Bad Weather Ahead

Momoko called me. She said there was bad weather coming to her dad's house last night. She advised me to find a flashlight and the storm shelter. I was too tired. She called Little Kat to do the same. I heard the rain come heavy outside.

Little Kat exclaimed that the water stopped working in the bathroom. We had large bottles of water to flush the toilet. The electricity kept flickering. The internet went out for a while. I just used my personal hotspot from my phone. I waited the storm out. Eventually, the water returned to the home.

I had planned to go out for a midnight snack. Little Kat was not interested. I looked online. Taco Bell stayed open until 3am. I found some cheap items on their menu. At the drive through, the guy kept asking me about my mobile order. I did not place one. I ended up getting a mini taco salad, a bean burrito, and cinnamon twists. 

All You Can Eat Sushi

I had wanted to eat Mexican food with my niece and her boyfriend. I told them last time I was here that we would do it on this trip. I texted her when we touched down, asking when we could go. She said the day after I arrived. Her boyfriend texted me and said he would shore up the time when my niece woke up.

Later, I got a text that plans changed. They were going to go eat sushi at an all you can eat place. I was invited. They had more than sushi there. Little Kat drove our rental car to the place. We left early just in case rush hour traffic was heavy. We got there 15 minutes early. The niece and her boyfriend were going to be late.

Inside, it was not what I expected. There were no stations to go up to get your food like other all you can eat shops. Here they gave us a small iPad where we ordered items off their menu. Then they would serve us the food. We could order as many times as we want. We just could not waste the food. Otherwise, we would be charged extra.

I tried a shrimp hibachi. It turned out to be a small bowl of a couple baby shrimp. Next I ordered all things tempura: chicken, shrimp, broccoli, onions, veggies, and so on. I got some crab rangoons. I ate until I was full. My niece mostly ate California rolls. She did not care for sushi either. Her boyfriend paid for my meal. Little Kat did not know the boyfriend. So, he said he would pay for himself. I told my niece and her boyfriend I would pick up the tab next time.

Afterwards, followed the niece's boyfriend with Little Kat back to their apartment. We played with a friendly kitten. Another kitten was afraid and only spied around the corner. Eventually we went into their guest bedroom. Little Kat worked on making the niece's PC run faster. He spent a lot of tie customizing the mouse. Eventually I said I was tired and wanted to drive back to Little Kat's grandpa's house. Little Kat decided he would spend the night at the niece's house.

I was tired on the drive home. I called Momoko up back home to talk. It was really late. 

Spring Break Trip

Little Kat is off work for Spring Break. He decided to go visit his grandfather. He asked for volunteers to be his buddy on the trip. I volunteered as tribute. Normally, we take SouthWest as they are the cheapest. But SouthWest is changing. They have assigned seats now, and charge for baggage. We went with American Airlines. They are cheaper. The fares are still the highest I have paid.

One drawback is that we are flying on a CRJ 700 plane. It is tiny. The good thing is that there are only aisle or window seats. No middle seats. I thought it would be a bumpy ride. But it was fine. I also worried we would need to climb stairs from the tarmac to board. Nope. They just lowered the connecting bridge from the gate.

We heard horror stories about long security lines in the area. We made sure to arrive 3 hours before flight. At TSE pre-check, we went straight to the front without trouble. A large chested girl was in front of me. She took off her jacket to a revealing tank top. Her and Little Kat were stopped at the metal detector and had to be wanded. We ate inside this new section of the airport at PF Chang's. My meal cost a whopping $40.

It took a while for our plane to pull up. They were a little late. However, the rep from the airline said the plane was in maintenance. That lasted for 2 hours. I read my ebook and even fell asleep. Little Kat and I sat next to each other, even though we bought our seats separately. I heard you would get a cheap seat assigned at the gate. But we checked in 24 hours earlier and got our assigned seats. There was no leg room. My window to the outside fogged up. The window shade was backwards, and would not stay closed.

I had reserved a rental car. Little Kat insisted I pay an extra $12 a day for him to be able to drive too. The lady at the car rental place kept insisting it was a great car since it was a 2026 model. Little Kat was not eager to take the wheel. Our spring break adventure begins.

For Sale Near Us

 

We had spied what looked like a for sale post in a house one street over. It was strange. They bought the house a little over a year ago. Momoko said the property was kinda cursed because there was a murder of the previous tenants.

