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.