An Expensive Oil Change

Momoko needed an oil change. So Sunday night, Little Kat, Momoko, and I dropped her car off in our mechanic's parking lot. The next day I went to turn in the keys. But the car was gone. Apparently they tow vehicles that do not have a parking pass.

I tracked down the tow company. Then I picked up Momoko from work. We went to the tow company. Momoko had to pay them $175 to get her car back. They buzzed me through the security gate. I started her car and waited for them to open the lot fence to get out. I ran over some car undercarriage as I exited.

We ended up dropping off Momoko's car at the mechanic right after that. In addition to an oil change, he fixed the outside weather temperature gauge in her car. He said needed to take the bumper off to fix the wire that runs the gauge. While picking up her car, I dropped my car off for an oil change myself.

College Basketball Game

My buddy from college wanted to see our alma mater's new sports center. We decided to see a college women's basketball game. For once, ticket seemed reasonable at $5 to $15. I asked my buddy to get them. He had trouble downloading them to his phone. So he went on campus to get paper tickets.

I drove us on game day. There was a huge accident on the highway. So, we had to take the back roads to the college. My buddy had spied out the area a week before. He took me down a new road that led to a parking garage right by the sports center. Parking was free for women's basketball.

We walked half way around the place, only to find that our section was near where we entered. I asked a security guard why none of the concession stands were open. She told us they were only open on the lower level. I went and picked up a sausage roll. Next time I will opt for nachos.

Even though many ticket had been sold, more than half the people did not seem to show up. We were at a section with a lot of old people. There were a lot of cheerleaders plus a big band. Our team blew out the opposition. Little girls played a short game on court during half time.

New Lawn Mower Fail

It is leaf season. My old trusty Honda mower died with a poof. It had been on its last legs for a month. I had to gather leaves with a rake and bag them by hand. Very painful given the leaf volume in the yard.

I tried finding the same model on Amazon. No luck. I had previously purchased the last one at Home Depot. I searched for a gas self propelled mower. Wanted at least a 21" deck. Then I sorted by how fast the mower could get to me.

One could come the next day. That was a lie. Took a couple days. I thought I was buying new. The one that arrived was a return. The RMA was still in the box. The package was missing a crucial bolt that connects the handle to the base. I made due with some wire.

Eventually I called the company. They had trouble identifying the missing part. I had to get Momoko to help me email them pictures of the part and where it goes. This lawn mower is just not good. The collection bag is tiny. The pull string falls out of the loop. The wire clips do not do a good job. The back flap broke up.

At least the thing is self propelled. And it pulls up everything into the bag. It just fills up too quick due to the very small size. This ran me $400+. Felt like a total rip off.

Kit Kat Locked Out

Early this morning, I got a call from Kit Kat. She locked herself out of her apartment. She asked me to come by to let her in. I jumped up and got into my car. I had a small slow down locally due to the elementary school traffic.

When I got to Kit Kat's apartment, I did not see her in her car. I called her. She was outside her apartment door. I could not work the key to enter her apartment building. She let me in the lobby. Turns out she locked her from door without getting her apartment or car keys.

After saving Kit Kat, I drove towards home. I stopped off at Burger King. Got a large tots and zesty dipping sauce. Then I was delayed again as I entered our subdivision. There was a long wait due to construction on the main feeder to our neighborhood.

Tough Monday.

Halloween

Momoko decided to hand out candy for Hallween. She set up shop in our living room. She decided to do school work while she waited for any guests. I heard a knocking at the door and alerted her. She was behind her desk and told me to open the door.

It was some neighbors with their kids. The main girl had a white wool looking costume. I asked her if she was a sheep. She looked scared. Her mom ran up and said she was a dog. The other mom piped up and told me the baby she was carrying was a princess.

I handed both kids two pieces of candies each. In other news, Little Kat went to work dressed as Mustard. LOL wut?

Watching College Volleyball

I usually go out to eat with my buddy from college twice a month. This time around, he wanted to go see the women's volleyball from his graduate school play. He asked that I drive us there. He hurt his leg. So I thought I could drop him off in from of the venue. He told me we could walk if I parked close.

At the ticket box, my buddy tried to pay with cash. They only accept credit card. Weird. We arrived just as things were getting started. They announced each player from the home team. We sat right at the 50 yard line (where the net was). They did not let you enter the upper decks. So we were pretty close.

There are 5 sets of 25 points each (except set 5 goes to 15 points). So winner if best of 3. The opposing team from Albany won the first 2 sets. It could have been a short game. However my buddy's school came back winning the last 3 sets, and won the match.

We tried to spy on the merch store. It is not open for volleyball games. At each match point, the crowd stood up and cheered. One intermission entertainment was a bunch of pizza boxes on one side of the net. Some contestants tried to serve volleyballs from the other side and hit the box for free pizza. Three out of 25 people actually hit a box.

Little Kat has been studying for his first certification. It is CompTIA IT Fundamentals (ITF+). I had got him some study materials. He went through all 11 modules. Then he hit the practice exams. I think you need a 75% to pass. He kept retaking the practice exams until he could get at least 90%.

This weekend Little Kat drove to a local testing center. He was not sure what percentage he got. They scored him out of a total 900 points. But he did pass. This is a relatively simple entry level certification. I have not really seen any jobs that require it.

Now Little Kat is starting his job at the school with Momoko. He is going to be a computer lab instructor. This is just something to make money and get a current job on his resume. It might take him a few months to get his feet.

Once Little Kat is set in his new job, he will start studying for the CompTIA A+ certification. This one has two exams. Little Kat thought it would take at least two months of studying for each of the exams. Once he passes both and gets certified, he will start looking for a tech job again.

