So I drove home from the train station on Friday in the rain. Parked my little red Ford Aspire in the garage and when I went out on Saturday she wouldn't start! Bummer! Now, I've had trouble with this car when it got wet in the past (shorted out the ignition or something I guess), so I left the hood up to let things dry out and took MLM's van. Anyway, after several hours still no dice. It cranks and cranks but there is no discernable spark. Poor car. It'll be the middle o next month (payday) before I can get it worked on.
This car has been fairly dependable for the most part considering the rough life she's had. Smashed into a Chicago cab in the second year of ownership and then drove around for about eight years with the front bumper mashed and tied up with wire on the left and only one headlight working on the right. Mary Lynn christened it "Smashmouth." Great nickname, eh? It may have hurt its feelings though. There then appeared an issue with the ignition switch - when it got really hot outside it wouldn't start - again it would crank and crank but no spark. Many times I had to leave it somewhere and come back after sunset to drive it home. Never had the money to get it worked on, just kinda dealt with it. Then, sadly, Kelly borrowed it for a college scouting trip to the East Coast and it died on her there. At least she got it diagnosed as a bad ignition switch - a $40 part that would cost $400 dollars to install! Well, about three years ago I finally got the ignition switch fixed. Then about two years ago I got a warning ticket from the Rolling Meadows police because of a new ordinance that required vehicles to be 'roadworthy.' Of all the nerve! So I had to take out a loan and got some minimalist body work done at Maaco so Smashmouth no longer had a smashed mouth. I renamed her Fireball! Oh, well.
I thought the issue this time might be the ignition again so I tried all the tricks that we had as a workaround for that to no avail. The problem is definitely with the electrical to the spark plugs - they just aren't sparking. Money is still very tight so pray with me that the repairs will not be too expensive.
It never rains but it pours, it seems. Meanwhile I have to drive the van which gets half the gas mileage as the Aspire, so that REALLY helps.
At least the weather today is fabulous! It's going to be in the upper 70s and sunny and clear. I see leaves starting to bud on the trees. Spring is definitely on its way. So that's a good thing. Love the changing seasons! Also, fun omake in MegaTokyo the last couple weeks (an omake is a 'bonus' short story often added into a manga that features the same characters but in a different setting and plot line). Fred just finished chapter 8 to be included in the new print book out next month and did this omake for us as a bonus - then chapter 9 starts later this week.
That's it for now. Gotta go flush a virus off a user's PC. Later.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
As I Was Saying...
So, time for a change I think. It’s been nearly a year since I posted to this thing, and I think I need to get back in the habit or give it up entirely. And, since I like the idea of blogs in general, I think I’ll work on (there is no ‘try’) getting back in the habit.
It’s been a busy year for me and mine. When last we spoke I was working at RSM McGladrey you’ll recall as a contract desktop support tech. It was a nice job with really great people, but being contract I had no bennies and had to maintain health care via COBRA for just under a Grand per month. Ouch! Plus the COBRA coverage ended the end of March ’06, so we incurred some hefty med bills for a few months there that we are still having to pay down.
Then my miracle happened! The second week in June I was cruising my daily email from Dice that listed jobs culled by my search bot and applying for any and everything that was (a) permanent, and (b) a close match for my skill sets. One of these was for a Network Analyst at the University of Illinois at Chicago. On Tuesday a couple weeks later I got a call saying their ‘search team’ was going to be in Chicago on Thursday and could I come for an interview. Naturally I said ‘sure!’ I searched back through my email for the job listing and read it over again to realize it was a perfect match for me. Perfect match means I can do the job, I have the necessary skills, there is sufficient challenge to keep it interesting, the work environment is pleasant, etc. These are the kind of jobs I never seem to get – not since Douwe Egberts anyway, (which was enveloped by Sara Lee who then laid me off). The interview went great! I had a little prayer beforehand and it was smooth sailing. I really liked the people and we seemed to hit it off. After the interview my soon-to-be boss took me downstairs (2nd floor) to show me what would be my office – which I took as a positive sign. Two days later they made me the offer and I started on July 5th. YEA!! I’m working for the State of Illinois so I have state bennies and retirement etc. So glad. So relieved. Chance of a merger or takeover which would result in layoffs: nil. Whew!
