Mosh Glass

I truly have nothing much on the agenda today. A scheduled marketing call at 3. That’s the day. Which is why I am still sitting on my butt at 915 blogging. While you work. Sucks for you.

I do need to go to the Verizon store. I am not a customer but I am now looking. After 20 years with ATT I realize I need to change. I submitted a grievance on my Europe trip charges and their response was something akin to “go pound sand.” ATT has always been cheap with mediocre service. And I expect a break once in awhile for this. They seem to have taken on airs. I am price checking today.

But, given there is no schedule for today, all I have is go get ready and leave. Probably earlier than usual.
Which is crazy.

I finally did try to leave, quite early compared to the usual. But, could not find the house keys. Called office, no keys. Thought for a while, called Enterprise Rent a Car. Yep, left in the rental I was in yesterday. I am an idiot.

OK. Now that I know where keys are, I left. First stop, no not Verizon, I stopped at Linda’s office. She is our realtor. For about the last 25 years. She has worked pure magic twice for us. Sorcery, not Vegas magic. Anyhow, we go back along ways. I have known her brother even longer. Not to mention her mother too.

Well, at an open house in Auburn last Saturday Emily and I met a realtor, her name is Kary. Emily really liked her and she did have a lot of local info. We talked with her for 45 minutes and she is smart. We told her our situation and she offered to act as our Auburn realtor for a referral fee from Linda. Later Emily said we should use her instead of Linda because she knows more about the Auburn area. Now I am not one to abandon a friend and business associate. But I told Em I would ask Linda what to do. Well, this morning I did. And Linda was very helpful and suggested she take a referral fee and Kary get the large piece. And, she said Kary should take on the Hammond parcel we are developing. In other words, she agreed with my wife. Whatever. I have a new realtor. Linda and I continued to pass the time of day after business was done. Stopping to chat is the best part of any day. I also learned she had recently dumped ATT after 30 years. And went to Verizon and is thrilled. And it’s cheaper. I am so going to change.

So I am now headed to Sacramento. Do it all the time. 5 days a week. I got so distracted driving I forgot to stop at Enterprise and get my keys. Idiot.

I went to the Verizon store across from my office. No one in the store. Empty except for employee Chris. Stepped up to the counter, gave him my billa, told him my tale of woe with ATT. He solved all issues, made it all cheaper, said he would pay me $750 if I brought my own phones and showed how much better their international plan was as well. I got a list of what to do next and I am on my way. Soon. I gotta get a lot of numbers together.

Ok. It’s 1230 and I am going to the office. I hate work. Nothing special at work going. Usual work and not much else. I only had a 4 hour work day. I have to leave by 430 to go get my keys. Remember, I left them in the rental. For the four hours I was here i did plenty paperwork. And I was on a call with a marketing consultant for an hour and a half. And another 45 minutes in the car. What a talker. She is a business consultant too. Her goal is to bring value to my biz so I can sell it for more than I ever thought I could. Sounds like a plan. Anyhow, this call was my first with her. More work to follow.

So I drove to Enterprise and got my keys. And sat 15 minutes in the car to finish my call. It was lengthy. Quick drive to home from from there.

We decided to go out to dinner tonight. I chose her fave Thai place. She could not make up her mind. The Thai was fantastic as always. We got home before 8, not very late.

We ate out tonight instead of tomorrow. Tomorrow I am driving to Visalia to give Michael his car back and get mine from him. Bout time. I am going to take Dad out to dinner tomorrow night too. I assume Michael and Carly will be going too. We are all spending the night and keeping Grandpa entertained for awhile. That’s tough. But I expect to have a good time.

Tonight we are doing the usual. Watching TV. We are good at it, that’s why. Soon good TV comes on. Love it.

$1.6 billion!!! My share, $4. Still a winner. If anyone needs a buck, call me, I have the name of a lender for you.

Weigh in today. Used two scales. Last week I bought a second scale because my regular digital scale has been bullshit. So what happened? The old scale weighed same weight twice at 153.4. New scale was at 155. A self created conundrum. I will go with the lower.

In honor of weigh in I went off diet for an hour. Ate all the disallowed carbs. Whatever. One hour is not going to ruin a diet plan. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.

Got to be ready early since I have to take the kids car in for service today. Should be on time. Easily. I say with confidence of someone who is habitually late. No, I’m off to get ready and go. Things to do.

Got a text from my bank. They declined a charge due to daily limits. $8k for software renewal. Had to call the bank and get a one day increase in limit. Good till 5pm. I called software company and they tried again. Worked. Why I have to help is beyond me.