I have seen a few jobs Little Kat applied to that want you to have a CompTIA A+. In the end, Little Kat wants to get some specialized forensics certification. That will cost a lot of money for training. It might be worth it.

High Prices at Checkers

Momoko went out for happy hour this afternoon. So at night she got hungry. She asked if I would drive her somewhere that had a drive through. I did not want the usual McDonald's fair. So I recommended we go to Checkers.

Momoko found wings on their menu. We had ordered funnel cake fries before. They were delicious. I used to order banana milk shakes there in the old days. This was a new Checkers that came to our town. It was the first time I went.

Momoko wanted wings with BBQ sauce on the side. I got hot wings. We both got large shakes and funnel cake fries. The total ended up being $44. To top it off, we got parked for over 10 minutes. The food was good. But no where near worth $44. Will not be returning unless we win the lottery.

Keeping the Trash Can Clean

Our trash collectors are not careful when returning trash cans to the neighborhood. So the other day, I somehow got 2 trash cans. I found out one new neighbor has double. I gave him his back. Then later I found that the can I kept seemed to really stink.

I tried putting some baking soda in there to absorb the smell. It did not do much. This sucks because I used to keep my trash can fresh by double bagging trash. Today I decided to do something about it.

I got some pressure washer cleaner. Used a mop to scrub the inside of the trash can with the cleaner. Then I broke out the pressure washer to rinse the trash can out. Also ran the pressure washer over the outside of the can. Now at least the thing does not smell too bad.

Might have to rinse and repeat a few times. Now it would be a good time to label my trash can. Don't want a repeat of a stinky can.

Little Kat Gets a Job

After graduating from college, Little Kat took a small gap vacation. It lasted about 5 weeks. Then he got down to business applying to jobs. I told him to shoot for at least 100 applications a week. He has been doing this for about 6 weeks.

Little Kat got some online assessments. But aside from that, he has been ghosted. There have been no interviews. I used to think computer science graduates could get 1 interview for every 100 applications they submitted. It seems like it has devolved to 1 interview every 500.

I had some ideas. Little Kat should get some tech certifications. I also started a project with Little Kat that I thought we could pivot into an internship or a position at a company we co-found. Little Kat started on a program to kick off the startup. He found it very difficult.

At school, Momoko was talking with the principal and assistant principal. It seems elementary school teachers are understaffed and are having trouble getting their planning time. Their solution was to create a new computer lab position that would allow them to plan. Momoko told them Little Kat just graduated with a degree in Computer Technology and was looking.

Long story short, Little Kat got the job. It is not his dream job. The pay is good. The requirements are not difficult. He will work for people he knows along side of people he calls friends. The plan is for his to stop job applications and stop the project we are working on. I told him to spend all time before the job starts getting at least 1 certification. We will give him a few months to get acclimated to the new job. Then we will regroup.

The Start of Project X

Little Kat has graduated from his 4-year college with a bachelor's degree. He needed a gap month to rest. Now he is looking for a job. He has recently passed the 500 applications point. He did got 5 or 6 online assessments. However he has not received any interviews.

I knew the market for new grads was poor. I did not know it was this bad. Recently I saw a Reddit post about a guy that submitted 3000 applications and only got 5 interviews. Not sure if any of those translated into a job offer. I doubt it.

For now, I am working with Little Kat on a secret joint mission I call Project X. Today we had our initial meeting. I set some end goals for 6 months from now. I also gave Little Kat his first task. I hope he can finish it in a few weeks. Today I mailed him 10 "data files" for him to process.

Project X will at least give Little Kat a chance to work on a real world project. I think he can use what he learned in college and hone his skills. There is even a chance our project can make some money. Who knows? We might be starting the next FaceBook in our basement.

Playing the Slot Machines

The only slot machine I like is Jackpot party. The casino we visited did not have my game. I ended up downloading it on my iPad and playing it a lot. It gave me a daily bonus to spend with. My second favorite game was Black Knight. There was a variation of it at the casino. However it had a large gate, under which my matches did not count unless the gate was raised. Overall, I lost around half the money I came with.

Momoko found some Three Little Pigs type of game called Huff and Puff. You would enter a bonus round if you got  6 helmets. That was where you would make the most money. The helmet round would be a search for subsequent helmets that would fortify your houses from straw to wood to stone. Then a wolf would try to blow down your houses. The longer they stood, the bigger your bonuses. Momoko even got some mini and minor extra bonuses as well. In general, she doubled her money that she came with.

There was an old style slot that I did have some fun with. Initially I was hyped that it let me bet just 20 cents. All the other slots were mostly 75 cents minimum bet. I did not initially understand the payout rules. Momoko clarified that I had to bet at least 60 cents for the sevens to count. And I had to bet a dollar for the wild to count. Betting 60 cents was profitable. But the dollar level seemed like a huge waste. Momoko tried a similar machine that featured some type of jalapeno pepper theme.

Hotel Stay at Casino

Momoko and I checked into the hotel 30 minutes after check in time. We somehow got all our stuff in on a single run. The clerk told me the cost. It did not match what I remembered, even taking into account a $100 incidentals hold. This was disturbing as the hotel had requirement payment up front. It should have been a done deal. Luckily I had documentation of the cost. The boss mentioned something about increased taxes. However that would not apply to me as the sale had already taken place at the lower rate. They fixed the price.

