1-800-GOT-JUNK

I have been slowly cleaning out my basement to allow my brother to move in with us. There was a lot of stuff down there that we never use. Most of it I tossed into the trash cans that the county collects twice a week. There were some large items I hauled out to the curb. I called the bulky trash pickup for them.

Then there was the exercise equipment in the basement. Momoko wanted the stationary bike. It will be moved into our library. However the Christmas tree is in the way for now. So I hauled the bike out to the shed. Little Kat wants to keep his weights. I got rid of the weight bench he does not use. But I had to haul his weights out to the shed for storage too.

That left the treadmill and elliptical machine. Both were big and very heavy. I thought I might be able to move them with a couple guys. However why bother? I researched some junk haulers in the area. Called a local guy that came highly recommended. But he did not pick up his phone. Thus I decided to go with the big company. They just use local franchises. Still I heard about 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

I scheduled 1-800-GOT-JUNK online. They arrived a few hours later. They estimated it would cost $300 to remove the exercise equipment. And for another $250, they would take all this other trash. The two guys who came struggled getting the treadmill out of the basement. They called the home company for more help to get out the elliptical. They ended up disassembling the thing and carrying it out piecemeal.

Now my handymen need to finish adding a bathtub in the basement. They are also erecting a well to give my brother a large room that is private. Today I am going with my brother to the carpet store to re-carpet the whole basement.

Probate Court

I decided it was time to take action to probate my parents' wills. My dad had delayed in getting my mom's will processed. Now we had more work. No need to delay because we were already running into complications with the auto insurance on my dad's vehicles.

I printed out all the forms from the court web site. Spent the day filling them out. Needed info from my brother. We planned to go visit the court the first thing Monday morning. I got to my brother's house and made sure we had everything from the list of items to bring.

One item was mom and dad's will. The originals were in my brother's house. My mom's will was missing. The thing had been in my dad's lock safe for 25 years. Now it turns up missing? We ransacked the house and finally found the will. Then I decided we should take my mom's Chevy Monte Carlo to court. The thing needs to be driven occasionally.

Finding the court was no problem. My GPS got us there to the front steps. Parking was another story. There were some metered spaces on the street. They were all occupied. I tried to follow the signs to parking. All the lots required permits. Eventually I thought we were headed towards satellite parking. Instead I found none, and a copy tailed me as I slowly drove along.

Finally I drove down the street and parked in the CVS parking lot. Broke out the phone and started to Google where to park. The 4G LTE access in the parking lot was terrible. Took a long time to find the name and address of the satellite parking. I punched the address into my GPS, and we got going.

Unfortunately the GPS took us right by the parking lot, but put us on the highway. We drove around in a huge circle until we were able to get back to the parking. Initially I decided we would walk to the court house. But it was taking long so we hopped on the bus. The bus did not stop at the courthouse. It came really close though.

I found out we need to obtain nominal bonds for both my parents' estates. That would have to wait for another day. We spent so much time searching for mom's will and looking for parking that I was late for work. To be continued.

Curse of Beowulf

Last week, Momoko and I discovered that Little Kat was not checking his English web site. That's where all the homework is posted. Of course Little Kat is clueless about assignments that are due. He was not even looking at the place where the assignments are doled out.

We found out that Little Kat was behind in reading The Wife of Bath's Tale. This was written by Chaucer, and is one of his Canterbury Tales. We spent the majority of last weekend making sure Little Kat read and understood this story. This was not without great pain as Momoko and I had to pick up the slack around the house that normally would have been done by Little Kat.

I figured after this debacle, we might start getting English under control. Silly me. Little Kat had a substitute teacher this week in English. Instead of reading the next assignment of Beowulf, he read comics online in class. He also did a bit of sleeping in class. Now we were behind schedule again this weekend.

Little Kat ended up having to find a copy of Beowulf, read it, and understand it. This required more work on Momoko and my part, as Little Kat could not attend to his regular household duties. It was even more difficult because Little Kat had trouble finding a copy of Beowulf that he could understand. He even struggled with the copy he ended up using.

The level of fail in here is getting way too high. Getting tired of all this worked created because Little Kat is slacking off. I am proposing some punishments that get Little Kat's attention. Momoko is advising some other courses of action. But I believe she will come around as she is starting to put in more and more effort to make up for Little Kat's shortcomings.

Getting Paid

Little Kat has been working his job for work study. Been a month or two. He is getting regular paychecks now. I figured it was time for him to start contributing to our household bills. Determined  a reasonable percentage of his pay to fork over.

As always, I wrote up a small agreement between Little Kat and I. He would pay me at the end of each month. He could give me cash or a check. It started at the end of November.

This will help a small amount. Little Kat requires a car, auto insurance, gas money, etc. His contribution won't even cover the cost of gas he uses up each month. However every bit counts.

Little Kat already has a rate above minimum wage. Let's hope he also gets a pay raise if he sticks with his company.

Certified SQL Expert

Recently I was looking around for some database programming jobs. Saw a couple good ones at my own company. They wanted a lot of certifications. Now I have one Oracle certification. Got it back when my company was pushing for people to get certified. The jobs I was interested in wanted a bunch of other certifications. Time to get cracking.

I pitched the idea of me taking time off work to prepare to be a certified Oracle SQL Expert. He signed off on it. Got some funds from my company. Bought a couple books specific to the exam I was going to take. Initially I spent a few weeks studying a chapter a night. Then when I took a week off, I started taking practice tests.

You need to get 66% of the questions on the actual exam correct to pass. Sounds easy. It is not. The questions are hard and cover lots of information. During my practice tests I was initially getting just about 66% right. If the actual tests were harder, or I had a bad day, I would not pass. Then I would need to pay extra money out of my pocket to retake the tests.

Today was testing day. Quickly finished up my work in the morning. Had a good lunch where I studied up the highlights of my training. Then I headed to the testing center. I needed to empty my pockets of everything. I was surprised how many people were taking certification tests at the same time as me.

The tests runs for two hours. I finished with about 10 minutes to spare. Went back and answered one question I had only half answered. Then I got out of there. Initially I had trouble getting my test results. But I kept at it, created a new account, entered my credentials and got my scored. I passed. I am a certified Oracle SQL Expert. That does not mean I am an expert. Just that I have the certification.

Bed Shopping

My brother is planning to move in with me. I said we should do a test run. So I figured we could have my bro spend the night a few nights and sleep where his room will be in my basement. My brother said his bed is kaput. Therefore we went shopping for a new one together.

We tried a couple cheap beds. They were no good. They we tried some mid level name brands. Sat on a Serta that my brother liked. Tried a Sealy that was too soft. Ended up going with a brand I heave not heard of before. The salesman said it is comparable to Serta/Sealy, but they do not advertise.

Initially my bro wanted an extra long twin sized bed. But then he thought he might want a full size one. It was too short. Therefore he ended up settling on a queen sized bed. I went to the store today and ordered it to be delivered tomorrow.