I made it to the Honda place on time. We started with the usual. I told the service manager what I needed. She asked a few questions and, of course, suggested a quick inspection , etc, since it’s a used car blah blah. She is looking for work. But, it makes sense so I said ok. I got a ride to Enterprise and got a POS Ford Focus for the day. And zipped off to the office.

The day was the usual. No tax returns finished, though. I did a bunch of paperwork and who knows what. I can’t remember. I spent a reasonable amount of time looking at houses and speaking to a real estate agent. I did have to act as a goalie of sorts for a clients real estate loan transaction she screwed up. I had to email a few people and take a few calls on a transaction for which I never got paid. I did do her taxes but was never told about the loan or asked to provide a copy of the taxes to anyone. Now I am put in this position to defend my clients virtue. Lovely.

Hey, really great news. Today I received a five figure piece of my accounts receivable. And it’s old AR so it’s like finding money. I was able to pay the software renewal take a couple grand for me and I’ve money left over for expenses. Things are looking up. This glow should last till Friday.

I called the car repair. They found nothing seriously wrong with the car. Plenty of undone maintenance, some of which was pricey. I said no to that, the pricey part. The kid can handle the expensive stuff. I had fluids flushed and changed. They told me be here by 6 to get ur car.

It was 4 so I figured leave by 5 and I get there on time. Good plan.

So I drove to the bank to make the deposit and get cash. Came back to office and did a little cleanup. Left at 5. Smooth.

Problem. Traffic was horrendous from the moment I reached the freeway. It was slow, thick as molasses, and ugly. I could not get to the repair shop by six. So I called and the service manager said she would wait for me. That helps. Good thing they know me. Really.

I got there a little after six. All happy. I tried to credit card my invoice. But it’s after five and old limit restored. But, good news!!! I had the cash. Problem solved. All say goodbye, and we head out. Of course, I have a rental car. Office is closed. I had to drive it back to their office and drop the car and keys. And then walk back to the car dealer to get my ride. Fun never ends.

On the way back, I stopped and looked at one of the new cars on the lot at the Honda dealer. Very nice looking. A fully loaded 2018 Accord. Very nice. I would not buy this one, it’s an automatic, but still very pretty. A salesman showed up and I decided to test drive one of the other models I have been reading about. An Accord turbo. Nice car, wish it had more power. But I really enjoyed it. She noted they had a Civic R on the showroom floor. Which is crazy because they sell so fast. So I just had to check it out. It has a twin turbo set up. Lots of power and low weight. But no test drives allowed. And it’s expensive and they only get 3 or 4 a year. So it is muy precioso. No discounts given. And I got this from the dealerships new general manager. He is a tax client of mine. So if he can’t get me a smoking deal on a Civic R I guess I’m screwed. He cut the mark up by 50% but that ain’t making me buy it. He can’t get me a test drive. Hell, he can’t get his own test drive. Though we did have a nice chat for a half hour. I have not seen him in a few months.

I finally got on the road to home after seven. Emily seemed ok with it. She had not made dinner as of yet. We grazed in the fridge and came up with two different meals that we ate together. Eating together is more important than the meal.

I had been trying all day to get ahold of my realtor Linda. We have traded messages all day. And not the fun way like it was in school when I was a kid passing notes. I am going to her office tomorrow. Last call to her at 9 pm and no answer.

Emily and I watched TV for the balance of the evening. No surprise there. TV sets your brain on off or pause which puts you in a mood to go to sleep. Hence it’s popularity. Nothing else doin today.

I slept very well last night, thank you very much. Woke up to let the stupid dog in. Woke up to let the stupid dog out. Waited for the little PITA, and let him back in. But, went back to sleep each time. Probably driven by sleep deprivation the previous nights. Don’t care. One good night makes all better again.

It’s Tuesday. Everyone knows what that means. Right? I make no secret of it. I pick up Mexican food from our favorite local carniceria. I was thinking. Why not go retro and pick up “Mexican” from my first favorite Mexican restaurant ever. That’s right folks, Glen Bell’s baby, formed fifty years ago, wait for it, Taco Bell. It’s true, Bell comes from his name. An old boss of mine in the early 90’s had worked for him and he gave me the inside scoop. The soap opera. Me, all I could remember was going there for the first time, I wasn’t even 10 years old, and Dad and I loved it so much we went back and bought seconds. No gut ache either. Of course, back then, they thought they were serving Mexican and were close. Nowadays is what most people know and it’s complete garbage. They pretend to Mexican. Glen is probably rolling in his grave. So, no, I am not striking the Bell for Tuesday. It seems sad that nother childhood icon has been caught in the back row of the theater with his pants down. C’est la vie.