We had to use our keys to access the elevators. The hall on our floor was very deep. We were located half way down. There was a tiny fridge inside a door. But no microwave. The shower was big. However there was no bathroom fan. The king size bed had hard pillows and little support in the bed. It was always a challenge to find parking close to the hotel. Momoko often made me drop her off in front of the hotel as I went searching for parking.

Second Vacation

I took a small vacation earlier this year. Then I spent half the year working hard. So it was time to take a couple weeks off. Momoko and I actually took two trips. The second one was to a casino. We ate breakfast before leaving. We left late because the casino had a late check in time.

I thought we would get lunch along the way. I was super hungry. Momoko wanted to drive straight to the casino and eat there. Once we had driven half way there, Apple CarPlay took us on a whole lot of back roads. We passed "towns". But there was no commerce there. No place to eat. I was starved by the time we reached the casino.

We ended up eating at Longhorn Steakhouse. It was pricey. But the food was delicious. Momoko and I both had 6 ounce steaks. We also both ordered a side of mushrooms. I had a loaded baked potato that was overflowing with toppings. I also had a Caesar salad with too much dressing. I was so hungry that I ate a second loaf of bread all by myself.

Dinner While on Vacation

I spied on places to eat near Fuddruckers. I found a place that had $2.50 hamburgers. Turns out they were sliders. We got there 1 hour before it closed one day. We had to place an order at the front of the restaurant. Later, they called my number. But they just gave me water. 20 minutes later, I checked on our food.

Eventually they had the food. I had a salad topped with fried chicken. Turns out the chicken was a thin boneless chicken breast. I had to ask for extra ranch dressing. Momoko had a chicken dinner. The fries were shoe string. I got her tiny cups of ketchup. I helped her finish the fries at the end.

Momoko's two pieces of dark chicken were deep fried. They were too hot for her to eat. I got her a to-go box. She later ate the chicken in our hotel room while I called Little Kat to discuss his job search progress. We did return one afternoon after lunch for Momoko to get a twirl ice cream cone.

Magic Show on Vacation

While on vacation, Momoko and I saw a magic show. We gave ourselves 30 minutes to get there. I initially parked near the road. Then Momoko realized this was not the theater. We then parked for a strategic exit. We waited until dinner was available. We sprinted past a bus that was coming.

Our waitress did not want to release us to the buffet. Eventually we went up and got potatoes, buttered curly noodles, ham, and chicken Marsala. I also got carrot cake. Momoko got cheesecake twice. We got creamy veggie soup and a salad. I got the last of the boiled egg.

They served me minute maid lemonade. Momoko got sweet tea. Some guy from the show stopped by our table before the show. The showed opened with a red head girl doing some acrobatics on a rope suspended from the ceiling.

There was a card trick where the guy had a surprise Ace of Spades with a theater audience volunteer. Another kid volunteer had his shoe burned in the cleaned. A duck disappeared and re-appeared in a bucket in the audience.

A pro petite Latina went up on some drapes suspended from the ceiling. She fell down 4 to 5 feet a couple times. There was an apprentice magician who did some rope tricks. The main guy's kids were oompa loompas. Momoko thought the main guy's wife was a failed budding magician. The finale had the main dude appear with a huge statue of liberty.

Train Ride on Vacation

Momoko and I decided to return to a train ride on vacation. The last time we say in coach in a dining car. We ate lunch while the train road down the tracks. This time we opted for a more premium car. It had luxury recliners that swiveled.

After arrival, we proceed to check in which was between lamp posts 3 and 4. Then Momoko went shopping in the gift shop. Our train arrived. We were the first to board our car after the previous passengers exited. We say near the middle.

A late couple came with their newborn. Another family from India had a lot of people. One locomotive pulled us down the tracks, then detached and went to the other side to pull us back. We listened for a ghost train. We stopped by the grave of Marie Curie.

There was a place to stop for lunch. I guess you had to catch a later train back to the station. Maybe one family took up this offer. Nobody seemed to want to pay for professional photography. Camera phones work just as good. One guy ordered wine. We saw an Amtrak train speed past at the half way point.

I spied cows resting under a tarp from the sun. There was an alpaca. There were also some ponies. Of course there were farms with corn on the side. There was also a train graveyard with a lot of rusting parts.

Fuddruckers on Vacation

Momoko and I decided to head North for vacation. I had thought we would stay in a hotel next to the last one we stayed at. Instead, we checked into one Kit Kat had stayed in before. It was down the street from the dinner theater we often go to. Unfortunately, this hotel was on a road with a lot of construction.

On the day we traveled there, we stopped by Fuddruckers first to eat lunch. Momoko spotted a daily special we both got. It had a 1/3 pound hamburger, fries, and soft drink for $9.50. I ordered my medium well. Momoko got her's medium. Only one soda machine had ice. They gave us a ton of fries.

The mayo was in small containers next to the big container with a pump. Their pickles seemed seasoned. The tomatoes were diced. The bun seemed to big for the small patty we got. I was still hyped because I love this restaurant. On the second day there, some toy machine was buzzing due to an error. I told the staff. They said there was nothing they could do. I told them I would deal with it. I unplugged it.

Tree Dead on the Property Line

There was a dead tree in the neighbor's yard. The branches reached over top of our yard. At first a huge branch feel and took out the railings on the ramp to the big shed. Then another big branch took out a section of our fancy fence. I approached our neighbor and said I could pay for half to cut the tree down.

The neighbor researched tree cutting companies. He found a steal of a deal to cut down the tree for $1550. On the day of the scheduled cut, they people did not show up. At lunch I asked the neighbor if we were still on. He said they were delayed one day. I gave him a check for half the cost.

