Huh?

The management here at the apartments have changed the name of my apartment complex. But I liked living at the Verandah! It sounded classy. What the fuck is a Halstead? I know what a verandah is!

But really it doesn’t matter... *grins*




Got my new Auto-policy today - Cool. 6 months coverage for me, myself, and I costs considerably less than Herself and I on the old policy. I let it lapse. And went and got new. For a LOT less out of pocket. I even paid the 6 months up front to Progressive.

And in today’s mail I got a rather threatening letter from the assholes at my old insurance company. No names but their initials are AF SPARTAN. Screw ‘em. More on that bullshit below. *grins*



So anyways...I went from a mountain of paper to a few hills...

Still too much, but C’est la vie! Apparently depending on the amount of paper you generate is how some folks tell you are still alive...

Shred it - Working this now as I do this entry. And man is there a pile of it. As an aside here, when your new shredder is telling you it is full (by shutting off intermittently, apparently) one should listen. Other wise one ends up with a not so nice shredded paper mess. Which one then has to clean up. This can be annoying. Especially when one has much better things to do...

But making that mess also let me get out the Dyson thinking ‘Well let’s just see what it can do with THIS CRAP!’

OMG! It’s every where!!



So I made a bag of shreddings.



And I made a pretty good mess of it as the container would not stay in the damned bag.



The vacuum did a pretty good job of getting 99.99 percent of it all up. It really SUCKS! My only beef with getting the smaller Dyson is the size of the canister. This mess overfilled the thing. TWICE!





Trash it - Pretty self explanatory.

File it - Uh Yeah. Got a pile of this stuff to do. The filing cabinet is in my closet and it is pretty easy to just walk in there put the stuff to be filed on top of the cabinet and walk away. So there’s even more of that to do now. Meh.

Deal With it - Stuff that ain’t bills but still needs my attention before I can file it. Or shred it. Or trash it. Or maybe even pay it.

Pay it - My never ending stack of stuff that well, needs paid for!

Oh yeah and there is a growing stack of magazines I should be reading instead of smoking crack playing Borderlands on the 360.



Old Insurance Company
These guys had pissed me off already when Herself’s son wrecked the X-Terra. Didn’t cover the accident, totaled the damned truck and then wouldn’t take it off the policy until I pitched a holy bitch and wrote them a nasty letter.

Then they wouldn’t take Herself off the damned policy until she wrote them a letter saying she wanted off. Of course she never did this. At this point it’s moot anyway.

So I was already pissed and had decided once I got moved and had a new address they were gonna be history anyway. The verbiage on the cancellation notice itself wasn’t what got me. It was the Postscript.

P.S Policy Cancellation was reported to the State as of 00.01 am on 12/12/09. Your insurance validity can now be checked by the police, just by running the license plate.
First offence can cost $175-$350. Subsequent offenses blah-blah-blahbity-blah-blah.

Number one. I didn’t know they did that. And Number two, who the hell initialized that piece of legislation in the state of Texas. And Number three, the letter itself was rife with grammatical errors and misspellings.

It was like someone who is ESL wrote the damned letter and no-one proofed it. In this day and age of ubiquitous word processing programs there is not really an excuse for making errors such as the ones I saw.

Speaking of that...



Spell check in Mariner Software’s MacJournal.

Goofy frickin’ journal software I use to blog with. It would make changes to spelling on it’s own. Now normally I wouldn’t mind a little help. But this software would take things that it didn’t know and change them into something completely out of context. Finally switched that mess off. Jeebus!

What the Hell is That?

Last night after another beer and some gaming. I paused my Crack Borderlands game to get up and get some dinner. Nothing fancy. Don’t ask I was buzzed.

I’m boiling water and I hear Bzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt! Bzzz Then it seems to stop. A few seconds later Bzzzzzzzt! Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt! Bzzz. Wash rinse repeat... Couldnot figure out for the kife of me where that was coming from. So I add my pasta to my now boiling water. That damned noise was making me a little crazy!

