Jotting Down Some Randomness

The past week has been one of change and challenges for me. I am usually not lacking things I want to write about, but the past few days have been … well, busy. I’ve jotted little random thoughts in my “possible blog” notebook but none of them really warrants a full blown blog. So I decided to throw many of them all together for you. Consider it a Blogging Smorgasbord.

(Mental note: Use Smorgasbord in a sentence today. Check!)

Afternoon Adjustment

One of the biggest changes for me has been the switch from midnights to afternoons. Things have been very busy at work and I know that there are a lot of things that I still need to learn. However, I’ve sort of settled in and have taken care of reviewing patient charts, scoring records, helping techs with hook ups and whatever else is needed.

It’s weird to see the “day people.” We see their names in e-mails and on orders, but to actually see them … it’s just weird. There is a small window of time between when the day folks leave and the night folks come in where the building is strangely quiet. It’s almost too quiet. I have had to make sure that I turn some music on in order for me not to get distracted by the silence.

My entire eating schedule is out of whack, too. I’m used to lunch at 11pm and dinner at 3:30am. Now, I am eating on what you would call a “normal” schedule. I also have to deal with the never ending supply of sweets and snacks from the day staff. It seems that there are always some kind of goodies on the break room table.

The best part has been being able to crawl into bed and hold my wife at night (when one of the kids isn’t in our bed!). In just one week, I feel like we have talked more like when we first got married. Both of us are rested, get up and have coffee together, and have breakfast and lunch as a family. It really is wonderful.

Date Night

Sam and I have a date night coming up this weekend. If there is ever any question as to whether I love her or not, this should prove that the answer is a resounding YES. Look, I’ve seen a few episodes of the Golden Girls here and there. Sophia reminds me of my Italian grandma. However, I wouldn’t go out of my way to see a “Golden Girls” stage show – unless my wife wanted to see it. She does and we are.

I don’t know much about the show. The Golden Girls – The Laughs Continue. I heard it is a bit “raunchier” than the actual show. My co-worker saw it tonight and said it was good. He promised to not give away any spoilers. He took his wife.

We were talking about how some people really got into it and were dressing up to go to shows like this. My wife has informed me that she has something for us to wear to the show. If I wind up in a wig and a dress, I will be sure to share pictures.

Did You Ever ….

This doesn’t happen often, but have you ever started a book with the impression that it was going to be good only to find it slow and not what you expected? I am listening to an audiobook that I borrowed based solely on the title. The unabridged audio book is just over 11 hours. I am three hours in and I am just now feeling like it might be starting to get interesting, but I’m not sure. I debated whether or not to just stop listening.

I suppose it is my fault. I usually read the synopsis before deciding on reading a book. I never did for this one. Prior to blogging, I read the synopsis and afterward asked myself, “If I had read this before adding it to my ‘to read’ list, would I have actually wanted to read it?” I’m guessing not. I will probably listen a little longer just to see what, if anything, happens. At some point, though, I need to decide whether I want to finish it or not.

I Don’t Get the Hype

Someone posted the above on Facebook and I had to steal it. I truly don’t know how to take the hype surrounding the Barbie movie. My first thought is that Hollywood’s creativity is at an all time low and this was the result of someone scraping the bottom of the barrel for a movie idea. “Oooooo! I know! Let’s make a movie about Barbie and the various versions of dolls!” How does this idea even make it up the flagpole!?

Sam actually wondered if it would be something that Ella might like. Most people who did see it said it was probably not something to take kids to. It seems that this movie is made for adults who used to play with Barbie dolls or something. Urgh.

This leads to my second thought – adults are actually willing to pay big ticket prices to actually watch this in a theater. THIS is what the general public sees as “entertainment.” At what point do they just throw together two hours of 2 to 3 minute Tik Tok or Snapchat videos and market it as a “major motion picture?!” Sure, you can watch that crap on your phone, but if they did put it in theaters, you can bet that people would flock to see it. Next thing you know, some idiot Tik Tok “star” will get an Academy Award!

It has been a LONG time since there has been a movie that has come out that I would actually want to pay to see. I’ve been fascinated by the story of Hiroshima, so the Oppenheimer movie might be something I’d go see, but the reviews are mixed. I will probably do what I usually do – wait to stream it or rent it.

New Bluey? Yes, I Will Watch!

My wife says to me today: “Have you watched the new Bluey episodes yet?”

I shout back, “What?! Are they one Disney + already? I didn’t think they were airing in the US yet!”

Yes. There are new episodes. Yes. I will watch them by myself.

I learned a long time ago that it is totally ok for an adult to watch cartoons without kids. It keeps me young!

Book Recommendation: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murders

I just finished listening to the audio version of this book by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I guess this is what folks refer to as a “cozy mystery.” I really don’t know what that means, but I will tell you that I liked it.