The Day of the Viewing

I slept in a bit on the day of my dad's viewing. Turned on the cell phone when I did eventually wake up. My brother called and said there was a problem at the cemetery. I learned how to conference call three people with the iPhone. Called my brother and the cemetery rep. The grave next to where we wanted to bury my father had shifted into his lane. They could not fit the casket in there.

One solution was to shift my mom's burial container out into the row, giving dad the space he needed. The rep emailed me a consent form. My brother came over my house. We signed and scanned the docs. Disaster was averted. We headed over to the funeral home a few hours before the viewing started. Checked out the work the mortician did on dad. Good work it was. Then we decided to head back to my house.

Ate some McDonald's to ensure we would not be too hungry. Hung out inside the funeral home and waited for guests. Had lots of people from my work, my brother's work, and the old neighborhood. Saw my cousin and met his son for the first time. The room was hot and Momoko did not feel well. My best friend came a bit late, but within the viewing hours. He car was having coolant issues. Get a new car already.

The boys at work sent a wreath of white flowers to the funeral home from my company. I told my team lead to take lead and make that happen. Not that me or my family needs flowers from my office. But it looked pretty weak when they did not send any when my mom died. My brother's work decided to send money this time around.

In addition to some of the old neighbors, I saw some of the kids who grew up in my neighborhood. Some I could not even recognize. Instead of the funeral home putting some flowers on top of dad's casket, I brought a Korean War veterans cap to display on there. I was planning to give it to dad for Christmas. I am going to keep it to remember him by. RIP dad. I hope you are with mom now.

The Passing of my Father

I spent the night at my brother's so we could get to the hospital early in the morning. Met with some doctors. The most important was the neurologist. I had him quantify the poor prognosis for my dad's brain problems. The news was not good. My dad was not going to recover.

With the new information, I finally got on board with my brother's decision. We were going to withdraw the life support that was keeping my father's body "alive". It took a while to get the pieces in place. A nurse administered some pain medication. Then the respiratory therapist removed the ventilator that was helping my dad breathe.

Initially my dad had trouble breathing. Made sense since both his lungs had pneumonia. But then his breathing improved. That was the blessing and the curse. Good that dad could breathe on his on. Bad that he might live when all his organs were shutting down.

After 30 minutes of watching his blood pressure being critically low, I decided I needed some lunch. Figured we were in it for a long hall. Maybe we might need to reverse our decision to not resuscitate dad. Took a quite bite at the close by sandwich shop. Returned to find our nurse went to lunch too and was relived by another nurse.

Dad's heartbeat was the main stat we were following. His heartbeat increased a bit. Then went back to the same rate when he was on all the machines. Eventually dad's normal breathing turned into no breathing. But that heart monitor kept showing his heart beating away. I swear that I saw my dad close his mouth and smile twice even after he stopped breathing.

The heart rate monitor eventually started beeping when his rate dropped below a critical 60 beats a minute. His heart finally gave in with the rest of his body. We waited for a doctor to check dad's stats manually. He was pronounced dead 15 minutes after he stopped breathing. And I cried for the first time since dad initially had the stroke.

I don't know why I saw dad smiling twice. Perhaps it was a muscle reflex based on the lack of oxygen. I am hoping that he had crossed over and saw a young version of my mom. And that could only bring a smile to his face, even in the absence of breathing in any oxygen. Or maybe dad was sending me a message that we did the right thing for him.

Now me and my brother pick up the pieces. Our latest plan is for my brother to move in with me. He said he can't bear to go back to my dad's house, when my dad is no longer there to greet him every day when he returns from work. I type this in a basement bedroom that used to be my private study, but will hopefully become my brother's new bedroom. November 13, 2015.

The Demise of Dad

My brother came home from work on Friday. Normally that causes my dad to wake up and greet him. He did not. My brother checked on dad. He found dad on the bed. Dad could not move his right side. His eyes would only open 25 percent. Dad coughed a lot but could not expel anything from his lungs. My brother called 911. They came and took him to the hospital.

I went with Momoko and my brother to the hospital. Only my brother and I could enter the emergency room. Dad opened his eyes when we came. I felt as though he say and recognized us. But he then closed his eyes. Eventually we left. When we returned later that night, his eyes would not open. The nurse tried to wake dad for some tests. He did not gain consciousness.

We spoke with a neurologist by phone. What he told us was of little importance. The head doctor in the ICU later explained that dad's prognosis is not good. He had bleeding in the brain that is getting worse. There are other health problems with his body. For example, he is now on a ventilator since he cannot breath on his own.

That bad prognosis is hospital speaking meaning dad is about to die. The doctor said he is the patient in the worst condition in the whole ICU. I drove my brother home from the hospital. We plan to see him tomorrow evening. They would normally sent him for daily CAT scans to see the trend of the blood in the brain. But his condition may be too unstable to even wheel him out for the scan.

Dad lived a long life. When we were in high school, he had a heart attack that required open heart surgery. That event changed the way he lived. More exercise and better eating allowed him to live another 30+ year from the heart attack.

When mom passed away last year, I spent about a year "working from home". That meant I would work out of dad's basement. It gave us a lot of time to talk while he was not sleeping, exercising, or shopping. I heard dad recount many of his favorite stories from his life. These were not necessarily new ones for me. Just with a bit more detail.

In her last days, my mom wanted me to be happy with Momoko. She wished that my brother get married and maybe have some kids. And she wanted me to get closer to my dad and really talk with him. I think I succeeded in fulfilling two of her wishes. My brother will have to work on the third.

Off My Game

I woke up this morning. Wanted to wear my Dockers pants to work. I could not find them. That was very strange. Maybe I ruined them and threw them out. But I would have remembered that. I guess you could say I was a bit hazy.

At work I decided to use a coupon at lunch. Got a great deal at Burger King. I drove back to the office. Had to remember to bring my drink into the office. I tried to put my car keys in my pants pocket while in the car. Oops. My company badge was in my keys pocket. Oh well.

I wrapped up a lot of odds and ends at work in the afternoon. Planned to drop by my college since I am going to go back for the spring semester next year. As I prepared to leave the building, I could not find my keys. Doh!

Called Little Kat. Gave him my work address. Told him where my spare car keys were at home. Had him stand by as I went out to my car. Yup. The keys were inside a locked car. Called Little Kat back. He recommended I just call AAA. Way to not save the day Little Kat.

Waited for a half hour. The AAA guy came. He had some neat tools to pry my door open at the top. Then he stuck a long took in and manually unlocked my door. It was not that late. I headed to my college.

Whoa. They turned my favorite parking lot into the site for a new building. Got my student ID and parking pass for next semester. I was motivated because I am going to meet a buddy from my last class at the college next week. It will be good to have a parking pass.

Got to remember to not lock my keys in the car. It is a lot easier if you have power locks. That way you need the FOB to lock the doors. My locks are manually. So I manually lock them, allowing the possibility of the keys to still be inside.

Saving Money Pays Off

I carry around a folder with all kinds of food coupons. I bring it to work with me. Previously I would just go to restaurants at lunch and purchase from the regular menu. Now I tend to use my coupons instead.

