College Class Registration

I went to my community college to try to register for a class. The first time I went, I found that I did not have the approval from my department chair to skip over some course prerequisites. This time I had printed out the approval from the department chair. I went to my department's office to get an override slip. That is required to register for the course.

When I got to the computer science department office, nobody was at the front desk. A woman in a cubicle nearby helped me. Well she at least talked to me and took my information. She got someone else to try to help me. They tried to use the computer to enter the override. Failed. Then they pulled out the cheat sheet. No help. After a while they were enterering random numbers into the system. I bet you know how that turned out.

Eventually, they just filled out a piece of paper and gave me their phone number. They thought that should be enough to get me past admissions. I went over to the advising building. Entered my name in the system and took a seat. Last time I went to advising on campus, it took around two hours for them to call my name. This time I came prepared. I had my trusty Amazon Kindle device with my latest book loaded up. Let's just say I read lots of the book while waiting.

Eventually some guy called my name and introduced himself. He called himself a doctor. I guess that means he has a PhD. By itself that might count for something, but why is he then working as a frontline admissions clerk? I did not ask him. Just got him to sign my form to say that advising had taken place. Then he handed back my form and I went to stand in line in admissions. Later this "doc" came running over and said I forgot my override papers. What? I handed them to him. He just did not return them to me.

Good thing I got those override papers back. Admissions said I needed those papers to get enrolled. Next I jumped over to the cashier's office to pay my bill. Don't want to get dropped from the class for nonpayment. Then I went downstairs to purchase my textbook. Oooops. They are not selling the books until next week. Seems a bit late as classes start in less than a month.

I headed over to the security office to get my new parking pass. The security office was no longer there. They were doing some construction. So I went to the information desk. They actually had some parking passes. Good thing I keep my license plate number in my wallet. Next I wanted to get my school ID. Oooops. I was told the security office was closed for the afternoon. I guess I will see them when I return to buy my textbook.

Who Needs Credit?

Some workers on my team are tasked with helping the next generation system that needs to be done. Apparently they did not want me working on that task. This was fine by me. I have enough work to keep me busy. But here is the thing. The people working on this task just do not understand how the current system works. They need to. How are they going to figure any of this out? They got to come to me.

The guy that leads my team called Shennanigans. The managers were making a big deal about being able to carry the new task without using me. But behind the scenes they need a lot of help from me. My team lead thought there was something very wrong about that. I told him not to worry. It is not like these guys can grab some information from me and be prepared to add value to the new task. It is just not going to happen.

The only way to become an expert on very complex systems like the one I work on is to dig deep into it on a daily basis. You need to do that for years, decades even. Only then can you master all the rules and more importantly the exceptions. So these guys are grabbing all kinds of information from me. But it only gives them a starting point. When anyone asks them probing questions, they got to stop and come back to me.

In the end, I am going to be involved. Some perps might try to appear as if they can handle working on the specifics of the new system coming down the pipeline. But without deep subject matter expertise, they are going to be in for a rough ride. You can't fool the people who need to know the details. The sham will not hold up. This is the benefit of knowing your stuff. You will be in high demand no matter what.

The Hunt for Manual

Now that my Volkswagen Beetle is history, I have been looking around for another manual transmission vehicle. My mechanic warned me to stay away from Volkswagens. He also recommended I pay a bit more and buy from a reputable dealership such as CarMax.

I have been browsing the CarMax inventory. Also have been using their Save Car feature to track cars I like. They even have a feature that lets you set up alerts. In other words, they will email if something happens to a car that you like. Got a couple alerts already about cars being sold or their prices being reduced.

I showed Momoko my list of cars that I had saved. She honed in on a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The exciting thing to Momoko was that is cost $9,000. I liked it because it had all wheel drive and a V6 engine with 210 horsepower. One drawback was that it was not located at the locate CarMax. It was at a CarMax in a nearby state.

Momoko got directions to the other state's CarMax. It is an hour drive away as long as there is no traffic. I told Kit Kat we might have to go there. Kit Kat declared that she was not going to drive to the other state. This was just Kit Kat being stubborn again. I guess I could always slip purchasing the next vehicle and make her learn stick shift using my old pickup truck.

This morning I found our discussions were moot. CarMax reported that the Jeep Liberty is no longer available. I guess someone snatched it up and bought it. Never fear. I got a lead on a green 2007 Hyundai Accent for $11,000. The good thing is that it is located in the local CarMax.