The tree guys came early. They attached ropes to trees around the dead tree. I moved our cars down the street. I set up shop in our back yard. Ate my lunch. Read my Oracle and fiction books. Waited for them to get busy. They took a long lunch break but got to work.

Their technique was one of pulleys with ropes. They used a sling shot to shoot up a weight attached to the end of a rope. Most of the time, the guy up in the tree would lower a rope. The guys on the ground would attach another rope. Then that rope would be tied to the branch that was being cut.

They used a small power shovel to move most downed branches. They threw even large branches in the chipper. They left quite a tall tree to cut in one fell swoop. I spoke with my neighbor as he was watching too. The guys left a lot of branches and bark in my yard. I spent the evening cleaning it up. Not mad because the total bill was just $1550.

Car Acquired

After finding out the Nissan Versa redesign was a fail, Little Kat and I started shopping for cars. A visit to CarMax gave us some ideas of cars that fix Little Kat. We started with the Kia Forte. The local dealer was renovating their showroom. We had to meet the sales guy in a trailer in the back. They did not have the car that was advertised. We drove an orange one that was equivalent. The sales guy was too busy to go with us on a test drive. Little Kat thought it was meh.

Next we checked out a Mitsubishi Mirage. It was a 4-door sedan. We could afford the top level trim. I liked that it was black. We met the sales guy at the Chevy dealership. Then we moved to a broke down Mitsubishi show room. Little Kat drove the car. It had no power. It was a no.

Then we went to Hyundai to check out the Elantra. They also did not have the car that was advertised. I drove a white one that was equivalent. The dealer said they would have to get the car for us somehow. This car had good power. But I don't live making offers on cars that I cannot see.

We went far to the west to see a Buick Encore GX. The car looked good. I thought it was under powered. The dealer tried to charge me twice for freight. The salesman's excuse was that everybody does it. We then looked at one with a bigger engine at a nearby dealer. They were quick at the dealership, but got rejected because they tried to double bill for freight too.

Little Kat and I went North to take a look at a Dodge Charger severely discounted. They said I qualified for all discounts. When we got in and started up the car, Little Kat hated that it looked like tech from long ago. We bolted to the sister Buick dealership. Their car had the bigger engine, all wheel drive, and a 9-speed automatic transmission. They had some troubles giving me a walk out price. Eventually they came up with the amount that is on their web site. I said I was hoping for a better deal. The manager and some other people ended up giving us an extra $275 off. Little Kat drove the car home.

Car Progress

I drove Momoko to Subway because she was hungry. I drove Little Kat's car. The thing did not exhibit the problems I heard and felt before. But there were indeed troubles. They felt like engine or transmission problems. I need to sell this car.

Little Kat and I went to get a quote on selling our car. Due to the scratches on the left hand side, they offered me $12k. It was a good offer. While waiting for the offer, Little Kat sat in many different cars looking for the replacement. The only cars he fit in were a Dodge Charger and a Ford F150 XL.

Today Little Kat and I called up a local Nissan dealer. We asked about a red 2024 model of his Versa. When we dug into the discounts, we did not qualify for a $500 military discount. If Little Kat is on the title, we can get the $500 college grad rebate.

Little Kat and I were disturbed to find that Nissan redesigned the center console, making the car uncomfortable for Konner to sit in. The car color was much darker than the pictures online. They tried to charge and extra $400 in dealer commissions. In the end, they said they would waive the commissions.

We are essentially back to the drawing board on a replacement car.

Transmission Noises

I drove Little Kat to college. I took his car because it has a college parking pass. Each time I pressed the gas from a stop, I heard a strange sound and felt some sort of rumbling in the vehicle. I asked Little Kat about it. He said he did not notice anything. I did a second test drive and felt the problem again.

Little Kat and I dropped the car off at my mechanic's. We pulled into the garage. Waited 20 minutes for him to show up. Ended up leaving it with some other employee. I called my mechanic. He said he did not feel or hear what I described. He said the transmission was a little jerky. But he could find no problem.

I don't want to have to pay for a new transmission or engine. That could run from $5k to $10k. The car is 5 years old with 27k miles. Online I got an estimated trade in sale price of $10k to $11k. I priced new cars with the same trim. MSRP is $21k+. But with $2500 of discounts, the car would cost $19k+. So maybe $11k total out of pocket to trade up to a brand new car.

Little Kat Graduates

This spring was Little Kat's last semester at his 4-year college. His semesters were divided into 2 terms. This last term he had only 2 classes. One was a capstone project course. The other was a presentations course. Both courses were taught by the same instructor. Both had a ton of work.

Little Kat had the option to walk in the graduation ceremony. The clothing alone costs hundreds of dollars. So he decided to skip it. There was some family drama when his dad did not get tickets to his graduation.

Initially Little Kat could not schedule all courses needed to graduate this semester due to course overlap. The school added new sections to make it possible for him and a few other cohorts to graduate in time. One of Little Kat's friends has a job already. The other has an internship.

I expected Little Kat to hit the ground running, looking for a job ASAP. Little Kat said he needed at least a gap month to rest and possibly travel. We will see how that goes. He cannot chill as he has student loans that need to be paid. I am involved as I had to co-sign for a lot of student loans.

Little Kat says he will take whatever job he gets offered. That includes jobs where he needs to relocate. His friend that already has a job said she would recommend him at her company. It will require a relocation to Dallas, TX. At least he has family close to there.

Firguring Out Dinner

Once again, somebody scheduled a lunch meeting. So I ran out this morning to get breakfast from McDonald's. It is almost always a #2. That is a sausage, egg, and chesse McMuffin. I opt for a large coke. As usual, the meeting runs over time. But I am not hungry.