Today I went to Arby's. They have really tasty chicken tenders. I am coming from work, so I am really dressed up. I felt a little funny pulling out my coupon. But hey. Money saved is always a good thing, even if you dress like a million bucks.

I ordered chicken tenders, fries, and a side salad. No need for a drink. I had my own 12 ounce can. The salad came up immediately. The cashier checked on my chicken and found some trouble. It would take a while for my meal to arrive.

The cashier gave me a free drink, and told me she would bring the food to my table when ready. She arrived a while later. But she upgraded my fries to a larger size. None of this probably cost the company any real money. But it bought a lot of goodwill.

Now when the boys ask me where we should eat, I will recommend Arby's. I will probably still be brining my coupons with my though.

Man Versus Nature

I have been noticing the deer a whole lot more around the house this fall. Normally they stay out of the yard. The entire back yard is fenced. I think the deer used to stay out just because the fence marked our property. It is not like they can't jump over the fence. The back fence is only four feet high. A deer jumping over that fence is like me stepping over the curb.

Maybe the deer are getting hungry. We have a bunch of nuts that fall from the trees onto the back yard lawn. I frequently see the deer on our property just behind our fence. We only have the inner part of our land fenced.

The weirdest thing happened this week. I went outside. A deer was behind the fence. Normally they run away when they see or hear me. This one just stood there. At first it was hard to see because it blended in with the environment. But I did see it. It remained still. I stared at it for a minute or two.

Eventually the deer started stomping its front feet on the ground. It was as if it wanted to charge. Now the deer was slender. But I bet it was strong too. Bare handed I would not want to take on a charging deer. What? Do I need to carry around a stick or other weapon to defend myself?

Eventually I coughed, and the deer must have taken that for a sign of aggression or something. The deer grunted but decided to run away. Very strange indeed. I think it is time to save up some money and fence in the whole back yard. Got to up the fence height too. Maybe six feet or even eight.

Given a running start, and enough determination, a deer could probably jump over high fences as well. Especially since half the back property slopes down into our house. Great. They can jump in but they can't jump out. I only hope that a higher fence will further signal that we don't want any animals in the back yard.

Or perhaps it is time to invest in some deer-be-gone spray.

Going the Distance

I have noticed that nobody in the house wants to go further than our own town to get something to eat. This is very strange. My family used to drive all over the place when we dined out. I also used to be an avid driver when I lived by myself. Now people complain if I want to eat in the next town to the North.

So today we made the first of what I hope to be extended trips past the city limits to dine out. Momoko chose the venue. She also drove. That meant I had to pay. Momoko's GPS told us to head North to the next big city up there. Then we headed east, and cut back down south a bit. The place was not hard to get to.

The parking lot for the place was another story. This seemed to be a prior private residence turned into a diner. There did not seem to be any marked parking spaces. There was also little space to park. I advised Momoko to hurry up and take one of the remaining places to park.

We got inside and found a small room that was crowded. We did sit at a tiny table for two. The side dishes did not look appetizing. Therefore I did not order an entree. I tried to order a crabcake sandwich. However they were out. I got some random chicken sandwich instead.

On the way home, I told Momoko that we should not use the GPS to direct us. It would add to the adventure. We drove a long ways North since it was the easiest direction to exit the diner. Then we saw some major crossroads. I told Momoko to get on the major beltway.

We chose the direction opposite the bridge. Seemed like a good bet since the bridge led away from our house. Turns out it was the right choice. The beltway led us to the major highway that deposits us right by our house. Good thing the kids were out on an adventure of their own today. They would not have been able to sit with us.

Next week I might do the driving. Perhaps we shall head downtown into one of the major cities that are near us. Yeah. That sounds like a plan.

Just in Time

Last weekend I did my normal yard work. It is grueling but needs to be done. Towards the end I cleaned up the patio. Some water dripped on my head. I figured it was Little Kat's window air conditioning unit. It tends to drip a bunch of water. However the water was coming down too far from Little Kat's window. I looked up and saw a bad sign...

The water was coming out of the rain gutter. Darn. The rain gutters must have been filled up with leaves and such. This is treacherous because the gutters are 2+ stories high in the back. Plus there is no level ground to steady the ladder back there. I did not even bother climbing up to survey the trouble. I called my window cleaning team.

I never actually have the window cleaners polish the windows. They are my rain gutter cleaners. They run up on top of the roof, scoop out all the debris from the gutters, and use the hose to wash out any extra dirt. It is a real life saver. I need to call them a couple times a year. But they are well worth it.

I got real lucky. After the guys came and cleared out the gutters, the rain really started to fall. We got a whole lot of rain. When the gutters are blocked up, bad things happen when it rains. Bad things as in the water might come into the house. Disaster averted. I got to put a rain gutter check into my weekly routine during the autumn when the leaves fall off the trees.

Manual Competency

My manual transmission truck is out of commission. I think the clutch is history. I do not plan to get it fixed. Might call someone up and tell them to take it away. Too bad too. Little Kat was making good progress learning how to drive manual transmission in it.

Luckily I have another vehicle with manual transmission. But Little Kat has been struggling driving my Versa. Previously he was shifting into first and second gears on the real road. Now he was struggling getting the thing into first in the parking lot.

The car would sputter or stall or slam into gear. Something was not right. I could not figure it out looking at Little Kat's feet. So I took the wheel. Then I motioned with my hand how much I was letting up on the clutch and when. After a few demonstrations, Little Kat identified the problem. He is just letting up on the clutch way too soon.

Now it seems like Little Kat can get it into first gear every time very smoothly. I will test him again next week. If this success continues, it is time to move to second gear, and then maybe move out onto the streets in our quiet neighborhood.

Tire Pressure Trouble

My Nissan Versa has been warning me to check my tire pressure. Unfortunately I had given my tire pressure monitor to Kit Kat, who has since lost the thing. Oh well. I purchased another one for myself. I am not giving it to anyone. I measured the Versa tires. They are supposed to be inflated to 33 PSI. They were at 25 PSI. Oops.

I headed over to the local gas station. Positioned the air hose so that it could reach all the tires. I had all the tire stem caps off. Deposited a couple quarters in the air machine. I filled up two tires to above 33 PSI. The third tire did not seem to want to inflate. Then the air machine turned off.

I stuck some more quarters in. Filled the fourth tire up. When I got to the third tire, the pressure monitor said it was up to 41 PSI already. Must have made a mistake reading it earlier. I went back to all the tires, letting air out of them slowly until they hit 33 PSI.

I do not recall filling the air in the tires of my other cars. Maybe that's because they did not have the automatic tire pressure gauge in the car. Perhaps I was just riding low on air all the time. I do notice that I feel the bumps a little more in my car now. I hope the optimal pressure will be good for something like making the tires last longer.

Job Lifeline

A while back I got an email that my work on my current project was ending at the end of the month. I called my boss. He asked me to find another position in the company before the end of the month. It took a while to get my resume in order. Then I started applying for internal jobs.

The results were lacking. I heard back from a couple folks. Only one group wanted to interview me. So far no job offers. I therefore took my job search to other companies. The recruiters were very efficient. That saves me time. But usually I find out upfront that my salary expectations are higher than the range they are offering.