Jeez, so much to report – but maybe not that interesting. Let’s do a Cliff Notes: we were much in debt after our medical bills from April through July and the two periods of no-work I had in 2005 and early 2006. All cards maxed and I stupidly took out three, then four payday loans which were leeching us every month. I sold all my Lionel I had been acquiring the last couple years on eBay and sold everything else I could let go including Lord of the Rings collectibles and my Don Quixote Lladro (sniff). Then I had to turn to family for help and they really came through! Then turned to the Church who came through even more. Thank you, God. Also, thank you, God, for the November elections. I was pleased to see most of the country returning to conscienceness and waking up from the monumental snow job the Bushites have been perpetrating. (The 2004 election reminded me of the old saw that, by definition, half the people you meet have an IQ below 100; and they apparently tend to vote Republican.) Continuing: went to Tennessee the second week in November (for reasons too complex to go over here) and had an early Thanksgiving with Mary Lynn’s family there. After returning, I applied for a part-time job at Wal*Mart for the holiday season and got hired as a night stalker, I mean stocker. Worked three nights a week which just about killed me – been a long time since I did an eight-hour shift of manual labor! But we needed the money which came in handy. Christmas came and we were still broke so it was going to be a sparse but peaceful and loving affair. Then daughter Kelly showed up and played serious Ms. Clause! She’s been working pretty steady doing contract legal work so, being the excellent money-manager she is (no, she sure didn’t get that from me!) she had some serious coin to spend for Christmas and pretty much brought it to us. I still tear up when I think about it. She was generous to a fault, I’d say, and really made Christmas morning fun. My funnest gift from her was a new EDGE™ wristwatch that has a 1-gig flash drive built in! I’ve have it loaded with useful utilities and fun files that I can drop on any PC I’m working on with the special retractable USB cable. Wheee! I got Mary Lynn the Lionel elf-driven handcar that complements the Polar Express, and I got the latest car in the series – the chocolate car that included a replica golden ticket! My Polar Express is now six cars long and is quite impressive. Kelly brought lots of other cool stuff too such as the new Star Trek Season 1 special edition dvd set - way cool!
The week after Christmas Wal*Mart laid off all the temp help so we were back to one income. In the meantime, however, Mary Lynn applied for disability status with the Social Security Administration and was classified as disabled. This is definitely a mixed blessing since we don’t want her to be disabled, but at least she gets a monthly stipend from SS now and will qualify for Medicare later on. This was due to the year she worked at Sears which did two things: hammered her physically so much that she went over the edge to full disability, and also pushed her over the edge as far a quarters worked paying social security to qualify her for benefits. Another mixed, but sucky, blessing.
Last month Mary Lynn got real sick one Friday evening with a cough, sore throat, and fever. So we called the doc and he said get to the ER. They admitted her for possible pneumonia and she was in the hospital for five days! It was close. She is still recovering and does daily lung treatments – her doctor said recovery would take a least six weeks.
Meanwhile, Kelly gave up looking for that perfect job in D.C. (wasn’t there apparently) and moved back to Boston. You can read all about that on her blog – see link on the right. She’s doing contract work again but there is a much better chance of a permanent position there. Plus she’s closer to her main squeeze who is doing a fellowship (I think) in Providence. Here’s wishing her all things good and wonderful!
Let’s see, back in December I kept noticing a link on some of the anime websites I visit to a thing called MegaTokyo, so I finally clicked through to check it out. It’s a webcomic, about two American PC gamer and anime geeks who end up stranded in Tokyo and have to get along as best they can until they get enough money to fly home. Meanwhile they meet several cute and interesting women and the relationships start to develop in interesting ways. Fun characters and story overall, so I really enjoy it. Fred Gallagher, the guy who writes it, lives in Michigan, I think, and the fan base is phenomenal – he started back in 2002 so it’s been growing that long. Comics get posted about three times a week and after each post the discussion forums light up like a Christmas tree with everyone discussing what the latest episode means, commenting on the artwork, and predicting what will come next. It’s really fun. Fred has compiled the strips into manga-style books (volume five coming out soon), but the entire run of the strips from day one are all available on the website. I have a link on the right so check it out if you’re interested.
