Wednesday night was the first night of the Thanksgiving break for the whole family. The kids were home all day and I had Thanksgiving, Friday, Saturday and today off from work. I enjoyed the long weekend and I think I made the most of it that I could. I didn't do any major house repairs but did spend a lot of time with the kids and even brushed Lori's hair. Of course, I brushed it after I "braided" it and left in tangles.
I balanced the checkbook. The level of depression caused by balancing the checkbook was greater than difficulty of the task itself. It took me two hours to balance it correctly. In other words, I went to bed feeling depressed.
Back to the main point of this blog posting, Wednesday night we had pasta, meatballs and sauce for dinner. Lori added Italian sausage to the sauce and the kids had a fit. They swore that the sausage changed the flavor of the sauce and complained as they ate. They are too picky, in my opinion. Later, Evan was hungry and wanting to eat more of the garlic bread that we had with dinner he put some in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel. We were all in the living room when I smelled smoke. Lori was baking pies for Thanksgiving and she swore nothing was burning. Then suddenly she smelled it just as I ran into the kitchen when Evan said, "Oh no." The kitchen was full of smoke and it was coming from the microwave. Evan opened the microwave door and smoke billowed forth in an eye watering, cough inducing, and nasal burning cloud.
I picked up the charred and smoking paper towel and tossed it outside on the deck where it smoldered and finally burned out. I opened windows and aired out the house. Later I boiled water with oranges in the microwave and cleaned it out; it still smells like smoke when used.Evan felt really bad.
He wasn't yelled at nor scolded. We just told him to ask about how long he should set things in the microwave if he isn't sure.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
I survived insanity
Tonight we had tacos. While I was giving a double donation of blood at Peace Lutheran Church, Lori and Evan were watching Twilight at the movie theater. Then they went to Meijer. Evan picked out two new bottle of hot sauce. I pulled out several bottles of unopened bottles of various kinds of hot sauce from the pantry.
Evan said he was interested in them. I opened a bottle I wanted to try, but I should have read the label closely. I poured a little on my taco and was in sheer pain and misery. It doesn't even taste good. Every hot sauce I have had tasted good before it burned. This tasted bad and then burned and burned and burned. Lori tried one drop on a Tostito Scoop and she was in pain. I as glad that she shared my pain with me.
I drank milk and ate a slice of bread. I survived the worst ever. I think I will take advice on the label and try to degrease the garage floor with it.
Evan said he was interested in them. I opened a bottle I wanted to try, but I should have read the label closely. I poured a little on my taco and was in sheer pain and misery. It doesn't even taste good. Every hot sauce I have had tasted good before it burned. This tasted bad and then burned and burned and burned. Lori tried one drop on a Tostito Scoop and she was in pain. I as glad that she shared my pain with me.
I drank milk and ate a slice of bread. I survived the worst ever. I think I will take advice on the label and try to degrease the garage floor with it.
Feasting and double blood drain.
Thanksgiving Day began with Lori and I watching TV, channel and web-surging and then falling asleep on the couch together with her head snuggled on my chest. After watching "Robot Chicken" channel surfing for a little while and checking e-mail once again, Lori asked me if I wanted to watch the latest, "Fringe" episode. She had already viewed the episode; I hadn't, but she said she was willing to watch it again. She cued it up on my laptop and soon I was seeing double and nodding off to sleep. I woke up enough to shut down my laptop and soon Lori and I drifted away together to dream land and that is how the early hours of Thanksgiving Day greeted us.
Around 4am we got off the couch brushed our teeth and went to bed. Dinner was scheduled at 2pm at my mom's house. It was after 10 am when I woke up put on my running pants and went to kitchen to make coffee. Soon after, Lori came in to the kitchen and offered to make eggs for the both of us. She followed my one piece of cooking advice and greased the pan with butter rather than non-stick spray; butter makes them taste better. She made scrambled eggs with cheese and she made hash browns out of left over tater tots. I made peanut butter toast for Lori. I actually didn't make it she put the bread in the toaster, I just spread the peanut butter on her toast. I made toast with peanut butter and honey. I prefer honey to marmalade, also I prefer marmalade or preserves to jelly and I prefer jelly to jam. I will conclude this useless and boring information by saying, I don't like jam.