The morning has progressed through all the standard checkpoints. You know them by heart as do I. With all done I can sit here and ruminate like a bovine. A thin one. No one wants a thin cow. Which does remind me of a story which I will save for another time. I have mundane chores in front of me – wash dishes, put away laundry and all the usual ones as well. I’m going to schedule some house tours for the week, I have three to look at. I will call Linda. That’s outside the norm so I may do that first. I’m old enough to eat my dessert first. Then do the real chores. Or, I could go visit her at her office and make it a special treat. Maybe check up on her since she recently kicked her boyfriend out of the house. Maybe she needs some support. Though she is a very strong woman. I don’t know. I have one other stop, I need to find one if those gift card machines that pay you for gift cards. I received a thank you, a very nice one, $200 gift card to my almost least favorite restaurant. I said thank you, genuinely. But I knew I would never go in the place. I think Safeway has a machine. Or I could eBay them. I will let you know what I do.

So I did finally go to work. No stopsnon the way mostly because my brain is mush. Or gruel. I got to work and had a cup of coffee. We, us in the office, have noted a dramatic drop in office temp as winter happens upon us. I know what you are thinking – turn up the thermostat. Except, we don’t have one. Old building, space all cut up over the years. Number of package units is based on 1975 spaces. You know, that old saw. In a nutshell, we have no thermostat.

I worked all day. Shocking. Managed to get four returns done. Did a bunch of other papercrap. No visitors. Just a nice slow work day and somewhat productive. May get lucky tomorrow. I don’t know.

Drive home. Never did call Linda. I did call an Auburn realtor on my wife’s suggestion about the three houses we want to see up there. Emily thinks she may have a locals insight. The realtors name is Kary and we met her at an open house. Emily really likes her quite a bit. Kary was not available. Will probably reserve the house viewing trip through Linda. Either way I would like to find a house soon.

On my way home I am supposed to pick up Mexican in honor of the weekly Mexican holiday, Tuesday. I was daydreaming and passed by the carniceria exit. Oops. I was going to turn around at the next exit but realized I was 5 miles past the exit I wanted. Not so good. So, what to do? Plan B From Outer Space. I went to Baldos which was, thankfully, still in front of me. I got my TT food there. Of course, instead of $15 for two combos, I paid $26 for two plates. Ouch. I guess it’s my penalty for daydreaming while I drive.

We had our carnitas and chile rellenos and sides almost immediately once I got home. This is what happens when we are really hungry due to diets. Btw, I only eat the meat so my diet is safe. Stop worrying about me.

After dinner we switched to the usual things. Words, blogs, TV in the background. Everyone needs a hobby. Then more TV. Soon bedtime. Sounds better all the time.

Ahh, first day of the week is full of awe. Awful? Has some awe. Awesome? I go with the latter.

I had a lousy night sleep woke at 130 and did not fall back asleep. I had some on again off again sleep, better than nothing, but no long sleep. Slept strongly from 6 to 630 when the alarm hit. And another 15 mins after till Emily decided to elbow me and ask how I was. Thanks.

At this point I got out of bed. Might as well. Gotta work my magic. I put the dogs out first thing. Although I had put the Cocker out in the middle of the night. He needs a keeper, me, to make sure his business is done appropriately. Outside. Personally, he knows no boundaries. The poodle can hold it but often chooses not to.

I got everything done this morning in good time. I had to pack a weird lunch for Emily. She is back on a diet of some sort. She seems to have created it herself so it’s difficult to pack for her. I don’t know how strong her will is for this diet but we will see very soon. Based on yesterday, I would say it may not work very well. I do wish her the best.

I finished my breakfast right after Emily left. And my coffee.

Got a text at 748am from a friend in Texas. That conversation went on till 850. Yikes. Obviously needed to talk to someone. Serious issues which started with a Charger RT and went onward to personal issues I won’t talk about specifically since anyone can read this. I turned into a psychologist quickly. I have lots of semi professional practice from years of bartending. Anyway, I was a sounding board and the voice of reason, yes really, for these issues. Sometimes it just helps to add perspective to a conversation. Most times there is no right or wrong, it just depends on point of view. Though this time, in my humble opinion, I could see a path that led to less damage to others. I wish I could dish but it would violate professional ethics. You know?

It’s already nine am and I need to get moving. No shower yet. It’s time. So I went to the computer and cruised Zillow with the 61 listing MLS our reqtornLinda sent us. I am good at using up time in he morning. But, after looking at 31 listings and noting the ones I want to see I decided it’s tome to get out of the house. So I did the SSS and headed out.

I drive the Crosstour today, Michael’s car. I first went to the gas station since the little gas light was on. I filled up and decided to get a wash too. Turns out the car wash is really nice. Brushless and very generous with the blow dry. Car got dry. I like it. And only $6.

