Just a Covid-19 Mishmash

My mom sent me her important papers. Stockbroker statements and foot therapy.

I do not feel great today. Considering I have not left the house for 11 days and when out stayed away and clean I should be fine. Big Daddy goes to work every day but he is clean and fine. Who knows. My temp is okay. I do tend to have allergy issues and we have been opening the windows at night. The newly renovated upstairs master suite--that sounds way better than reality--or maybe I am just being a bitch--tends to warm up and not cool down at night. I know the insulation is good and we put in a separate heat pump for the upstairs, it just does not cool down unless we open a window.

I have a new book, a real book with paper pages. The Day Ends At Dawn by David Fulmer. This is the newest Valentin St. Cyr mystery; the stories take place in New Orleans back in the day. Storyville and the start of the Jazz Era. I have read everyone of these books. Love them. He writes about other towns and characters but this is the one that caught on with me.

Skyped with my granddaughter today, it is a good thing she can get out and ride her bike or she would be going crazy. Child has huge energy and with no school she needs a lot of interaction. Her parents are great at this but everyone needs a break when all are locked up in the same house.

Talked to my mom and she is not all that happy but then again who is. BD is out shopping for whatever he can find. Trader Joe's is now limiting entry to a certain number of people. BD got cuts in line as he is using a cane. Don't forget he did not get all his physical therapy. He is keeping up but there is no replacement for the machines to help the muscles hold that knee in place.

Hopefully more tomorrow, and Oh yea the NTY Sunday puzzle was not a favorite but I finished in normal time. I still do the puzzle every day.

The Birds

Yes, it is the most horrible picture ever, but down near the bottom so small you can't even see it is a Cardinal. The first bird I have seen in months. I was so excited. I can barely see the top of my gargoyle.

I am starting to get used to a more regular job without so much stress. I have been able to start doing the NYT crosswords on a daily basis again. That is wonderful.

Yesterday they sent the plant home early again and today no work at all. That snowstorm in Kentucky shut us down. I feel for those folks, I don't know if there is a snow plow in the entire state.

So I am home today with Brunhilda and she had a panic attack on me. She left a note last time about needing Windex and Big Daddy said he had plenty of Windex she just missed it. So he put it on the counter this morning and she looked under the sink and got upset. She was so happy when I handed her the Windex.

Yesterday I got 4 issues first thing in the morning. So I spent quite a lot of time taking photos to document everything. One of the issues was new, and fairly serious and I took the best photos ever. Just when I was getting ready to start data reporting I got a call, by the way Missy those are not your parts. Damn, that was some of my best work. I almost wanted to send them to the proper person.

Well, I have TV shows to watch and vacation plans to make.

I am started to become fedded up

This is one of my favorite French phrases. It was taught to me by my boss. My French counterparts sent him an email expressing that thought about me. Moi, I said. Of course I let him know I was so far beyond fedded up that hanging those Frenchies from their toes at Ford would not even begin to help me feel better, but anyway, I am feeling fedded up again.

China is fucking with the Internet again in some vain attempt to make sure that no one can order dinner from the local market. We are talking about millions of people who cannot make a decision under any circumstances now being deprived of what?  It is not like they can even figure out how to buy train tickets. They cannot. Repeated requests to both experts and regular travelers will be get a response of  "no, you cannot do that".  It is not possible to buy first class, it is not possible to pick a train, it is not possible to pick your seat. These are the people that are going to overtake the world, the same people who cannot bring you a glass of ice water in a "Western" hotel. Do not even get me started again on the the no meat beef hamburger.

That leaves me with CNN International. And Anderson, Piers and Obama. To borrow a phrase from that wacko bitch in Oklahoma, Help Me Rhonda. Yes, I have been reduced to so few entertainment resources I have read The Pioneer Woman Blog.  And the Anti-blog. That is why I drink. These people are fucked up.

Why is Anderson on global television in a purple wig when he was only a lad? Why is Piers interviewing Chelsea Handler with a martini she refuses to drink? Why is Obama fund-raising in Texas not far from the devastating fires while not mentioning the destruction? After he, Obama, flew over the over flowing banks of the Mississippi while not even looking out the window of Air Force One. I liked Harrison Ford on Air Force One better. I wish I had a copy of that movie here in the boondocks of hell.

And I hate to keep going back to Anderson but when did he get so fucking weird. He was showing another asshole, I can't recall his name, and he was putting Anderson's picture on a chart with peanut butter. I am serious, the peanut butter was the attachment feature.

So now I am wondering how long I can stay in this hell hole without losing my mind. I can do about 3 days without the NYT crossword and then I get nasty.

I have had it, just had it

Must have woken up on the wrong side of the too hot and sweaty bed today because I feel like I am gonna blow.