Nathan had cereal; Evan had eggs, Adam never told me what he ate. I think he ate cereal but he eats it dry. I gave Evan and Nathan showers, then I took my own shower. We left the house around 12:30; Adam drove. We went to get gas at the South side Family Fair. I used the discount tickets that we got on our grocery receipts. I wasn't paying attention and lifted the Diesel fuel nozzle from the pump, not even thinking or aware what I was doing. It took much longer to fill the Buick up with gas than it usually does because of repeated blunder of not paying attention.
I called my mom on Lori's cell phone and told her that we were running behind. The good part was that we were close to US-31 and Adam set the cruise control to 75. I told him that he had to speed to get us to my Mom's house in time for Thanksgiving dinner. He was upset about that, however, he did comply. He played his latest compilation CD on the way there.
We unloaded Lori's four home baked pies from the trunk and upon seeing my laptop in the trunk as well, Lori looked at me and rolled her eyes. I did use it later, but not for very long. I wanted my brother-in-law to trouble shoot the Internet Explorer error I keep getting. He wasn't sure what it was. He and Evan were playing an adventure game on his laptop.
We got there and dinner wasn't ready, yet. The sweet potatoes and the rolls never got heated through. So, why was I in a mild panic? The turkey was delicious and was stuffed with onions. The dressing was cooked separately, which is the healthiest way to prepare dressing. We ate dinner and the kids went outside to play. We football fans watched the end of the Lions game. It was very entertaining to see the Lions get beat by so much. My brother-in-law Bob was greatly disappointed that the Titans didn't make a field goal at the end of the game and make their score and even 50 points. They could say they scored one point for each state in the union on Thanksgiving.
The kids watched Kung Fu Panda and we didn't leave foe home until 9 pm. We got home and we all stayed up late. I finally watched "Fringe" and Lori and I were again falling asleep on the couch. at 3 am, that most interesting hour, I went to bed and tried to get Lori to join me. She talking in her sleep so I left her there.
I woke up still feeling full from yesterday. I had a blood donation appointment at 1 pm. I ate a bowl of cereal and drank a liter of water, took a shower and went to Peace Lutheran where the blood drive was happening.
Back in August I gave a unit of whole blood. My blood pressure was 108/82. My pulse was 82. My iron count was 15. The Red Cross Nurses asked me if I wanted to donate red blood cells, it is a double donation. I had never done it before. I have O positive blood which is in high demand. So, they pumped out a unit of whole blood, and the machine separated the red blood cells from the white blood cells. Then it purged the line from my arm to the machine. Then it repeated the process and then pumped the plasma back into me.
It was something new for me.
Around 4am we got off the couch brushed our teeth and went to bed. Dinner was scheduled at 2pm at my mom's house. It was after 10 am when I woke up put on my running pants and went to kitchen to make coffee. Soon after, Lori came in to the kitchen and offered to make eggs for the both of us. She followed my one piece of cooking advice and greased the pan with butter rather than non-stick spray; butter makes them taste better. She made scrambled eggs with cheese and she made hash browns out of left over tater tots. I made peanut butter toast for Lori. I actually didn't make it she put the bread in the toaster, I just spread the peanut butter on her toast. I made toast with peanut butter and honey. I prefer honey to marmalade, also I prefer marmalade or preserves to jelly and I prefer jelly to jam. I will conclude this useless and boring information by saying, I don't like jam.
Nathan had cereal; Evan had eggs, Adam never told me what he ate. I think he ate cereal but he eats it dry. I gave Evan and Nathan showers, then I took my own shower. We left the house around 12:30; Adam drove. We went to get gas at the South side Family Fair. I used the discount tickets that we got on our grocery receipts. I wasn't paying attention and lifted the Diesel fuel nozzle from the pump, not even thinking or aware what I was doing. It took much longer to fill the Buick up with gas than it usually does because of repeated blunder of not paying attention.
I called my mom on Lori's cell phone and told her that we were running behind. The good part was that we were close to US-31 and Adam set the cruise control to 75. I told him that he had to speed to get us to my Mom's house in time for Thanksgiving dinner. He was upset about that, however, he did comply. He played his latest compilation CD on the way there.
We unloaded Lori's four home baked pies from the trunk and upon seeing my laptop in the trunk as well, Lori looked at me and rolled her eyes. I did use it later, but not for very long. I wanted my brother-in-law to trouble shoot the Internet Explorer error I keep getting. He wasn't sure what it was. He and Evan were playing an adventure game on his laptop.