Eventually, I figure I need to get a snack. I am going out to dinner with my college buddy. But I can't make it to dinner without a little more food. The best bet is two McDoubles from McDonald's for $3.99. I really would like to get a double cheeseburger from Roy Rogers. I could pile up pickles on the side at the fixins bar. The burger might be expensive though.

Finally I settle on Burger King. They don't have the best burgers. However I saw a TikTok post about one of their new melts - the Philly Melt. I suspect the creator was hired/sponsored to post about it. She seemed genuine. And she stuck to the facts. Crunchy peppers on top. Two slices of fully melted cheese. A lot of burget in the two patties. Plus a sourdough bun. Cost was around $7 just for the sandwich. It was all right.

The Passing of Chai Latte

 

Kit Kat reported that her gerbil was having trouble breathing last night. She called Little Kat, who went to her house directly after college. Little Kat stayed until midnight. Kit Kat took the day off. Around 10:00 am, Chai died. Kit Kat brought the body over to our house after school and work were over. Kit Kat and Little Kat buried the body in a checkbook box in our back yard.

Momoko called all the PetSmart stores in the area. The local one had 2 female gerbils. And the far away one we usually use had 2 more females. Little Kat and Kit Kat went to the local store and purchased 2 gerbils. Prices have gone up to $21 each. These gerbils seemed excited to come home to a clean cage that Momoko put together. Kit Kat went back home to see her boyfriend.

We added a clean gerbil wheel that the new gerbils were eventually able to figure out. Both gerbils try to run on the wheel at the same time. We also put a spaghetti box in the cage. They loved climbing on top and underneath the box. Later, Little Kat put a paper towel tube in the cage for them to chew on. We are debating what to name these first 2 gerbils. Kit Kat will eventually buy 2 more.

Falling Down the Stairs

Little Kat bought Momoko some pho for mother's day. I let them eat together and watch some shows. I was off eating my own meatball parmesan. Later, I heard that Little Kat fell down the stairs and sprained his ankle. Momoko tried to shop for an ankle brace at CVS. She could not find one.

Little Kat placed an online order for an ankle brace. I signed up to drive him to college. His ankle brace was delivered 30 minutes before we left for college. I found a map of campus online. I copied the relevant roads, buildings, and parking lots for my own knowledge. We got there in time, even though one lane of the road was closed. Little Kat and I had drank Dr. Pepper's on the way over.

Momoko and I returned to the college to pick Little Kat up. His class went the full length, even though this is the last week of class. When Little Kat came out of the computer science building, he did not initially see us. I drove my Taco Bell to purchase Little Kat's first meal of the day.

Kit Kat's Big Birthday

Kit Kat and her boyfriend went out of town for her birthday. They ate at a smorgasbord. They painted plates/mugs. I thought they might see a musical. But some weak one was playing. We were not able to celebrate her birthday timely. When she returned, we exchanged gifts with her.

Because this was a significant birthday, Momoko planned something bigger. We scheduled a session to "blow glass". Momoko invited Kit Kat's friends from work, along with her old friends from school. Momoko bought several types of veggies and dips. We also had a friend buy some more veggies and dips. Momoko also bought cupcakes.

I was delegated the task to drive us to the party. It was in a big city to the north. We had to go through a toll tunnel. When I got on the street of the venue, I needed to turn around to get to it. I ran into 5 intersections where u-turns were illegal. Momoko had mentioned the parking lot was small. There were only 5 or 6 spots.

I produced a glass vase. More factually, some worker there created the vase. I was told to poke or push it from time to time. I was only along for the ride in creating this glass item. It cost a whopping $70. I saw Kit Kat present her recently married friend from middle school with a ribbon flower bouquet. Kit Kat's high school friend seemed like the only one dressed for the intense heat of the glass factory.

Afterwards, we queued up in a gallery building to pay. This was a huge bottleneck. It took a long time to have each of the 17 people pay. Afterwards, Kit Kat and friends from work went to Hot Pot. Momoko and I brought our vegetables home and instead opted for Subway at a new location.

Total Eclipse

Today was solar eclipse day. Momoko's sister and brother-in-law drove down south to make sure they saw a total eclipse of the sun. We were not as lucky. Still. These were exciting times. I checked the web to see the time when the sun would be most covered.

When the time came, I went outside. Momoko had provided me with safe eclipse glasses. I did not see the ISSO marking on them. Hope they were not cheap knock offs. I put the glasses on and looked up. All I saw was blackness. I feared the glasses were too dark.

My next door neighbor's wife was outside. She was also staring up in the sky. I asked her if she had any luck. She pointed and said she saw it. I doubled down and tried again. That is when I saw this sliver of a sun poking through.

The experts said we would have almost 90% blockage at the peak. I thought we were more like 80%. I still saw a lot of sun. I also heard rumors that the temperature would drop 15 to 20 degrees. It did not feel any colder at the peak of the eclipse.

Momoko came home shortly afterward and tried to take a picture of the eclipse. She put glasses over the camera of her phone. I gave her my pair so she could also shield her eyes. The picture did not turn out well. On TV, we saw people being interviewed at Little Kat's college.

Return Home Over the Bridge

My Internet WiFi had gone out the prior afternoon. I had a meeting at 11am the next morning. Momoko proposed we check out of the hotel early in the morning. That way I could be home before my work meeting. We got up around 7am. Were on the road by 8am or so. We had gassed up the night before. I had to drive.