Looked over at the coffee table in time to see the controller for the 360 slip off the edge and onto the floor. Ah HA! I had not actually paused the game. Just pulled up my backpack inventory and set the controller down. What had happened was the bad guys I had just slaughtered rather shamelessly had re-spawned and were killing me. While I was in the throes of death the controller would-vibrate on and off. It would stop all together once I died. I would spawn at the re-spawn point a few (subjective) feet away. And the bad guys would turn and kill me.

Wonder how many times my character actually died before I realized what was going on? Heh!



Clearly My Heart Isn’t in it This Week

As far as work goes. So rather than make myself and everyone else around me C-R-A-Z-Y with my lack of focus, I mean by mid morning yesterday I was ready to fling myself out of a window, and nobody wants to see that... U=I elected to take the rest of this week off. And as Friday is my regular day off, this little hiatus is only gonna cost me 1 day of vacation. Because in lieu of my day off on Friday, I can take another one. I elect that day to be tomorrow!

So there!



Just As Well, I Have Some Things To Do Around Here.

just a general clean up. Paper is threatening to overrun me in here. Much as I hate to I need to go to wallywork to see if they sell pods for my Senseo machine. The ones I have are from the last time I was using it regularly. That was around a couple of years ago and the bags were not sealed well, so the coffee is kind of Blechhhh. They sell them on the Web site so maybe...

Need to get some stocking stuffers for The Offspring as well. I used to do this in a combination of ways when the kids were younger. Restoration Hardware used to have some (relatively) cheap but cool type stuff for that. And then I’d hit a dollar store to round it all out. I’ll give that a try again.

And I need some groceries!



Now I’ll just play another 15 minutes of Borderlands....

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Or is it just me...

Stopped to drink some cheap(er) beers with my friend and co-worker D. This is not something I say lightly. Really. How often do I talk about co-workers and friends in the same breath? But D and I clicked almost immediately. Amazing really since we come from such different backgrounds and he’s 10 years younger than me. Often one of us will say something and the other will go, “Can’t believe that, I was just thinkin’ the same thing.”

But I digress... The last bus I can easily catch to the West Loop P&R picks up at my stop around 6:45. Ridicules in a city of this size. So we had to drink fast. We had like 3 brews apiece. I made a pit stop right before I left the restaurant.

Once you break the seal...

By the time the bus was 3/4’s of the way to the P&R, and I had to wait like 15 minutes for the damned thing, I was a little uncomfortable. Three are restrooms there but they lock ‘em so the homeless folk don’t camp out in ‘em. I practically had to run to my car. By the time I got through the damned gate I had to stop and do a quick march to the club house rest room. Whoa! Sweet blessed relief!

Avodart any one??

*HEH* Have a nice evening all! And try to get a good night’s sleep!

Just what in the hell made me wake up at THREE friggin’ O’clock in the friggin’ morning...

But it is what it is...*sigh*

I have been reveling in simple things lately. No difference today.

Sitting here munching on a pair of perfectly grilled (with one of my new pans!) Sourdough and sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches... I didn’t even scorch them or the pan.

Didn’t get much of what I set out to do today done, but so what. Tomorrow is another day! And I got some of it done.



Had brunch with The Offspring, her mother cadona, and her Gran Ma-ma who is visiting from Florida. And already driving her daughter ‘round the bend a little.

After that the kiddo and I ran some of her errands and did a little shopping. Hers, not mine. People are effin’ nuts out there.



@ eats_veggies Dorie - Looks like we’re a go for Christmas Eve. You want me to call you over the next few days?

And please don’t make a fuss over me! Okay, well maybe a little fuss! I’ll take up the offer of the couch too. I’ll be gone pretty early the next morning to. It will be so good to see you again! Looking forward to meeting Marcel as well.



Discovered my home theatre setup DOES have a headphone jack, so I can play stuff as loud as I want.

My 360 Crack game Borderlands never sounded so good.

I said basically that I have to teach myself to cook.

This is a literal statement. I mean I can do a few things as long it isn’t too complicated.

And while I appreciate all the references to the Internet I think I need a physical book. I mean gods know if anyone can do anything on the interwebz I should be able to.

