The Joys of Tech Support

[mb99usa]

Friday

What is it about Friday that makes everything better? I'm not even really a weekend person. I spend most of my weekends off doing things other places rather than staying at home. This sounds reasonable until you figure that my largest pay-out every month is my mortgage. I pay the most for someplace I spend more time asleep than awake in.

This leads into another conundrum that B and I face every summer. Around the beginning of spring we always say "this year we're going to keep some time open for staying around the house". 2 weeks later we find 3/4s of the summer booked. Between our families and the few things we want to do for ourselves there is usually no free time left.

Oh well, what are you gonna do :angel: .

My parents wanted to take M tomorrow. Had to decline cause we've got the day planned. Go figure. Don't think my dad took it too bad since we really do have plans. B doesn't like leaving M with them but we'll have to find a day they can take her. Keep things harmonious.

I really need to start practicing my guitar. I got it a year and a half ago and I can remember how to play maybe 3 chords. 2 kids and all the shit to around the house and trying to find time for me and B, I don't know where to fit it in. Just need to buckle down and play. I don't have dreams of granduer or of being a rock star but it would be fun to play a few songs. B's dad and his friend play around the fire when we go camping and it would be fun to join in.

Besides, playing guitar will up my Cool Dad quotient.

Man reading this thing I'm all over the place. Talk about rambling, DAMN.

Good Times!!

 

[mb99usa]

Looking ahead

Change is a good thing and should be embraced.

I feel for brown_eyed_girl and her career/living situation predicament. I am at somewhat of a crossroads myself.

I've spoken before of my families intent to move to Florida and how my current job situation has made this decision easier if not necessary. What I have found though in my searching is that I am either not qualified or over-qualified for the positions I find. This has led me to see that I need to return to school. Since I will be starting fresh (none of my tech school credits are transferrable) I face deciding what I want to do when I grow-up.

I can pick what I want to go to school for. I've flirted with the idea of auto mechanics. I like turning a wrench but fear that the fun will soon vanish if I'm required to for 8 hours a day. B thinks I should stick with electronics and continue in this direction. It would be the most logical. I started looking at the local community colleges course offerings today. I think I found the perfect track for me. It is a general engineering course of study that sets-up transferring to a 4-year program. This would give me time (several years since I'll be going part-time) to decide which engineering discipline I want to focus on.

Sounds like a plan. Now to find the funding and set it in motion. There is always a catch or 2. My main ones being time and money. I've already talked to B and she is cool with me taking a class or 2 a semester once we are sure we can pay for it. Work offers a tuition reimbursement plan which is great, just gotta have the money to pay up front.

First I gotta take my Solaris Admin 1 exam. I've already completed the class (a few years ago) just never took the test. That will need to be done soon. After that I'll start looking more strongly into school.

Still have not started playing guitar again. Maybe tonite I'll blow the dust off and hit a few chords.

 

[mb99usa]

Gone but not Forgotten

Just wanted to throw a "nice to know ya" Chastain's (Grant's) way. It was fun reading your journal. I am sorry to see you go and the way it had to end. Some people do not know how to handle knowledge. There are times when having knowledge and not using it is the wisest course.

Enough of that. Just read an interesting article about Peter Sellers. For those with blank looks on your faces he is Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther movies. They were just a small part of his amazing performance history. I did not have any idea what a trully tortured soul he was. I continue to find it amazing that the more talented you appear to be the less of a normal person you become.

I used to think that being an actor would be a wonderful career. I still see some actors I view with great respect. More and more I find myself intrigued by their lack of respect. I'm not a firm believer in morality because it is a word tossed around lightly. By lack of respect I mean for themselves and how their actions affect others.

I've come to realize that even with my financial difficulties I am where I want to be. I love my family (a little cliche I know), have a place to live, and a job to go to that pays the bills (barely but it does). What I want is for this to grow. I continue to learn and apply what I learn. If I continue to do this my finances will strengthen, my family will strengthen, and my career will grow.

I need to write down the goals I want to achieve and lay-out plans to achieve these goals. Once I have the plains laid then it simply becomes a matter of focus and determination.

I need to remove distraction. I need to start playing guitar. Good weather today so maybe I can sit on the deck and play a little tonite.

Good luck and Good times!