I need a job. So if my company no longer has one for me, I might have been willing to take a pay cut. Luckily I met back with my boss this week. He said he found me some work to do for the next half a year or so. Unfortunately it will not be computer programming. It will be "consulting". I don't particularly care for work outside of programming. Buy hey. A job is a job. And they pay well and have great benefits at my company.

So this is the wake up call. Time to study. Time to obtain certifications. And time to network. I continue to apply to internal and external jobs. Got to find that right opportunity where I am the perfect fit and the company has some $$$ to pay me. Until then, I will be consulting.

Hitting the Books

I heard it from the grapevine that my position may be eliminated at work at the end of the month. So I have been searching around for a new job. I am looking both inside and outside the company. There are a lot of people interested on the outside. But they don't want to pay the right salary. For now I am not ready for a cut in pay.

If I am going to ask for a good pay, I need to be worth it. I do have a lot of experience. But I have been on my project for a long time. We use a specific set of skills. I am realizing that there are other projects that use other technologies that people want. I am researching those other technologies so I at least know about them.

My dream job is a database developer. That type of work is fun. I have one database certification from a big database company. I think I might need more certifications. I am working my way through a certification exam study guide book. By the end of the month, I think I will be ready to sit for the eaxm. I like that the title of the certification includes the work "expert".

A backup job will be another type of programmer. I rarely do this type of programming any more. But I might have to fall back on it. Luckily I got the textbooks at home. I have finished studying the concise text that is really old. Now I am starting to go through the second one.

All this studying is difficult as I have to work each day as well. But there might be a good payoff if I can quickly relearn the stuff required to convince someone to give me a good job. I will have to remember to be more diligent with the studying even after I get my job. This industry requires constant learning.

Maybe the best job will be one where I learn a lot on the job. I want to learn new technologies. I also want to get some more certifications. Finally it would be best if I could get a high level government security clearance. That might pave the way for even more lucrative jobs in my future.

Shoe Shopping and Tax Preparation

I had a tough Friday at work. Could not go out to eat for lunch. Luckily I had some old Popeye's chicken I could munch on. After work, I had arranged to go shoe shopping with Little Kat. I told him I was ready to go once work was over. He said we should wait until the exact time we had arranged. So I grabbed a hot dog and waited.

I was getting tired of waiting. So Little Kat agreed to leave a bit early. The traffic was bad. We went to Payless. Little Kat could not find any shoes with non-slip soles. The attendant overheard him and showed him how to tell which ones were non-slip. We also picked up some shiny fancy square front dress shoes.

On the way home, Little Kat complained that he had to drive everywhere. I told him if he started paying for some items, somebody else could pick up the driving task. We stopped by Little Caesars because Momoko wanted some bacon wrapped pizza. There was a new employee working there. She told us they no longer had that pizza. At least we got the pizza with the pretzel crust plus some bread sticks.

After dinner, Little Kat tried to fill out his tax forms for work. He asked Momoko for help. Momoko asked me to help him. I explained the ideas behind the tax code so that Little Kat could comprehend the answers he needed to put down. Afterwards, I told him I would charge him for the tax advice. He said he was broke. So instead, I told him he could drive me to Steak and Shake and buy me dinner.

Little Kat invoked the principle that you got to prearrange your compensation if you want to get paid. Seeing how I did not prearrange, he was not going to pay me back for the tax prep help. Since it was true we all try to live by the prearrange principle, I did not collect any fee for my tax advice. But I did prearrange him to pay me rent for the rest of the month.

Little Kat said he could have filled out the tax forms with the help of the Internet, Google, and YouTube. I thought that was a joke since he did not understand much of the verbiage such as the word "domiciled". But I said he might be right. I asked him to fill out a state and federal tax return assuming he would make $2k this year. If he could do that, then I would agree that all he needs is the Internet.

If Little Kat cannot fill out the form, then that shows that even with Internet assistance, there are some tasks that are beyond his ability. In that case, I am going to have him shop around and find out who can professionally provide tax advice, and have him find out how much it costs him. I got a feeling it is going to be a lot more than the cost of a cheeseburger and shake. A lot more.

Little Kat has learned the lesson of prearrangement. But it seems he also has lost sight of the free ride he has been getting in the house. He has a car to use. And he has auto insurance provided. He has a gas card he does not have to pay. Plus all the clothes he ever needs. I could go on.

Getting a Job

Today Little Kat had scheduled two interviews for employment. One was early in the morning at Chipoltle. The other was in the afternoon at a retirement community. We needed Little Kat to get a job for his work study program at school. The job is required for Little Kat to graduate. he was supposed to get the job in the summer. Unfortunately he was traveling the USA for an extended vacation in the summer.

Little Kat thought he would be selective in the job he accepted. Momoko and I informed him that he would most likely need to accept the first job he was offered. He is already behind schedule in the work study program. He is weeks away from getting kicked out of the program. Time to get to work already.

Momoko and I have been encouraging Little Kat to step up his game in the job search department. Both of Little Kat's interviews seemed to go fine. He got a job offer at the retirement community. Luckily he accepted the offer. We need to get him part of the uniform required. We are hoping his first day is early next week. Time to get cracking at work study and making some money.

Truck Trouble

 

Little Kat planned to visit Kit Kat at her dorm. Before that, we needed to practice his manual transmission driving skills. This time I had him take my truck out on the road. We only stayed in our subdivision. Still, it was a bit of a challenge.

We have some stop signs which leave your car on an include. Little Kat kept stalling on them. Luckily nobody was behind us. Then at one stop sign, I heard a bad noise from the truck. Little Kat had the truck in second gear. Then he depressed the clutch and put the shifter into second.

The truck sounded like the clutch did not disengage correctly. Not good. After that, I took the wheel and showed Little Kat how to get going on an incline when stopped at a stop sign. I drove back home to switch positions with Little Kat. As I was backing the truck into our driveway, the thing stopped moving. What?

Seems the clutch no longer works on the truck. We got Momoko out to help steer the truck. Little Kat and I tried to push the truck up into our driveway. We could not push it all the way to the back. The include in too sharp. So I got Little Kat's car and pushed the truck up. Tomorrow I might try to get it towed to my mechanic to see if it can be repaired.

The Money Chop

The last tine I saw my college buddy, we went to PF Chang's for dinner. He spotted the Chop House across the street. I told him we could go eat at the Chop House another time. Well I saw him again tonight for dinner. We went straight to the Chop House.

I parked at a garage around the corner. Then we went in. Had to climb a set of stairs to get to the dining room. We inquired about a booth for two. Unfortunately their entire dining room had been reserved already. We went over and found a seat in the lounge.

There were some appetizers in the menu. There were also some drinks. But no good meals. I asked if there was a full menu. There was. They brought up some tablet (like mini-iPads) that showed the full menu. My buddy commented that the steaks would clean him out of all his cash. They were expensive.