I drive off. Can’t stay there all day. I drive to Davis and the Honda dealer. I wanted to get the kid a bumper cover for his rear bumper. They were strangely unhelpful in parts. Weird. We could not figure out the color of the part. I did later with pics from the internet. I even got Armando from service in on it and he was unable to help. I ordered a part anyway and made an install appointment for Wednesday. It’s gonna look sharp.

Ok. Now I drive to work. Gotta go in sooner or later. Right? I arrived at 1230. Kinda late but at least they get to see me. What a treat. For them.

I spent the day doing the usual paperwork. Thrills a minute, so many you can’t count. Ok, you can. What do you want from me? We did decide when Xmas office lunch will be. That’s big. No decision where, yet. Anyhow, the day was dull for the most part. Sorry.

I headed home about six. Nice drive in the kids car. Exact same model as Emily used to drive. Like going home. Hey, that’s where I’m going.

Dinnerbnot made when o got home at 7. Wife is fired. We did manage to get it made together. I guess she just needed a steadying hand. Lol.

I have spent the evening looking at Zillow listings as has Emily. We have found a few we like enough to go look at. I am going to call realtor Linda and make a couple appointments. Then I can buy one and stop looking. I would like that.

Time for a little bit of America’s dessert. That’s right, Jell-o. I think I have red. My fave. Then bedtime.

So far a very slow Sunday. I was awake at 345am and not sleeping. Lovely. Got up at 8, not sure why I stay in bed when I can’t sleep. Habit I guess.

Emily stayed in bed for awhile longer. She is lazy and never reads this.

I was up and doing the usual. Dogs cats coffee food, I think you know the drill. Once I got done I was able to join Emily at the table with the paper. She was online gaming and not reading. I got to read the paper and drink coffee, a favorite hobby of long-standing. Nothing much in the paper.

While reading the paper, our Cocker, on Trazedone, crapped all over the front room. Gotta love the dog yet I don’t. We put him out and he went even more. Would like to kill him. Even on strong meds the dog will not calm down. He just paces and shakes. And drools. Otherwise, a fine 15 year old dog.

So, so far, this day is quite normal. A few minutes ago I got a text from my credit card asking about a series of charges to the same company. About $300 total. I have no idea. I called the CC and they killed the charges and killed the card. Turns out, Emily had made what she thought was a 29$ purchase to a pop up ad. The company now appears unscrupulous. And the charge did not go through. So she put her ATM card in. Now it has to be killed too. Wait, she put in her last, thank god, card and it was frauded and killed and now she has no cards for a week to ten days. I am not picking on her. I lost an ATM card the same way. Once. I had to close the ATM account to stop the charges. Once. So she learned a lesson today. Sadly. The world is not an honest place.

We may go to the movies later. Rather than wash cars or sit around. Probably a bad movie because that’s what’s out right now. But Emily wants to. But, that’s the sum of our plans for now.

Just let the dogs out. Again. Poodle, 16 years old, for a change, did not per on the concrete. She went all the way to he lawn. I usually follow her out because she gets her front feet onto the lawn and hangs her business end on the patio. I have to give her a gentle kick in the rear to straighten that out. Yes, I enjoy doing it. This is the one that likes peeing in the house. Vet has tried antibiotics, now ketaconizole (yeast) next I don’t know. Vet says it may be senility. That makes sense.

So it looks like I’m stuck with A Star is Born when we go to movies. I have less than no desire to see it. Emily, of course, wants to see it. Must be a chick flick.

Just finished washing the two cars. I did not wash Michael’s because, mostly, I doubt he washed mine. It’s possible but not probable. As you may remember, he is driving my car and I am driving his. I took his new used car to the body shop and audio shop for refinishing and repairs. So I will have it for two weeks. We are meeting up this coming weekend at Dad’s/Grandpa’s house to exchange cars. At which point I will have him help me wash it. That’s if Dad has any car wash tools. He is way to old to wash cars. So I might be driving a dirty car home.

We are still planning on going to the movies. We missed A Star is Born cuz Emily wanted her car washed too. I said, go to 7 Flags car wash, you have a monthly subscription. She says she wants it washed. So we missed the start time. Such a shame. If I can ever get her moving we may go to the movies. She always says she wants to go but is never motivated to actually get moving. And then complains about not having gone. She may be crazy.

So I sit. And wait for her to choose. Or run out of time to go. I think she wants to go to the grocery store. That will probably win.

Grocery store wins. That’s where we are headed. I doubt the movies will happen this weekend. Emily seems a matinee only type. I have tried to get her out on a weekday early evening and she always makes an excuse not to go. Not sure what’s up with that. Maybe she just likes the idea of going to the movies and not the act. It’s an excuse to eat popcorn and candy for her too. I don’t participate.