Mom Coming Home

Mom returned home from the hospital this weekend. She was rushed to the emergency room about a week ago because she could not breathe. She had pneumonia. Things are hard because mom cannot eat (swallow) anything. It is causing infections due to problem with her throat. She had an operation so that she can feed her stomach directly through a tube.

Some type of hospice organization helped arrange delivery of a hospital bed to mom's house. They also set up regular nurse visits to mom's house. I think doctors may also visit the house if need be. This is optimal since nobody likes mom being in the hospital.

No Popcorn Said Grumpy Cat

Kit and I decided to go to the late show and see the Rest In Peace Department with Ryan Reynolds.  Because it was Thursday, I was able to get a discount because Kit is a student. 

I decided to get a large popcorn and drink so that we could get a free refill.  I like to bring home something for Black and he really likes movie theater popcorn.  I asked when the concession closed because I thought it might be shutting down a little earlier to clean up.

I was shocked that the lady said it would be closing in 30 min after, that was only 15 minutes after our movie started.  I tried to get the lady to give us our refill early by doubling the popcorn and coke so we wouldn't miss out on getting our free refill but she said "NO!" in her  Grumpy Cat voice.

 I decided to take a carrying tray and Kit and I filled it up with most of the popcorn. We nibbled on the rest and drank the coke during the pre-show.  Kit was able to get a refill of both the popcorn and coke before the movie started.  YAH!, mission accomplished.  I guess next time we should bring a few zip-lock bags from home for the excess popcorn or skip the popcorn all together. 

Kit really enjoyed the movie.  It was kinda nice to go to the late show because there were not a lot of people. 

Air Cat

Little is spending a few weeks at his dad's place and he needed a ride to the airport.  The problem was we had to leave at 4:00 am to get him to the airport on time. 

I decided that Kit needed to have practice driving to the airport so she was appointed as the the driver and I was elected the navigator by default.  Black needed his beauty sleep so we left him dreaming at home. 

Little and I stayed up all night and Kit was able to get 3 or 4 hours before we headed out at the ridiculously early hour.  Everything went smoothly on out trip to the airport but when we got there Little did not want us to wait with him at the gate.  He was a typical teen cat and totally ignored us and walked wayyyyyyyyyyy ahead of us.  I was not having that so I had to use my "Mom" voice and put him in his place.

He reluctantly "allowed" us to be around him as we checked him in and went through security.  It was the first time I had a body scan and I didn't like it very much.  That glass room was a little too small for my liking. 

We made it to the gate in record time.  Little said he was hungry and wanted me to buy him something to eat.  Interesting he didn't want me to even come with him and now he needed me to open my wallet and now I was his most favorite person.  Gotta love a teenager!  I guess I have to admit my baby is growing up and he doesn't need me as much as I would like him too. 

Little made it safely to his dads and I hope he has a good visit.

Trip by GPS

It was finally time to return the license plates for the Beetle. No need to keep them anymore. I can't cancel my insurance until the plates have been returned to the state. So I took a little trip the other day.

I kind of knew where the Department of Motor Vehicles was located. However I typed the adress into my GPS anyway. It took me there via a short cut. There was one problem though. The area had a lot of construction. I was able to look at the map on the GPS and figure out a few detours.

At the DMV, I got assigned a ticket with a number on it. Had to wait until I was called to the desk. It did not take that long. I think the plate return line moves very quickly. Some other people were not as lucky.

The GPS got me there. I figured it could take me home. At first I was leery because it had me going down a narrow residential street. Then it told me the next turn was a street near my house. That could not be right. I was in a whole different town. Then I figured out why the next turn was so close to my home. The road I was on was a major one. It changes names a couple times, but comes out right by our house. Brilliant.

Duplicating

I needed to make copies of a lot of papers.  I figured I would have to take time out of my schedule and drive to a copy store and pay to have all the copies made. 

Black reminded me that we have a new copy machine that scans and duplicates papers.  The only problem is that I have no idea how to use it. 

Black and Little Kat are the masters of the new copy machine so I knew I needed to have a mini lesson on using the duplicating feature.  Black is a busy cat on Sundays so I knew my best bet was to ask Little to help a Momoko out.  Little worked with me for like 5 minutes.