I inquired whether the steaks came with any sides. Nope.They were a la cart and very expensive. I figured it was the Chop House. So I had to try the steaks. I also ordered some sides (which were also pricey). These guys even charge extra for bread. The steak was a quality cut of meat. But the seasoning was nothing special.

We might return some day when we have more cash in our pockets. But I plan to call ahead to reserve some seating. I would rather pay half the price for more decent food at something like the Outback Steak House. I joked with my friend that we should really go to Steak and Shake next time to save money.

Back To School Night

Tonight once again was Little Kat's back to school night. They did not do a good job promoting it. I had to look up the time online. But I did know about it beforehand. So I scheduled to leave early from work. Little Kat and I went to Arbys with some coupons in tow. I got my standard chicken strips. Little Kat tried the new Loaded Italian sub.

Dinner went by quickly. We had some time to spare. Therefore we went to the pet store to pick up gerbil supplies. Then we drove to school. Little Kat and I talked for a while in the student parking lot. Discussed things like college.

We headed to the Media Room. Parents of seniors were supposed to report there. Someone I did not know waved to Little Kat. I think she might have been a counselor. We found out the senior class trip is a cruise to the Bahamas. Unfortunately the cost is very high. We also found out that Little Kat was supposed to have a job already by the start of school for work study. Oops. Maybe sending him on vacation this summer was the wrong choice.

Little Kat does not have school every day during fourth period. He is supposed to go work for work study. During this break in back to school, Little Kat and I went searching for his friends. He saw some girl he know from a prior year's International Cuisine class. She was at a Bible study group table signing up new students. She seemed very happy to see Little Kat. I made a note.

Then I dragged Little Kat away to the cafeteria. I was so thirsty. Dinner was salty. Little Kat was dehydrated too. He did not order a drink for dinner. I bought us two 20-ounce Powerades from the vending machine. They were expensive, but oh so good. After we saw all of Little Kat's teachers, we go to leave early since Little Kat does not have class on his "B" days fourth period. Good thing too. The parking lots were crazy crowded.

All right Little Kat. Time to find a job or get kicked out of the work study program.

Going to the Show

Kit Kat came home this weekend to go to her friend's birthday party. She spent the night in her friend's dorm Friday night. But she stayed at our house Saturday night. Sunday morning the family planned to see the first showing of American Ultra at 11:00 am. Momoko likes to arrive 30 minutes early to get tickets and snacks.

When we arrived at the theater, the front doors were closed. They usually open at 9:30am in the summer. I guess it is no longer summer. They now open at 10:30am. And as usual, the theater was late in opening their doors. I got some crinkled and ripped bills from the ATM. So I volunteered to pay for the movie and snacks with cash. Momoko liked that plan.

Some of us got icee drinks. Momoko tried one of the movie theater meals (chicken with curly fries). The rest of us ate pretzel bites and nacho chess like normal. I liked the movie. I think the family did too. Before Kit Kat returned to her dorm, we went out for salads at Ruby Tuesdays. We ended up ordering more than the salad bar. But we chose this restaurant for its delicious salad bar.

Next weekend Kit Kat has another party to attend down by our house. We hope to see her.

Glimpse of Kit Kat

Kit Kat moved into her dorm last week. It is weird not to see her at home every day. I occasionally send her a text when I am thinking about her. She sent us her postal mailing address. So I sent her a card too. It made it there fine.

One of Kit Kat's friends turns 21 this weekend. Therefore Kit Kat said she would be coming by the house. I made sure I moved my car from her normal spot in the driveway. Want her to feel right at home when she comes by.

Kit Kat was a bit late coming over. I was busy working my job in the basement. Then I had to look for a job after work. By the time I was done, it was time for Kit Kat to go attend her party. She will be staying with a friend overnight at the dorms in another college.

I do think I will see Kit Kat some this weekend. We are scheduled to go to the movies. And we will have one luncheon together before she returns to her dorm. Hey. You got to take what you can get. I am hoping that Kit Kat will come home to visit every so often.

Wrong Turn

I had to report to a company office far to the North today. The good thing about it is that it is close to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. I always try to leave early from that office to beat the traffic. I had to stay a little later than I liked. The traffic near the office was fine. Then I made the first exit onto another highway. Actually the exit was totally jammed.

There was a few minutes where I could have skipped the exit and took another route home. I decided against it. Wrong move. I stayed on the exit for about 20 to 30 minutes. As soon as I got on the highway, I got off at the next exit. I was able to take some detours home. At least I got home. Normally it takes 30 minutes to get home. Today it took an hour and a half.

Phone Fail

I recently upgraded to the iPhone 6. My old phone was having trouble turning on and off. I am looking for a new job. So now, more than ever, I need my cell phone to work.

Last night I got an email from a recruiter. He wanted to set up a call for today. This morning I turned on my phone. I saw some annoying message that my password was not correct. Previously I had dismissed this message. I use the correct password to unlock my phone all the time.

Before work I did a test. I called my cell phone from the home phone. Left a voice mail. Then I saw the annoying message on my iPhone. Doh! It wanted me to put in my voice mail password. I did so, and found I had a couple messages waiting for me!

Luckily I called the people back. One was from a guy at my work who was on another project. He was looking for developers that had skills with a new programming language. While I have been coming up to speed in the language, I do not have the expertise yet. So I had to pass.

I did get in touch with that recruiter about a job I applied for today. The job was across town, which will lead to a long commute. I told him for the right job I could make that commute. Right job to me means good money and interesting work. For that, I will travel.

Let's see how the hiring manager and rest of the team for this job opportunity feel about my resume. All I need is for them to set up an interview. Then I can handle the rest.

Gerbil on the Run

Today was Momoko's first day back to school. It was a rough day. She ate dinner and made Little Kat play with the gerbils. He played with them briefly one by one. Momoko went to bed early. I needed to head downstairs to take care of some business. All of a sudden, I saw a gerbil running on the carpet in our dining room. Apparently she had escaped under Little Kat's watch. Fail.

Little Kat took it easy today. He had to help Momoko get ready for work at the crack of dawn. So I cut him some slack. But when he was still sleeping at 4pm, I needed to get involved. I woke him up to do the dishes and some laundry. I also enlisted his help in taking a photo of me in my suit for LinkedIn.

Little Kat also grilled us up some BBQ chicken for dinner. Add some sides of baked beans and potato salad, and we had ourselves a great meal. Tomorrow Little Kat goes to school. It is not too bad. He is on work study so he gets out after half a day. He does not have a job lined up yet. So he plans to just come home.

All Moved In

We had scheduled to leave the house at 9:00am to move Kit Kat into her dorm. At the last minute, Momoko said we should bring a dolly. So I tossed a matress on top of the big screen TV. Then I put the dolly on top. Kit Kat and Momoko drove our two vehicles.

At campus we took a wrong turn. Ended up backtracking to get in line for move in. The line around Kit Kat's dorm moved fine. Then we got into a five lane move in parking lot. We waited there a long time. Eventually we got to the move in circle.

Kit Kat and I got out. We tried to find out what we needed to do. Nobody seemed to know what to do with Kit Kat. Everyone else was a freshman moving into the freshman down. Kit Kat is special - she is a transfer student moving into the upperclasswoman dorm. We ended up going to her dorm.