Right now after having said let’s go to the store she is back to Words with Friends. She is addicted. I think we may never go.

Ok. So we went to the grocers. And, as I predicted, no movie. Can’t figure the woman out.

The grocers was same as always but small crowd. We ran into Bert and Liz del Carmen and a couple of progeny. I have not seen him since baseball season in 2009. He was my 3rd base coach on my senior team that season. Long time ago. His hair was black then. Now it’s pure white. We had a nice talk about things. Got semi caught up on ten years worth. Always cool to see old acquaintances. I wonder what he said to Liz about me. Probably said I look younger. And smarter.

We headed straight home after. I should have stopped for gas. Almost out. We drove the kids car. Drive it while I got it.

We got home and I stowed the food. Had to clean out the fridge to do it too. Started the bbq. Spiced the steaks. Got the coals to 200 and threw the meat on. Two hours.

Emily, on the other hand, dumped out the two cat boxes and acrubbed them clean. Sounds like fun! I did not help since I was busy. And I don’t want to help either.

Once we were both done with our chores we sat. I am, obviously, blogging. Emily is playing Words. The fun never changes. It’s 5pm and the day is almost done. My life is exciting.

I did bbq a couple T bones for dinner with sautéed broccoli and a salad. I am a master. Dinner was very good.

Right as we sat down to eat we got a call from Marika. She likes to call when she is on her way home from work. We discussed everything there was to talk about for an hour. Solved all the worlds problems. Had a nice chat too. Her biggest issue currently is the job her company is trying to offer her. She just seems to think it might be some kind of mistake to accept a decent job offer. She really wants to go to New Zealand for a job she was offered that is 2 1/2 months long. And pays less. And would cause her to not get the job here. I think she really wants to go to New Zealand. Rational she is not.

We finished up dinner and a long while later we finished up our phone conversation with Marika. I went off to cruise Zillow. Got to to keep up on new listings.

Now we are watching TV. It’s late. Bedtime is right near us. I was ready for bed an hour ago considering how little sleep I got. I am hoping there is no repeat tonight.

Aloha. Did I mention, I booked a flight to Hawaii (and back) yesterday for the wife and I? Friends have room for two more in the condo and invited us. I have better friends than you. Their generosity extends to lodging but not airfare. 5 days in Maui. I hope I can handle it. The week after Thanksgiving. Looking forward to that.

It’s the season of travel. On the 7th of December, we are flying to Seattle to meet friends, Cissie and Dave for a stay at a lodge in Mt Rainier. Did I say I have better friends than you? Still, airfare on me.

This is a pre Christmas gift for us. From us. And from friends.

Today is Saturday and Emily is working. All the kids who missed school will be there in order for the district to collect the federal money they didn’t get when hey missed. It’s Saturday school. And there is no educating going on. It’s just butts in chairs for money. Stupid. Emily gets paid and it’s only 4 hours and I have never heard her complain. I will be home, doing housework. That will take less than an hour.

Emily left for work. About time. I read the paper with a steadfast thoroughness. I also needed to check my emails for listings. We are still looking. There are five, it turns out, today. In Auburn. Hope to get to all.

While I was in the back room, Latte got up from her bed in the kennel and peed all over the floor. GD poodle. No worries, our Roomba tried to suck it up but only succeeded in spreading it around. GD poodle. She was asleep in the kennel when I found it. GD poodle.

Went out and mowed the lawn. Found all the poop with my shoes or the mower. Fun. But, that seems to end the weekend chores. Not so bad.

Emily got out of school near 1230. I got ahold of her and let her know the open house schedule. We decided to meet at Starbucks in Dixon and head up to Auburn from there.

I had found five open houses to view. Unfortunately, Emily was slow getting moving from Starbucks, and open houses have stayed open hours. So her dragging feet caused us to miss the first one. Too bad. Now have to make an appointment to see it.

The drive to Auburn to the first open house took about an hour and ten minutes. Though we did like the house quite a bit. But too expensive, around 800k. It’s been on the market only a couple weeks so it’s unlikely the seller would reduce his price. We think it’s value is closer to 600k. We left.

Next house confused the GPS and we stopped at the wrong open house. It was a 1M$ plus home and very beautiful. Not happening.

We drove around in circles for a few minutes trying to find the GPS orphan. We finally found the street. And the open house and realized it was a total waste.

He last housebof the day was easy to find but boy was it way out in the middle of nowhere. I admit it was a very special place. The owners had taken exceptionally good care of their house. It was 25 years old but looked brand new. Perfect house. Except for a few things: such as, no master bedroom or master bath, only one two car garage we need two more or at least an outbuilding or two to hold the trailer and other car, and last but not least it’s too far out.

