Flooring Install

The day had come for Little Kat's new vinyl plank flooring to be installed. The installers were scheduled to come between 8am and 11am. So I woke up at 7am. I waited for their call. As it got closer to 11am, I got a call from the company. They said the installers were running behind, and would arrive between 11am and 1pm.

I told Little Kat that our afternoon plans needed to change. We put Momoko in charge of waiting for the installers. Little Kat and I took my brother's truck to IKEA to pick up the frame for his new bed. Little Kat got a text that the frame was now in stock. We headed out, but returned to get my mask. On the road, the install called me and said he was on his way.

Little Kat and I found his frame. We thought there was only 1 there. So I left Little Kat to guard the lone frame as I hustled to get a shopping cart. We loaded up all 5 boxes and headed to checkout. His frame is cheaper than his mattress, even though he has a headboard and two drawers underneath. We rolled the cart out after paying and loaded everything in the bed of the truck. All items were heavy. So we did not need to tie anything down.

Momoko called to ask which way they should lay the flooring. Little Kat said perpendicular to the door frame. Momoko also told the installers to stop the floor at the door, and not go out into the hall. They were also instructed to make the edges of the floor look good, even in the closet. They ended up putting down shoe molding in the closet with glue. Upon inspection, there seemed to be a problem under the entry door. Turns out it was just some saw dust. Everything else looked strong. There were a lot of leftover materials I put in the big shed.

Today, Little Kat and I carried his bed frame boxes from the living room to his bedroom. His mattress is on back order. If necessary, we can purchase a queen size mattress from any old store. But we like the feel of the IKEA one he picked that is on back order.

Couch Shopping

Our current living room couch is at the end of its life. Momoko researched some local furniture stores. We visited them this morning. The first store was the furthest away. It had nothing of note. The second store was weird. There were a lot of items that looked gaudy. They seemed to be trying to make the items look regal. I saw one couch for $9000. No thanks.

The third store was a hole in the wall. The sales people were pushy. There were no price tags on any items. The sales people tried to get me to agree to buy a couch and love seat, stating that the couch alone would be more expensive. They said most of their couches were from Ashley Furniture.

While going to these three stores, Momoko spotted a fourth one that was named similarly to the third. I found there to be a few cars in the whole strip mall parking lot. We went in and found rows of couches. There was plenty of room in the aisles to navigate. Momoko narrowed down the couches to a short list of three. She chose the most comfortable one, which also happened to be the cheapest. I placed an order for it. It should arrive at the store in a few weeks.

Airport Dry Run

Previously we were able to get direct flights from an airport just North of us to Momoko's dad's city. After the pandemic, the only flights from there require at least 1 layover. I hate wasting time touching down in some random airport, only to catch a connecting flight to my destination.

Earlier this year, Little Kat discovered that an airport just South of a major city by us offers direct flights. The only problem is getting to this airport. We can take the subway there. But the walk from the subway exit to our terminal is very long.

Today I did a practice drive with the family to this new airport. It was treacherous driving through the city to get to this airport. People drive crazy downtown. The walk from the parking garage took 7 to 8 minutes to the terminal. That is pretty good. Even Momoko could walk it with a bad leg.

On the drive home from this airport, I tried to take a faster route. We ended up getting stuck in construction traffic. Then we somehow were driving even further South from this Southern city. Google Maps helped us get back on track. It was a treacherous ride home. Not sure if it is even worth driving there. The subway is sufficient.

Kit Kat Car Shopping

Kit Kat has been getting serious about car shopping. Previously she wanted a Toyota Prius. But with apartment prices rising like crazy, she thinks she might want a more economical model. Say hello to the Hyundai Accent. She likes this car in the admiral blue color. She wants Apple Car Play. That requires at least the SEL trim.

Today coming home from work, Momoko called around and could only find a 2019 used Hyundai near our closest college town. So after work, Kit Kat and I drove there. We tried to speak with the sales guy Momoko spoke with. It took a while for him to become available. He told us they already sold that car.

