Month: September 2008

So I have a dishwasher. Most of the time, it works… okay. I recently ran out of the dry powdered soap. So I got the liquid soap. Apparently, I had forgotten that liquid soap just does not work in my dishwasher (through past experience). It’s meant for dishwashers, but probably not for ones as old as mine. When I am at Danielle’s and wash the dishes, I have to wash them by hand. Well, I’ve taken that back home. My dishes are coming out cleaner, and I have more of them (as long as I am doing it daily). The dishes don’t pile up. So my dishwasher may sit empty for a while. I suppose I can still use it when I need to superheat things and disinfect them.

I was in the shop yesterday measuring a cupola for my father (28×28 base, 18″ to top of base, 36″ to top of windows, 56″ to top of roof, in case you were wondering), and I noticed a bunch of ants coming out of a makeshift shelf made of doors (built by my father, soon to be firewood). So I started to spray them. They kept coming out as I was making them mad. When they stopped, I went and got my drill and put a couple of holes in the side. They were not happy. I kept spraying as they kept coming out. Then I got serious. I went inside and got some foggers. I stuck it in the hole, and let it go. They slowed up pretty quick. I set off the rest of the fogger, and another one in the shop for the night. I went in this morning… looks like a massacre. Lots of dead roaches around too… I guess it worked.

My Bright House Internet service has been down at my house since Wednesday. So I call Brighthouse on Friday morning, and scheduled a tech for between 11 and 2 on Saturday. I normally spend my Saturdays with Danielle. So I asked her if she and her children would come to my house for lunch so I could wait for Brighthouse. We arrived there around 11:30. At around 1:30, I got a call from Bright House. They said the tech was running late and might not make it till 2:30. I said that was fine. We had just started the movie Over the Hedge. So there we are watching the movie. At about 2:30 or so, I get a call from the Brighthouse tech. He is wondering where I am as he says he is knocking on my door. There was no one at my door, so I ask him what address he is at… he is at Danielle’s (where I have placed Bright House Internet also as I spend a lot of time there). They screwed up the ticket and put the wrong address. He says that they’ll get someone out there (she is on the opposite side of town). I call around 3:00 as I never heard back from the guy to see if there is any update. I accidentally dropped the phone while talking to the lady, and waited 30 minutes for her to call back (she had my number). She didn’t. So I call again… chew the guy out for having to wait this long, and he tells me the original ticket was closed. So I get even more ticked off, and he says the only thing he can do is send someone out the same day between that time and 8:00 pm. I say I am leaving at 6:00 and he better get there before then. I waited till 6:00… no one ever showed up. Not even a phone call. It is now Sunday night.

However, a few other interesting things that day… I grilled for the second time. I am getting better at it, however, I still have to practically burn the burgers to get them to cook all the way through. My spraying in the shop area only seemed to stop everything but the wasps. They made a new home, but larger. Added a few extra bedrooms and stuff. So me and Danielle were looking through the shop for some wood for a project she’d like to do, and Noah comes into the shop. He immediately starts climbing on things. He climbs onto the weight bench and starts “working out”. Only one problem… it was currently occupied by the wasps. They were not happy. So they stung him. Right below his right eye. He screams bloody murder while stuck behind the equipment. Danielle is afraid of wasps, so I walk in, grab Noah and pull him out without getting stung by the swarm of 12 or so wasps. We take him inside, ice it down as he is still screaming, and I go out to my truck. My old boss had given me some sting relief things that work really well, and I knew I had one left somewhere. I find it, and come inside, and ask Noah if he wants to use it. He says no, but I say yes and that he needs to trust me, so I ask Danielle to hold him down. I put it on him, and he starts to feel better and he calms down. I also noticed that the stuff I put on him is 20% benzocaine and 1% methonal. The Orajel-type stuff I just bought the other day is also 20% benzocaine, so now we have a supply of anesthetic. By the time we leave, he’s practically forgotten he even got bit. I later went out and killed the wasps, and showed Noah one of them to prove to him that they were dead.

I’ve also discovered that the fake Christmas tree (all boxed up) that my mother left for me to have is possibly inhabited by a dead rotting animal. Joy. The cleaning out of the shop has moved up on my priority list. I am now going to start giving away furniture and toys that my parents no longer want, or start burning it.

So when my parents moved away, I sorta inherited my father’s shop. Technically, I owned it since it was on my property. However, now it is mine to do with as I wish. I’ve already started cleaning up inside. Sure, if you look at it now, it might look like the same mess he left me with, but there have been improvements. For instance, I have moved the light switch to the door, instead of having to walk 10 feet into the building to switch on the lights… in the dark… while tripping. I also added a receptacle and installed a shelf. This shelf will be where I drop off my tools from my truck when I need to empty it, and where I charge my batteries (hence, the receptacle). I installed a few L-brackets to hang various length of wood on and get it off the floor. It has also become a temporary storage area for a couple of dryers and a washing machine. My plan is to move every thing from the one half to the other and make that the “shop” and the other half will become storage. It will be mostly shelving like a warehouse where I can store personal and business stuff out of the rain, but stuff I may not necessarily need [any time soon], and that is a current state of disassembly (for trash or recycling or parts). I’ve also been spraying for all sorts of insects around the shop as it has gotten pretty crazy. I should also note that everything I have done so far has not cost me any money, as I am using stuff laying around. But don’t tell my father that I might be using some of his stuff ;-)

I understand fuel cost a lot these days. I do not understand why gas stations feel like they should charge a separate price for people paying by a credit or debit card. I pulled into the Chevron at 98 and Crystal Lake today. The sign said $3.63/gallon. I take off my gas cap and swipe my card. I pull the hose out, and get ready to “choose” my type. That is when I look at the price and it says $3.68. And it says “Credit” next to it. So I promptly put the hose back, press Cancel and close my tank back up. I go down the street to another gas station that also says $3.63. There is not mention of the Credit/Cash price, and the price doesn’t change on me. I fill up my tank and leave a happy customer. On the way to NC, I found this same thing at several different gas stations, and did the same thing… drove to a different gas station for the same price while still using my credit card.

So as some of you know, I’ve been very interested lately in “current events”. I’ve been watching politics a lot more. I’m very interested in what both sides say. At first, I was intrigued by the idea/possibility of a black or woman president. It’d be an interesting thing to see to break those barriers. Now that it is down to one on the left side, I’ve been listening a lot more. I am not so sure I like what I hear. I’ve never been a Liberal or Democrat, but I do like some of the things they do. On my voters card, I am listed as non-partisan. I am neither Democrat or Republican. But I do lean to one side more than the other. I hear the things that the Democrats are promising, and don’t really like what I am hearing. On the other side, which I am listening to the convention right now, I hear different things. It sounds better to me. When I first heard about McCain, I was intrigued by how he wasn’t all on one side, but a little of both. I am also surprised (but in a good way) that he has chosen a woman to be VP. (Personally, I feel like he went up to Obama and, off-guard, “bitch-slapped” him.) I like the idea of a “marriage” of two people. I’m excited to see what will happen the rest of the year.

Also, since Sheena’s email bounced back on me, she can download here.