotter. It turns out that they only have heat in this season. We had to get a fan and open the slider to the patio. Little Kat wanted to go to the pool immediately. Instead we ended up going to dinner and dessert. The vacation begins.

Curse of Du Claw

Yesterday we drove Kit Kat to the airport. She needed to catch a flight to visit her dad. The airline only gave out 1 extra security pass. So Little Kat and I needed to wait in the terminal. Kit Kat and Momomoko proceeded to the departure gate.

There is only one restaurant in the terminal outside of security. It is Du Claw. We had eaten there before. The appetizers are really good. We had all eaten dinner. And Little Kat had a big snack before dinner. So we decided to split a snack. Little Kat chose the buffalo wings with fries option. It was tasty.

Since it was just Little Kat and I, he was able to order a soda. Momoko joined us a bit early. Apparently Kit Kat had boarded the plane. We waited until Kit Kat's plane took off. Then we went to the parking garage. Exiting was a nightmare. Everyone was trying to leave the airport. And you need to pay the attendants for parking. Luckily we parked on a level of the garage that had a shorter line to pay for parking. Good choice Momoko.

Suspicious Package

I worked late today. Had to finish up a task that took a long time. After work I decided to go shopping. Little Kat and I were unable to do so on the weekend.

I loaded up the car with all my purchases. Then I tried to return the shopping cart to the place in the parking lot where you return them. It seemed this place was chock full of carts. As I inspected further, the shopping carts were jammed up by a piece of luggage in the middle of the lane.

Initially I was curious and wanted to see what was in the luggage. Maybe it was some treasure like a suitcase full of cash. I looked around and there was nobody in sight. Then I figured this was a bad idea. What if there was a bomb in there? Or even worse, what if it was full of mobster cash. In the end, I left the luggage alone. If it is there when I return next week, I will take a peek.

Hot and Cold

I drove my truck to work today. Afterwards I went to pick up some yard supplies at the store. When I got home it was late. I put down some fertilizer. Then I sprinkled some grass seeds. Finally I applied the weed-be-gone to the patio. I did not have the energy to spread the mulch.

When I came in, the house seemed hot. The top level was warm. The main level was hot (Little Kat did some cooking). But the basement was cold. I decided we should not put on the central air conditioning. The basement would become frozen. However we did have Kit Kat turn on all the window unit air conditioners upstairs. We will get a good night sleep tonight at least.

Rainy Day

My bro came over to watch some movies as usual. We had two long movies to watch. So I decided to order in. Dominos delivered some hot wings and cheesy bread. The Figther was the best movie we saw. I said goodbye to my bro and started cleaning the house.

Around this time Little Kat woke up in his tent. He came in the house and asked why nobody woke him up this afternoon. I told him he probably needed the sleep. Little Kat proceeded to eat Momoko's Chinese food leftovers.

Then Kit Kat and Momomko came home from a long day of shopping. They went to the evil Walmart and had a tough time. However they treated themselves to some delicious Subway foot long subs. Little Kat complained that he was left out from the feast. Momoko thought he was okay since he got the yummy Chinese good. I say, "You snooze, you lose."

Pitching the Tent

Last week Little Kat bought a 2-cat tent. This week he decided to pitch the text and sleep in it. That was hard core. It is raining and is cold. No problem for Little Kat.

Little Kat brought out "all the blankets" to keep himself warm. He reported that no water entered the tent. I found it funny that I had to go outside to take out the trash at midnight. I heard some singing coming from the tent. Hehe. Little Kat having fun.

Hole in the Street

I visited the store to pick up some goods for the home. Got some "ironite" to make the grass green. Also picked up caulk and spackle to seal up the walls in our bedroom. On the way home, I witnessed a disturbing incident.

A white van in front of me was taking a right turn down a major road. All of a sudden, the grate on top of the drain in the street came loose. The van wheel went down into the drain. The tire smashed onto side wall of the drain going flat.

The truck wheel made it out of the drain. But the van lost control for a moment, sending the vehicle up over the curb. What was more amazing was that the van punched it came back over the curb onto the street. The it kept driving, flat tire and all!

When I got home, I figured I had better call the police. The 411 phone service gave me the wrong number for the local police. I had to look them up on the Internet. I got patched through to the state police, then transferred to the state agency that fixes things on the roads like drains. I warned everyone I knew to avoid that intersection due to the loose drain grate. Freaky I tell ya.

New Addition

The family went to the pet store today to pick up some supplies. We all looked at the fish. Kit Kat picked out an active Dojo Loach. We may name him Loachee.

There was another fish that was very active. Momoko wanted to buy him. But our skacker salesperson did not know how much it cost. Fail. After pet shopping, Momoko treated us all to milk shakes. Chick Filet makes a mean vanilla milk shake.

The Bentley Grill

Kit Kat wants to get a job. Momoko does not want to drive her to and from work. It seems like it is time for Kit Kat to drive by herself. The scrappy option would be to let her drive my truck. However it is a manual transmission. Momoko says that would be too diffifult.

One option would be for me to sell Momoko my car for cheap, then buy a new one for myself. I had my eye on the Nissan Cube for a while. However the low price one I had my eye on looks like it got sold. Little Kat and I were driving home one day from shopping. I saw what looked to be a used Bentley in a dealer's lot.

A little research showed that this was really a Chrysler that had a Bentley grill installed. Good enough for me. The car is 1 year old. The cost is a bit high. But hey. It has a Bentley grill. If I find that it is an authentic grill from Bentley, I will buy the thing. I suspect it is a fake replica.

YouTube to the Rescue

Kit Kat is going to be going to college in a year. We were going to visit colleges during Spring Break. However she is going to see daddy. So maybe we shall resume in the summer. Let's hope she does not go to Lincoln Tech.

Every once in a while, I got onto YouTube and check out the winning videos that are offshoots of the Charlie Sheen autotune. Most guitar solos are garbage. But pinoguy321 has one that is most winning.

Fire Starting

We just got all this firewood. So Little Kat was itching to build a fire in our fireplace. We chose three pieces of wood off our patio.

We got the area around the fireplace clean. Little Kat put the logs in, crumpled up some newspaper, and lit it up. Nothing happpened. The newspaper burned and went out. He tried again. Still a fail.

Finally Little Kat started putting more and more paper in the fire. Then he broke down a cardboard box and put it in. He kept putting more newspaper in. He added some kindling sticks from the ground outside. No luck.

I jumped in and put newspaper in like crazy. Kit Kat opened the window and brought up a fan to get oxygen. Finally after an hour or so, the fire was lit. There has to be a better way. Momoko recommends Duraflame logs.

Firewood Friday

I saw an ad in the paper for oak firewood. Momoko has been trying to get me to buy some for a long time. We need heat when the power goes off. I called up the cat. He said he did not have any right now. But he would get some by April 1st.

Sure enough I got a call from the cat saying he can deliver today. I worked from home today. That is always a bad time. The office keeps calling my home phone like crazy. The calls never stop. Firewood cat was a bit a late. But he came.

They had a big box truck. It could not back into our driveway because they weight of the wood made it too low. The delivery cat rolled the logs into our container using his wheel barrel. Later he knocked on the door saying that our firewood holder was filled up, but there was more wood.

I created a makeshift riser to keep the firewood off the ground. So the rest of the wood got delivered to this riser on our back patio. Now I need to find a way to cover this wood in the back so the rain does not get to it. We are set for the winter, and then some.