 

[mb99usa]

Here we go again

I thought I finally had a weekend with no plans. Then it all started...

I got a call yesterday from the car dealership where I bought my truck. The bank has a problem with the contract the dealership provided and needs some more info from me. Nothing wrong on my end and I'm still approved, just the dealership screwed-up some paperwork. So, there goes Saturday morning.

On the way out this morning my mother-in-law mentions that B's cousin and her family will be stying at our house Sunday night. News to me and B never said anything. Then she goes on to tell me how her and B were talking about us going to her house with B's cousin's family and we could all go out Saturday night while she watches the kids.

This totally screws-up everything I was planning for the weekend. We are having a big Independence Day cookout on the 5th (you know next weekend) and we finally have a weekend that it is not supposed to rain. Not going anywhere would give me 2 days to work on the yard and get things ready. I'm so far behind on yard-work its just silly.

B and I need to discuss this weekend.

 

[mb99usa]

Weekend Plans

Talked to B and got this weekend straightened out.

Tonite or tomorrow I'm getting the light bulb I need for the van and installing it.

Saturday morning I'm taking M and we're gonna hit the car dealership to get that finished. When we get back from that we're gonna take B's van to get inspected since it expires on MOnday. The local guy I like ot go to only works by appointment and is not open Saturdays. We're gonna have to take it to a chain place like Meineke.

Still need to get the wheel checked out so I'll take it to the local guy for that.

Whatever time we have left Saturday and then all of Sunday will be spent getting the yard and the house ready for next weekend's cookout. SUnday evening/night B's cousin's family should arrive. That will be an interesting evening.

At least next week is a short one.

 

[mb99usa]

Sore

I'm still sore from working around the house this weekend. I used to be able to work all through the weekend and still have energy. Sitting behind a desk 5 days a week is starting to take its toll. B keeps pointing out my growing waistline (beer-gut she calls it). It's not a beer gut though. I'm lucky if I get to have more than a few beers a month. Beer money now goes to diapers and formula. Money is much better spent on those, no doubt about it.

The real reason for my growing belly is a lack of physical activity. I used to work on my feet all day, then either hit the basketball courts, or spend my night on my feet shooting pool. Now I sit behind a desk and watch TV. Most nights I'll roll around on the floor with the kids but nothing near the level of activity in my past.

It felt good to finally get outside and sweat. It feels good to be sore. I'm going to force myself to start being more active. If B wants to veg in front of the TV she will have to do it on her own most nights. I'm gonna start lifting weights again too. Since its been awhile I'm gonna be smart and slowly work my way back into it.

Still have not picked up the guitar. Really need to do that. Try to find some time tonite. Still working on getting the yard ready for next weekend.

 

[mb99usa]

Almost forgot to mention we finally made it to the drive-in this weekend. We had fun. Saw the Rugrats Go Wild and part of the Hulk . Had to leave in the middle cause the little ones were getting restless. They always do a double-feature and it can get pretty late since the first movie doesn't start until around 9 and then there is a 10-15min intermission between movies. For $6 each you can't beat it especially since you can bring in as much food as you want.

B also started getting cold during Hulk. We hadn't really planned on going so we didn't have our regular drive-in supplies with us. Usually we bring pillows, blankets, extra chairs, and food. Waiting to see what they have for next weekend.

Drive-in is always good times!!

 

[mb99usa]

Cars - I Love Them\I Hate Them

Like any guy I'm into cars. I'm more into trucks but 60's and 70's vintage sports and muscle cars are cool too.

Now I'm no mechanic but I used to help my dad work on our cars and learned some basics. Brakes, tune-ups, minor engine work are no problem. I work in the electronics field so usually the electrical system is not too difficult for me.

The battery in the van looked like it was going dead yesterday. B kept having a harder time getting it to start as the day went on. No biggie I figured, I'll test it to make sure the alternator and voltage regulator are good and we'll get a new battery. Got home from work and everything looked good except the battery was low.

We were going to W-mart anyway so I figured we'd just grab a battery there. It was the only one they didn't stock. Ok, so I'll get one from the parts store the today.