We got there and dinner wasn't ready, yet. The sweet potatoes and the rolls never got heated through. So, why was I in a mild panic? The turkey was delicious and was stuffed with onions. The dressing was cooked separately, which is the healthiest way to prepare dressing. We ate dinner and the kids went outside to play. We football fans watched the end of the Lions game. It was very entertaining to see the Lions get beat by so much. My brother-in-law Bob was greatly disappointed that the Titans didn't make a field goal at the end of the game and make their score and even 50 points. They could say they scored one point for each state in the union on Thanksgiving.
The kids watched Kung Fu Panda and we didn't leave foe home until 9 pm. We got home and we all stayed up late. I finally watched "Fringe" and Lori and I were again falling asleep on the couch. at 3 am, that most interesting hour, I went to bed and tried to get Lori to join me. She talking in her sleep so I left her there.
I woke up still feeling full from yesterday. I had a blood donation appointment at 1 pm. I ate a bowl of cereal and drank a liter of water, took a shower and went to Peace Lutheran where the blood drive was happening.
Back in August I gave a unit of whole blood. My blood pressure was 108/82. My pulse was 82. My iron count was 15. The Red Cross Nurses asked me if I wanted to donate red blood cells, it is a double donation. I had never done it before. I have O positive blood which is in high demand. So, they pumped out a unit of whole blood, and the machine separated the red blood cells from the white blood cells. Then it purged the line from my arm to the machine. Then it repeated the process and then pumped the plasma back into me.
It was something new for me.
Friday, November 21, 2008
I have cool kids!
JCI has cut back on all overtime that means that I didn't work today. Last Friday I worked 10 hours overtime and Lori had to reschedule my dentist appointment. Today, I stayed home. Last night was Survivor night and we were under a Lake Effect Snow warning so I stayed up late and watched Lettermen on TV and Pushing Daisies, the last two episodes on my laptop, hoping that school would be canceled.
Morning came a little early not only because the late hour I went to sleep but also because of the two mojitos and then Rum and Cokes--well, Rum and Diet Coke with Lime, and after that I drank one or two Molsons; I am not sure of the count. I woke to get Adam and Evan to school feeling groggy and wanting to sleep more. Evan was very co-operative and Adam wore sunglasses to look cool as he went to school for final exams. After their bus left I went back to bed for an hour. I got Nathan up and after he rejected my clothing choices for him, he got dressed in what he wanted to wear and had peanut butter T-O-A-S-T cut into two triangles and apple juice. He complimented by saying, "this is a good breakfast."
He got his boots and coat on while I brought the trash bin back into the garage and then I drove him to school. Halfway to school he said he didn't have his gloves. I asked him to check his coat pockets and he said that they weren't there. I asked him to check his backpack and he said that they weren't there. I took off my right hand glove and asked him to try it on. His hand slipped easily into my glove but he was unhappy with the way his fingers only went half way into the glove. He took off my glove and threw it a me. "My hands are going to get cold at recess." Nathan said in a very pointed manner. "Where are they?" I asked him. "On the kitchen table." He replied
As we got closer to his school, Lakeshore, the road was quite iced over. Which is only fitting considering that the Lakeshore was hit with 10-12 inches of snow from South Haven to Benton Harbor. I dropped Nathan off at school and drove home and went back to bed. Later, Lori found Nathan's gloves in her coat pocket where she put them when he handed them to her at the store. She asked me what gloves he wore to school and I told her that he didn't, and they were not on the kitchen table where he said they were. "You should have asked when you got back." She said quite soundly. I had to laugh about it. Nathan's gloves were in HER coat pocket and she was upset with me that I didn't know where they were. If I had hid his gloves in my pocket and she couldn't find them I know she would be upset with me, but when she hides his gloves in her coat pocket and I can't find them it is my fault that Nathan does not have his gloves. If they were on the kitchen table, I would have driven back to Lakeshore and given them to him. As it was, I went back to bed thinking that they were in Nathan's backpack in the "secret compartment.
Last week Nathan picked up the finished part of the basement and put away all his toys, guys and action figures that had evaded the area. He put them back into the red toy room where they belong. He worked hard and I was proud of him. I told him that he would get a prize for his hard work.