Latest indignity: I cannot do the NYT crossword. They say I do not have access and need to set up an account. Those MF's have been taking my money for years and now they say I am dogshit. And I have logged in with my account to get this nasty little message. According to my American Express statement they  got some 'splaining to do and they are lucky I am far, far away right now. Don't fuck with my puzzle. It keeps me sane. So I guess this is what sent Charlie Sheen down that path, the NYT crossword.

I cannot regulate the heat in this room. Tried the snowflake icon, tried the sun icon, does not matter it just keeps getting hotter. Turned the damn thing off and have the window open. Next will be the hall door. Would call them for assistance but cannot take the friendly jabba jabba right now. Afraid I will bite them.

China must be really lively or really paranoid because CNN is off more than usual. I would not know as the NYT is full of shit and not telling me.

We are in podunk, bfe also known as Ning Hai. It is an hour drive from Ning Bo which is also bfe but with bigger slums. When we drove in the sun was red and it was really smoggy. Could have something to do with all the open fires I saw. It also appears to be one of the capitals of stone work as there were many places selling stone statues of animal that were 30 feet tall.

Hotel is really nice, the Howard Johnson, very new and quite friendly. Friendly in the Chinese way of wanting you to know they speak English. Incessantly. Insultingly. The Chinese of have no concept of western style manners and civility. They are actually worse than the Austrians and they shocked me at what they will say and ask. And they never shut up. When we arrived we needed a smoke and accordingly went to the outdoor ashtray stand before we went inside. 3 people asked us 7 times to go inside with our luggage. And they are impervious to the steam beginning to leak from my ears.

At the check-in there is the usual cluster, taking 3 people to check us in, Big Daddy has to call his supplier get them to talk to the hotel, and then Mr. Shithead (as I named him) wants to know our entry date to China. We tell him and he has the passport in his hand. He can't read it. BD is trying to help him find it and the steam coming out my ears is getting larger. IS IT ME, or if your job is to read dates from passports shouldn't you know how to do that? During this entire debacle we got the lady bringing us tea and hot towels at the counter and now I am thinking about shoving the towel down Mr. Shithead's mouth. Thirty minutes later I go to the room with the bags and BD goes to get me some wine.

The room is very nice, pictures to follow, and the bell boy keeps jabbering about God knows what and telling me if I need anything to ask him. Now keep in mind, the bell staff in China never shows you the lights, heat, TV controls, nothing-they put your bags in the room. So he is hanging around doing nothing and telling me to ask if I need anything and I tell him, yep, I need ice. He is flummoxed. He does not know ice. I show him the ice bucket. He is aghast that I would want ice in the ice bucket. He tells me to call zero. So much for his help.

BD arrived with the wine, someone arrived with ice and now it was time for dinner. I cannot describe dinner right now and do it justice. For one thing I took no pictures. Also I was exhausted and surely it was not as bizarre as I recall. Dinner in the room tonight and a nice bath and I will take a fresh look tomorrow and post pictures.

Now I am freezing so need to play with the thermostat some more.

Quality in Moderation

What a week. The parts I hand carried in Tuesday to band-aid the Plant Loco system issue worked great. So why did they not obsolete the old parts and ask for the new parts? Because they are disorganized and cheap. So what happens Friday when you get yet another audit call. Gregory the worm when confronted by a person higher on the food chain decides to order all new material. Problem is it is Friday and this is the lowest production run vehicle in the world. Well, there are no extra parts. And no extra people to make the parts. Why? Because your orders are so low and we don't have people sitting in the lunch room until we need them to make parts. And we are not Walmart. And I get lectured by the materials supervisor that I did not mark the parts as new level. Well they are not new level. We did a mean shift and when the Plant Loco engineers did nothing it came in as a normal shipment with mixed parts. Not my problem dude. Until I had to sort it out as they guys can't find their ass with both hands. So I am jumping hoops to help people who awarded the new vehicle to Korea. Who do you think is gonna jump your hoops next time? Just remember 5 or 6 weeks on the water and customs at Metro when you pay for air freight. Cost save my ass.

Back to my real life, passed inspection with the city on the hot water tank, leak fixed in the laundry room, window fixed on the back door. Only the dishwasher still remained a problem. Guy said he had to pull it out and take it to the shop. This is the guy that urged me to hire him for water tank. When I come back into the kitchen he is still working on the dishwasher. I ask about the pulling it out for the shop repair. He can't get it out. I tell him there have been no changes since it was put in. He does not believe me. WTF. Now he thinks it is a limit switch. He has to see if he can find one. Do not use the dishwasher as it is a hazard without the switch. And don't touch the door as it is held on with one screw. WTF? What happened to the other screws? And now I can open a cupboard drawer that I could only open before with the dishwasher open? So with only the dishwasher fucked up I thought I could have a quiet Sunday morning and just finish up a few odds and ends.