Well B doesn't want to wait for me to get home so I talk her through putting the charger on the battery. Finding bare metal on that van is not easy so after awhile she finally gts a good ground connection and gets the battery charged. Takes the van to Sears and they check the battery and the alternator. Both check out just fine. Cool, spent $10 on the test instead of $60 on a battery we didn't need.

B said the sales guy still tried to sell her a battery even with the tech who just tested everything standing there. She kinda laughed at the sales guy and left. The van has problems with the doors not always registering as closed. All the doors do this. The automatic sliding door is the worste. When they don't register as closed the interior lights stay lit. The tech said that this may have been what caused the battery to drain.

So tonite I'm gonna clean all the contacts on the doors and see if this clears things up a bit. Wish me luck cause I don't wanna have to try and chase this ghost down.

Love 'em and Hate 'em.

 

[mb99usa]

Strange 4th

This year the 4th of July weekend is just getting weird. In the past it was a pretty straight-forward affair. We go to B's cousin's place on the 4th where they have a cool cook-out and fireworks show. They live across the street from where the city sets-off the fireworks so we can see the whole show from their backyard.

The Saturday after the 4th our community has their fireworks show so we've had a cook-out on this day since we moved into the house. This will be the 3rd year.

The last 2 years it has been a pretty big affair. Most of B's family comes and my family has even come from as far as Jersey for this. This year its going to be a much smaller gig.

B's uncle who I love to hang-out with is not going to come. He's going to a Jimmy Buffet show so he is excused. I'd go to the show myself.

My parent's aren't going to make it. They are visiting my bro in South Carolina this week. My mom just called from the hospital down there. They had to take my dad in cause he got pneumonia again. They are hoping ot get released tomorrow but he's not gonna be in any shape to hang-out on Saturday and she'll have to stay home to take care of him. She said she'd try to make it for a little while.

B's dad will be coming later than usual. Not sure when her mom will be coming but probably not too early.

DOn't know about my sis. We reminded her while at her place on Father's Day and then I left her a message the other day but have not heard back.

B's cousin who usually can't make it first said she would be coming and now she is not sure if she will. B's a little pissed cause this is the cousin who we visit on the 4th.

/RANT

Why get a cell-phone if you will not leave it on or check your voicemail? My mom got a cell-phone. I can never get her on it and she never gets my messages. My sis has a cell-phone and has not answered the message I left on her phone. B and I's cell-phones are the only way you can be sure to get us. We don't always answer the home phone but the cells always get answered.

I hate when people have a cell but won't use it.
/END RANT

So it turns out smaller may be better. They are calling for sunny and 93 on Saturday. Could get pretty unbearable outside. Less people means it will be easier to move in-doors.

B is not feeling well today. Her head is killing her and she feels totally wiped-out.

On the plus side we had some fun in the sack early (3:30am early) this morning. I didn't receive much but B got some tongue lovin. I just love feeling her bare ass against me :inlove: .

 

[mb99usa]

4th of July

This will probably be my last post until Monday. So... for all the Americans out there have a happy 4th of July weekend.

We have been having problems with ants and these little water bugs. B set-off some bug bombs in the house today so we'll see if that helps. Rained yesterday so I didn't get any work doen like I wanted to. It has cleared up this afternoon and hopefully I'll be able to get some stuff done. I don't want to have to get it all done tomorrow.

Traffic started to back-up around 2. It's going to be hell driving home. My goal is to be home before 7. Wish me luck.

Not a whole hell of a lot happening at work today. Usually is pretty quiet the day before a holiday weekend. Nobody wants to start anything that may spill over into the holiday.

Just trying to pass the time until 5.

Everyone have great weekend!!!!!!

 

[mb99usa]

What A Weekend

Don't know where to begin.

Friday - spent the morning working around the house to get it ready for Saturday. Friday afternoon we cruised up to B's cousin's place. Good people but very West Virginian even by PA standards. Not a group I fit in easily with. I played horseshoes. Me and my partner kicked everybody's ass. B hates that I play because we play winners stay and I end up playing all afternoon. She was OK with it when she saw that was the only way I could get anyone there to talk to me.

I am always on call for work and got called 4 times on the 4th. The first was at 6am. Good thing I was already up with G.

Saturday - the cookout went very well. Not nearly the tun-out we expected, had several people cancel at the last minute. My sis came through and brought some of her friends with. So everyone hung-out, drank, ate, and generally just had a good time. We set off some fireworks after dark.

