Category: Family

I understand the concerns about having a lot of “smart” devices in the home. The denizens of Ward Manor have decided the benefits outweigh the risks/costs. We try to have some dumb stuff available if the internet goes down.

One thing we have a bunch of are Kasa smart plugs. Also, the carriage lights are also Kasa. Normally, they’re used mostly when the Christmas decorations go up so we can use routines for turning lights on and off. But we do have a couple of “daily use” items on the plugs. For the second time, all of these stopped talking to the network. The only remedy I’ve found is rebooting the router. Which impacts everything else. So, it’s finding a five minute period no one is needing any other smart item to reboot. Then, there’s the worry as the router comes back up that something is going wrong.

These are the times I want to rip everything out. Which generally goes away after a week as I see the benefits of my various devices.

Well, in just over a year, the Ward Wagon is paid off. Last week, we sent off the payoff check to the bank. This is a good thing as there is a chance we might be in the market for a second vehicle.

Speaking of the new job, we are in a holding pattern. I know I made it on to the list of qualified candidates (according to HR), but we are waiting to hear about interviews. Since it’s also getting to the end of the fiscal year for the federal government – and the job is under the finance chief – that may delay things. One of my colleagues tried to cheer me up by reminding me that I’m in such a niche job, I may be the only qualified candidate and I’m just waiting to hear back from HR. This is not nearly as comforting as it introduced another outcome that is entirely on dependent on HR’s ability to communicate. And I’m not all that trusting of their ability to communicate.

Last weekend, The Wife and I went down and did our TSA Pre-Check stuff. Even if I don’t get the new position, I’m looking at flying at least twice in the next year. Not having to do the unloading of all the electronics I normally carry is worth the cost of time and money. The Wife I was surprised that I was fine with getting fingerprinted and my picture taken. Hell, I’ve had to do that with my CWP and my job. While I dislike the whole concept, it’s not like I’m avoiding being in a database somewhere. The location was interesting – a cubicle inside a Staples. At least it wasn’t a federal building, which means I didn’t need to change my EDC. I’m also really good at doing a “neutral face” for official pictures. And apparently you just get a code you get to enter when making plane reservations. Now to find out if my booking software at work will take the code.

Labor Day weekend has special significance for The Wife and me. We had our first date on the Sunday before Labor Day back in 2017. Previously, we have gone back to the same restaurant, but this year that wasn’t possible.

Saturday The Wife and I trekked down to Fort Meyers. A coworker of The Wife was in a local theater production of Willy Wonka. Overall, we enjoyed it, but we got done sooner than we anticipated. After discussion, we decided to trek back up and go to an Indian restaurant we’ve been looking to try for months. A restaurant we were originally planning on going for our birthdays. It didn’t disappoint. If you’re in the Bradenton/Sarasota area, we recommend Tandoor on University.

Sunday, BIL and SIL came over. The Wife and SIL needed to do some crafty stuff for SIL’s work. While they were doing that, BIL and I took the opportunity to clean some of our guns. I am trying to field strip, clean, oil, and replace batteries on my sidearm and home defense rifle every six months. I also took down my latest acquisition – the S&W FSC (which I still haven’t put rounds through).

Monday, I trekked up to The Brother’s place to help him put together a new bookcase for his boardgames. He also learned the fun of vacuum storage bags. For my help, The Brother purchased me these shells that would essentially allow me to use a AA battery for a D or C cell battery. I don’t have many items that run on D’s or C’s, which would mean I could use these to streamline my inventory. I’ll talk more when they show up.

The hurricane passed well north and west of Ward Manor. Lights didn’t even flicker. The only weird thing was Hulu saying it was “off the air.” Like I said, weird.

We did get lots of rain. Which means the backyard might go from brown back to green. For a few days.

Now to pull everything back out.

Last weekend we celebrated my niece’s sixteenth birthday. Damn. Long days and short years indeed. Still, it was a good chance to catch up with that side of the family. I also find it amusing that the youngins are picking up crocheting. Which does give The Wife and my niece something to discuss. Plus, the niece was quite pleased when The Wife and MIL sent over a large bag of their excess yarn and hooks.

Last Sunday The Wife, BIL, SIL, and SIL’s friend – and me – went out on a boat excursion. Obstensibly the goal was to see dolphins and manatees. We caught a glimpse of a couple of dolphins, but no manatees. Wendell must have been having a company-wide meeting. We did see some spectacular coastal homes. We also found out that the captain’s wife works at The Wife’s old company. As The Wife puts it “insurance is a small world.”

