My Weird Dog

I think it's time for another My Weird Dog episode.

Pippen is enjoying the nice weather.  He likes to hang out on the back deck.  He would love to run back and forth in the yard like a crazy dog  frolic through the yard, but he does have a tendency to destroy the grass.  Most days you can find him lounging right by the house.  At some point, he decides to sunbathe on the lower deck.  If a dog walks by, he gets psycho  excited and runs back and forth, barks, then puts his paws on the railing so he can get a better look at the intruder.  

If you sneak a peak at Pippen from the kitchen door while he is lounging, he will give you a dirty look.  He doesn't like anyone bothering him while he is sleeping  working.  

One day, while I was hanging out on the deck, I noticed Pippen walk to the edge of the deck, sniff the ground, then eat some of the bird seed on the deck.  I mentioned this to the kids and was told that he does this throughout the day.  I think he worked out some kind of deal with the birds so he can enjoy a little snack whenever he feels like it.  He doesn't chase the birds away when they are at the feeder, in turn, they drop some bird seed on the ground for him to snack on. 

Yesterday, Alex noticed that there was a lot of bird seed on the deck.  He told Pippen he had some cleaning up to do.  

*luckily, this small amount of bird seed is not harmful to dogs.  

Barefoot

I believe I mentioned on one of my "Quarantine" updates how RT decided that he wasn't going to wear shoes.  I'm sure everyone thought that was funny.  Ha, Ha Ha.  RT isn't going to wear shoes.

Well, it really was true.

Me:  Why are you walking around barefoot?

RT:  I told you I'm not wearing shoes.

This went on for quite awhile, until, one day...RT starts complaining that his foot hurts.  Turns out, he had a sliver in the bottom of his foot.  (That's what happens when you don't wear shoes!)

After the splinter removal, I would find him using his phone camera to take pictures of the bottom of his foot.  Nothing like walking into the family room, or, even better, while you are watching a movie, and there's RT positioning his phone so he can take a picture of the bottom of his foot.  I was wondering who was going to be the lucky recipient of these pictures?  Can you imagine receiving this via text?  It turns out, this was his way of checking the healing progress.  Unfortunately, he did not get all of the splinter out the first time, so, emergency surgery  he had to dig out the rest.  The pictures continued for a short while to make sure the foot healed properly.

I'm hoping a lesson was learned, like, maybe, wear shoes!   

Karen

I'm sure you have heard about the world of Karens.  Karen is a name given to a customer who is difficult and anyone who demands to speak to a manager to voice a complaint.  Karen's are mostly in retail with some in restaurants.  We get a few Karens where I work.

It's been busy at work, people are finally able to get out of their house and exercise their right to shop.  I've been working everyday, so no one is home supervising RT.  I come home one day and RT says, "I'm a Karen."  I thought, great.  Your wife works retail and tells you about all of her Karen experiences.  You should be able to recognize those behaviors as unacceptable.  I needed more information, so I asked him to explain what happened.

RT was looking out in front of our house and saw some guy taking pictures of the houses on our street.  After he turned to take a picture of our house, RT thought the guy was casing the neighborhood and decided to run outside to confront him.  By the time RT caught up with him, he was halfway down our street.  RT finds out that this guy is employed by the assessor's office and is told to take pictures of the houses so they can update their files.  RT became a little pushy because he didn't believe him.  The guy didn't have a business card, so RT told him he was going to call the assessor's office to see if he is telling the truth.

To make a short story long, the guy was telling the truth.  RT hopped on his bike to find the guy so he could apologize.  He rode around our entire neighborhood for about 20 minutes.  Unfortunately, he was unable to locate him.  He felt bad about giving the poor guy a hard time.

I leave RT alone for a few hours and he turns into a Karen!

I'm scheduled just about everyday for the next couple of weeks.  I have a feeling I'm going to be coming home to more scary stories.

Netflix

The problems started a couple of years ago.  It felt like every time I went on Netflix, someone else was watching at the same time.

A little background.  I signed up with Netflix when it first started.  They sent DVD's through the mail.  They moved into streaming.  I signed up for two streaming devices.  For years my children have asked me to upgrade the plan.  I refused because we only have two TV's.  Why should we upgrade?  Obviously this was before they had computers, tablets, phones, etc.  Flash forward ten years, a few more computers, tablets and kids moving out and only two screens for Netflix just isn't enough.  Unfortunately, someone, the one who is in charge of the Netflix account, refuses to upgrade to four screens!  

