Truck Repairs

For a while, I had been ignoring the problems that my truck had. But I want the truck to stick around. The kids will need to use it to learn to drive manual transmission. So I finally got my mechanic to fix all the little things wrong with it.

Here is what was repaired: Headlight was secured to not shake. Rear view mirror reattached. Camper back window shocks replaced to hold the window up. Freon added to the air conditioner. Wipers and oild changed.

There was a problem with the cloth falling down from the interior ceiling area. My mechanic farmed that job out to an interior guy. I could smell the chemicals used to correct that.

Now it feels like I have a new truck. I am going to drive it more often.

Cameras Acquired

Little Kat and I did some Black Friday shopping today. We had Momoko wake us up at 3:00am. I ate some breakfast. Somebody dranks all the coca cola in the house. So I had to settle for orange juice.

There was nobody on the road. I guess our neighbors do not shop Black Friday. We drove up to the entrance at the mall where the sold the electronics we wanted to buy. Little Kat thought they would open the doors a little before the offical 4:00am opening. There were already a lot of cars in the parking lot, and a long line in front of the doors.

I waited with Little Kat in the car until the doors opened. Then we got out and ran into the store. An employee told us the cameras we wanted were down in merchandise pickup. He said we needed to ring up the item and pick them up afterwards. While waiting in line, I saw a dude get a camera from a display in the corner. I tried to act calm for a few minutes and not call attention to it. Then I told Little Kat to walk over and grab a camera for Momoko.

Later, a woman found the cameras Little Kat wanted behind one of the displays. Again I played it cool. After a short wait I had Little Kat go pick up his camera. Unfortunately the electronics were our only win. We tried to get Little Kat a winter coat. He was unable to use the zipper on any of them. No wonder they were selling them really cheaply. We left the coats at the store and came home. Now the family is going to "5 and Below" for some super bargains.

Back Friday Shopping

We went to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. My mom served turkey and ham, plus all the other fixings. Kit Kat made yams and peaches. She got the recipe from Grannie Kat. Then we came home to study the Black Friday ads.

In the end, we decided we must go to Walmart and Sears. Walmart opens early (10pm Thusrday). The electronics sales start at midnight. Momoko initially thought the whole family could goto both stores. The problem is that Sears does not open until 4:00am Friday. We all can't be shopping all night.

So Momoko and Kit Kat went to Walmart around 9:30pm Thursday. Little Kat and I stayed home to get some sleep. When Kit Kat and Momoko come back, they shall wake us up. Then Little Kat and I shall go to Sears while Kit Kat and Momoko take a nap.

After all that I plan to go to bed. But Momoko, Kit Kat, and Little Kat plan to hit some stores that open at 6:00am Friday. Good luck to them. If they do make it, I bet we will all be sleeping for most of Friday. Sales are abundant. We are taking advantage this year. Momoko also plans to do some online Black Friday shopping. Whew.

Japanese Steak House

I took a friend to a Japanese steak house I used to visit at my previous job. Momoko protested that she was never taken there. So today we went. The whole family was in tow. It was a 30 minutes drive there in the rain. I drove Momoko's car there.

We got there and got a big "table" all to ourselves. I ordered for our family. The kids got Hibachi chicken. I got shrimp. And Momoko got filet mignon. We all opted for fried rice. Good choice. The meal started with some Japanese soup and salad. The family commented that the soup tasted like a variety of meats.

After a long wait, our chef came out and cooked in front of us. He fried up the rice on the grill before us. I think the secret ingredient was garlic butter. He asked the kids if they wanted sesame seeds on their chicken. He also asked both kids if they wanted him to toss a piece of chicken into their mouths from the grill. Both Little Kat and Kit Kat declined.

I loved their white seafood sauce. Everything tastes better in it. Kit Kat and Momoko agreed. Little Kat liked the ginger meat sauce the best. He took a bunch home. The bill at the place was high. They also automatically add a tip. It was worth it though.

Beyond the Big White Gate

It is time once again to sign up for a community college class. This will be for the Spring 2012 semester. I found a class I liked. My boss at work signed off on it. The class needed certain other classes to be taken first. Now I did take those classes. But I took them at another college. That means I need to go talk to an advisor to waive the restrictions.