I am applying for a new position. Nothing wrong with my current one, it’s just this is a really good opportunity for someone of my experience and skill set. So much of a good opportunity that I had no less than seven colleagues make sure that I was aware of the opening. I take that as a professional compliment. It’s been interesting because I haven’t had to apply for a position in probably thirteen years. And writing resumes for the .gov is not like doing one for the private sector. It’s also a big change, which brings up some irrational anxiety. Mostly irrational because I’m already doing part of the new position already (and have been for about five years now). Yet, I’ve been in the same job for the last thirteen years. I’ve made it my own, and that’s hard to leave. I also love my work team, which I would hate to leave. But it’s too good of an opportunity. It’s also most likely going to require some time in the office, which means we many need to acquire another Ward Wagon.

The clowder was very disturbed last Saturday when we did some furniture shuffling. MIL wanted to rearrange her room to give her more space – as well as lay down a new rug. Overall, the shifting went relatively easy. Unfortunately, it was a bit on the traumatic side for our tiny vampire cat who pretty much lives under MIL’s bed. She was scampering all through the house looking for a new place to avoid humans. Fortunately, TVC was more or less back to normal.

Sunday was spent with my family where we received some happy news (that I can’t share yet). However, since The Brother still has a bum leg, it meant The Wife and I had to pick him up and take him over to Mom’s. While we were waiting for dinner to cook, The Wife and I shot down to the 5.11 store. I wanted a new kilt for some upcoming adventures, and none of my current ones fit. Yes, I know. I’m working on that. We get to the store and are informed that there’s a big clearance sale going on – including kilts! We definitely spent more than we expected, but it was a successful raid. On the way home, The Brother commented that my main playlist was like listening to three people fight over the remote. Yeah, it’s a bit eclectic.

Tuesday we took Boo to the kitty cardiologist. He’s got some heart disease and some deformities in his heart – not unusual for a sphinx. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s not an immediate issue. So, we’re now on monitor and enjoy our little kitty. And somehow get it through his little head he’s not allowed on the counters.

Over the weekend, The Wife and I helped move The Wife’s Niece’s workstation back to the niece’s apartment. Thus endeth having a third teleworker and a toddler at Ward Manor during the week. We also transported over the big Barbie playset. The good news is that we got her all set up – and I got rid of some items I no longer needed to help her out. We were glad to help the niece with the transition to working from home – and really glad that the transition is now fully complete. The clowder is immensely grateful.

My writers block for my humorous speech has mostly gone. I’ve got most of it written. Although The Wife and I are competing against each other, we also need to practice and work with each other on editing/improving. It’s an odd dynamic. Of course, I’ll post my entry after the contest.

1. Three weeks to the day after I got rear ended, The Wife and I picked up the Ward Wagon from the collision repair place. This was a bit of a journey as it entailed traveling almost an hour north to collision place. Then, an hour to The Brother’s to return his car. He was very gracious letting us borrow his vehicle while the Ward Wagon was in the shop. Then, it was another hour back home. Which entailed driving right through the same stretch of highway. I’m not getting flashbacks, but I will admit to a slight increase in tension as we passed where I got hit.
2. Boo’s chest X-rays showed that he has an enlarged heart. Next stop is the kitty cardiologist for a consult and echo. We’re hoping it’s going to be something that can be treated with medication and monitoring. In the meantime, he’s still our little landshark, but he’s acclimating well to the new environment.
3. The grandniece’s birthday is next month. SIL – her grandmother – acquired a used Barbie Playhouse from a coworker. By agreement, it was stashed in our garage. MIL tried to hide it with some boxes. Unfortunately, the grandniece saw part of it while I was pulling in the trashcans. This resulted in her wanting to get back into the garage to investigate further. Including reminding me that I need to get soda so that she can “help”. Honestly, I don’t know if I was annoyed or impressed.
4. The Wife and I are competing against each other in our Toastmasters club’s Humorous Speech contest. The Wife already has her first draft written. I’m having a bit of writers block. I still have a couple of weeks, but damn. I need to churn something out.

Since The Wife and I both have our birthdays in July, we generally use up birthday gift monies on Amazon’s Prime Days. This year, I used my available funding on illumination, charging, toys, and a big Echo.