Let's dig a little deeper into this problem.

It is very rare for me to just sit down and watch TV.  I'm usually running around during the day.  If I do watch TV, it's usually at night.  One night, I was home, by myself (a rare occasion) and thought I would watch a movie on Netflix.  I logged in, found the movie, pressed "play movie" and get a little message that there are two people watching Netflix right now and do I want to upgrade to four screens?  Let's see.  No one is home and two other people are watching Netflix.  One "user" is my child who is at work.  I know he isn't watching Netflix at work, so, I shoot him a text.  To make a short story long, I find out that two of my kids were giving out our Netflix password to their friends.   

Hey, if you are paying for your Netflix and want to give out your password, then, that's great!  But, if you are paying for it and someone else is giving out your password and that someone else is telling you to upgrade your plan because all of their friends can't watch at the same time  then there's a little problem.

So,  I did  someone did what any normal person would do in this situation.  They changed the password.  When giving out the password to family members, "someone" stressed that this is for their use only.  

All was going smoothly until someone realized that they should probably upgrade the plan.  So, I that someone finally caved and quietly upgraded the plan to four screens and there hasn't been another Netflix problem.

Back to Reality

It seems strange to talk about something as normal as going to work.  Work is just part of the norm for most adults.  Some work five days a week, some, seven, while others might only work three or four days.  It becomes part of the routine.  

Wake up.  

Eat.  

Get dressed.  

Go to work.

As I mentioned in my last post, I went back to work on Monday, after being in quarantine for 88 days.  I was living a carefree life, waking up when I wanted, taking extra long walks, performing various tasks around the house, going outside whenever I wanted just for some fresh air.  And then, after 88 days of this fun, carefree living, I was suddenly thrown back into a work routine.

Since people were stuck at home and there was limited activities available during the quarantine,  I figured people would be either really excited or really nervous to leave their house and go shopping.  I had two scenarios in my head on about my first day back at work.  

A)  I would be wandering around the store with a few other employees, bored out of my mind.  Dusting the tops of the clothing racks because that's the only thing I can think of to do since it is so quiet in the store.

B)  The store would be full of people.  Clothes would be flying everywhere.  Long lines of people buying things.  

If you guessed B, then you guessed correctly.  I don't think clothes were flying through the store, though.  I was at the register and there were long lines.  Lots of people had two and three shopping carts full of clothes  (there are a lot of mark downs because we haven't been in the store for 3 months).  Oh, and wearing a mask for five hours is quite painful.  I came home with a huge headache.  

I have to say, during my quarantine, I missed work's music playlist.

Quarantine Day 88

Visited Nick last week in Green Bay for a couple of days.  It wasn't as crazy up there as it is here.  You don't have to wear a mask when you are in public in Wisconsin.  In fact, we went inside of a restaurant to order food.  Without a mask.  We haven't been able to go to a restaurant for two and a half months here!  It felt strange, like we were breaking the law.   We even went to a couple of clothing stores while we were there.  I'm surprised we didn't make the ten o'clock news.

Tried to soak up my last few days of freedom quarantine time.  That means I ran a bunch of errands and finished up several last minute projects around the house.  Why, you ask?   Well, tomorrow is a big day for me.  I get to go back to work, so, that means Quarantine time ends for me.   Of course, I will have to wear a mask, have my temperature taken before I start my shift and I'm sure there are a ton of other rules that I will have to follow, so, I will still be living that quarantine life, but, I will be working.  It's going to be strange being back at work again.  And, I'll make sure to give you an update on my first day back.  I'm definitely looking forward to a few hours of listening to songs about whiskey.

Fun National Days for June

I did a little research and found some fun holidays for you to celebrate this month.  

Here we go:

June 8

National Best Friends Day

This goes without saying.  We have to celebrate this day!  It should be everyday, right?  Happy BF Day, Patti!

Today is also, 

National Name Your Poison Day

This line is usually asked by bartenders, "name your poison."  Today is a day to celebrate that phrase and also to commemorate any big (or little) decisions (or choices) that we make.  They can be difficult or easy ones.  From what clothes to wear today to should I accept this new job?  

June 10

National Ballpoint Pen Day

A day to celebrate pens!!  This is going to be a great day!  Grab some paper and your favorite pen (or pens) and write someone a letter to celebrate the day!