But I need to learn to cook. Literally Learn. To. Cook. I need to know what things should be staples, what equipment if needed, what spices should be stocked. This is from the ground up kinda stuff.

How to pick meat and vegetables. Or fruit.

How to make mashed potatoes.

Pork chops fried, grilled or broiled.

And why’s kinda things for it. I mean I can do some of this stuff all ready. But am I doing it right?

How to write a menu plan. This kinda stuff. I need to re-learn (and just plain learn) my way around a kitchen.

Isn’t there a cooking for Dummies book?

And I know y’all are ALL good resources for this kind of thing. But I don’t want to make any of y’all quazy with a bunch of inane and probably repeated questions.

But believe me if I’m stuck on just about anything whom will I ask? You guys of course!

Yeah, it really is the simple things that make me feel the best. Simple pleasures go along with that. In our (or at least mine) gadget and technology glutted world, it really is the simple stuff that makes me really happy.

You may have noticed I’ve started writing a little more. Another simple thing, but depending on your mindset, so hard to do sometimes.

So in no particular order, Some simple things I appreciate...



First things first!

k2rider78 sent me a nice v-gift. Thanks for that darlin’


Thing 2!

Met serene_orange Little Woodrow’s last night for beers. She was effecting a payoff for the detergent (that made me itch) that I gave her. She now considers that debt paid in full. And I guess if pushed, so do I. *grins*

We talked about a wide variety of things, mostly good, poked fun at a few folk there, laughed a lot. Another thing we did a lot of was shiver. Kinda chilly sitting on the patio last night. And at some point one of her ex-BF’s walked up and tried to start a conversation. He is also an acquaintance of mine from The Big Clam. Let’s just call him Frankenstein.

Frank tried to start a conversation with us, but is such a social nit wit. First thing out of his mouth to me was, “You’re not from around here. Where you from? That isn’t a Texas drawl I hear.”

“Naw. Yer right I ain’t from around here. Wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could.” He tottered off shortly after that as it was plain that neither of us was really interested in a conversation with him. Boy was fairly well lit up I’m not even sure he remembered he knew me from work. Remembered me from somewhere obviously.

I really dislike that fucking smug native Texan shit that some people put out. Frankenstein’s was full of fail however-because I was having none of it. Don’t give a fuck and don’t care who knows I don’t give one.

But all in a fun evening! Think it was nearly 1 when I walked through the door here. Sitting in a beer joint, especially outside (weather and riles permitting) is another of these simple things that make me happy.


Thing the 3rd

Patio - Living in an area where I can use my patio, even if it is just for sitting doing nothing, most of the year is a simple-thing that makes me glad to be alive. I like it.


The Fourth Thang

De-stressing - At least on a personal level and having a home or space where I can go is kind of a simple thing. I finally seem to be sleeping better and the dark circles that have been prominently displayed under my eyes may be starting to give up the ghost. At least I think I can see a difference. Still a long way to go. But at least I feel like there is progress.


In Fifth Place

Having access to tech that lets me listen to the same music where ever the blazes I happen to be. Complex and simple all at the same time. Just depends on how you want to accomplish it. Need some way to pipe iTunes into the bathroom. Eventually.


The Sixth Big Thing

Remember I groused a bit about my friends that were going to give me some pots and pans? Thursday night I went out to Target and bought my self a set (and then some) made by “The Original Green Pan”

Got:
8“ open fry pan
11” Square grill pan
9.5“ open Fry pan
1 and 2 quart saucepans
3 quart covered casserole

And a 7” Pyrex bowl or dish. Cooked a can of soup in this last night.

Simple things like buying a set of cookware...



7th Thing

Meal

And this is the one that got me thinking about the simple things that make me happy this morning. What can be simpler than bowl of oatmeal? So I prepped the saucepan per the instructions from Green Pan because it would be it’s first use
.
Washed it gently.
Dried it
Coated it lightly with some cooking oil.