Our desktop compute downstairs is running slow and is just a bit outdated, well it's at least five years old. Computer Technology gets outdated very quickly. For the past year, we have a stick of RAM, 256 MG, sitting on top of the dishwasher. At times it seems that half our lives sit on top of the dishwasher. Isn't that what flat surfaces are for? So yesterday, I asked Adam to help me install the RAM stick in the downstairs desktop computer. I unplugged the computer opened it up and vacuumed out the pound of dust that settled into it. Can dust mites hack a computer? Maybe that is why it has been running slow.
Together Adam and I put the RAM stick in the mother board and then I tested the computer and discovered that we now have a whopping 512 MG of RAM. My laptop has 2 GB of RAM, the same amount as our fabled Flash Drive. I asked Adam to put the computer back together and plug everything back into the mini tower unit. The benefit of having a child with Asperger's is that he knows how everything was and will return all elements back to their proper places and settings.
Then, he and I went to D&W and got beer, wine and food. Friday night is Soup Night, which means we watch The Soup at 10 pm. Soup Night means the kids need snacks. Nathan's reward for picking up the basement was an Oscar Meyer Lunchable, Turkey and American Cheese with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The kid loves peanut butter. I got Flaming Hot Cheetos Crunch for Evan and Nathan to eat during The Soup. Adam picked out a box of sour candy for himself as a reward for helping with the computer.
The smiles on their faces was worth it. Adam did a great job and he did earn a treat. Nathan was thrilled with Lunchable and both Evan and Nathan were elated to have their Flaming Hot Cheetos. They ate have of their bags Friday night and finished them Saturday afternoon.
Today, I watched Michigan lose to OSU and was able download the program to make Adam's Flip Video Camera that he got last Christmas to work. He finally was able to edit and upload his videos to You Tube.
Evan played his DS and played Incredible Machine on the desktop. They are excited to watch Robot Chicken tonight. They are trying to negotiate to watch Bleach at 1 am. They are cool. They know what they like and are thrilled to do it.
Morning came a little early not only because the late hour I went to sleep but also because of the two mojitos and then Rum and Cokes--well, Rum and Diet Coke with Lime, and after that I drank one or two Molsons; I am not sure of the count. I woke to get Adam and Evan to school feeling groggy and wanting to sleep more. Evan was very co-operative and Adam wore sunglasses to look cool as he went to school for final exams. After their bus left I went back to bed for an hour. I got Nathan up and after he rejected my clothing choices for him, he got dressed in what he wanted to wear and had peanut butter T-O-A-S-T cut into two triangles and apple juice. He complimented by saying, "this is a good breakfast."
He got his boots and coat on while I brought the trash bin back into the garage and then I drove him to school. Halfway to school he said he didn't have his gloves. I asked him to check his coat pockets and he said that they weren't there. I asked him to check his backpack and he said that they weren't there. I took off my right hand glove and asked him to try it on. His hand slipped easily into my glove but he was unhappy with the way his fingers only went half way into the glove. He took off my glove and threw it a me. "My hands are going to get cold at recess." Nathan said in a very pointed manner. "Where are they?" I asked him. "On the kitchen table." He replied
As we got closer to his school, Lakeshore, the road was quite iced over. Which is only fitting considering that the Lakeshore was hit with 10-12 inches of snow from South Haven to Benton Harbor. I dropped Nathan off at school and drove home and went back to bed. Later, Lori found Nathan's gloves in her coat pocket where she put them when he handed them to her at the store. She asked me what gloves he wore to school and I told her that he didn't, and they were not on the kitchen table where he said they were. "You should have asked when you got back." She said quite soundly. I had to laugh about it. Nathan's gloves were in HER coat pocket and she was upset with me that I didn't know where they were. If I had hid his gloves in my pocket and she couldn't find them I know she would be upset with me, but when she hides his gloves in her coat pocket and I can't find them it is my fault that Nathan does not have his gloves. If they were on the kitchen table, I would have driven back to Lakeshore and given them to him. As it was, I went back to bed thinking that they were in Nathan's backpack in the "secret compartment.
Last week Nathan picked up the finished part of the basement and put away all his toys, guys and action figures that had evaded the area. He put them back into the red toy room where they belong. He worked hard and I was proud of him. I told him that he would get a prize for his hard work.