The GPS took us a bit further North than was expected. We kept ended up driving on some back roads by trailer parks. Eventually we made it to a 4 lane highway. I did not want to lead the pack or come up in the rear. Was worried about cops singling me out.

We had to cross a bridge that spanned a couple miles over a bay. A local bridge by our house had just collapsed. So I was extra anxious. Most big trucks stayed in the far right lane. I stuck to the middle lane. Just when I thought we were safe beyond the end of the bridge, we hit bad traffic on a highway heading North.

Eventually we got past the hold up. The rest of the ride home was uneventful. I made my meeting. Then Momoko and I went to get our favorite Chinese food carryout. I worked hard to make up for lost time due to WiFi outage. Only one guy on my team was around to review my code. Some lady had reserved the documentation I needed to update. I did not find that out until she had left for the weekend. Came close to finishing my tasks for this week.

Returning to the Ocean

Momoko and I headed from the theater to another beach location. We traveled on back country roads. Got stuck behind a car carrier driving very slow. 18-wheeler trucks were illegally passing the slow truck across the double yellow line. Mokoko eventually passed it on the right shoulder. We stopped at a welcome center that had a machine that made you part of a comic.

I had to take the wheel after that. We checked into our beach front hotel right on time. I ordered a cheese steak at our favorite ice cream diner. It turned out to be the special of the day. The next morning, I got a lot of work done for my company. So I joined Momoko and her friend from work for lunch. When I got back, I lost WiFi and could not work.

We took advantage of the down time to go shopping. It was raining. Momoko drove us to some beach shop. I found a T-shirt for $4. Momoko could not find a gift spoon to give to Kit Kat. We went to the edge of the board walk. Initially we could not find this souvenir shop we recalled. I charged ahead and found the shop. Momoko bought a spoon. We also went into another shop that closed its boardwalk front. We asked a girl to help us purchase popcorn like Cracker Jack.

On the ride back to the hotel, we scoped out the first floor parking of Momoko's friend's hotel room. I found the perfect parking spot. We went back to our hotel to rest. Then we went back to the friend's hotel for happy hour. I did not get my spot. There was an elevator close to the parking spot I found. The elevator door would not open without a key card.

Eventually we searched for an elevator open to the public. Momoko's friend there was one that took you to the third floor for the bar. We found our friend there pre-gaming. Appetizers were $10. I got shrimp cocktail. Momoko got a beef au jus special that was not on the menu.  Momoko could not get comfortable on the bar stool. So we left after an hour. We had another late night snack at DQ. Their 6 piece chicken strip dinner came with white gravy that Momoko loved. I opted for ranch dressing.

Addams Family Musical

Momoko and Kit Kat were on spring break this week. Initially Momoko thought she would stay at home for spring break. Then she started thinking about going places. This was all last minute. I could not get any time off work. We decided to first head to the Addams Family musical.

Kit Kat had wanted to attend. I bought 4 tickets. Kit Kat invited her friend from high school. Me and Momoko drove up early to secure out king size bed hotel room. We arrived early. But it took an hour to get to a Sonic for a snack. The room had a pocket door to the bathroom, low toilet, and a shower door that swung two ways.

I called Kit Kat to check on her progress. She had left her apartment and was on her way. I took a nap in the hotel room. Woke up 15 minutes to the show's pre-dinner. I had to get dressed. We probably arrived right when dinner was supposed to be served. Kit Kat and her friend had been there for over 30 minutes. They waited for us before going to the buffet.

I asked Kit Kat's friend a lot of questions. Momoko and I only see here around once a year. A weird waitress kept trying to get the friend to stop talking. I told the waitress that since we only see this girl once a year, we need to let her talk and tell us her stories.

The musical itself was lacking in story line. It could have been a 10 minutes Tiktok video. Wednesday's fiance's mother stole the show were her solo routine. Pugsly started out weak trying to sing an octave too high. Then he shined with the right song for him. Gomez was a consistently good singer. Costumes were strong, especially the Addams Family ancestral ghosts. Choreography was also very strong at points.

Kit Kat left her program on the table. I scooped it up. Her friend drove them back home in her family's new Subaru. Momoko and I hurried back to Sonic for a midnight snack. We were only staying one night at the hotel. There were maybe 10 cars in the parking lot. No need to worry about not getting our room.

Mini Split A/C

We had previously installed a portable air conditioning unit in Little Kat's room. The exhaust went vented to the outside via a long thick duct. Little Kat said the unit just could not cool his room. He has a ton of large electronic devices running 24x7.

So we thought about installing a different type of A/C unit in his room. We could not do a wall unit .He is below ground and has no windows. Instead we chose a mini split A/C. The instruction said you should hire an A/C tech to install it.

I asked out handyman if he could handle it. He recommended we use an A/C guy he knew. I showed the A/C guy where we would want to put the indoor blower and outdoor compressor. He quoted me $1400 for labor. Later we changed the location to better suit Little Kat's needs, and also to make it easier to vent. The new price jumped up to $1800+.

This A/C guy would not give me a written quote beforehand. I had to hound him on the price at all times. They came and spent all day working on it as Little Kat sat in the living room. When they were done, I wanted to test the cooling. Both A/C guys said the unit did not work if the outside was cold. That was bollocks. They also said they gave me a 15 foot free copper cooling hardware. More bollocks.

After they left, I found a lot of trash inside and outside. My dryer was bent on top. There was goop ruining our carpet. Moral of the story is that our handyman is awesome. But the guys he recommends are not.

Finding Low Cost Magazines

I had to do some shopping. I wanted to buy some single issue magazines. The problem is that they have become so expensive. So I turned to Half Price Books. They sell most used magazines for 99 cents. That allows me to check out a bunch of new magazines for a low price.