I like a lot about the house. It has more than 50% more property acreage than our yard. Like us, they have a 1-car carport plus extended driveway. However, they added a gravel driveway in the back yard too. It leads to a 4-car detached garage. They also have a separate shed like us. It has a better, newer 6 foot privacy fence in the back yard.

Now there are some downsides. The square footage of the house is maybe 30% less than us. The house is 10 years older than ours. And the main drawback is that it has oil heat. They also have a weird pergola over top of a koi pond. There are at a relatively busy cross street. And they back to neighbors.

The house is priced around $20k more than what our house is worth. That being said, to get the full price for selling our own house, we would have to spend some money fixing up cosmetic stuff. I think we could sell out house fast if we updated it.

It is tempting. But probably a lot of hassle to pay a lot of money to do almost an equivalent trade. I do like the idea of giving up some house space in trade for a larger property with a 4-car garage. The property is also completely flat.

An Evening With Pink Pantheress

 

Last year, the USA brought home a gold medal in female figure skating. It has been 24 years since this last happened. The most interesting thing about it is the alternative freestyle program performed by winner Alysa Liu. She retired from ice skating at 16 to go live her life. Two years later, she returned and eventually claimed the hold.

You can tell there is something different about Alysa. She has a racoon striped long hair. Her build is thick. She has a self pierced upper lip. She was conceived using IVF. Her dad is a Chinese man who escaped China.

Alysa chose a song by British singer Pink Pantheress for her winning freestyle entry. I have come to realize that Pantheress sings many songs used by TikTok videos. For instance, one song goes, "My name is Pink and I'm really glad to meet you. You're recommended to me by some people". My interest in Pantheress is piqued.

Pantheress is now on tour in the USA. It is called An Evening With Pink Pantheress. She is coming to my area. She plays on a Sunday and Monday in May. Tickets are a whopping $200. This is for general admmission. It is standing only. I did find $82 tickets for Monday on the resale market. Tried to get my buddy to go with me. He declined.

Hunan Chicken for Lunch

 

This year, I have a new favorite Chinese food restaurant for lunch. Momoko found it one day when driving around with Kit Kat. It is up near the town house we used to live in. A friend of the family bought a house up there. She sometimes hosts parties where she serves Chinese food. This restaurant is also her go to place.

I waited until 11:00 am this morning until their lunch special take effect. My favorite is the Hunan Chicken special. It comes with a tiny bit of soup. But for an extra 50 cents, you can upgrade to an egg roll. Their egg roll is huge. So, I opted for one. Their hot mustard is mid. I just make sure to pick up a ton of it.

I called in my order. Before leaving for the restaurant, I had to reattach the plastic tarp that had blown off our firewood stack in the back yard. I only did a haphazard repair as it was cold and raining. I decided I did not have time to buy a lottery ticket due to this delay.

At the restaurant, I opened my bag to dump in the hot mustard. There was no egg roll. I told the employee who handed me the bag. He seemed confused. My bag did not have my Hunan chicken order. It was chicken with broccoli. I worried it would take a long time for them to cook my correct order.

I think they just tossed the chicken broccoli in the pot, added green peppers plus Hunan sauce, then repackaged the result. I was okay as this got me on my way quickly.

Dust Under the Bed

 

I spotted a lot of dust under our bedroom bed. I had thought I cleaned it somewhat recently. Oh well. I grabbed the vacuum cleaning from the main level closet. At first I could not find the necessary attachments. Then I found then in a gym bag hanging from the wall in the closet.

I lay the vacuum on its side. Then I attached a small plastic brush. I kept pushing the brush under the bed. It seemed to clean okay. I moved all around my side. By the time I crossed over to Momoko's side, the vacuum did not seem to pick up as much.

I tested the attachment. There was suction. I did the best I could. There were more things in the way on Momoko's side as well. When I was done, I pulled off the attachment. That's when I found the thing jammed with mostly hair. I pulled the junk out and tossed it in the trash. Might have to clean again later.

The vacuum collection area was full. I went outside to empty it. It was snowing. So, I just did the work in the carport. Got two large sections of newspaper. Wet both of them to adhere to the dust. Then wrapped everything up in a grocery bag.