Our desktop compute downstairs is running slow and is just a bit outdated, well it's at least five years old. Computer Technology gets outdated very quickly. For the past year, we have a stick of RAM, 256 MG, sitting on top of the dishwasher. At times it seems that half our lives sit on top of the dishwasher. Isn't that what flat surfaces are for? So yesterday, I asked Adam to help me install the RAM stick in the downstairs desktop computer. I unplugged the computer opened it up and vacuumed out the pound of dust that settled into it. Can dust mites hack a computer? Maybe that is why it has been running slow.
Together Adam and I put the RAM stick in the mother board and then I tested the computer and discovered that we now have a whopping 512 MG of RAM. My laptop has 2 GB of RAM, the same amount as our fabled Flash Drive. I asked Adam to put the computer back together and plug everything back into the mini tower unit. The benefit of having a child with Asperger's is that he knows how everything was and will return all elements back to their proper places and settings.
Then, he and I went to D&W and got beer, wine and food. Friday night is Soup Night, which means we watch The Soup at 10 pm. Soup Night means the kids need snacks. Nathan's reward for picking up the basement was an Oscar Meyer Lunchable, Turkey and American Cheese with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The kid loves peanut butter. I got Flaming Hot Cheetos Crunch for Evan and Nathan to eat during The Soup. Adam picked out a box of sour candy for himself as a reward for helping with the computer.
The smiles on their faces was worth it. Adam did a great job and he did earn a treat. Nathan was thrilled with Lunchable and both Evan and Nathan were elated to have their Flaming Hot Cheetos. They ate have of their bags Friday night and finished them Saturday afternoon.
Today, I watched Michigan lose to OSU and was able download the program to make Adam's Flip Video Camera that he got last Christmas to work. He finally was able to edit and upload his videos to You Tube.
Evan played his DS and played Incredible Machine on the desktop. They are excited to watch Robot Chicken tonight. They are trying to negotiate to watch Bleach at 1 am. They are cool. They know what they like and are thrilled to do it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
These are interesting times.
I am not sure what will happen first; will the American Economy collapse and bring about harder times than the Great Depression of the 1930's or will Global Warming cause flooding and freezing over the Great Lake region? We very well could see the Artic Ice Cap melt for the first time in recorded History and for the first time in American History will we have an African-American President. Yes, African-American, Obama was born in Kenya. At least, that is what McCain camp claimed and I will side with them because Sarah Palin is just so darn cute!
We are all tense at work wondering what will happen if the Big Three go under, especially General Motors. I work for Johnson Control Incorporated who got their start making thermostats for climate control systems. When Ed Prince died his wife Elsa sold the company to JCI. JCI was making seating systems and car batteries at the time and found themselves in the automotive interior business.
Well, thanks to NAFTA most of that business was outsourced to Mexico and Canada, and I was unemployed for nine months. Anyway, here were are faced again with the possibility that our jobs may go away if GM goes bankrupt. Worrying about it won't secure employment for anyone. It is hard to make plans for another job when no one knows what jobs will be available.
What if Congress bails out the GM? They won't run the place any differently. The boys club will still give themselves big salaries while playing nice with the UAW. How many more jobs will they outsource to foreign countries if GM gets the bail-out? We may never know. Besides, if GM does get the bail-out they better hope it happens before Obama gets into office.
If Obama walks the walk of the talk he has been talking, then he could very well insist on pay caps on the upper managers. He wants to share the wealth so it makes sense to me that he would want to put some restrictions on how tax payer's money is to be used. Professional Athletes have a salary cap then why shouldn't CEOs, COOs, and CFOs have salary caps if tax dollars are paying their salaries?
So, we could see the end of the American motor industry and the North Pole ice cap during the Presidency of Barak Obama.
We are all tense at work wondering what will happen if the Big Three go under, especially General Motors. I work for Johnson Control Incorporated who got their start making thermostats for climate control systems. When Ed Prince died his wife Elsa sold the company to JCI. JCI was making seating systems and car batteries at the time and found themselves in the automotive interior business.
Well, thanks to NAFTA most of that business was outsourced to Mexico and Canada, and I was unemployed for nine months. Anyway, here were are faced again with the possibility that our jobs may go away if GM goes bankrupt. Worrying about it won't secure employment for anyone. It is hard to make plans for another job when no one knows what jobs will be available.