Illumination – I replaced my “walking around” flashlight that I’ve had for the better part of a decade with a new Streamlight 500-lumen rechargeable. I also picked up one of their rechargeable headlamps.

Charging – For the EDC bag, I replaced the battery with one of Anker’s mag-charger ones and added a small USB-C plug. I also picked up one of Amazon’s 100W wall plug that has a couple of USB-C ports. I also got one of Anker’s batteries that plug into the wall. This one’s a bit bigger than I expected, but it can deliver 65W of power.

Toys – On impulse, I picked up the Black series Cad Bane as well as an SD VF-25 Messiah with cutesy Sheryl Nome figure. I need to rearrange my office a bit with all the little toys I’ve picked up over the past few years.

Echo – Yes, I know all the security concerns around Amazon’s smart home devices. I’ve decided that it’s an acceptable risk for the convenience. With that throat clearing out of the way, I’ve kinda wanted a Show in my office. They’re great for accessing the Ring cameras, looking at our calendar, and acting a smart photo frame. I will admit, the Echo 15 I got was maybe a bit more than I needed, but dang it looks nice in my office.

Back on Friday the seventh, the Ward Wagon was rear-ended as I was coming home from helping my mom. As I said last week, no injuries on either side, but the Ward Wagon needed to be towed due to its exhaust trailing on the ground. Tow truck was supposed to deliver the Ward Wagon to an auto shop in Palmetto, which was much nearer to Ward Manor than where the accident occurred. Insurance rep tells me that I should hear from the auto shop on Monday with an estimate and authorization for repair.

Monday comes and nothing. Tuesday, The Wife calls. The auto shop says they will get back to her. Nope. Wednesday she calls. We’ll check and get back to you. Not five minutes later the auto shop calls me back. We don’t have your car. Umm, what? We’re at capacity and refused the driver on Friday night. So, where the hell is my car? Don’t know. You’ll have to contact your insurance company.

Instead, I call the tow company. Nice guy answers the phone. He pulls up the information. The Ward Wagon is at their storage lot. Do you know why no one bothered to inform us about this before now? We notified the middleman that talks to insurance company and tow companies. We have to wait for an authorization from them before we can do anything. Have to call the insurance company to find a new place. The Wife calls insurance company. The first rep plays the “I can’t hear you” game. The second is very helpful. Unfortunately, the closest place with capacity is an hour away up in Pinellas Park. Well, fuck. Still, we can’t be without a car. Okay, let me talk with them and get things in motion. -CLICK- DISCONNECT. The Wife let out a primal scream of frustration ladened with appropriate expletives. Fortunately, the rep calls back within ten minutes. Everything is set up. I get text from new auto shop. The Wife calls new shop. They’ve received initial information from Middleman and hope to have the vehicle delivered. They’ll call us when they receive it for authorizations.

Thursday – nothing. Getting concerned. Friday, The Wife calls the new auto shop. No, they don’t have it yet, but they have it on the schedule to be received. Later on, I get a call from new auto shop saying that they’ve received the car and that they need me to sign authorizations. Would I like to come in or have them email me the documents to e-sign. Email please. I get that turned around. Less than a half-hour later, insurance company calls. Need some additional information not originally collected. Okay. Basic car info. License plate. By the way, the auto shop is showing that it can’t take your vehicle due to capacity. Did you tell them it was going to be a tow-in? WTF? Not only was that made clear by last insurance rep, but by The Wife when she talked to them on Wednesday. Besides they contacted me with documents to sign for authorization. When was this? Back on Wednesday? No, less than an hour ago. Do you mind while I put you on a brief hold and contact the auto shop? Nope. A few minutes pass. Insurance rep and customer service rep from new auto shop. No, they have space for the car, but they haven’t received some sort of authorization from Middleman. We have our own towing company than go fetch your vehicle, but we need your authorization. Authorized. Just get the damn car. (I didn’t vocalize that last part). Customer service rep starts getting my information. Her co-worker overhears and says something I can’t hear. Oh, his car’s already here? It came in an hour ago? Back when I was on lunch? Okay. So, Mr. Ward, we have everything we need. We will call you early next week.

Monday nothing. Tuesday nothing. Call yesterday. We hope to have it disassembled today with an estimate to you sometime Thursday.

This is not helping my blood pressure or my work productivity. Feck.