Rant: Sometimes memes are too accurate, and sometimes you wake up to snow on the ground when you really didn’t want to.
Rant: Windshield got nailed by a rock on my way to pick up dinner last night. Some expensive ass chow mein. Rave: Dishwasher finally came 6 months after I finished the rest of my kitchen remodel. 41dB is way quieter than I thought it would be. Can barely tell it is on.
Rave: After talking about it since the lockdown started, me, my wife, and the cat packed up both cars and a trailer of necessities and moved to NW Arkansas. We are renting an AirBNB for 6 months while seeing if we really like it enough to stay and buy a house. Rant: We're both moving like a geriatric with massive arthritis. My back hates me and I hate it. Rave: The weather is already much better than back home and the scenery is much better as well. Rant: We're used to completely flat roads. The wife is less than thrilled about driving up the side of mountains and hills.
Rant : My Porsche is going to give up the ghost at some point in the next undetermined amount of miles. I bought it specifically because it was actually pretty cheap used, and because it was a fancy way to tow a food truck/trailer. Brought it to get an oil change and a few odds and ends fixed and the mechanic comes out and treats it like he was breaking me the news that my kid had cancer. "Sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but there's metal shavings in your oil filter and the start of bore scoring in 2 of your cylinders. At some point in the future, your engine is going to catastrophically fail." I'm now on the hunt to find something else to replace this, but the used car market is depressing right now. Rave : I might end up with the new Ford Maverick. Looks like a good potential replacement with the added tow package, plus I'd have an actual truck with a bed instead of an SUV.
Rant: I got The Rona which means I miss one of my best mate's weddings this Saturday and a whole bunch of house renovation-related stuff gets delayed yet again.
Rant: Didn't get picked in The Masters ticket lottery this year. Rave: Just got invited for Sunday by a buddy with an extra badge!
Rave: Revisions for my second book are complete, and next week I will start the final process of publication. Looking at a June 1 release. Beta reader feedback is very positive, telling me it’s better than the first. Which is more than I could have hoped for.
Huge, enormous Rave: My brother goes home today, he's likely to live a semi-normal life if he can eventually get a kidney donation, dialysis until then. Calciphylaxis kills 80% of those affected within a year, and the kind of comeback he has made is rare as fuck. He never stopped the dialysis, even when doctors had no hope.
Rave: Rode the cargo bike around town on its maiden voyage. Straight to the local bike shop due to a rubbing sound. I met the owner who fixed my wheel for free, and he gave me his home address so I can meet his wife, pick up some gardening stuff, and drop off eggs. Me and the kiddo went all around town. Our town is small so I can really get everywhere now. Kiddo had a blast and so did I. This summer is gonna be action packed fun and I am going to get some quality, steady exercise in, which I really need.
Fuckity Fuck Fuck RANT: Buddy of mine for the last 30+ years has stage 4 rectal cancer. Doc says worst case is ~1.5 years, best case scenario is ~4-5 years but will always have a colostomy (sp?) bag.
Rant: Got up earlier than usual and got dressed because we had a big morning at the local elementary school for Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. We got to the wrong place, loaded back up and got to the right place. Then the baby had a blowout in his car seat during the 5 minute ride. Cleaned it up, made it to the breakfast, only for my for my daughter to loudly ask, “Why is that man in the Easter Bunny costume?” This immediately caused chaos and confusion among the other children, and annoyance among the other parents. Glad I paid $20 for this. I think my daughter did it on purpose just to see the world burn.
