Paint Wars

Oi, it's been a while since I last wrote in here. But something just absolutely funny happened tonight as I was sitting down to enjoy some chocolate-peanut butter ice cream, and I have to share. And given that those who I don't want reading this aren't going to find out about it, I feel safe enough posting this to the general web public.

Anyway, so everyone who knows me knows that we're renting from my parents. That another sob story for another time. Short version, we pay rent in the form of house upkeep, and we can stay under their roof until we can find work and money enough to move out. It's fine for the time being, I'm not gonna complain too much about it. It gives us the power to find work in this troubled time without scrambling to find somewhere for the kids to sleep every night.

Anyhow, my neighbor comes over to talk to my landlord mother. She was all smiles as usual. Very friendly and cordial. But something was amiss; she seemed upset over something, having a slight defensive hunch and was stuttering a bit. I credit my oldest daughter with that last observation; she watched the whole thing unfold too, and caught just about everything I saw.

Come to find out as the two were conversing, my neighbor really hates the new paint job on the exterior of the house. You see, over the last weekend, my parents hired some college students to apply a new coat of paint over the outer walls. Unfortunately, no one told us that the new color was going to be a nice, bright shade of lavender. I liked how my friend Clint described it - his impression of it was like "someone took Tinky-Winky, beat him and pulverized him all over the wall." Trust me, neither my wife or I are liking this new shade...and apparently, so doesn't our neighbor.

She was trying very hard not to be offensive. I've never heard the words "you're the homeowner, it's your call" repeated in so many alternative ways. But she was hinting at the fact that paint could be remixed all the while. She even had written a letter - a full page, unabridged letter - about it. Certainly, Mom did not like this criticism. She even had the gall to call her a type-A personality. I was in disbelief! My mom just up and called a neighbor who loved our family to death a control freak! To her face!

The moment she left, my mom let her face erupt with anger. She was now glaring and growling in a way I have never seen her before. It was like a wild animal took over where she stood. She asked my father in a huff, "So, did you think the paint looked good before she came over?"

The knee-jerk reaction from him: "I thought the color was OK." I know Dad doesn't like the color. He's very evasive about it. He didn't want to get stuck in another house with another femmy color painted on it. The last house they were in, it ended up getting painted a light pink right before the move out. I doubt he wants to get into a row over the color scheme now that money enough has been paid into it.

At this point, I began composing this post, hoping I would be able to share this with my wife silently. But as fate would have it, my mom spilled the beans before I had the chance. She looked over the letter, and eventually it made it's way up to my hands before post time. Some interesting tidbits I gleaned from the letter:

* She outright declares that the new color of our house will lower her property value
* She will require new landscaping to hide the new house color, listing costs and obligations
* She recommmended having the paint remixed yet again
* She states that neighbors "have a duty to respect one another, and the look and feel of the neighborhood."

Sounds like she needs to move to a place with a homeowners association. That's exactly what it sounds like she's trying to establish. I didn't understand why my mom was so angry. I do now. I'm a little ticked myself. I certainly don't like the paint. But I'd like to see it finished now, just to see everyone squirm.

Like she said: they're the homeowners. It's their call.

Recent Email Correspondence...Wanting Input.

Ok, It's been a while. I've been getting my business off the ground, but I came across a potential client who has requested my services that seems a bit...dubious. I wanted to get your opinions, friends.

Please, have a look and comment with your thoughts.

Thanks!

---

Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:58:27 -0600
Subject: Re: Computer and Home Theater Services! (Eugene/Springfield)
(addresses removed for privacy)

Thanks for the reply. I am very sorry for the late in response and i am okay with the price i have all the necessary software needed for the service installations.... I will instruct my secretary to prepare a check for you on your name and address . Do send me your full name and address and your phone number so as to prepare the check and shipping of the laptops to your address. i have a reliable shipper that will pickup the laptops when you are done with it.I am looking forward to hear from you,so we can have payment and shipping asap.
Thanks

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On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Andrew McClellan wrote:

My rate is $15 an hour, plus should I require to pick up any parts for the job, it's $5 plus cost. I have a reference who will speak for me should it be required.

Again, location and time please? My schedule is closed for 1/25 and 1/26 before noon, but I can get you an afternoon appointment for those days, or any time between 1/27 and 2/3.

I hope to be of service.

- Andrew

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Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:22:47 -0600

Subject: Re: Computer and Home Theater Services! (Eugene/Springfield)
(addresses removed for privacy)

Hello
I have all the necessary software needed for the service installations....get back with your price so that i can check with other and know who will handle it for me...OK?????