I am off from work today. This seemed like a good time to go to advising. It was raining though. I looked up the info on the advising center by my house. Then I drove there in the rain. The directions said I could not park in the building parking lot. I had to park next door in the shopping center. There were specific instructions to walk through the shopping center, head down the alley, and enter the building from the back.

When I followed these instructions, I came to a tall fence with a big white gate that was closed. I approached figuring I did not want to walk all the way around to the front entrance. There was a security device, which I thought would unlock the gate. I pressed on the gate. No luck. Then I thought I might try a pull. When I pull the gate, it swung open. Whew. It took a few calls by my advisor to approve my class. But it got done.

Back in the car I tried to determine my first day of school so I could write it down. Something was not right. The class meets on Thursdays. But the schedule of classses listed the first day as a Friday. Doh. I had to go back to the advisor to inquire if there was a misprint. She checked in the system and found a different start day. She called up the main campus and confirmed that the schedule of classes date was wrong. Glad I cleared that up.

Shattered Glass

Today I went outside and started collecting the leaves. Used the leaf blower to clear the big driveway. Then I ran the lawnmower to pick up the leaves in the front yard. Next I headed to the back yard. I had so many bags filled with leaves that I figured I better stack them up.

While stacking the leaf bags on the patio, I saw what looked like frost on the patio sliding glass door. That could not be right. It was warm outside. As I touched the glass door, the glass started falling down onto the ground. It was was not frost I saw. It was shattered glass.

Upon closer inspection, I saw what looked like a hole from some sort of projectile in the glass. Luckily only the outer pane of glass has shattered. The inner pane was still intact. I had to break out the rest of the glass from the outer pane. Then I picked up all that glass. It really shattered into a lot of small pieces.

The rest of the back yard will have to wait. Glass clean up took a long time.

Shoe Shopping

Momoko saw Little Kat struggling in the snow. His tennis shoes just did not have the grip required to deal with slippery surfaces. Momoko decided that Little Kat needed some boots with grip.

Kit Kat and Momoko seem to go out to eat a bit. Little Kat gets left behind. So I said that Little Kat and I should go out to eat as well. We scheduled a lunch at a fancy restaurant for today. Momoko thought we could also buy some boots for Little Kat while we were out.

I wanted a good deal. Momoko thought we should go to Walmart. I decided to go to Payless shoes instead. Little Kat said that Payless was shoes for woman. That did not seem right. We went into the store and found a lot of woman's shoes. But there was also men's shoes.

Little Kat found a waterproof boot. He liked it because it had a way to seal the top to keep the snow out. He tried them on and ran around the store. It looked good. The price was a bit high. However if you bought one, you get another pair half off.

Little Kat saw some slippers on the shelf. He said that grandpa wears those inside and outside as well. He tried some on but they did not fit. He found another pair that was on sale. We picked it up and got half off. It was a good day for shoe shopping. Walmart not required.

Saved by Kit Kat

Today was my last day at work before going on vacation. I happened to be working from home today. Bad idea. Someone on my team needed a form scanned in today. At the office, this is no problem. However at home we only have a really old scanner.

I tried hooking up the scanner to my Windows 7 PC. It failed. Incompatible. Then I went to Little Kat's computer. It was slow. I got rid of a lot of programs running. Tried to install the scanner. If failed as well. Then I went to Momoko's desktop computer. I could not log in.

I called Momoko at work. Had the front office patch me through to Momoko's room. She provided me with two possible passwords for her computer. Both did not work. I then tried to log into Kit Kat's account on Momoko's computer. Bamm. It worked. Scanner software installed. Forms scanned. Work completed. I am now off for a whole week.

Trash Can Confusion

Last night I wanted to take out the trash cans to the curb. But the mail man had not come yet. So I waited a bit. I did prepare by pulling out the cans from the back yard patio. When the mail had arrived, I wheeled out the cans to the curb.

This morning I got up and the trash had not been collected yet. I started to get into my car to go to work. In the distance, I heard the trash truck. So I went back in the house and waited. After the trash was collected, I realized that I forgot to drag out the main trash can to the curb last night. That's okay. The trash is collected twice a week. I will catch them next time.

I returned all our trash cans to the patio and hauled off to work a bit late. When I got home, the family was disturbed. Apparently I left the house door open and the lights on inside. I blame the trash guy for coming late. Need to be a bit more careful next time.