Sunday - just spent the day cleaning up and taking it easy. We went to Target and did some shopping. We love that store. B always spends way too much but I'd rather she spent it there than Walmart. We bought a 1000 piece puzzle for us to do in the evenings.

Monday - took B's van to get inspected. First time we are getting it inspected, always a harrowing experience. Remember I mentioned that the wheel was making a noise and the brakes squealed. Found out why. The front checked out OK. The mechanic then pulled the passenger side rear drum off and part of the brake assembly hit the floor. The linings were torn to shit and all cracked and broken. The part that fell out was the broken retaining spring, resposible for the noise we were hearing. The wheel cylider was also in bad shape. Then he moved to the driver side. The drum was rusted to the hub pretty well. Finally got the drum off and found the brake rusted in place. The passeger side was torn-up because it was doing all the work. The linings on the driver side were in pristine condition because they never made contact with the drum.

B had to call her aunt to come pick me up. Finally got to work around 2. Enough messages were waiting for me to keep me busy until it was time to go.

Today - picked up B's van. $225 later its legal and repaired. No more noises and it stops better. Busy day at work. Got a ton of laundry to do when I get home.

The weekend had another good aspect to it. B and I are back to having sex. And damn it was worth waiting for. She's making up for lost time. I'm still sore from Sunday night/morning. We've decided we need to get some new toys.

 

[mb99usa]

Lost

Have you ever felt just lost?

I'm not quite sure why I feel this way right now either. Things are going great between B and I. No complaints about the kids. G is even sleeping through the night some. Work is a mess, but it has been for a while now.

Maybe I'm just frustrated that I'm not doing more to better my position career wise and personally. Could be our financial situation. We are paying the bills, but we never seem to get ahead. More like we are just meeting expenses. We have had a few extras to pay for lately. Not getting a true raise for awhile has not helped, neither has B's fluctuating income.

I have learned how to handle financial problems better though. B used to hate being around me when money got tight. It would put a real strain on our relationship. I've since learned that I am more concerned about how I treat her than receiving a few creditor calls.

This is just going to be a rambling entry. Like I said I feel lost and my mind is just wandering all over the place. I was busy here at work for a few hours this morning, then the calls just stopped.

Speaking of work, the newest thing to come down is that everyone must take a full weeks worth of vacation time before the end of September. Doesn't matter if you will go into negative leave time or not. Its kind of cool because I wasn't going to take but 2 days off in August, now I'm taking the whole week. What sucks is that this will really pput me into negative time just as I was beginning to crawl back into the positive. Its also another sign the company is not doing any better. By requiring everyone to take leave time that is a week that will not come out of the operating budget because vacation time is paid out of a different account.

Still job searching. Find one to apply to every few days. Still have not heard back from any of them. Oh well. I'll just keep slaving away and enjoying my time at home until I find something better. Hopefully it will be somewhere in south Florida.

 

[mb99usa]

Fishing

Feeling pretty good today. Finally gonna start doing one of my favorite hobbies again. Got my fishing license last nite. I haven't had one in several years. I used to go fishing quite regularly.

The best part is I get to start teaching M. B likes to fish too so we can really do this as a family. They are out right now, even while I'm stuck at work. Hopefully the weather will clear some and I'll get to go for a little while tonite. If not the weekend is coming and I plan on spending some of it sitting by the water.

We are heading up to the mountains in August and I really want to get some fishing in up there. We go to a cabin there at an amusement park but we don't usually spend a lot of time at the park. This is B and I's chance to relax so we just chill. This year I want ot try fishing the nearby river.

Fishing has to be my favorite summertime activity, well second to drinking outdoors. I have to thank my father for turning me on to the sport. He started me when I was 3 and I've loved it ever since. Not nearly as much as he does (watching TV shows about it, fishing 2-3 times a week or more, plannign trips around it) but I do like it.

Nothing much else happening right now. Just kinda riding things out to see what happens.

 

[mb99usa]

High-Speed Internet Here We Come

Just scheduled our cable installation for Wednesday. Getting cable TV and Internet service.