That’s it. We are off to home. Maybe next trip we will find the one we like. Took over an hour to get back to Dixon. Emily dropped me at my car at Starbucks and she headed home. I went to the grocers to pick up food for dinner. I found some thin cut steaks on sale and asparagus also on sale. Voila, dinner.

I headed home. Ten minutes later the asparagus was under the broiler. I put the steaks in the pan right after I pulled the asparagus out. They are thin cut steaks. They pan fry in under two minutes. I fried them in a sauce of teriyaki and bourbon with some evoo tontop it off. Cooked perfectly, and excellent.

After dinner we are watching TV. Saturday night TV is a true wasteland. There is murder porn on every network, two hours worth on abc. I hate that crap.

Fortunately, earlier sports programs caused Jeopardy to be pushed later. Finally, quality programming. So we get to watch Jeopardy.

I am going to bed as soon as Jeopardy is done. I’m to tired to stay up for Wheel.

It’s Friday but it feels like Monday. Why? Because alarm was set for 5am. Yes, on purpose. Emily’s annual event, she has been hosting, at Tremont School. I know you are wondering, what is this Breakfast with Books thing? No, they don’t eat books. Emily, one extra early morning annually, sets up a breakfast for all comers, at school in the gym. All participants bring their favorite book to read while they eat the breakfast she made. Everyone loves it. At least all the students do. But, in order to have a breakfast before the 8am school day begins you must arrive very early to get set up. Hence the 5am call. So I get started early too. Marika has to be out the door by 630 so I would have been up early anyway. No matter.

I do all the usual stuff, just earlier than usual. Like making breakfast for cats, just kibble, very easy. Food for dogs, more difficult cuz each gets different kibble and one gets special canned and each gets a pill (one chronic one temp), breakfast for Emily which is microwave oatmeal. That’s a pain in the ass unless you have a giant bowl. The crap expands when heated and I have to watch it the whole time in order to not have an overflow. And, of course, I make coffee. Made extra cuz kid is home.

Emily was first out the door before Marika and before 630. Em claimed she was late. Marika and I had a quick breakfast and she was off. Had work in Windsor at 9. Did I mention she was offered a full time position after she graduated? Nice.

Now it’s not even 7. House to myself and almost all done. I took my time reading the paper. I have the time. Nothing worthwhile but it was very relaxing. Time for shower and then got ready for battle.

I have to pick up Michaels car at the body shop in Dixon. This would be his new used car. They were just doing a buff out of all the scratches they could improve. If we went any farther it would be a paint job. No. So I Ubered to Dixon and picked up the car and headed to Sacramento for the usual crapola.

I got as far as the parking lot at work. I was texting and talking on the phone for 15 mins in the parking lot. Last call from Kenny. He is my car electronics client. For the last 25 years. I had asked him to do some work on Michael’s car. Remove the janky video screen they installed in the console and put back the storage cubby that was in that spot. Also, yank all the wiring and accouterments that went with it. Anyhow, he called me and said bring the car I now have the parts. So I left work before I got to work. This day is looking up.

To south Sac I go. Not that far, under 10 minutes down the Cap City freeway and hwy 99.

I got there quick. Have not seen Kenny in quite awhile. So, we had a chat. Maybe 30 minutes. He is a favorite client without a doubt. Not sure if he is now the longest tenured client or not. But it’s close. We finally got down to discussing what we were doing to the car. Then Kenny gave me a ride back to the office.

Then I guess my day really began. What did I do? Usual. Nothing I get paid for. Still slogging through paperwork. Prepared my payroll. Saw one client who who came in to pay me for his return. Cash. Nice. At lunch another client came in and brought us Banh Mi. Very nice. She is a sweetheart for sure. Not much of consequence happened, all afternoon.

Kenny came by around 530 to pick me up and go get my car. It was back at the shop. We drove down in rather heavy traffic to his shop. He had done his usual excellent job on the car. He got the console torn all apart and back together. It looks great.

I got on the road. The traffic was horrendous, 2nd day in a row. Lucky me. It took over an hour to get home.

Nothing going on at home. Not even watching the Dodgers lose. They did. Yay. Emily just watching TV. We fixed dinner, usually we go out, but we went out last night. We made Asian chicken salad. Which is what we had last night. Strange. Was very good.

Spent the balance of the evening watching TV and blogging. And celebrating the Dodgers loss. Which made me very happy. I will have sweet dreams tonight.

It’s the day. Finally. It’s the first finish line, there is more than one, on a long trip toward construction and moving.