Sunday morning with the papers and the crossword from the NYT is my favorite time of the week. I keep hearing noises and convince myself there is no problem. My house is haunted but ghosts don't hurt people. It is probably thunder after all it is raining outside. Old houses creak and groan. It is normal. Just then there is a tremendous crash and I can no longer pretend all is normal. I think there is a gang outside my family room with a battering ram. As I look out the doorwall at this biggest limb of a tree I have ever seen on the ground I see a possum with something in his mouth running across my patio.

Call the handy man and try not to cry. The tree limb dented my gutters and popped a tumbled Ohio blue stone slab out of the ground. Thankfully it did not take down the wires or the roof. While the handyman was checking the roof he noticed the squirrels frolicking on the roof so he followed them to the little vent in the peak where they chewed through the wood slats and appeared to access the attic. Upon checking the attic thank goodness, and God, I have wire mesh between me and the nest the little fuckers built. So tomorrow he will clean the gutters I paid to have cleaned in November, cut up the tree limb, fix the attic thing if he can find the wood, and get me a price to have the damn tree cut down. Because guess what? Opossums live in trees and hang by their tails. And I do not want a possum in my family room while I am watching TV. Now that I have Comcast on speed dial. Sorry Big Daddy, that tree is a goner.

Marvin does not abominate me

NYT crossword puzzle used abominate as the answer of the clue "to Hate". Ha, Marvin took my soch (short for social security number in the UAW world) and he said he would pay me. It has been a long time since Marvin smiled at me. Now we will check to see if the fucker actually kept his word. In a few days. It takes that long to get your money. And what happened to my extra 25 bucks Obama said I would get?

Big Daddy had an epiphany, he thinks our new various back and leg pains come from the fact we no longer wear shoes. Oh sure, the occasional walk when it is not raining, but I am finding it harder and harder to justify getting out of the jammies. Why dirty up more clothes? Why not wear slippers all day. Damn, it just occurred to me the picture in my mind of someone slopping around in slippers all day and it is ugly.

Well, I now have a reason to shower and dress every day. New news in the neighborhood news, the suspected juvie kid of the cookie lady is nowhere to be found and the eldest Clampett kid is mowing her yard. Her front patch garden has been inspected by Big Daddy who grew up on a real farm. She has 5 tomato cages, 3 tomato plants, 1 strawberry plant, 3 corn plants, and 1 pole bean plant. Pollination may not be her forte. Also a rhubarb on the city easement. No goats as yet.

The anticipated GM bankruptcy was on TV all morning. Orion Assembly will be idled for a while, which puts one of us in my department potential for being let go. Can't call Stella cause I don't want to know how bad it is for her. And Fritz standing up there saying how everything will be better was pretty much akin to admitting they sucked for a long time. I remember in the not so distant past the rumor that GM demanded a helicopter in exchange for a contract and meetings were dependant on buying lunch. In the recent past, last year, I watched a guy spend 8 hours painting a cart and telling everyone he couldn't do his real job, which was telling suppliers they were not allowed to sit in the cafeteria. WTF.

I'm happy now

Don't know what came over me yesterday but I just decided-to heck with all that. Can't go on being depressed and unhappy over all the foolishness I have no control over. Plan B is formed. If this shit gets so bad we are going down the toilet when we get to the last $2500.00 we get in the car and drive south to Florida and at least we will be warm most of the time. In other words, just buck up and be a citizen.



Just spent some time going over old blogs, thank you for the comment from the one non-family member, I need some changes. I use spellcheck and proof-read but mistakes are getting out. Will now either proof-read later or have Big Daddy check for me. This is a common work method I used to employ-I know what I meant to say-does this make sense to you? Always used to have someone else read an important document before publishing and distributing.



I am so excited, my BFF-seriously since high school-called me today and finally saw Grrdog picture on the blog. Forgot to ask her how Cane River reading is coming along. One of the best books I ever read.



Auto news, not much just Debbie Stabenow mouthing off how she is concerned about the Fairness Doctrine so her husband can get the money he needs to pay his hookers. She should be talking about how Michigan's goal of a Don Quixote and the impossible dream economy is going to save her state. His hooker had to go to jail today for not taking her court required drug tests. My question is does hubby have to take STD tests? He got off scot-free for turning on the hooker.



Detroit news, Frazz will no longer be published in the Freep paper edition. Why is this? We have For Better or Worse reruns and no Frazz. I really wonder who is making decisions at the Freep. Their response I received was a one-liner with no warm fuzzy to induce me to stay with the paper on-line. Maybe I am spoiled by NOLA.com. There is always something HILARIOUS in the Big Easy paper.



No funny today. Queries of the day, why would anyone go see Art Garfunkel (sorry I just can't let this one go-An Englishman does the NYT crossward puzzle site) Why would Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick pay for a private jet to send her Punkin head to Dallas-and just how much do we pay this woman-Why do women in politics allow their spouses to screw around and embarrass them-see Stabenow, Clinton, Vitter and that NY Governors wife---AND THE BIG FINALE why are hookers worse than johns? Pay to Play should also mean everyone pays the same price.