I loved my DirecTV but it was getting to be a hassle switching between that and the antenna. Our rural little community didn't rate for DirecTV to carry our local stations, so we had to use an antenna for network stations. So now we won't have to be switching back and forth anymore. We turned off the D-TV a few months ago anyway. The decision to get cable came Saturday afternoon when our set-top antenna died. Right now we get 1 channel.

As for our Internet connection we have a speedy dial-up (min 48kBps) connection but that is dog slow by today's standards. Also ties up our phone line. So now we'll be cruising at broadband speeds. Once I get us a router we'll also be able to have more than 1 PC online as well.

Tonite I have to remove the D-TV dish from the house. I used the cable connection so I need to make sure that is all disconnected before they show-up. Having a dedicated data line put in for the Internet connection.

I can't wait to get to play with the new stuff.

Tomorrow night I am picking-up a swingset from my parents house. They finally made it home last Tuesday. We went to see them on Saturday. My dad lost some weight from the pnuemonia but he's doing a lot better. My brother will be coming home sometime in the beginning of August. They said he will be looking for a house up towards B and I. I'll believe it when I see it.

Got an advertisement from our mortgage company offering us refinancing terms. B was reading it to me earlier and it sounds pretty good. The company has been decent to deal with so I'd like to stay with them. Gonna call tomorrow and get the details. We really need to refinance and shorten the loan term.

Damn I really can ramble. I thought I should write something since its been a few days. Didn't think I had this much to say. Oh well.

I hope the few of you reading this find it at least a little interesting, maybe even a little amusing.

Feel free to ask any questions or send me any comments. I am really looking for feedback/criticism.

 

[mb99usa]

TV and High-Speed Internet

Life could be worse. Got my cable connected today. G had his 4 month check-up and he now weighs 16lbs. Not a small baby, never was.

He can now roll from his belly to his back. He tries hard to go the other way but isn't there yet. M was just the opposite.

We got the swingset from my parents yesterday and that is set-up.

Going to lunch with my friend (ex-supervisor) tomorrow. He still works for the same company as I do, just in the department I used to be in. He's burnt and frustrated like I am. We are both also broke. I kinda feel bad for him, at least I have a family to go home to. He has his dog Jazz but that is it.

I'll give details tomorrow.

That's about it. Got a lot to do when I get home tonite. Attach the slide to the swingset. Get the coputer working on the cable modem. Get the cable TV working the way I want.

Then I need to try to find money for lunch tomorrow. Like I said life could be worse.

 

[mb99usa]

Work

I like what I do for a living. It is not something I love but it is not something I dread and try to avoid either.

We had a group meeting this morning with our "new" manager. Most of us have already worked for this individual in the past. A month or so ago he was placed back into the role of manager for my department. He is not someone any of us likes. Most of this is because he has a very poor understanding of what we do and also because of the way he treats us.

The meeting this morning was the first of what are going to be weekly staff meetings. His perception of the group is that we have terrible morale and is afraid that is spilling over to our interactions with the customer. He does not understand that we are a completely professional group and do not let our personal feelings affect the way we treat the customer.

He spent the first 30-40min giving us examples of how other groups have rallied together in these stressful times and their accomplishments. The whole time he never once mentioned a positive thing about our group. It's hard to convey the tone of the meeting without having been there. It felt like getting a reprimand from a teacher in school.

He asked for issues/concerns and every time something was said he turned it around to make it seem like it is our fault. Part of the group is having problems with our colleagues in Germany, not gettign answers to questions etc. According to him this is our fault because we "don't have a relationship" with them. We haven't had face time with these people. Of course we haven't, they are on the other side of the ocean.

He wants us to list our top 3 issues and 3 possible solutions for each. We all said fine and asked if we would have his support in working through the solutions. He said "you'll have my support but that is all." WTF. By support we meant "will you take this to the other group's manager and get their buy-in?" Of course he won't. He looks at us like a bunch of whiners.

The thing is we have been trying to resolve these issues on our own for years and with previous manager help and still never made much progress. We need our senior management behind whatever we do or its not worth trying.

I just don't know how this is going to play-out. None of us see any point in approaching him with issues because he does not see our side of things. Playing devil's advocate is fine but you gotta side with your people at least some of the time.

Had a brief 1:1 meeting with him after the group meeting. Pretty much a waste of time. Either the guy has no info or floods you with so much extraneous info that you lose the answer.