Switched from Netflix to Blockbuster. We can take the movies we get in the mail to the store and swap them for another film – pretty sweet. Plus they get checked in right there so I see on my email that my next set of movies are being mailed to me a day or two before they receive the old movies. Still referring to Netflix for my series anime since they have the best detail and most complete listing of such. Blockbuster rarely has a complete series in stock and they do not differentiate the volume numbers, they just list titles. Complete series I’ve collected so far include Master Keaton, Love Hina, FullMetal Alchemist, and Rurouni Kenshin – working on Ah! My Goddess, Noir, Lain, and Naruto. Check ‘em out.
That’s pretty much it for now – too much info for a single post. Am starting to look for a new apartment closer to downtown since that’s where I work now and where Mary Lynn’s doctors are. Sorry we had to leave the place at Michigan and Roosevelt but the rent was just getting ridiculous. ‘Course, it’s getting ridiculous where we’re at now, too. Anyway, lease is up in July so we will definitely be moving then. Oh, joy (can you feel the sarcasm?)
Okay, let’s keep it rolling now…
It’s been a busy year for me and mine. When last we spoke I was working at RSM McGladrey you’ll recall as a contract desktop support tech. It was a nice job with really great people, but being contract I had no bennies and had to maintain health care via COBRA for just under a Grand per month. Ouch! Plus the COBRA coverage ended the end of March ’06, so we incurred some hefty med bills for a few months there that we are still having to pay down.
Then my miracle happened! The second week in June I was cruising my daily email from Dice that listed jobs culled by my search bot and applying for any and everything that was (a) permanent, and (b) a close match for my skill sets. One of these was for a Network Analyst at the University of Illinois at Chicago. On Tuesday a couple weeks later I got a call saying their ‘search team’ was going to be in Chicago on Thursday and could I come for an interview. Naturally I said ‘sure!’ I searched back through my email for the job listing and read it over again to realize it was a perfect match for me. Perfect match means I can do the job, I have the necessary skills, there is sufficient challenge to keep it interesting, the work environment is pleasant, etc. These are the kind of jobs I never seem to get – not since Douwe Egberts anyway, (which was enveloped by Sara Lee who then laid me off). The interview went great! I had a little prayer beforehand and it was smooth sailing. I really liked the people and we seemed to hit it off. After the interview my soon-to-be boss took me downstairs (2nd floor) to show me what would be my office – which I took as a positive sign. Two days later they made me the offer and I started on July 5th. YEA!! I’m working for the State of Illinois so I have state bennies and retirement etc. So glad. So relieved. Chance of a merger or takeover which would result in layoffs: nil. Whew!
Jeez, so much to report – but maybe not that interesting. Let’s do a Cliff Notes: we were much in debt after our medical bills from April through July and the two periods of no-work I had in 2005 and early 2006. All cards maxed and I stupidly took out three, then four payday loans which were leeching us every month. I sold all my Lionel I had been acquiring the last couple years on eBay and sold everything else I could let go including Lord of the Rings collectibles and my Don Quixote Lladro (sniff). Then I had to turn to family for help and they really came through! Then turned to the Church who came through even more. Thank you, God. Also, thank you, God, for the November elections. I was pleased to see most of the country returning to conscienceness and waking up from the monumental snow job the Bushites have been perpetrating. (The 2004 election reminded me of the old saw that, by definition, half the people you meet have an IQ below 100; and they apparently tend to vote Republican.) Continuing: went to Tennessee the second week in November (for reasons too complex to go over here) and had an early Thanksgiving with Mary Lynn’s family there. After returning, I applied for a part-time job at Wal*Mart for the holiday season and got hired as a night stalker, I mean stocker. Worked three nights a week which just about killed me – been a long time since I did an eight-hour shift of manual labor! But we needed the money which came in handy. Christmas came and we were still broke so it was going to be a sparse but peaceful and loving affair. Then daughter Kelly showed up and played serious Ms. Clause! She’s been working pretty steady doing contract legal work so, being the excellent money-manager she is (no, she sure didn’t get that from me!) she had some serious coin to spend for Christmas and pretty much brought it to us. I still tear up when I think about it. She was generous to a fault, I’d say, and really made Christmas morning fun. My funnest gift from her was a new EDGE™ wristwatch that has a 1-gig flash drive built in! I’ve have it loaded with useful utilities and fun files that I can drop on any PC I’m working on with the special retractable USB cable. Wheee! I got Mary Lynn the Lionel elf-driven handcar that complements the Polar Express, and I got the latest car in the series – the chocolate car that included a replica golden ticket! My Polar Express is now six cars long and is quite impressive. Kelly brought lots of other cool stuff too such as the new Star Trek Season 1 special edition dvd set - way cool!