There were a lot of stations inside for us to visit. Momoko and Little Kat were holding up traffic in the circle. Eventually Kit Kat got her dorm key, and we took a big laundry cart. Kit Kat's stuff filled the cart over the top. And we stacked stuff up on the dolly.

Then we sent Momoko and Little Kat to go park the cards. Little Kat was terrified. I told him a couple times to read the signs and ask one of the many people who worked there for help. They found the parking garage.

Inside Kit Kat's dorm, we found cable outlets for her TVs. There were no cables though. Kit Kat had her own small private room. She shared a bathroom with one other roommate who already moved in. After settling down, the family went out to lunch at a diner next to campus. They did not charge us for the drinks, so I felt happy.

Move In Day

Today Kit Kat was scheduled to move into her dorm on campus. So we had scheduled a time yesterday afternoon for the family to pack the cars with her goods. I was excused from packing because I had a prior dinner engagement.

After dinner, I returned home and found a strange car in front of our house. I did not sweat it. I figured Kit Kat was spending her last night home with some of her friend. I was surprised when none of the cars were packed. Momoko was asleep in bed. Little Kat was chilling on the couch. Kit Kat was talking with her friends.

Momoko was too worn out from working all day and afternoon in her classroom, preparing for school to start next week. So Little Kat and I got to work. We started by moving two TVs into the cars. One of the TVs is 50 inches. That was one heavy TV. Then we loaded up boxes, bags, and other bunches of Kit Kat's goods.

It was going to be a long night. I had work to do. I also had to do a lot of moving.

Unhinged

I took the afternoon off from work today. Went to meet a prior coworker of mine for lunch. We usually spend a good time talking at lunch. Did not want to hurry back to the office. It was raining when I left the office. But it cleared up by the time I arrived at the restaurnt.

After lunch I came home. There was a suspicious cabinet door under the sink hanging off in a weird direction. Seeing that Little Kat was the only one home, I asked him about it. He confessed that the top hinge broke off. I told him to unscrew the bottom hinge. Later I found that he broke that one too.

We found a replacement hinge in my study closet. But it was too small. So Little Kat and I went to the store to buy a new one. We only found hinges without screws. Had to go hunt them down too. Little Kat screwed the hinges into the door. He broke a drill bit, and stripped a few screws. Luckily I bought the big screw pack.

Then Little Kat brought the door to the cabinet. No way we could mount the thing up there. So we took the hinges off the door, and put just the hinges on the cabinet. That took Little Kat a long time. Next I got some phone books to propr up the door in the air. I screwed the hinge to the door. Then came the moment of truth: we tried to close the door. But it would not fit.

Darn. Not sure what to do next? I don't think we can suffer through the hinges one more time. Maybe shave off the edge of the door? Then put in some type of magnet or wedge to ensure the door swings shut and stays shut.

Job Hunting

This year Little Kat plans to do work study at school. So he has to find a job that he can work part time. This program is required for him to graduate high school. Therefore the heat is on.

Little Kat has been applying for jobs online, mostly when Momoko gets on his case. Kit Kat recommended he go talk to hiring managers in person. We made Little Kat go to the movie theater to ask for a job.

Little Kat did not know what to do or say. We coached him before hand. I wanted him to be able to find out exactly how to apply for a job, and to get the name and phone number of the hiring manager there on site.

Well it turns out that the theater is not hiring right now. But at least Little Kat got out there pounding the pavement. He gave the manager his business card. The theater will be hiring in about two weeks. Follow up Little Kat. Follow up.

iPhone Timing

My iPhone 5 has been on the fritz. It is difficult to turn on and off. I am the last one in the family to upgrade to the new iPhone 6. I gave my slot to one of the kids because I thought I did not need the new version. I still don't need the new version. I just need a new phone. Trying to get a new job here. And I use my cell phone number as the contact.

So I place an order for a new iPhone 6. The thing will cost $649. That's a lot of dough. The phone company will spread the cost of the phone over two years. Still is expensive. While I am waiting for the phone to arrive in the mail, I hear that Apple is releasing a new version of the iPhone. Darn. I just missed out.

I would send mine back and get the latest version. But I need my phone now. So I guess I will have to be more careful next time. And I will make sure that when it is my turn to upgrade, I take advantage of it and not pass the opportunity off to someone else in the family.

Manual Transmission Time

The whole family got up early this morning. We went to see the new Fantastic 4 movie. The theater had not opened yet when we got there. We waited until the doors opened before leaving the car. We got our normal pretzels and cheese plus a large soda.

I was a bit concerned that Kit Kat purchased her tickets online, and that I would not have a ticket stub to prove I belonged in the theater. Luckily Kit Kat presented her online proof with her phone. Then she got ticket stubs for the whole family.

After the movie, Little Kat and I discussed the theory behind manual transmission vehicles. Then I drove him to the local elementary school, explaining how I was using the clutch as we drove. There were a couple cars at the school. But by the time we we under way practicing driving, they had all left.

Little Kat picked up on getting it into first gear pretty quickly. He could do it from a stop if he started on level ground. He could also do it easily if he was on the downhill. Heck. He was progressing so fast, I decided to take him to an uphill section of the school parking lot. Little Kat did not seem phased by the vehicle going backwards at first. He had trouble adjusting to getting it going up a hill. But he did okay.

Next week I plan to teach Little Kat reverse. And we will continue to practice getting the car into first gear from a stop. At the rate he is going, Little Kat might even try going into second gear pretty soon. I was pleased that Little Kat could drive my Chevy S10 pickup truck. Kit Kat could not reach the pedals, and the non-tilt steering wheel messed her up too. Little Kat felt right at home in the truck.

Speaking of trucks, Little Kat used to think he wanted to drive a large sedan such as a Ford Crown Victoria. Now he says he is getting more into short bed pickup trucks. He said he did not mind if they were a regular cab (as opposed to extend cab or 4 door). He just does not car for the long bed style trucks. Hmm. If I could find a Chevy S10 pickup that is automatic transmission, we might just have something new for Little Kat to drive.

Saved by the Steel Pipe

I was walking down the hill behind the fence in our back yard. The hill is on my property. It is just not fenced in. I have been working on clearing the area on the hill. I pick up sticks and branches. I cut down other low hanging branches that get in the way. This is a slow process. But at least the county comes to collect sticks and branches every week. I keep them busy with my full trash cans of sticks.

I noticed a steel pipe on the hill. It seemed loose. Must have been part of a previous fence. I know a past neighbor once mistook the shape of the back yard and put a square fence around part of the yard. The fence went over into the neighbor's yard in one section. The neighbor had them take the fence down and reconstruct it so it stayed on my property. I guess this pipe was from the old disassembled fence. I saw other evidence of the fence such as other steel pipes, and even part of a pipe coming out of a concrete post area.

Today I got tired of dealing with my faulty gate to the hill. The gate itself is fine. But the pole that the gate latches onto is not secure. It falls down (taking the fence with it) if the gate is not shut holding up the pole. I figured I would eventually replace this faulty fence. This broke fence is a result of the Home Depot boys damaging it when they installed my shed.