Prices Going Up

Kit Kat returned from her roadside cleaup activity this afternoon. She reported that there were many strange items on the side of the road by her school. This list of discarded items included an old computer, a small step ladder, and even a FAX machine. What the heck?

Kit Kat said she had a coupon for 20% at the local book store. She wondered whether Momoko could drive her there. Since Momoko stayed up late last night to prepare for her all day conference today, I told her the answer would be no. Instead I decided to drive Kit Kat to the book store.

There was a large amount of traffic out for it being a weekend. At the store I browsed the magazine section. I was shocked at the prices for the magazines. Some were $10, $15, and $20 for a single magazine. Sure some of these only come out once a quarter. But twenty bucks? I don't think so. I will look the info up online. I did find a couple broke down magazines for $4, but I left them in the store. Sure enough, Kit Kat got her 20% off at the register. At least somebody got a deal.

Day Off With Friends

The kids were off today for parent-teacher conferences. Momoko had conferences all day long. I worked from home today. I had promised to take Little Kat to his friend's house today. He is spending the night there.

My boss called me for a status update on my work just as Littke Kat and I were leaving. Little Kat's friend was worried that he was not on time. I was not overly concerned because they guys are spending the night and most of tomorrow together.

In other children news, Kit Kat is waking up early tomorrow to clean the side of a road with her friends. I am amazed that Kit Kat agreed to get up early on a Saturday.

Low Cokes, Low Air

We ran out of Coke this week already. Part of the problem was that we were low. Then Momoko had the kids buy a few Cokes at the store. Finally, Little Kat brought a 12-pack to school. I need my Coke. So after lunch I dropped by the store. Had to purchase Pepsi because it was on sale. I will survive.

In other news, Kit Kat was driving and the low air pressure warning on the car. Kit Kat tried to tell Momoko there was no problem. Momoko had Kit Kat go to the gas station and fill the tires up with air. We think it is a slow leak. Today I had Kit Kat go out and measure the air in all four tires. They are a bit low. But for now the air is sufficient.

Cable Upgrade

Our cable TV provider informed us they were doing an upgrade to digital cable. At first I ignored their warning. They most of the TVs in our house stopped working. I read the document from the cable company. They said our TVs would need converter boxes. Oh oh. This sounded like a ploy for more money from me.

The cable company said they would provide three free converter boxes. I signed up and they came in the mail pretty quickly. I set up one of the boxes in the basement. The TV screen said I needed to call the cable company once all the boxes were hooked up. It took a few days to hook the kids' TVs up to the new boxes.

I went online and "activated" our boxes. The basement TV and Kit Kat's TVs came on. They had more channels than before. Looks like digital cable is not that bad. Little Kat's TV just showed a "wait" message. We waited a long time. Then Little Kat thought he might have plugged in the wrong cable.

Little Kat has two cable wires in his room: one live cable TV, and one dead one. We switched the cables, reactivated his converter online, and he is in business. Now the kids and basement get a lot more channels. Life is good for now.

Heater Troubles

We were out of town all weekend. It was cold when we returned home. I thought this was no problem. I just turned the heat on in the house. Kit Kat smelled the fresh smell of heater gas. The house started heating up. Then it stopped. No air was coming out of the vents. What the heck?

I dialed up the temperature on the thermostat. The vents started blowing air. I thought we were good. Nope. It kept blowing cold air. Then I turned off the heat. The vents kept blowing cold air. I knew we were in trouble. Momoko slept downstairs because it was really cold up in our bedrooms. Little Kat cried that he wanted to use one of our portable space heaters.

Due to the cold and a long night's sleep, I got up early Monday morning. I went to work where it was warm. The kids had the day off. Momoko had to go into work to do some grading, but she did not need to wake up early. I called the heating company from work. They said they could work on our heat immediately. I ran out of the office and drove home.

The heating guy said there was a problem with the flow of water out of our heating system. That caused the safety switches to kick on and kill the heating each time we tried to turn it on. the guy thoroughly cleaned our system, and recommended we have a professional repeat the cleaning once a year. Whew.

After the heating guy left, I punched up the heat a bit until Little Kat and myself were getting cooked. Now the heat is working like a champ and the family is happy. The repair guy did not cost too much. And we are poised to keep our heating system maintained from now on.