RAVE: I just finished my first day at my new job. HELLO, RAISE AND BENEFITS! It went really well, I'd say. (For those who haven't been paying attention, I was hired by the county to work on power-equipment. It turns out I'm only going to be working on tractors. Nothing I haven't done before. ) The first half of the day was safety training with the "Safety Officer," who is a former Texas State Trooper (my most hated branch of law enforcement). He really liked me though, because I knew what a lot of the safety rules/ laws were, and he even said that he wanted me to help him with presentations in the future. Really. The second half of the day was spent getting my work truck running; I've been assigned an '08 Silverado with the fucking Duramax (apparently the only non-Powerstroke truck in the fleet), and it needed new batteries and a lower radiator hose, which is a pain in the ass to change. RANT: There are some weird rules here. (Ex: You can't go to your car during the day without approval; if you even WITNESS an accident, you are subject to a drug test) RANT?/ RAVE?: I think this job is going to be a lot easier than I thought it would be... But I was looking for a challenge. Automotive had started getting too easy for me. I was looking forward to doing some really difficult stuff, but it turns out that most of what I will be doing is simple shit like basic maintenance, changing broken hydraulic lines, etc. (EDIT: This is especially bizarre, considering that the main requirement for this job was either an ASE Master's certification, or an Associate's degree in Diesel Technology... I have both.) I'm going to be teamed with another mechanic for a couple of weeks, and I can already tell he doesn't hustle. And it doesn't look like anyone else in that shop does either. On the plus side, I won't be pressured, but I was really hoping to work with guys who knew more than me, and would keep me on my toes. But hey, RAISE AND BENEFITS!
Rave: The proof for my next book came a week early, and with the exception of one minor error ( so minor I'm not gonna bother with it ) I nailed the typesetting and all that on the first try. I have a planned release date of June 1 and am so far ahead of schedule it's crazy.
RAVE: I’m playing gigs every month, making some extra scratch. More gigs than I ever played in Nashville, and definitely more money for gigs than I made there (because Nashville tries to pay musicians in exposure). And now, more gigs are being added, that pay even better. I was asked by a booking agent to play some better places. But a minor RANT: Now I have to practice more, and get more gear to make things a little more streamlined (okay that last part is a rave)
Rant: I had food poisoning yesterday and today it’s snowing. Can I get a do-over on this stupid holiday weekend?
My advice; keep you're head down for 6 months, let them get used to you. Put together a plan of how YOU'd run things. Some people get keep'd, some let go. Eventually, they'll ask you, and from then on its just running a business on county money.
Rant: Starter went out on the pontoon yesterday evening. Luckily, when we were closer to home, just a bit before we were in an area that would have taken hours to tow us home. Rave: A wonderful neighbor came to get us. Rant: We we're passed by several bass fisherman. Blowing a loud signal horn and waving a huge orange float, It would be tough to miss us. I'll never help another bass fisherman as long as I live. I had one pass within 50' of me years ago while I was literally sitting on the bottom of a capsized sailboat. Fuck'em all. Rant: I think I'd rather sit naked on a yellow jacket nest than change this starter, it's deep in a tiny engine compartment. But I know me, I won't let myself pay someone to do it.
Rant: Jägerette had a weigh-in as she needs to gain weight to get pregnant. Still a BMI of 17.7. Didn’t gain a pound after months of increased calories. I think she had actually gained a bit of weight and then lost it while visiting her parents for two weeks. This means I now have to be on her more about eating like I am some feeder partner from My 600lb Life which makes me feel like I am controlling, even though we are both in this together.
Rant: The fucking VA. Let me tell you what happens when you get mangled in service to your country. Here's how the rest of your life goes... VA: Oh, man you really are fucked up, here's some therapies, resources or benefits to make your troubled life more manageable. Veteran: Thanks VA: How are you doing now? Veteran: Ok, thanks for asking. That stuff really helped and has upped my quality of life. VA: Glad to hear you're cured, we're going to end that stuff now that you're better. Veteran: Wait, I'm not cured, I'm not better, I just said what you provided is helping me. VA: Right, so you don't need access to this stuff anymore because it worked. Veteran: I do! VA: Fill out these forms to appeal our decision.
RANT: Fuck taxes. Like, fuck them with a running chainsaw. In @downndirty 's dungeon that you know he has in his basement.