As someone who reads a lot of mysteries, this one kept coming up as a suggestion in my Goodreads feed. Before adding it to my “Want to Read” list, I always read some of the reviews. They were mixed, but the thing that sold me on it was that people said that it made them laugh out loud. So I took a chance on it and loved it.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…

Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

As I prepared to write this blog, I found out that this book was one that the author’s editor had her rush to write it. They had her put all her other projects on hold and get this book out. According to one review, the book was “sloppily thrown together,” but I never thought that. Another review noticed that the author used a line (or a similar line) twice, which they found annoying. Uh, ok. I never noticed.

I was hooked from the first line of the book:

“Vera Wong was born a rat, but she should have been a rooster-that is according to the characteristics of the signs in the Chinese horoscope!“

I admit to having laughed out loud quite a few times while listening. There were also times where I really felt for some of the characters. Vera certainly is the main character, but the supporting characters were just as important to the story. While there was some predictability to some of the story arcs, I was surprised to find out who the murderer was. I never saw it coming.

I can see the Vera character being one that could easily be a protagonist that could carry a series of stories. Honestly, I hope that is the case. She’s a bit Columbo and a bit Sophia from the Golden Girls. It was a joy to read (listen to).

Some Books I’ve Read

It’s been a bit since I offered up some thoughts on my recent reads, so I thought I would share a few with you. (The one I am currently reading is very good and will review separately when I finish.)

I really enjoyed this book. I certainly gained some insight into Abraham Lincoln and learned a LOT about Frederick Douglass.

From Goodreads:

The New York Times bestselling author of George Washington’s Secret Six and Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates turns to two other heroes of the nation: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Upon his election as President of the troubled United States, Abraham Lincoln faced a dilemma. He knew it was time for slavery to go, but how fast could the country change without being torn apart?

Many abolitionists wanted Lincoln to move quickly, overturning the founding documents along the way. But Lincoln believed there was a way to extend equality to all while keeping and living up to the Constitution that he loved so much–if only he could buy enough time.

Fortunately for Lincoln, Frederick Douglass agreed with him–or at least did eventually. In The President and the Freedom Fighter, Brian Kilmeade tells the little-known story of how the two men moved from strong disagreement to friendship, uniting over their love for the Constitution and over their surprising commonalities. Both came from destitution. Both were self-educated and self-made men. Both had fought hard for what they believed in. And though Douglass had had the harder fight, one for his very freedom, the two men shared a belief that the American dream was for everyone.

As he did in George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade has transformed this nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out how these two heroes, through their principles and patience, not only changed each other, but made America truly free for all.

The first of two Mitch Albom books I read. These are easy reads and I read both of them in a day. He’s really a fantastic story teller.

From Goodreads:

Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet.

Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and “The First Phone Call from Heaven”. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, “The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.”

The second Albom book. This one speaks of time. I’d rate both about the same. They were entertaining and made you think.

From Goodreads:

In this fable, the first man on earth to count the hours becomes Father Time.

The inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world – now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began – and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

I saw mixed reviews on this one, and while I thought it was a bit slow to start, I really enjoyed it and how it ended. I listened to the audio book, which was performed by a few people – each main character was voiced by someone. I’m sure that made it much easier for me to follow.

From Goodreads:

A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.

The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body

On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.

But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.

And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?

Have you read anything you think I’d enjoy? What book have you read recently that was one you couldn’t put down?

It’s Coming Along

My father-in-law and I are a far cry from Al Borland and Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor. As I have stated before, he is brilliant when it comes to home improvement projects. Any time we have run into a snag, he’s always been able to find the right solution.

A few days ago, I posted about the deck project. If you missed it, you can read that post here:

Hit the Deck!

He came over Saturday afternoon and we got the remaining two posts up. Afterward, we had to trek off to Menards to get the rest of the deck boards. They still have our street tore up and Sam wasn’t sure he’d be able to get his trailer down the road, so he didn’t bring it with him. Instead, we took his truck to get our supplies.

He is always thinking ahead. Knowing that the deck boards were 12 feet long, he packed a battery operated circular saw. Once we got all the boards, we found a spot in the back of the parking lot and began cutting them in half so we could put them in the back of the truck.

Once we got back home, we began to lay the deck boards. For some reason, some of the tongues were not fitting into the grooves. They should just fit together like a puzzle piece.

We needed 45 deck boards. We went through and picked the best looking ones out of the ones they had there. Some were a little darker than the others, some seemed a little thinner than the others, but they are all the same part number.

When we start laying them in, some really had to be forced together. We were tapping them in with a 2×4 and a sledge hammer in order to get them to snap together. Some of the boards may have been bowed a bit, too. It was a lot more challenging than we expected. We did make headway, though.

We’re about half way there.