The day I speak of? Why October 18, 2018. I probably need to re explain for those unfamiliar with my life (new or amateur blog readers) and goings on. About a year ago we made the momentous decision to move. Chose Auburn as the destination (after much gnashing of teeth) and decided to build a house. We looked for open acreage to buy. Bought 5 acres. Hired an architect and engineer which are much needed for building on a slope. Architect determined where we needed to place the building. The site required a variance (permission) from the County. We applied. All hell broke loose. The “neighbors” got together to complain about it. Some “neighbors” are actually over the next hill and can’t hear or see us. Only one home within sight of ours. But NIMBYs are what they are. 3rd public variance meeting is today at 9am. Probably last one. We have already received unanimous County staff approval. But County is overly cautious. Today most likely will have variance granted, knock on wood. But, NIMBY neighbors can appeal two more times. And even sue the county if they desire. Like I said, this is first finish line.

We, lord willing, can take variance to our contractor and get a real estimate of costs. He, of course, has been unwilling to provide solid numbers until this final point. Once I get a real estimate, choices will be made. Number one, shall we build here or sell plot and buy a house? Now that we know what these people are really like I don’t want to live near them. Or talk to them. The value of the property goes up once variance is granted. I lean toward selling. I just want my money out. All the time and energy into this place is gone. No more cutting bait, time to fish.

All that aside, we got up extra early. Emily is going to the meeting. I am not in my happy place in court room settings so she told me to stay home. I agreed. Better her than me, she does not yell at officials. I am known to let all know what I think of them, at volume. Yes, I am one of those. No respect for the process. I do not care to hear comments, our systems used to determine opposing views are unfair and poorly run and need to be completely dumped and replaced. A monkey throwing darts at a chart would be a fine decision process.

I am going to work in a few. Once I finish all the morning duties, that is. I have no appointments or anything pressing. Which is fine with me. I can do what I need to do and may get my desk clean again. Yay.

Off to work. Usual nice drive. Nothing exciting. I got a call from Emily who is at the meeting. Turns out the moron running true meeting continued the process by continuing the process. He kicked it down the road. No finality. No one asked for the continuance. He just did it. Wtf? We can’t realy figure it out. Lots of emails with the douche after the meeting. We are working to get it done. I am confused. After the meeting Emily and I decided to not build, sell the land and just buy a house. Big step. We are looking already.

So onward to the office. Again, more post deadline paperwork. And, I prepared another tax return!! Ok, not so exciting but I did it. The client pays me with coffee. As much as I want. I call and he shows up with bags of coffee. And I do his taxes. It works perfectly. Over twenty years now. I also paid a few bills. I am sure everyone finds this thrilling.

After my day of thrilling paperwork I went home. The drive was weird. I am tooling along about 2 miles out, going at about 10mph. There is a 40’ flat bed in front of me with a load covered by tarps. And about 10000 bees swarming it. And me behind in an open top car. Covered in bees. For the next 4 miles I got to enjoy this. Yes, enjoy. No stings. But weird as hell, I mean really? A very strange trip.

The balance of the trip was comparatively normal and without note. Someone took he extra time to honk at me. I don’t know why. That was strange.

Got home, Marika was already there. She is here to pick up her cat and is spending he night. It’s always nice to see her. We decided to go out to dinner and ended up at the same place Emily and ate at a couple days ago. And we ordered the exact same things as then. Marika also ordered the same thing. It’s like we are related or something. Though I admit we all enjoyed our dinner.

We had discussions about many things during dinner. Mostly centered on food and our current diets. Marika and I are on the same diet. I was complaining because our scale is giving wacky readings. I weigh in on Wednesday’s and when I weighed yesterday I got seven different weights. That infuriated me. Tonight we were talking and Marika said “let’s go look at scales on the way home.” So we did. Well, Bed, Bath and Beyond has about 20 models of scales. Sonthe three of us weighed ourselves silly. And I now realize my scale is screwed up. So I bought a new one. And it was only $30. And I talked them into a discount because it was a floor model. Winner.

Back home. Sitting around. Watching TV. Very exciting. Very. Ate a snack. More TV. Marika doing same. End of day just never changes.

For years, like 20+, I have stayed home on Wednesday’s. No office. Since kids moved out I have less reason to be home on Wednesday. But, Emily seems to prefer I stay home anyway. She always seems upset when I go in on Wednesday. I do not get it. It’s not like she is home.

Today I have two appointments. So in I go. Working midweek does not really bother me, though even my employees are confused. Though I do understand why they don’t want me around. Don’t care. It’s my popsicle stand and I can do what I want.

I managed to arrive by 11am. Mostly because I was thinking my first appointment was at 11. It wasn’t. It took me a few minutes but I got it figured out, it’s at 1. At 1 I found out my appointment did not get the message it was at one. So I called her, and we decided to meet at her place at 130. So Hal and I, Hal is going too, went out to her restaurant. Before I left I called appointment #2 and reset it to 330. No problem.