And now the really simple parts

Then poured the water in the pan and set it to boil on the stove. Once the water boiled I added the oatmeal and reduced the heat, and let the pot, water, oatmeal, and heat do their thing for about a minute. Then I had my first real home cooked meal in my apartment. Been cooking mostly pre-packaged stuff in the microwave since I moved in, but I felt this was the first real meal cooked here. Simple.

As I sat there eating my oatmeal and reading a 2 or 3 day old newspaper (I know, right?), I thought about how it really was the simple things (like this) that gave me the most pleasure.



So what are my next steps? Want to KISS it...

Keep It Simple Stupid

I have to teach myself to cook. One of the things Mom and I never got around to was training for this basic skillset. I’ve picked up a few things over the years. But usually I had a partner that was willing to take care of the meals part, so, I am sure that whatever skills or knowledge I had at one time are either very rusty or no longer exist.

I need to buy a good cookbook - and maybe another one for short meals for one to two.

Also want to get a dish-rack I don’t plan on putting these new pans through the dishwasher, even though the manufacturer says you can.

Then I want to plan some meals and go to the grocery store.



Thoughts?

Rainy and cold. Blechhhh

Paying my bills today. Then shopping.

Did a chat with ComCast. Trying to reduce my cost. Aside from my rent this is about the most expensive bill I've got. Phone bill is occasionally higher. And it didn’t go that well. Got my bill reduced but at the expense of giving up HBO and Starz. Don’t really care that much as I ain’t watching much of either of them. But that didn’t do much for reducing my bill. Any little bit helps but that may have been too little to really matter. When they’ve got you over a barrel, well they’ve got you over a barrel.

Want to keep the HD, but I have found very little to record with the DVR so I’m thinking I may give the DVR up as well. Just get an HD box. Honestly, I’m not watching that much TV anyway. Very little network stuff and mostly PBS and educational type shows. Meh.


Managed to lock myself out of one of my online bank accounts. So I can’t really see what my current balances are. I know how it happened. Deleted my cookies from FireFox during a cleanup exercise. The damned site asks 3 questions. To which I KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS, but it doesn’t like my formating. Called them to try and get someone on the damned phone but it keeps bouncing me to voice mail. Since I don’t want to leave a frickin’ message Have had to use an alternative route via email. Used to be a CU affiliated with employes of the Clam, but they got greedy and went national. Nothing either on-line or in the branches is as personal as I would prefer.

Happy un-Banking my ASS! Got an email back, they would like my member number. Via email?? I don’t think so. In the fine print it says they would never ask for it via email. I sent them a reply saying call me or send me your name and number and I’ll call you. GRRRRRR. And yes I know it is basically my fault.

My buds that were supposed to have pots and pans for me? Talked to them the other night and apparently the stuff is buried waaaaaay deep in their garage. “I haven’t got to that yet” is what she said. So I’ll be buying myself a set for Christmas it looks like. Don’t mind, but you could told me that it was gonna take so long. So thanks, but I’ll take care of it myself... I’m tired of eating out. *GASP!* Did I just say that?

Heh! Renewed my Drivers License (online) with a change of address and got new auto insurance today as well. YESSSSS!

And all this done or decided before noon!

That cleanup exercise I mentioned up there? Did it on my mac. My HD was down to about 2-4 GB left and it was affecting performance of the machine. Removed a few programs that I no longer use and deleted some Internets stuff and then ran a program called MacCleanse. This little exercise took me a couple of hours all said and done. But it freed up a WHOPPING 76 GigaBytes! I was shocked! The drive itself is about 160GB with about 20 taken up by MAC OSX. I got half my storage back. The machine is now a screamin’ speed demon like it was when I bought it! WOOT!

But I do like these Easy Mac things...

So simple. So quick. So hardening of the arteries...

And so comforty good it ought to be illegal.

Thank you to serene_orange for that grapefruit!

I peeled that thing like an orange this morning. Man, was it GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Phone rang a while ago and my hands were covered in grapefruit goo so I couldn’t answer it. Reckon I ought check to see who that was!

And soon my disposal will be thanking you too! It will be smelling all citrusy!