My father-in-law plans to put the remaining ones on and then trim the ends. He says it will be easy, and I trust him. He is having some surgery this week which will slow him down. He was talking about coming over this weekend to finish, but I told him there was no hurry. Sam and I were more worried about getting the support posts up. There are still boards leading to the door, so we can wait a little while.

I may attempt to lay a couple down, but I’m not sure I want to try without him there. I’m so grateful for his help on this!

My Tony Bennett Story

The legendary Tony Bennett passed away yesterday at age 96. Sadly, I never had the chance to see him perform live. I never had the chance to meet him. I also never had the chance to interview him on the radio. Yet, despite those things, I still have a Tony Bennett story that may make you laugh.

Whenever a Tony Bennett song comes on the radio, or his name comes up in conversation, there is one person who immediately comes to mind. My Italian grandmother.

This is a story that had I ever had the chance to talk to Tony, I wouldn’t share. You will soon see why.

“Everybody loved Tony” is a phrase that popped up in many celebrity tweets and videos today as they reflected on the man. Alec Baldwin, who did a fantastic Tony Bennett impression on Saturday Night Live, posted a video on his Instagram saying that exact phrase today. “Everybody loved Tony. Everybody loved him.” Well, not everyone ….

One day, we were all playing pinochle at my grandma’s house. Earlier that year, I had found a picture of Dean Martin (her favorite singer) and had it blown up into a poster. She framed it and at one point actually hung it in her garage so she could see him when they pulled in the car. Anyway, we began discussing singers. It was during this discussion that I learned of her feelings for Tony.

If memory serves me correct, we were playing cards and had the radio on a station that was playing “The Music of Your Life” stuff. It would be similar to the Sinatra channel on Sirius XM. “Sinatra was ok, but Dean Martin was better!” she told us. That was how the discussion began. This led to me asking about other singers.

“I’ll tell you one guy that I just can’t stand! That short, pimple faced one!” I had no idea who she was talking about. The more she tried to remember, the angrier she got. I finally asked her is she could think of one of his songs. She came up with “Rags to Riches” or “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” (I think. It was definitely one of his bigger hits)

“Oh! Tony Bennett?!” I said.

“Yeah!” she said, “Oh, I hate him!!”

This made me laugh and I asked her why. She never really had any type of concrete answer, but the fact that she disliked him could not have been more obvious.

This led to my dad, my brother, my friends, and me all finding ways to work Tony into conversation every time we visited. It also led to one of my favorite pranks to play on my grandma.

I was out shopping one day looking for a CD that I needed for an upcoming wedding I was to DJ. It was an older album, so I went to one of my favorite used record stores. After I found what I needed, an old LP caught my eye.

The big red letters shouting “TONY BENNETT” called me to it. I purchased it and wrapped it up for my grandma’s birthday or Christmas or something (I really don’t remember). I do remember her face when she opened it! She said, “Oh no! Not this pimple face! I hate him!” and threw it across the room – laughing, of course.

Now my grandmother could have easily just thrown the album away. She didn’t. She kept it on a shelf in both her house and eventually in her condo. Naturally, I had to have some fun with it. Every Sunday when we would visit, I would find a reason to slip away and get the album. I would then hide it somewhere in the house for her to find.

Many times it would be in a place she’d see right away. I’d put it behind the coffee pot, up on the chandelier, under a decorative pillow, on the chimney mantle, in place of an old 8X10 photo, under her pillow on her bed, in between the toilet seat and the lid, etc… It was every where! When she’d find it, she’d laugh and shout, “I HATE him!”

On second thought, maybe I would have told Tony that story if I met him. He might like to know that he was such a big part of my relationship with my grandma. Who knows…

Rest well, Tony

She’s Movin’ On Up!

There is nothing that makes time move faster than watching your children grow. In 6 months, Ella will be 4 years old. It seems like just yesterday that I was blogging about getting her room and crib put together!

Moving from the crib to a toddler bed was the next big step. This is a step that Andrew is getting closer to every day. How in the world has her “big girl bed” lost that status? It is a sad reality, but true. Ella is movin’ on up from her toddler bed to a “real” big girl bed!

Sam and I looked for twin beds on Amazon and we found one that looked cute and will serve a dual purpose.

We opted to get a trundle bed, which Andrew (or a friend/cousin) can use in the future.

The mattress came Monday and It was all rolled up in a box and shrink wrapped. I opened it up and it had to sit flat for 72 hours before you could use it. Thankfully, the bed itself didn’t arrive until yesterday.

Ella was very excited to be sleeping in her new bed ASAP! When I got home from work this morning, she was asking when I was going to build it. Sam had a doctor appointment today and she took the kids with her, so I built it while they were gone. It wasn’t the easiest thing to build in her room, which still had things on the floor, but I got it done.