So I figured I could put a 4x4 post in the ground, secure the gate pipe to the post, and hope thing become stabilized. Then I had a better idea. I checked the bottom of the wobbly pole. It was hollow. Great. I went to retrieve the loose pole I found on the hill. I used a hammer to bang that loose pole down into the ground. Then I set the gate pole on top of the secured one, inserting the secure one into the bottom of the gate pole. Voila. My gate is once again secure.

I might still put the 4x4 post in the ground and further secure the gate pole. It all depends on how soon I am going to replace this fence and gate. Fixing is much cheaper than replacing for now.

Dress to Impress

My time on my project at work is coming to an end. So I need to find a new gig. I am going to look for other jobs in my company. Will also be looking outside the company as well. Need to make sure I keep on some payroll.

Last time I went looking for a job was around 7 years ago. The suit I wore back then no longer fits. Time to go shopping. I saw that JC Penny's had 50% off suits. Yes. They also had an additional 15% off coupon. Momoko came with me to see how I looked in the different suits.

Only two suits in the store caught my eye. I decided to buy the one that fit the best. The lady at the cash register rang me up. The wrong amount came up. I told her the prices on display. She took my word for it and manually overrode the register. I got a great deal.

Last I visited this custom tailoring shop we walk by every weekend when we go out to lunch. This was the first time I went into the tailor shop. It was very small. Two Asian women worked there. I had trouble understanding the one I dealt with.

I put on my pants and jacket. The tailor pinned up the ends where they needed to be shortened. I return in a week to pick up my fitted suit. Now I need to get those interviews to get the job. You know what the Nightcrawler says? "You got to make the money to buy the ticket."

Early Morning Movies

The family decided to see another movie today. We planned to see Vacation very early in the morning. Momoko and I woke up on time. I came out of my room right at departure time. Momoko and Kit Kat were in their rooms. Apparently Kit Kat's alarm went off but she did not hear it. Momoko was waiting for the rest of us.

Kit Kat drove us to the theater. There were not many cars in the parking lot. This was one of the first movies of the day. Then some type of day care showed up. Tons of little kids came out of vans. Unfortunately the front doors were locked. It was 10 minutes until the little kids' show was going to start. There were employees inside. They were just not opening the doors.

We worried that the kids would crowd all the lines. Luckily they already purchased tickets. And they skipped the snacks line. We bought the tickets to our show. Only one other set of people were in the theater with us. All three of us ordered mini pretzels with nacho cheese. I added jalapenos to mine. We all shared a large coke.

The movie was okay. The other people in the movie left half way through. Did they decide to go see another show? Who knows? We saw a record number of previews before the show started. There was no secret clip after all the credits were shown. Darn. I felt like we got a good deal today. Each ticket cost less than five bucks. Unheard of!

This Chicken is a Rip

I kept seeing a Popeyes advertisement for their new rippin chicken. It was supposed to be some chicken tenders joined together at the top. They serve it with some habanero ranch sauce. Sounded tasty. So when Momoko asked where I wanted to go to dinner, I said Popeyes.

I thought I was in luck. They had the rippin chicken in platter form. That means I could get a large drinks and two sides with the thing. Yum. I ordered double red beans and rice on the side. Plus I asked to Hawaiian Punch to drink.

Usually I check the order at the store to make sure it is correct. I found that they did give me rippin chicken. But it looked like a rip off. It had about as much meat as a chicken wing. I knew something was wrong when I lifted the box up and it was really light.

To add insult to injury, Momoko got a three piece meal that was bursting with chicken meat. Oh well. You live, you learn. Popeyes specials are not that special. You get what you pay for. $3.99 for a meal means you are not getting much food.

Time to try Arby's. They say, "We have the meats."

Trash Duty

I had to report to my customer's site today. Some people needed an escort into the building. And I got a badge. Lucky me. I woke up early. Booked down the highway. Got there at a good time. Was able to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. I had the chef at the grill make me an omlett.

I found the conference room we were supposed to meet in. It was dinky. Got set up and started responding to emails. Before I knew it, the time for lunch had come. My buddy who works in the building was already eating at his desk. So I went back to the cafeteria grill to request a steak and cheese sub.

In the afternoon, I decided to visit my buddy. I went up to his floor. It was strange that the light were off in his section of the building. Then I went to his cubicle and saw another name tag on the front. What? Took a while to realize I was in the wrong building. They got three buildings that look identical. I was on the correct floor. Just needed to move over two buildings.

On the way back from my buddy's cubicle, I saw some cleaning lady peeking out of a door. That was odd. But I try to ignore the odd behaviors of the help staff. When I walked by, the lady kept motioning to me. I was like, "Hello?" She could not speak English. It took a while. Finally I interpreted her hand gestures. She could not pull the trash bag out of the bin because it was too heavy. I picked it up for her and was on my way.

I tried to get the heck out of the building before rush hour traffic began. My boss called me as I was leaving. I was anxious to get out. I did leave a few minutes after I had planned. It was still early. However it was raining. That meant bad traffic no matter what the time. Luckily I don't think I need to return to the customer building anytime soon.

Up and Down

Earlier this year, I invested some money in oil related stocks. They had taken a beating. And I caught them on the way up. I took the proceeds and invested into an education stock. It also got the beat down bad. I caught it on the way up. Two in a row.

With the proceeds, the family took a little trip out west. Was able to purchase plane tickets for the whole family. Also got multiple rooms at the hotel so the kids could get their own beds. Rented a nice SUV.

Then I thought if I was successful in the stock market earlier, I could just repeat it again. I decided to go with a kids educational company that was down so low. I invested in it. The problem is that the thing even went lower.

Ooops. I already spent the money on a summer vacation. And we tentatively planned to take another vacation at the end of summer. Let's hope my stocks pop back up. Otherwise our vacation may turn into us pitching a tent in the back yard.

Heat Wave

We had a heat wave come into town last weekend. I thought I would spend Sunday watching a movie with the family. However Momoko was not feeling well. So I stayed home instead. I went out to do yard work late in the afternoon.

I filled up my jug with ice water. Skipped mowing the lawn. Went back into the woods on our property. Started to clear the area. This amounted to using a hand saw to chop down branches and small trees. This wiped me out. I kept hydrated.

Usually I can power through fatigue. Not this Sunday. The hand sawing action is difficult. I was not in the direct sun. But the heat and work overpowered me. I took a break or two inside the air conditioned house. Still could not last more than about an hour outside working.

Maps Galore

One of the vehicles I own is 25 years old. I let Little Kat drive another vehicle of mine that is 9 years old. These are not totally reliable vehicles. So I decided to get AAA memberships for the both of us. If we ever get in a bind, we can call in the AAA tow trucks.

Another benefit of AAA is the maps they provide. I recently ordered a bunch of them in preparation for our next vacation. I also got some local maps at the same time. One big map shows the area I grew up in. I see the huge woods behind my old house as a small area on the map.