I found some magazines that had a cover price of almost $30. Also found some magazines that almost seemed like books. They also cost me 99 cents. In the end I picked up around seven magazines. They may take me a while to read. I would have bought more. But I was on vacation and could not carry them home.

Even the seven magazines were heavy. I ended up stashing them in the back of my new GMC Terrain, which will be transported to my house. I only carried home a single book I bought at $3. It came in handy when I finished reading the last book I packed on the plane.

Taking Possession of the GMC Terrain

I got up extra early. Went to McDonald's. Spied on my brother-in-law waiting a long time in the drive through. I went to his house and picked him up. We needed to return to McDonald's to correct his order. Then we headed South. I was going to the closest branch of my bank. We arrived before open. To kill time, we stopped by Buc-ees mega gas station.

I noticed the car I was driving had low tire pressure. At first, I went to my bank. Got a certified check to pay for my car. Then we went to Discount Tire to get the tire filled with air. Then I headed back to Momoko's dad's house. Brother-in-law forgot his license. I dropped him off at his house to get the license and his car. He took me to my dealer.

The dealership was busy. No receptionist. Could not find my sales guy. Went to find the finance guy. Gave him my certified check. My sales guy had to finish helping another customer. Then he set up my OnStar and explained some settings in my new car. I drove it back to Momoko's dad's house, where I had to take pictures to show Momoko.

I tried to set up transport of my new GMC Terrain back home. Found the company I used last time. Their web site kept erroring out before I could set up a transport. Their phone system did not seem to be working either. I might need to go with another provider.

Moving on up to the GMC Terrain

My current car is a bare bones Chevy Spark. No power windows. No power locks. The back seat has little head room. I really want power locks, because when I drive people, I have to hound them to manually lock the doors. I also drive with my brother in the back seat of my car. He is tall. So he does not fit in the back seat.

I am on a trip to visit Momoko's dad. For grins I looked up used cars in the area. The prices were too damn high. I stumbled upon a great deal on the GMC Terrain. One dealership was offering $7k off a bottom of the line model for the Terrain. I was interested, even if it was far away from home.

So I called up the dealership. Spoke to a customer care rep. She had a sales guy call me back. Turns out they would sell the car at a $7k discount from MSRP. But they wanted to charge an extra $1500 for some resistant protection. No thank you. The sales guy countered on a return phone call. Instead, he would just charge me a $300 out of state fee. Still not great. But I went to the dealership.

The car drove fine. The sales guy asked if he could waive the $300 fee, did we have a deal? Heck yeah. I needed to pay cash if I did not want to have to pay the taxes and registration directly to the dealership. I called my bank. They wanted me to come in person to write funds. The nearest office is 2.5 hours away. I decided to visit the bank the next day.

The finance guy asked me why I was not just getting a certified check. I told him the sales guy said they don't take out of state checks. He checked with his boss. He had me call the bank and verify I had the funds to buy the car in cash. We agreed I could bring a certified check and take away the car. Momoko's brother-in-law said he would come with me on the 2.5 hours trip to my bank. That works find because I need somebody to drove me off at the dealership afterwards to pick up my new car.

Attending a Birthday Party

A friend of the family was having a belated birthday party. Momomo wanted to go. I was invited. Little Kat had a lot of school work to do. We decided to drop by for an hour. I have driven the three of us to happy hour the last time. So Little Kat drove us to this party. We were the first ones there. The host was still preparing the food.

I saw a new carrot scratching post for the cats. But the cats were nowhere in sight. We did not park in the driveway as a pregnant woman was scheduled to park there. Kit Kat showed up later with ice. I put an Amazon package we brought in her car. I mistook the car in front of us from her car. She was parked across the street.

I started eating some tortilla chips and dip. Then I had some salami. When the Chinese food was put out, I had a couple spring rolls with hot mustard. The kids had teriyaki beef on a stick. A woman from another school in the county came with her boyfriend. Our band teacher friend did not bring his newborn son.

Eventually Little Kat came by and pointed to his watch. Our hour was up. Momoko was supposed to drive home. It was dark. So I took the wheel. We dropped by McDonald's which was not too crowded. Little Kat got a 2 cheeseburger meal. Momoko got 2 McDoubles for $4. I got 2 McChickens for $4. Momoko forgot her jacket at the party. She called Kit Kat to bring it home.

Case of the Broken Chair

I picked up some Chinese take out for lunch today. Brought it back home. Tried to eat it in our library. Momoko's chair there kept leaning forward. Upon inspection, one of the legs had broke. I swapped the chair out for a sturdy wooden one. Then I turned the broke chair upside down in front of the fireplace.

Momoko called me during lunch to schedule a time to buy a new chair. Little Kat was busy right after Momoko's work. So we scheduled a trip to the store after dinner. I was going to pay for the chair if it was not too expensive. Therefore I was not going to drive. Momoko got Little Kat to drive. He complained of a leg injury.

When we got outside the house, Momoko and Little Kat were not sure if the chair would fit into his car. I ended up borrowing my brother's truck and we took two vehicles. The store looked deserted. But it was upon. We decided on a chair. The sales guy tried to explain about a 3 year warranty. I saw through it and declined any extended warranties.

Back at home, I put the broke chair behind the shed for a future dump run. Little Kat assembled the chair. Momoko chopped up the copious cardboard for recycling. The only mystery is who broke the chair. Currently Little Kat is acting like it was a surprise to him.