June 19

National Martini Day

Are you a "shaken not stirred" kind of martini drinker?

Why not celebrate the day with a martini or two?

Easy Martini Recipe for you:

2 ounces Gin

1 ounce Dry Vermouth

garnish with olive and lemon twist

June 23

National Pink Day

I think this day should be on Bella's Birthday.  

The best way to celebrate National Pink Day is to wear pink, of course!  Oh, yea, and you should definitely enjoy foods and beverages that are pink!   I think today would be a great day for a pink strawberry margarita....

June 26

National Take Your Dog To Work Day

Let's not talk too much about this day, I don't want my weird dog  Pippen to get any crazy ideas.  I might just find Pippen hiding in my car.  Remind me to check the back seat before I leave for work.

Cheers!

Quarantine Day 83

Landscaping and mulch are done.  The front and back yards are looking really good.  Glad to have the time to get it all done early in the season.  Maybe now I can sit back and enjoy it for the rest of the summer?

Painted the office this weekend.  Didn't want to disrupt RT's work day so I painted on the weekend.  Chose the perfect (cool) day to paint. 

Lots of unrest in the country.  Protests.  Looting.  Fires.  Car jackings.  Many of the things were happening in the surrounding towns.

Quarantine.

Covid-19.

Masks.

Social Distance.

Police brutality.

Racism.

Protests.

Violence.

Looting.

Curfews.

What is happening out there?

Copacabana

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl

with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there 

She would merengue and do the Cha Cha

And while she tried to be a star

Tony always tended bar

Across the crowded  floor, they worked from 8 til 4

They were young and had each other

who could ask for more

Wow!  Does that take you back or what?  Yes.  It's true.  I was a big Barry Manilow fan back in the day (yes, that's why I'm like this).  One of his songs, Copacabana, has always been a fun favorite of mine.  It's fun to sing (and, of course, dance to).  Little did I know that Bella likes the song.  I heard the song playing in her room one night and had to ask.  I mean, what kid rocks out to a Barry Manilow song?

His name was Rico

He wore a diamond

He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancing there

And when she finished, he called her over

But Rico went a bit to far

Tony sailed across the bar

And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two

There was blood and a single gun shot

But just who shot who?

This is where I find that my child has taken after me.  She listens to all kinds of music (50's, 80's, jazz, classical, disco and Rock).  It's fun to play a good obscure song for her and see that spark of interest.  It's fun introducing your kids to older music especially when you know they will appreciate the song.  The best is when you hear the song added to their playlist.  Bella appreciates the good singing and dancing you can get when listening to Copacabana.  What's not to love about that?

And, now that I've got your attention, and I know you will have this song in your head for awhile, let's sing this last verse together!

Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl,

But that was 30 years ago, when they used to have a show

Now it's a disco, but not for Lola,

Still in the dress she used to wear,

Faded feathers in her hair

She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind

She lost her youth and she lost her Tony

Now she's lost her mind

Coronavirus Sucks

This post is long overdue.  I think it's a fitting title with the number of deaths as a result of this virus.    Setting that aside, I have a list of other reasons why Coronavirus sucks.

Because of Coronavirus, I am not able to work.  This can be a good thing because it's more time for me do do things that I want to do.  Although, it is nice to have the extra money to do these things.  

Which leads to..  

Because of Coronavirus a lot of the stores and hotels are closed.  So, now that I have all of this free time, I can't spend it at stores or visit other places.  I have to stay home.

And...

I have to stay home...by myself or with my immediate family.  I can't socialize with friends or extended family unless we are 6 feet apart and wearing a mask.

Because of Coronavirus I could not go visit Nick in Wisconsin (and vice versa).  With all of the unknowns of this virus, it was best if we just stayed home.

Because of Coronavirus, I was not able to visit my Mom when she was in a retirement home.  Understandable because older people are not able to fight off the virus.  But, my Mom had dementia and did not know what was going on or why we did not visit her.  Sadly, my Mom passed away during this quarantine.  Because of Coronavirus we could only have ten people at the cemetery for her funeral.  Her friends and extended family members could not attend.  

Because of Coronavirus, school continued but was all online.  Bella finished 8th grade this year.  You probably didn't know that I walked her to school (almost) every day.  I treasured that time we spent together and felt it would be a great memory for her to look back on when she was older.

I could keep going and I'm sure everyone, including you, could add a few to my list.  And, I'm sure you agree with me when I say, the Coronavirus Sucks.