Apparently, it is really as easy as pushing a button that reads "Duplex" and pushing start.  I guess this means I have to cat up next time and just make the darn copies with out any excuses.  Thanks to Black and Little I am sitting pretty on all my copies!

Say No to Harm

I ordered a bag to hold stuff I want to grab quickly when exiting the house. Found a low cost leather bag for $18. Seemed like a great deal. Then the thing came in the mail. It was enclosed in a clear plastic wrap. There was a sticker on the bag that stated the following:

NOTICE: The State of California requires us to provide you with the following warning: WARNING: THIS PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN CHEMICALS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER< BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM.

WTF? The cancer scare was bad enough. But other weird harmful effects? No thank you. I considered sending the thing back to the company. But they would just probably sell it to somebody else. This thing is going straight to the dump. I can't believe this company tried to pawn off this lethal bag to me.

This will make me think twice about ordering from this company again. What other products did I buy from them that had lethal chemicals but they were not forced by law to warn me about?

Goodbye Pastel

My mechanic gave me an estimate of how much it would cost to fix the Volkswagen Beetle. The estimate was the same amount I initially paid for the car. In other words, it was too much to handle. It will be easier just to buy another Beetle and roll the dice. When you buy from individuals or fly-by-night dealers, you get what you pay for.

I just hope there are no electrical problems in my next car that prevent me front starting it up. The next car may very well be a Beetle again. The family hopes so at least. I got a lead on a 2001 Beetle in another state. Just need to drive by and check it out.

For a while I wondered how I would despose of the Beetle. I could have it towed to a dealership and sell it for parts. Or I could donate the car to a charity who would come tow it themselves. In the end I just sold it to my dealer. He will know what to do with the car. Even he will probably not attempt to fix this thing. It is busted up.

Highway Obstacles

I was driving my Beetle on the highway to go visit my friend. Traffic was moderate. I was behind an 18-wheeler truck. Decided to change lanes to prepare for my upcoming exit. In the middle of a lane change, I ran over a truck tire that was on the road. Sensors started lighting up on my dash. The engine was making a bad sound. I felt like I was dragging something under the car.

I pulled over far to the side of the road. Looked underneath my car. There was no truck tire left. Just some plastic from the front part of my car dragging on the ground. I pulled it off and tossed in on the floor in the back seat. I drove down the highway a bit slow. Pulled off onto another road. The car engine continued to make strange sounds. Then I turned off to a less busy road.

As soon as I down shifted, the car stalled. Lights on the dashboard continued to be lit. I figured this was it. I pulled over to the side of the road and called my mechanic. There was no way I could drive there. He referred me to the tow company they work with. The tow company came really quickly and put my Beetle on their bed. My friend also came to give me a ride. Today I returned to the mechanic's to determine the damage. He told me he took a quick look under the car and found a lot of stuff busted up.

The Fates have spoken. Most likely it will be time to dump the Volkswagen Beetle. My mechanic said he would take a closer look and come up with an estimate later this week. The cost of the car is low enough that it will proabably make sense to buy another car instead of trying to fix it.

Monster Golf

Kit Kat and her friends have been wanting to try this Monster Golf for a long time. Based on the name, I thought it meant you played with large golf balls. Nope. It is an indoor, glow-in-the-dark putt putt golf. Monster refers to the monstrous obstacles in your way. Our family decided to try out Monster Golf for ourselves.

We took separate cars. I told Kit Kat we were trying the route with the shortest distance but longest time. So she would beat us there. Little Kat came with me as my navigation. I drove my Volkswagen Beetle. As we were on the second to last leg of the trip, Kit Kat called Little Kat. Then Momoko wanted to talk with Little Kat. What the heck? Why were these people bothering my navigation man?

Little Kat and I arrived safely, despite the cell phone calls. Next time I will instruct Little Kat to turn off his cell phone during the drive. Glow in the dark meant that light clothing also glowed. When we started, the first hole was free. However we quickly came up on a family in front of us that was slow. We had to keep waiting for them to complete their hole. That made it annoying.

Half way through, Momoko decided to skip a bunch of holes. The rest of us charged on. Little Kat and I both got a hole-in-one on the same hole. The boy in front of us cheered when he saw it. Momoko joined us for the 18th hole. We all got holes-in-one on the last hole. It is the easiest. During the game, we made Kit Kat keep score because she said it could get us a coupon. I was disappointed when they only gave the player who came in last a card that said try harder. Fail.