Service Failure Due to Snow

We got two rounds of snow in the past week. Both were a couple inches worth of snow. The trash truck did not come down our street for trash pickup day. I tried calling the county. I ended up submitting trouble tickets for missed trash and recycling online.

The recycle guys came the next day. However the trash came to our street, but only picked up a couple houses at the end of the street. Things were supposed to be resolved by yesterday. But my trash cans are still full on the curb. I keep adding new trash bags.

Yesterday the mail truck came. But they zoomed past my house. I had the flag up with outgoing mail in my box. They just drove by. My neighbor dug out a foot path in front of our mail boxes. Slacker mail delivery just passed by.

Today I dug out all the snow by the mail boxes. Any truck could drive up and service our mail. The mail truck never seemed to show up. These service people are just slacking, presumably due to snow. They need to up their game.

Lunch in the Snow

I had mentioned to Momoko that we could go to lunch if she was off from school. Her county closed school. She cooked us ham and eggs for breakfast. Therefore we ate a late lunch. I proposed we go to Little Caesars. There was a disagreement about who would do which tasks to get this food. Momoko would not drive. She would not go in. She was not going to order. She would only pay. No good.

Instead she proposed we go to McDonald's. I still had to drive. And I had to order. But she would pay. I turned down her idea of us getting Little Kat lunch. That would mean more ordering by me. We got our food and found a surprise extra large french fries in the bag. That allowed us to both have a lot of fries.

Tomorrow we normally will go to Chick Fil A for lunch. But Momoko proposed we could go to Little Caesars instead. I think this may work out.

Chair Shopping

While I was on vacation, Little Kat's desk chair broke. He borrowed Momoko's desk chair. I figured we needed to go shopping for a replacement. Little Kat said he could not afford a new chair. I told him I could buy it for him. We headed to our local Staples.

Little Kat sat in a bunch of display model chairs while I perused assorted desks. In the end, Little Kat said there were two chairs he liked. One was for big and tall men. However it cost $350. So he knew that was not in the budget. The only other chair he liked was the same one he has now. It was a good deal at $150.

They did not have the gray one he liked in stock. I asked them to order it for us. The lady at the front checkout had a lot of problems. At first she could not find the chair online. Then she concluded it was out of stock online. She tried calling some other stores. They were also out of the gray chair.

In the end, we opted for a blue colored chair. It is the same chair Little Kat has now. But it is a different color. The sales lady got the chair from the back. She rolled it to the curb with a dolly. Little Kat pulled the car up and we were on our way. Little Kat plans to buy an expensive chair once he graduates college and gets a job. This new chair should last him way past that.

Shopping While on Vacation

I must have been tired due to illness and travel. I went to bed early and slept in late. My first order of business was to try and find my favorite taco restaurant. Apple Carplay would not list it. I skipped the close locations that I knew sucked. I tried the next closest store. Turns out my favorite place is still there. Its address is not the highway it is next to. It is listed under the cross street.

I got burritos and queso. Brought my own coke that I kept out in the car. Then I headed to Walmart to shop for a jacket and pants. The pants selection was poor. I found one that had zippered pockets, a strange camo design, and was overpriced. I put it back on the rack.

I did find some $15 hoodies. Initially I picked up two. But I only decided to buy the gray one. I found a corduroy jacket for $30 that was heavier. I also picked up one new ball cap for working in the yard. I could not pass up a $7 tee shirt. This mission was half way successful. 

Vacation - Have to Get Away

Although I had COVID for a while, it did not prevent me from taking my planned vacation. I had half price SouthWest airline tickets. Little Kat has been staying at Kit Kat's apartment to prevent getting COVID himself. He came home just in time to drive me to the train station. He followed a slow Tahoe on the highway that just stopped on our exit.

I got on the train and had to switch lines to get to the airport. I got off too early, and had to get back on the same train I started from. Then at the next station, I changed lines and had a good ride to the airport. My pants were falling down when I took off my suspenders to get through security. I called an old friend I used to work with. He is busy working on robots in his retirement. He will take a cruise next month to the Panama Canal.

In the airport, I got hungry and decided to try a burger joint. At least they had a kiosk I could order from, and pay there. The sub shop makes you download an app and find a cashier somewhere else in the airport. I ordered a $10 burger that sucked. Luckily I added $4 fries which were delicious dipped in hot sauce. The flight was delayed because too few people worked on loading the luggage.

Some small guy came and sat right next to me early in the boarding. It turned out okay. I undid the becro on my shoes and took them on in flight. I read my entire "She's Gone" novel, and had to just sit around for the remainder of the flight. A shuttle took me to the rental car place. Some guys in front of me rented an Expedition for 2 weeks at $1500.

I chose a black Chevy Malibu, as I knew it would have car play. It smelled of smoke. I tried to find my favorite taco place. But Apple CarPlay did not list it. Instead I chose the closest store to the airport. Momoko's dad wanted soft tacos. They only had crispy shells. I got my queso, and cleaned the fixins bar out of jalapenos.

Certification Setback

I sat for my Oracle Certified Professional exam while I was sick. I wanted to take the exam on the last Friday of the year. There were no testing slots available. I had to sign up to take it on a Thursday night. I had my 2 forms of ID ready.

The test started fine. There was some material I had never seen before. As I was trying to pace myself, I noticed that finishing on time was going to be an issue. So I had to hustle through most of the problems. I felt okay when I was done.

You need a 66% to pass this exam. I got a 52%. This was disappointing as I had studied with a prep book. I took notes and studied them. I did a lot of hands on practice with my Oracle 18 database on my desktop. The only thing I did not do is purchase practice exams. I will try again soon.