Lunch with my old Friend

I go to lunch twice a month with a guy I went to college with. Today he came to my house to pick me up. I had not had Mexican in a while. So, I suggested we go up to the mall by Kit Kat's house. My friend agreed. We sat in a section that was served by a pretty waitress.

My friend chatted the waitress up about any sports she plays. We guess soccer. We were right. Then my friend quizzed the waitress on any injuries she might have got. She did mess up her ankle. My friend invited the waitress to sit with us. My friend tried to explain his own injuries, and how she might heal using physical therapy.

Some other waiter came and took the dirty dishes from our waitress. I figured that was the signal to get back to work. The waitress and my friend did not get the message. I did not say anything. Another waitress came to tell our waitress her other tables were asking for her. We settled our bill and waited a while for the waitress to return. Then we bolted.

My friend said he heard there were new restaurants on the lake nearby. We parked in a garage and took to walking. I saw some vacant restaurant buildings on the water. Only a sushi place remained that I could recall. There was one other new restaurant. We could not find the steak house my friend heard about. He even called the restaurant. But they could not guide us there.

Eventually my friend drove me home. On the way out to the main road, we finally saw the new restaurant. It was not on the water at all. My friend thought they might have some distant water views. Doubtful. We might still come back and try it.

No Hot Water

I worked outside in the yard today. Clipped the bushes. Did weed trimming around the driveway. Cut the grass. Afterwards, I was spent. Drank a leftover McDonald's Coke. Then I went to take a shower. I let the water run for a few minutes. But when I got in the shower, the water was not hot. Even on the hottest setting, it was lukewarm at best.

Afterwards, I checked the vanity. The hot water was tepid there too. So, it was not specific to the shower handle. I went downstairs. The gas range produced a flame. So, it was not the gas supply to the house. I grabbed the hot water heater manual. Reviewed how to relight the pilot. The instructions seemed different from when I last read it.

In the basement, I saw the green light for the furnace was dim. That indicated the pilot light was indeed out. I thought you were supposed to click the lighter three times. Nope. The manual said keep clicking once a second for 90 seconds. I must have clicked for almost 30 seconds before I saw a blinking green light and hear the flame from inside the unit.

Last time I called a plumber and spent a lot of money for them to just relight my pilot flame. No can do that any more.

Air Quality Problems

Momoko and I went to Giant to do grocery shopping. Little Kat usually does this. But he is away on vacation. We then went to McDonald's to get happy meals with BT21 toys. We got to the drive through exactly when lunch started being served. We got parked for a long time. But we got the meals anyway. The toy was Mang again for the third time.

Momoko had noticed a lot of old people with masks on when we were out. I noticed a haze in the air. It was like a bad fog. Momoko knew this was due to fires in Canada. And the smoke traveled all the way down to us. Momoko said the air quality index was a whopping 300. It should be around 100. We were supposed to stay indoors, or wear a mask outside.

I was going to mow the lawn. But the air was too bad. I did mow the next day. But I wore a mask outside for that. The air quality got better the next day. It hovered between 160 and 175. We were scheduled to get rain. That should help the situation.

Search for a new Plumber

Little Kat discovered the kitchen sink faucet leaking again. This time he took a video. In the morning, I called the plumber. I ran to lunch while I waited for a call back. They called me while I was on the road. The plumber was coming.

Plumber found two problems in the spout. He did not have replacement parts. He thought I might get them from the manufacturer. But I remembered a separate problem coming from the handle last week. I opted to replace the whole apparatus. Bro said he could sell me the hardware for $1000. No thank you.

I ran to Lowes. I found my exact Moen faucet for $128. We like the look. I hope the quality is high. I called back the plumber to install. He provided multiple options for a quote. Some involved an extra $4000 water softener. Others tried to get me to sign up for a recurring maintenance plan. In the end, I just told him to get me a cost for just the install.

After he started the work, he said the hot water shutoff valve did not work. I asked if he could fix it. He said yes, but for another $300. Oh hell no. This guy is already the expensive option. He just shut off the main water valve for the house. He installed the new pieces and showed me a spout without any damage in it.

I am looking for a new plumber. Our last one just won't answer their phone. And this latest guy charges 50% higher than anybody else. So, the hunt is still on.

More Water Under the Sink

We previously had a problem with our sink sprayer. It was leaking. The fix involved replacing the kitchen sink faucet and sprayer. I thought we should be good for a while. This week, I noticed dirty water on the side of the kitchen sink. Then today, I also noticed some more water.

I looked under the sink. Water was pooling on the shelf under the sink. I asked Little Kat if he knew about anything. Maybe splashing in the kitchen or his bathroom upstairs. He said no. When the kitchen sink was turned on, water was leaking out the base.

I had to take everything out from under the sink and dry it off. Then I soaked up the water on the shelf using my dirty bath towels. I sprayed Fantastic on the shelf, cleaned it up, then dried it with paper towels. I had all the items from under the sink on top of newspapers on the kitchen floor.

Tomorrow, I need to call a plumber. Momoko will relocate the items on the floor that used to be under a sink. I told the family not to use the sink. Momoko will also put something up to deter family from using our kitchen sink.

Father's Day Postponed

Father's day came and went without a peep from the kids. What kind of unfilial children do we got here? Later in the week, Kit Kat came over and said they could take me out to eat. But it would be a delayed celebration. She asked me to pick a spot. Initially I said Fuddruckers in the city.

Momoko thought the trip to Fuddruckers was too much. Kit Kat did not think so. But I did choose Arby's instead. I wanted to try their new steak and cheese. We scheduled to go today. I called Little Kat 5 minutes before our trip. No answer. He did eventually wake up and be ready by himself. He drove me to Kit Kat's apartment.

I thought I could then hope in the back seat so we could have Kit Kat with us. Little Kat said his back seat was too full. Kit Kat would have to drive. Her navigation took us the long way via highways, which were backed up for some reason.

The steak and cheese was not tiny and some Tiktokers have stated. Little Kat got the Reuben. I planned to purchase two apple turnovers to go for Momoko and myself. They only had cherry ones. I passed. We stopped by Kit Kat's apartment on the way home to see her cats. They liked when Little Kat picked them up.

PC Troubles

I was doing some work with my desktop computer. All of a sudden, Windows file explorer would not work. I killed it and restarted the application. Still would not work. Okay. I guess I needed a full PC reboot. Problem is the machine would no longer boot up.

I tried a Windows repair. It said it could not repair Windows. Something fatal must have happened to Windows. I really needed the data off my PC. All my job search data was on there. I need that daily. I thought I might be able to take out the hard drive and put it in another working PC.

Google AI recommended I do take out the hard drive. But instead, I should just connect it to something that would link it to a USB port. I was going to buy such an adapter. I asked Little Kat for advice. He said he had an advanced solution. We took out my hard drive. He then put it in some enclosure that had a USB connection. I was able to copy my files to our family computer.

I ordered a minicomputer to replace my desktop. I have copied the crucial files to my new computer. I had trouble installing Microsoft Office. It said I used up all my copies. And I could not make a call to resolve that. I ordered a new copy of Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate. Hopefully that will come soon.