B wants to hold off on Florida until we finish the Ameridebt program. Makes sense so I'm reducing my job search to the surrounding areas for now. Another 3 years, not too long.

Gotta put a firewall on the home PC and get my work laptop set-up for connecting at home. Busy, busy me.

 

[mb99usa]

Pissed

OK now I'm pissed. Just had 2 long entries get erased caused I fat fingered my keyboard and somehow erased everything. Dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's try this again. B got over her orgasm problem in a big way last night. My hands and our favorite vibrator were the key. Kept my dick outta the way and wonderful things happened for her. No intercourse, except the vibrator. Just spent a few hours attending to her whole body and skillfully worked the vibe. She hit the big O and was very happy.

Kids. M now whines and cries about everything. We have had to start putting her in her room until she can talk to us without whining. It's driving us nuts. She also thinks that "please" is the magic word and we will say "yes" as long as she says please. We have tried to explain that saying please is the right way to ask for things but doesn't guarantee the answer will be yes. She is Miss Indepent and loves her swingset though.

G is just a happy little guy. He has his moods too but they aren't bad. Hi snew favorite thing is to cover his face with a blanket. You can hear him laughing through it. Hilarious to watch cause he starts spazzing and laughing.

Had to work on the truck over the weekend. Starting getting a vibration in the front about a week or so back. The front-end would really start bouncing as you went faster. Tried putting the spare on and it got worse. It was really fun Saturday evening with B thinking the front-end was gonna fall apart. Sunday I rotated all the tires and the vibration has moved to the back and is no where near as noticeable. I either have some serioulsy out of balance wheels or the rims are bent. Gonna get it checked out before the August trip. Much nicer to drive now.

That's it for now. Maybe more later.

 

[mb99usa]

Fantasy Football

No that anyone cares but I gotta go to a meetign about this year's Fantasy Football league in about 30min. We are switching websites and need to get the details ironed out. This year we're looking ot make it more interesting by adding a cash prize for the winners. This will be a voluntary thing so the pot will only be as big as the number of people who contribute, but you gotta contribute to be eligible for the prize.

This means football season is fast approaching. Gonna visit the Ravens training camp in August.

B and I love football. It is a house divided. She being a Steelers (Squealers) fan and I being a Ravens fan. Much fun is had the 2 weekends they play each other.

Football! Football! Football!

 

[mb99usa]

Sorry

Sorry its been so long since I updated. Problems with my laptop and being busy at work have prevented me from posting.

Not a lot has been happening. I was in training for new software on our products the last day and a half. Got to spend some time with our field guuys I don't see too often. SOme cool new stuff coming out.

Trying to get my laptop loaded with my cable modem software at home has been a chore. Stupid McAfee Antivirus has been acting up since Saturday so I haven't been able to load the software. It has also kept me from being able to run our call tracking software at work which means I am really behind on entering call info.

Looks like the problem has cleaned itself up. We'll find out when I fire this baby up at home tonite and try to load the modem software again.

Kids have been pretty good lately. Me and B have been getting along good too. Always like when that happens. Mother in law came yesterday and is staying for a few days. This means our night time fun has to slow down a bit.

Just plugging away.

 

[mb99usa]

Mudshovel - Staind

Stealing brown-eyed-girl's idea and using the song title I'm listening to as my entry title.

Don't expect to see any pattern in the names. It could just as easily be a country song as a hard rock song.

Don't know what to say. My laptop has finally started working properly again. Nothing was done to it, just decided to play nice again. Still can't get the laptop to work properly on my cable modem at home. Oh well, we'll use the dinosaur for another couple of months and see about upgrading.

What really sucks about today is that the company is shut-down except for a few departments. Mine is one of them. There are maybe 20 cars in the parking lot (usually a 100 or so). But then again it is Friday so its not all bad.

Dano my man you need to chill out bro. Depression is a waste of time. I'll give you some advice from one of my favorite comedians. Here is Denis Leary's version of therapy "SHUT THE FUCK UP". Listen to his CD "No Cure for Cancer". It can brighten anyone's day.

Wish I could just leave. I've got stuff to do just no motivation. It's too nice outside.

That's enough drivel for now. Maybe more later, we'll see how I feel.