Kit Kat got nervous. It seems there are no Accents around anywhere. She called up a dealership that is usually an hour north of us. They had a blue model. But it was not the SEL trim. We decided to brave the rush hour and rain. Google Maps told us it was an hour and a half drive. We went through a tunnel we normally don't travel. Eventually we arrived.

We spoke with a guy. He pulled up the only Accent they had. The color was admiral blue. It looked nice. Kit Kat and I fit fine in the front seat. It was hard to get into the car because you had to duck your head. The display screen on the dash was small. But the SEL trim has a larger one. The trunk space was fine.

In the rear set, my head was hitting the ceiling. Kit Kat took the car for a drive. The acceleration was much better than her current anemic car. She was able to drive around in the rain. For a small car, I thought it handled the bumps well. With destination charges included, this car cost $18k. That is a bargain for car prices these days.

We left the dealership and ate at a local McDonalds. It required that we place our orders via kiosk. I tried to pay at the register. The lady had trouble finding my order. We were the only people in the restaurant. We got our burnt food. I ate it because I was hungry. Kit Kat called a dealership 4 hours away. The admiral blue SEL trim they had was "on hold". Kit Kat asked them to hold it for her if that deal falls through. Fingers crossed.

Office Furniture Shopping

 

My brother and I attempted to move my heavy desk from my study to the library. We got it up a few stairs. Then my brother was unable to move it up any further. I had him come down and take my end. I ran out the back door and took up the position on the top. We struggled, but got the thing to the main floor. I decided there was no way to move this thing any further. It needs to go to the dump.

The desk had a lot of cubby holes and four drawers. So I ordered a shoe rack to replace the cubbies. Then I went to Office Deport looking for a filing cabinet to replace the drawers with the hanging folders. I saw a lot of options. I was not sure if my folders were letter or legal size. At home I found them to be letter.

I also spotted a dent and scratch deal at Office Depot. It was a black filing cabinet with two small top drawers. It was perfect for me. But it was a letter sized cabinet. The best part was that it was a $200+ item on super sale for $27. The next day I returned to buy it. But it had already been sold. I opted to get a used $77 similar cabinet from Amazon. I hope since it is used, it will come assembled.

Downsizing the Library

Little Kat is moving into my study. And I am relocating to his bedroom. My space is going to be cut in half. So I am seriously downsizing my footprint. First thing to go is most of my technical books. My buddy is learning the Python programming language. I must have over 20 books on Python. Today I met my buddy for lunch, and gave him 2 of my best Python books.

There are a few choice books I will keep, such as The C Programming language. I will also keep Oracle SQL*Plus. My Java book has my name written on the edge of the pages. Until I figure out how to easily remove that name, I will hang onto that book as well. For now, all the other books have gone out on the patio. There are too heavy to dump into the recycle bin all at once.

I still have 8 more Python books relating to data science that I need to read. And I have a ton of fiction waiting for me to read. Those will stay too. I figure I will go from 3 bookcases down to just 1. I still need to determine how many desks I can fit in my new rook. Right now I have 3 big desks. Will keep at least one.

A Nice Lunch Surprise

I ate some grilled chicken early for breakfast. The I spent time trying to make some progress at work. When it came time to take a break, I went out to check out shed in the back yard. There was a mouse in one of the mouse traps I set up in the rafters. I wrapped it up and threw it out. Set up some new traps to catch more mice.

Since I was already dressed, up, and about, I figured I should maybe get a little lunch. I am going out to dinner with a college friend tonight. That might be a late dinner. So I should prepare now and chow down. I got a coupon for Burger King. Three bucks gets me a double cheeseburger, small fries, and a small drink.

I drove to the nearest Burger Kind. I saw a truck with a trailer attached at the drive through. I placed my order, and the truck was still at the drive through. I could not get close to the window to pay. Then there was some commotion at the food window. The truck driver paid some more money, got their food, and left.

As I drove up to the pay window, the employee told me my meal was already paid for. He handed me a realtor business card. That was strange. The truck in front of me was some type of lawn service vehicle, with a bunch of chopped trees in the trailer. Interesting way to do advertising. I do have my own realtor who is very good a assisting sales and purchases of homes. But you never know.