My client, the 130, owns a restaurant and we are meeting there. This means Hal gets fed and he likes that. We were there to discuss advanced tax planning. Client is an equity investor and sister of majority owner of the place. So we came to get her on board with how this will all work. It will work well. It takes about an hour to explain whet we want to do. And half an hour for questions. She doesn’t pick up on things quickly. She got the idea but it was like feeding a 6 month old.

We left there about 3 and I got back to the office about 325. Just in time to hear my next appointment canceled. Moron. I texted with him a couple times and we reset for end of next week.

The rest of the day was the usual. Just administrative tasks and moving paper. All very exciting. Two hours worth.

I drove home at top speed, top down. It’s starting to get cold, even during the day. So I am thinking of putting the car in mothballs till spring. I stopped briefly in West Sacramento and gassed up. Holds ten gallons, cost $40. Yikes. Been awhile since I put a full tank in.
Continued my drive. Stopped again at pharmacy. I had a conversation today with our vet about the stupid poodle. She has been, the last few months, peeing inappropriately. I don’t mean accidentally. She just squats in he house and goes. Sometimes right in front of us vet thought might be a few things. First thing we are treating is a possible yeast infection. Which is why I went to the pharmacy today and picked up ketaconizole. For the next 28 days I gotta jam a poll down her throat. I hope it works because the next treatment is pills too. After that vet says may be dog is getting senile. That’s easy to believe.

Got home and Emily was away getting dinner. So I sat around. She finally got home and it was time for dinner.

After dinner a little TV. Shocking. Soon to bed. Perchance to sleep.

The day after. I got my first call at 745. People just can’t wait. The last minute late night filings increase the possibility of mistakes and things that aren’t mistakes but cause problems. For instance, I efiled at least 20 returns yesterday through the evening. Some efile were delivered yesterday, mostly by email, and some I created with the returns I prepared. I connect electronically to Treasury and send them. They are received by the IRS, and sometimes rejected for various reasons. There lies the problem. When you file at 8pm with a midnight deadline, you have to wait for a response which is either accept or reject. I had two of those last night. Both rejects. Which leads to late night communication with clients. Sometimes not successful. Hence call first am. No problem. We fix and resend quick and IRS allows some leeway. Which means I have time to do a few errands before I head into work. I can start to have some life back.

This morning I took an hour to pick up the leaves, by hand, off the recently seeded back lawn. The baby lawn sprouts need sun and water and the leaves blown onto it over the last two days block both. Now the lawn,though patchy, is starting to fill in. Lots of little green sprouts all over. My reseeding job is working!! I am so proud of my little green children. They are all so beautiful.

I tore myself away from the lawn because I needed to shower and dress and get ready for work. Yes, I pick up leaves while wearing my robe. Comfy. No one knows, which is too bad.

Off to work. I am not hurrying. There is no deadline today. So no one wants to see me. I like that.

On the day after deadline there is a ton of work to do. It’s all the things I ignored or avoided for the last ten days while I concentrated on tax returns. Because, of course, all I did was prepare tax returns for the last ten days straight. Now I can pay bills, return less important messages, make calls about accounting. The boring stuff. Which I did all day. And I did not do one income tax related task all day. It was beautiful. Nothing momentous but that’s good enough.

I was going to work until 5 and leave. I have a client to see and drop off his tax return. But, I got caught up in posting bank debits. And that trailed into other things and I left at 530. Still not bad. The client I am going to see is special. He called a couple weeks ago to ask for a balance due on his account. He said he wanted to pay up. I applaud that. He had been under the mistaken impression that he did not owe me any money. Fucking moron. Anyhow, I wanted to deliver the return in order to get paid. Actually the only reason I went. Well I delivered and the asshole has another excuse to not pay me. So I say I will take a post dated check. Or credit card. He says two weeks. I say you gonna wait two years like last time? He is gonna pay or so he claims. I have known this guy twenty years. We coached baseball together. That’s how I can be so certain he is a stupid asshole cuz I know him that well. I am perturbed.

I went to the carniceria. It is Tuesday and I need Mexican food. Unfortunately I was given shredded beef when I had ordered costillas with nopales. See, it’s a genuine carniceria, they don’t speak and understand English and screw up orders. What fun we have with them. Right.

Home. Dinner (which is when I opened the box and realized) was served. We split the Adobada and shredded beef (yuck). And no hurry to finish. And no more work for after dinner. I can go to bed at a decent hour.

And since my evening is free I can spend it like usual. Bad TV. Actually not all bad tonight, I am currently being entertained by Last Man Standing. Then it will be bedtime and a little reading in a horizontal position. Things are looking up.