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.

COVID Strikes Again

I heard my phone buzzing before I woke up. Thought it might be work related. Instead I got an image from Momoko. It was some type of COVID test. Not sure what that was about. I went back to sleep. Later I got another text from Momoko. I think she wanted to inquire about breakfast. What?

Eventually I woke up and found that Momoko tested positive for COVID. She went to work but came back home real quick. I told her I could pick us up some McDonald's. When I went outside, I saw a lot of branches on the ground. I picked them up and added them to the yard clippings bundles on the curb.

I went to Momoko's McDonald's. They have two parallel lanes which I don't like. There was only one dude in one of the lanes. The employees could not understand that Momoko wanted a Big Breakfast with a English muffin instead of a biscuit. They eventually got it right.

Asian Food Mart Run

Momoko came home from work. She needed somebody to take her to the Asian food mart. We decided to go after dinner. Little Kat cooked dinner 1 hour early. So we had a good start. Due to daylight savings, it was dark when we left.

There was a lot of traffic on the highways. I also hit a pot hole while driving fast. The Asian mart was not crowded. They did not have my favorite cookies for the second week in a row. In the parking lot, Momoko put in a mobile order for Sonic drinks. Once the order was placed, I was free to drive to Sonic.

We had to bring a drink to Kit Kat. Momoko told me to take the back way there because it was faster. I drove through residential neighborhoods with school zones and speed bumps galore. We made it to Kit Kat's place. We had trouble opening her building door lock with out key. I saw Kit Kat's Xmas tree and gerbil, then we came home.