The week after Christmas Wal*Mart laid off all the temp help so we were back to one income. In the meantime, however, Mary Lynn applied for disability status with the Social Security Administration and was classified as disabled. This is definitely a mixed blessing since we don’t want her to be disabled, but at least she gets a monthly stipend from SS now and will qualify for Medicare later on. This was due to the year she worked at Sears which did two things: hammered her physically so much that she went over the edge to full disability, and also pushed her over the edge as far a quarters worked paying social security to qualify her for benefits. Another mixed, but sucky, blessing.
Last month Mary Lynn got real sick one Friday evening with a cough, sore throat, and fever. So we called the doc and he said get to the ER. They admitted her for possible pneumonia and she was in the hospital for five days! It was close. She is still recovering and does daily lung treatments – her doctor said recovery would take a least six weeks.
Meanwhile, Kelly gave up looking for that perfect job in D.C. (wasn’t there apparently) and moved back to Boston. You can read all about that on her blog – see link on the right. She’s doing contract work again but there is a much better chance of a permanent position there. Plus she’s closer to her main squeeze who is doing a fellowship (I think) in Providence. Here’s wishing her all things good and wonderful!
Let’s see, back in December I kept noticing a link on some of the anime websites I visit to a thing called MegaTokyo, so I finally clicked through to check it out. It’s a webcomic, about two American PC gamer and anime geeks who end up stranded in Tokyo and have to get along as best they can until they get enough money to fly home. Meanwhile they meet several cute and interesting women and the relationships start to develop in interesting ways. Fun characters and story overall, so I really enjoy it. Fred Gallagher, the guy who writes it, lives in Michigan, I think, and the fan base is phenomenal – he started back in 2002 so it’s been growing that long. Comics get posted about three times a week and after each post the discussion forums light up like a Christmas tree with everyone discussing what the latest episode means, commenting on the artwork, and predicting what will come next. It’s really fun. Fred has compiled the strips into manga-style books (volume five coming out soon), but the entire run of the strips from day one are all available on the website. I have a link on the right so check it out if you’re interested.
Switched from Netflix to Blockbuster. We can take the movies we get in the mail to the store and swap them for another film – pretty sweet. Plus they get checked in right there so I see on my email that my next set of movies are being mailed to me a day or two before they receive the old movies. Still referring to Netflix for my series anime since they have the best detail and most complete listing of such. Blockbuster rarely has a complete series in stock and they do not differentiate the volume numbers, they just list titles. Complete series I’ve collected so far include Master Keaton, Love Hina, FullMetal Alchemist, and Rurouni Kenshin – working on Ah! My Goddess, Noir, Lain, and Naruto. Check ‘em out.
That’s pretty much it for now – too much info for a single post. Am starting to look for a new apartment closer to downtown since that’s where I work now and where Mary Lynn’s doctors are. Sorry we had to leave the place at Michigan and Roosevelt but the rent was just getting ridiculous. ‘Course, it’s getting ridiculous where we’re at now, too. Anyway, lease is up in July so we will definitely be moving then. Oh, joy (can you feel the sarcasm?)
Okay, let’s keep it rolling now…
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