Yeah. I could see the map information online using Google Maps. But I get a better sense of scale with a big paper map. I could see where my current customer at work resides on the map. I also see where some old friends live with respect to my dad's house.

I also spy new streets on the map that were not there when I grew up. Then I can make some observations like how close our old house was to the highway. And I spot where my last college was with respect to everything else. Hmm. I think I will order some more maps.

Self / Less

Momoko and I woke up early this weekend to see the first showing of "Self / Less" starring Ryan Renolds and Ben Kingsly. There are kiosks at our theater to purchase tickets. We went to speak to a human. Tickets only cost us $4.88 each. Momoko was confused about the low price. I don't argue when they give me a great deal.

After the movie, we headed home to play with the gerbils. None of them escaped off the couch. We had all four out at once. Momoko creates a tunnel with two pillows and a blanket draped over top. That keeps the gerbils occupied for most of the time. When they get wild, we put them away.

Momoko and I went to Popeye's for lunch. I got the Huhpuppy battered shrimp meal. Momoko got a big chicken platter. I wished I got a platter - it would have provided me with a drink and a second side. Oh well. We went home to watch the first episode of this season's TV show Dominion.

I worked out in the yard during the late afternoon. Trimmed the hedges in front of the house. That is a chore because they are low, and I try not to get the hedge clippings in the mulch. Afterwards I cleaned up and drove Momoko to a local hospital where she did a scheduled sleep study for the night. I need to wake up really early tomorrow to pick her up.

Getting a Ride

Kit Kat and Little Kat are out visitng their grandparents. Grandma works and grandpa has places to go and things to do. I figured it would be nice if the kids had a car of their own to drive around in. Previously I had rented from Alamo on our Ohio trip. They told me I could add Kit Kat as an extra driver for $25 more a day. I figured we could look into this for Kit Kat.

I used Expedia. Found out that Advantage car rental has even cheaper prices. Now we needed to decide on which size car to rent. Kit Kat wanted something comparable to her Honda Fit. I would think that might be an Economy or Compact car. Unfortunately at Advantage that might mean a Mazda 3 or even worse, a Mitsubishi Mirage. Too small.

We settled on a full size car. Kit Kat and I tried to call to make a reservation. However the company told us that the best prices we online at their web site. Kit Kat made the reservation online. The prices seemed reasonable, even with all the taxes and fees. Kit Kat texted me to say the transaction went off well. She got a Camry to drive around.

The kids might need a car now especially that their dad is in town close to their grandparents. Already I have reports that Kit Kat has been driving around town, just the way we like it. I hope the car rental is a success from start to end. We just might have to start renting a car when we send Kit Kat off on vacations.

Tree Fall

I went outside this week and starting collecting sticks off the ground in our yard. I like to pick them up so the lawn mower does not have to deal with them. I went down the hill in the back of our yard. Behind some trees I saw a felled tree on top of our fence. The fence was not looking too good.

I looked more closely. This was not a tree. It was a huge tree branch. I broke out the hand saw. Chopped it into three pieces so that I could carry the thing. The branch was as heavy as a medium sized tree.

Today I took up the task of repairing the fence. I bent the metal poles as good as I could. The fence was permanently damaged. I don't need it to look good. You can't even see this part of the fence from our house or the street. I just want a fence to be up, warning deers from the woods to stay away.

I secured the horizontal poles to the poles that were in the ground. Then I used some rope to tie down the fence to the poles. Where there was leftover wire from the old fence, I used that too. Right now the fence is secure. I eventually want to move that part of the fence out to the property line. So as soon as I get some spare cash, this fence is coming down anyway.

Air Force Museum

We drove in two cars tithe closest museum. I dropped Momoko off before parking. Grandma parked and needed a few rests on the walk to the front door. We went upstairs to the cafe to plan our day. A professional took our family picture.

I got a pizza before everyone arrived. Little Kat and I went to buy 3D movie tickets and simulator passes. After the simulator ride, Little Kat and I went with his cousin to explore the museum.

The space section Little Kat wanted to see was closed. We saw a bunch of huge planes instead. We took pictures and failed at piloting a landing simulator instead.

The 3D movie was not too crowded. One eye of the 3D glasses was dark. The movie exited on the second floor by the cafe. We bought some items in the gift shop. The day ended with snacks at Steak nShake.

New Adventures

After work, Kit Kat drove us across town to a new airport. Had to explore to find a working shuttle bus stop. Took a train from the main terminal to our gate. Small plane had a steep set of stairs.

Flight was short. Got an upgrade to a Dodge Journey for our rental car. My GPS did not work. Kit Kat's phone had to guide us. Some payment questions at hotel. Kids got their own room. WaffleHouse midnight run.

Trouble connecting my work computer to WiFi.

Failure Again

I had to visit the customer site this morning. However I only stayed for an hour or two. I returned home to finish up the work day. The phone rang. It was Little Kat's English teacher. I could not hear her well because there was static on the line. I called her back from my cell phone.

Apparently Little Kat had a 48% in her class. He was missing a lot of work. She had provided him the work. Little Kat had some arrangement to turn in the work late. But he had not done so yet. The semester is at an end, and the teacher wanted to close out the grades. She did not Little Kat to have such a low score.

Little Kat stayed home from school today. He was "ill." Yeah. I woke him up and got a status. He had five assignments, one project, and one test to do. He had completed any of it. I put him to work. By dinner I checked up him. He finished the project and an assignment. Not good enough. Dinner had to be postponed.

This guy is slacking big time. Why am I the one who has to step in and work him to prop up his grades? Sounds like we might need to cut out some games and movies. Time to hit the books maybe? I don't care if summer is starting.

Literally Screwed

My car started recently complaining about the tire pressure. I checked all four tires. Seemed okay. Then I drove Momoko out to eat. She heard a strange noise as we drove. I ignored it. Wrong move. I woke up one day this week. Planned to drive into the office. I had a flat tire. There was a screw in my tire. Putting air in it would do no good.

I needed to get to work. So I hopped in my other vehicle, the old truck. It has four brand new tires. I got to work fine. Worked all day and forgot about the tire until I got home. Went over to Mister Tire. They are crooks. But I thought I would give them a try. The kid behind the counter said the screw was too close to the side of the wheel to patch. But he would sell me a replacement for $150.

Nice try kid. I am not getting ripped off. In fact, I don't know why I even came to Mister Tire. Instead I went to this place that sells used tires. My brother has had some luck in such tire places. Kit Kat has had a tire or two replaced there. I pulled in. The guy behind the counter told me to talk to the technicians.

A tech took one look at my tire and said he could plug it for $15. And he could do it right then. That was the good news. The hard part was driving back home and putting the tire on the car. Actually I had done the hard work. I figured out where the spare tire is, and more importantly, how to release it from my car. I also jacked up the car using the stock jack that comes with the vehicle. I was sad I did not have my other car that Little Kat drives. It has an after market power jack in the trunk.

So far, the plug in the tire has held up. I am going to sell this car anyway after Little Kat learns how to drive manual transmission with it. So it only has to make it to about the end of the year.