With her graduation to a twin bed, that meant we needed to get some new sheets and a new bedding set. Sam bought her a Disney Princess set, which she liked, but those are not the sheets on her bed.

Sam’s mom, knowing that Ella was moving to a twin bed soon, saved the butterfly sheet set that used to be on her sister Grace’s bed. You may remember that Grace passed away late last year. Ella was very close to her.

When Sam asked if she wanted her new princess bedding or the butterfly bedding. She instantly said the butterfly one! The conversation went like this:

Ella: Mommy if I use Gracie’s bed sheets then she will come visit me. I miss her so much! I need her to come visit, she has been a good girl for Jesus long enough.

Sam: When you have Gracie’s blankets they will let her come visit you every night in your dreams.

The Sam walked away crying.

May your new bed bring you many visits from Gracie and plenty of sweet dreams, my princess!

Random “Crap” (Pun intended)

The work that they are doing on our street has been more than annoying. We’re having to park on side streets because we can’t get to our driveway. Our mail is not being delivered because the mail lady can’t get to our street. Whatever happened to “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds!?” Oh, and Amazon called Sam to tell her they couldn’t figure out how to get a package to the house. It’s insane!

The thing that I’m not really happy about is the new lawn decoration that the construction crew has placed in front of my house ….

I understand that the workers need one of these, but is this really where it needed to be?

Of course, the kids thought it was awesome. Sam actually had to tell Ella that she needed to stay out of it! Urgh!

I already have to use earplugs for noise. I suppose I will be needing nose plugs for the stink, too.

Funny Thought

I thought other bloggers and folks who use social media would chuckle at this. Saw this on the net earlier:

“Remember when people had diaries and got made when people read them? Now, they put everything online and get mad when people don’t!”

So true!

Hit the Deck!

So, my father-in-law and I are working on yet another project. This one, however, was not a planned project. And as per usual, once we started it, we found that we’ll be doing more than expected.

This time it is our side porch. Forgive the photo, but the only one I could find was one I took once the Christmas lights were up.

The above picture will serve as a “Before” picture, as I didn’t really take one.

So here is what happened. Sam and I have been discussing getting rid of the railing and just keeping the posts for some time. One day she was sitting on her bench rocker and I leaned over the railing and it broke away from the post. That wasn’t such a big deal because the railing was going away.

However, when the second post from the left in the above picture broke away from the porch itself, we knew we had a problem. It seems that the bottom of the post and the deck boards were dry rotting. With that little incident, I called my father-in-law.

We began to look at each of the posts and saw that some of the others had done the same thing. One of them, in all honesty, we can’t even believe that the roof hadn’t come down! We decided that were were going to do some wider posts and just fix the bad boards. But, as I have stated, nothing ever goes that smoothly for us.

Once we got rid of the railings, we went to work on the posts. The bad news was that they only had a few of the decking boards we needed. That was when my father-in-law suggested that we could probably get away with just replacing the bad boards and stain/paint the deck. We ripped out the bad boards and laid the new boards and ran into another issue.

The old boards are double boards (in the orange square). They have a groove down the middle (green arrow). The only deck boards we could get were single boards (in the blue square) and when you put them together, there is no groove. This led to about a one inch gap (circled in yellow). So it became obvious that we now will end up ripping up all of the old deck board and replace with new ones – at about 15 bucks a board!

With daylight fading, we were able to lay down the remaining deck board and we got up three of the five posts.

In all honesty, despite the work and cost involved, I think the deck is going to look really good. My father-in-law and I were talking and I can see a grey paint or dark stain for the deck itself and white paint for the posts. I am excited to see how this all turns out. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we run into no more issues ….

I’m hoping this is the last big project for quite awhile!

Afternoon Delight

Every doctor appointment I go to starts this way:

Doctor: You still working midnights?

Me: Yes

Doctor: Yeah, we gotta get you off those!

Well, she will be happy when I come to the next appointment! I will finally be able to answer “no.”

A week or so ago, our interim manager called to ask if I might be interested in an afternoon position. Naturally, I had questions. She gave me more information and I told her I would have to discuss things with my wife.

Once I brought it up to Sam, she immediately said that I should do it. There were some things that we’d obviously have to adjust, but we could make it work.

For me, it will be a big change. One thing I am certainly looking forward to is actually being able to sleep with my wife next to me. Working opposite shifts has been tough.

Another thing I am looking forward to is having some meals together as a family on a more regular basis. Those family meals are very limited with our current schedules.

I will still be working with patients from time to time, but it will be a lot less than I do now. I will be more of a bridge between days and nights. I will be helping sort charts, assigning patients, and working with day staff.

It will certainly be a big change, and the positives outweigh the negatives. I think it’s going to make a huge difference in my life.

Besides, on a bright note (pun intended), I will see the sun a whole lot more!!