I asked Kit Kat and Momoko to stick around until I was sure I could start my car. As I popped the hood to reconnect my battery, the lever that opens the hood broke off. It is poorly attached. I always have difficulty reattaching it. However the batter connection was easier this time because I brought some work gloves along. Plus I got a wing nut on the bolt that tighters the lead to the battery. Got home safely. The kids and Momoko went to see a movie. I am going to meet my friend from college for dinner.

Visit with Mom and More Driving

Yesterday my mom had trouble breathing. She called my brother, who came home and brought her to the emergency room. My brother spent the evening with her at the hospital. Mom stayed overnight. I visited her with my brother and dad. Mom said she was not doing well. She seemed weak and very tired. She needed to nurse to move onto the bed. I will return this weekend to see her again.

I was supposed to practice manual transmission driving with Kit Kat at noon. Had to cancel that for the hospital visit. When I got home, I started working out in the yard. I brought out a whole jug of ice water. Drank the whole thing down. After mowing the front yard, I was exhausted. I barely could find the energy to bag the grass, use the weed wacker, and blow the grass off the driveway. Forget about the back yard.

For July 4th, the family went to a hamburger joint. I had their large burger. Always get a pile of pickles on the side. Also got cheddar cheese plus jalapenos to each with my fries. I was still thirsty from working outdoors. Luckily they have some fancy soda machine that has around 30 choices to drink. I refilled my cup many times.

At home I took Little Kat to the local school for some more practice. I had him try some three point turns, some U-turns, and parallel parking. Poor Little Kat hit the curb a bunch of times. Maybe I should say my car was poor for the abuse. The good news is that Little Kat drove to two of Kit Kat's friend's houses, then drove home. He is advancing nicely. He plans to have his dad teach him the finer points of parallel parking.

Driving Instructor

Today Kit Kat and I took our Volkswagon Beetle to the local elementary school. There we had Kit Kat practice driving a manual transmission car. The main lesson was getting the car going from being stopped. That is one of the hardest things to do with a manual transmission car. Kit Kat is still trying to find that sweet spot where you do not stall, and you do not jerk the car around. We also had her take it into second girl for the first time today.

In other news, Little Kat got his driving learner's permit. He can drive as long as an adult is in the car with him. We went Target shopping for some XBox goods today. Target did not have much merchandise. And their prices were higher than Amazon. I decided not to buy anything. On the way home, we swung by the local elementary school. I had Little Kat drive the car a bit.

Little Kat took a nap this afternoon. I went back to work. In the late afternoon, I woke Little Kat up. We gassed up my car. Then we returned to the school for practice. I had Little Kat do things such as three point turns, stopping at stop signs, using turning signals, and driving backwards. Half way though our practice, two police cars come up to the school parking lot. Luckily it looked like they were just there to talk to each other.

At the end of Little Kat's lessons, I had him take the car out on the road. We drove to Kit Kat's friend's house. She lives on a cul de sac. Little Kat was disturbed that he took the car up to 30 miles per hours. He did fine. Next I need to teach him how to drive me home. Maybe tomorrow.

The Return of Pastel

My trusted mechanic was unable to fix my green Volkswagen Beetle. The thing drains the battery to dead in 5 to 6 hours. So I planned to sell the car today. However my mechanic mentioned that the battery would be fine if I disconnected the battery when I was not driving it. I figured it was a hassle. But we could keep the car.

Kit Kat and I went to the mechanic today to pick up the car. He showed us how to disconnect the black lead on the battery to prevent the battery draining. It was raining hard. So my mechanic pulled the car into his shop to show us. He also jacked the car up high so I could see the other problem underneath causing loud noise when the car runs.

Kit Kat and I got into the car. Then I tried to drive away. The entrance to my mechanic's shop is always crowded with cars. I stalled a few times as I tried to back out of the narrow shop, and navigate between all the cars there. We parked and I got my bearings. Then we filled up the gas tank. It was weird pointing the gas nozzle straight down into the back of the Beetle.

We proceeded to the local elementary school. Kit Kat started up the car from stop twice without incident. Then I took over. Kit Kat yelled that there was a turtle in the way. She got out and moved the little turtle to the woods. Then we proceed to have Kit Kat stop and start the car five or six times. She stalled a few times because she did not give it enough gas. It was still a smashing success.

Tomorrow we may go take the car to get the emissions tested as required by the state. Then on to more practice.