What if Congress bails out the GM? They won't run the place any differently. The boys club will still give themselves big salaries while playing nice with the UAW. How many more jobs will they outsource to foreign countries if GM gets the bail-out? We may never know. Besides, if GM does get the bail-out they better hope it happens before Obama gets into office.
If Obama walks the walk of the talk he has been talking, then he could very well insist on pay caps on the upper managers. He wants to share the wealth so it makes sense to me that he would want to put some restrictions on how tax payer's money is to be used. Professional Athletes have a salary cap then why shouldn't CEOs, COOs, and CFOs have salary caps if tax dollars are paying their salaries?
So, we could see the end of the American motor industry and the North Pole ice cap during the Presidency of Barak Obama.
Friday, November 14, 2008
This week
Yes Obama is going to be our next President. I didn't vote for him; I voted for John McCain. I voted for McCain in the primaries since 2000. Obama used the campaign slogan, "Yes we can" I guess he liked to watch Bob the Builder on weekday mornings. I only the show Bob the Builder because when Nathan was 3 he watched Nic Jr. Since a children's television show slogan helped get Obama elected, I have been wondering what would have happened if McCain had used Mr. Rogers theme song for his campaign. It would have been fitting for the elderly John McCain to use an "Old School" kids show theme song at his Town Hall Meetings. It would have been great to see McCain walk out on stage lipsynching. "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood." It could have been an election maker, but alas we will never know.
It snowed pretty hard on Monday and got in my first accident in years. No one was hurt and the only thing my rusting Blazer hit was a tree. I actually said the words from the computer golf game, Links, "Looks like a hit the tree, Jim." Unlike hitting a tree with a golf ball there was no bounce. I keep seeing Gene Hackman in Welcome to Mooseport waiting for the bounce to happen only to discover that it was Secret Service men who would throw a ball back onto the fairway. No bouncing, just a tree shaped dent in the bumper and some grill damage. It wouldn't have happened if I had put the Blazer into four wheel drive.
I had to put into low four wheel drive to get out of the snowbank and then I had to drive around the block because I couldn't backup against traffic. Then the four wheel drive slipped and I was stuck in neutral at a traffic light. Drivers were honking at me and there I was stuck in neutral. I tried to shift out of 4 wheel drive but the gears kept grinding. Finally, I remembered how to do it the right way and the gears silently shifted and I drove home safely.
As soon as I walked in the door, Lori told me that my dentist, Dr. Oswald, wanted to show up right away to get my flipper. I have a missing tooth. It fell out in 2006 and Dr. Oswald bonded it in place. Two weeks ago that tooth fell out for good while I was eating a fried won ton. I ended up swallowing it. Now I put my teeth, I mean tooth in my mouth every morning and take it out when I eat. My gum is tender where the gap is and tonight while I was brushing my teeth after dinner the gum bled. I will have to watch that, if it continues to bleed I will call Dr. Oswald.
I got home from the dentist ate dinner and then called our mortgage company; we are behind in house payments. Talk about feeling stressed. Today, I have a headache. I made it to work on time and worked the full shift, just 10 hours. JCI is holding it's breath waiting for Congress to decide on whether or not to help the Big Three. Overtime has ended and the numbers are lower. Many managers at JCI are optimistic about the bailout. I don't know; really, I just don't know what will happen. It is hard to plan for another job when I don't even know what jobs there will be if the bailout does happen, and if it doesn't, will there be any jobs at all?
Life is different with a hunk of plastic in my mouth. I tried chewing gum and it stuck to the flipper--not fun at all. I tried removing the gum with my tongue which made me start to choke. It reminded me of the time Nathan was choking on a piece of hard candy at the Nationwide Insurance agency. The lady who gave it to him was from the Ukraine and she was quite worried as he coughed and coughed while the candy was lodged in his throat. I calmly hit his back which didn't work and he coughed some more. The lady, whose name I forget but she did embezzle money from the agency, was still worried and made exclamations that sounded like,"ooouuuu."
This happened about five years ago when Nathan was four. I worked second shift then and spent the mornings with Nathan. He and I had our routine. He would watch Nic Jr in the morning and I would nap for about an hour. I would make him breakfast and lunch. We would listen to music and make each other laugh. He would nap at some point and I would nap again. I would work from 3-11 everyday. Second shift is the worst shift to work, especially when you have a family, but Nathan and I made the most of it.
So there we were in this little office, Nathan choking, the Insurance Agent making her Ukrainian vowel exclamations. I was sitting in a chair and he was standing. I turned his back to me, put my right hand under his rib cage and my left hand in front of his mouth. I had never done the Heimlich maneuver to anyone, but I knew how to to do it. It was strange, it was like I knew exactly what to do and just did it. I pushed with my right hand a the candy fell into my left. Nathan actually laughed when he saw the candy in my hand.
I haven't spent a lot time thinking about that day. It just entered my mind. What will the future bring, more stress and less money perhaps? The checking account is overdrawn, payday is Friday. I have a feeling that my paycheck will pay off the overdraft fees, maybe.
It snowed pretty hard on Monday and got in my first accident in years. No one was hurt and the only thing my rusting Blazer hit was a tree. I actually said the words from the computer golf game, Links, "Looks like a hit the tree, Jim." Unlike hitting a tree with a golf ball there was no bounce. I keep seeing Gene Hackman in Welcome to Mooseport waiting for the bounce to happen only to discover that it was Secret Service men who would throw a ball back onto the fairway. No bouncing, just a tree shaped dent in the bumper and some grill damage. It wouldn't have happened if I had put the Blazer into four wheel drive.
I had to put into low four wheel drive to get out of the snowbank and then I had to drive around the block because I couldn't backup against traffic. Then the four wheel drive slipped and I was stuck in neutral at a traffic light. Drivers were honking at me and there I was stuck in neutral. I tried to shift out of 4 wheel drive but the gears kept grinding. Finally, I remembered how to do it the right way and the gears silently shifted and I drove home safely.
As soon as I walked in the door, Lori told me that my dentist, Dr. Oswald, wanted to show up right away to get my flipper. I have a missing tooth. It fell out in 2006 and Dr. Oswald bonded it in place. Two weeks ago that tooth fell out for good while I was eating a fried won ton. I ended up swallowing it. Now I put my teeth, I mean tooth in my mouth every morning and take it out when I eat. My gum is tender where the gap is and tonight while I was brushing my teeth after dinner the gum bled. I will have to watch that, if it continues to bleed I will call Dr. Oswald.
I got home from the dentist ate dinner and then called our mortgage company; we are behind in house payments. Talk about feeling stressed. Today, I have a headache. I made it to work on time and worked the full shift, just 10 hours. JCI is holding it's breath waiting for Congress to decide on whether or not to help the Big Three. Overtime has ended and the numbers are lower. Many managers at JCI are optimistic about the bailout. I don't know; really, I just don't know what will happen. It is hard to plan for another job when I don't even know what jobs there will be if the bailout does happen, and if it doesn't, will there be any jobs at all?
Life is different with a hunk of plastic in my mouth. I tried chewing gum and it stuck to the flipper--not fun at all. I tried removing the gum with my tongue which made me start to choke. It reminded me of the time Nathan was choking on a piece of hard candy at the Nationwide Insurance agency. The lady who gave it to him was from the Ukraine and she was quite worried as he coughed and coughed while the candy was lodged in his throat. I calmly hit his back which didn't work and he coughed some more. The lady, whose name I forget but she did embezzle money from the agency, was still worried and made exclamations that sounded like,"ooouuuu."
This happened about five years ago when Nathan was four. I worked second shift then and spent the mornings with Nathan. He and I had our routine. He would watch Nic Jr in the morning and I would nap for about an hour. I would make him breakfast and lunch. We would listen to music and make each other laugh. He would nap at some point and I would nap again. I would work from 3-11 everyday. Second shift is the worst shift to work, especially when you have a family, but Nathan and I made the most of it.
So there we were in this little office, Nathan choking, the Insurance Agent making her Ukrainian vowel exclamations. I was sitting in a chair and he was standing. I turned his back to me, put my right hand under his rib cage and my left hand in front of his mouth. I had never done the Heimlich maneuver to anyone, but I knew how to to do it. It was strange, it was like I knew exactly what to do and just did it. I pushed with my right hand a the candy fell into my left. Nathan actually laughed when he saw the candy in my hand.
I haven't spent a lot time thinking about that day. It just entered my mind. What will the future bring, more stress and less money perhaps? The checking account is overdrawn, payday is Friday. I have a feeling that my paycheck will pay off the overdraft fees, maybe.
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