Thanks

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On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 5:12 PM, Andrew McClellan wrote:

Alright, sounds like a plan. I do have a few questions though.

For the HDD formats, did you need them set as NTFS or FAT32? Also, you say to install SP2. Will SP3 be added via updates then? Will you also be providing cleaning supplies?

I know you want this taken care of now, so reply back ASAP with location, time, and the answers to the above questions so we can get things rolling.

- Andrew

---

Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:10:53 -0600
Subject: Re: Computer and Home Theater Services! (Eugene/Springfield)
(addresses removed for privacy)


Hello,
I got 7 Pentium IV dell laptops . Below are the things needed to be done one on each laptops.
1 Format Hard Drive
2 Install Win Xp with Service Pack 2
3 Microsoft Office Package
4 AVG Virus Software (Free Lifetime Updates)
5 Adobe Acrobat
6 Laptop Cleaning of the keyboard, screen and other case.
7 Diagnostics of the entire system after to check hard, cdsrom, floppy, etc. Get back to me with your total cost for the services of 7 Laptops. I will pay you with a certified check .
I await your urgent response so that i can make Moving arrangements and payment as soon as possible....
Thanks

[EOF]

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UPDATE!
As it turns out, when I went to reply with a denial of service, I got a postmaster fail notice. The guy's address was vapor! Turns out my suspicions were well founded. I want to thank everyone who dropped advice on Facebook. Remember, approach anything too good to be true with caution...it usually is.

Am I a Facebook Addict?

My wife today made a crack about being addicted to Facebook. She makes a lot of those cracks - and quite often - about just about everything I do. From my video games to my cookie indulgences, I seem to be an addict over something.

Of course, these are things I like to do. So, of course she's going to see me doing some things at least once, and maybe twice a day. Admittedly though, my timing could be better at times...such as when I start playing when she's on her way out the door...without the kids. Or when I start munching on cookies about a half hour from when she'd planned on serving dinner. Or when she and I had planned a time to be tender together...and I have a memory lapse and start crushing zombie skulls on the computer.

Last one's a true story, by the way, from several years ago. Boy, she was angry...couldn't sleep with her for a week. There were withdrawls from a completely different addiction there, but let's not go there in front of (potentially) civil company.

So, why is it she's focused pretty tightly on Facebook? It's a new tool I've personally discovered. Just like with anything new in front of me, I want to play around with it some. In the past month, I've found a lot of old friends from high school, newer friends from the college, and both from my online gaming. It's been interesting seeing what all they've been up to, their families, their friends...their gross fascinations.

I'm serious, one of the links someone in this circle of friends put up was to this video of a guy getting his boil lanced. Holy Filthing Poo Storm, it was the nastiest thing I've seen out here...and I've seen a lot of nasty stuff prior to this near-vomitous experience. Worse was the description of the smell associated, and the wretching girls in the background who were supposed to be taking care of this mess.

If you're at all curious as to what I'm talking about - and you have the stomach for it - you can look here, but don't say I didn't warn you. Oh Lord, I am tempted to watch it again...*shudders*

But anyways, the question still presents itself, am I an addict on Facebook? Actually, that's a no, but only on the borderline. The underlying addiction is to electronic gadgetry, to which there are limitless applications. Facebook is simply one of them, and it's quite popular. It's also one of those things I swore I wouldn't get myself into, just like Pokemon and twitter and blogs. And we all know how that turned out.

Oh Lord, did I just admit to Pokemon too? Oh no...

Trip to Grants Pass Turns into Fiasco

Those of you who've been following me on twitter (madrakaetrus) or Facebook or at the Forums of Imperial Draconia, as well as those of you from the ULGG High Council will recall recently that I popped over to Grants Pass for a visit with my ailing Grandfather. Well, here's the trip, in detail.

Late Start

Frankly, I am beginning to lose patience with my mother. She was the one at the helm on this trip, and she had stated the night before that we would head out in the late morning. Cool, just Mom and I heading out to catch Grandpa one last time. Heaven knows, with all that's eating at him, it'd probably be my last chance.

So, I set an alarm up, so I am ready in late morning, which for me is around 10 AM. I gather some belongings and pack up so I'm ready to go immediately after I eat breakfast. I even take the time to buy an early one way ticket back on the Greyhound, as I can only take one day away from work for this, and Mom intends on staying there for a while. I work my graveyard shift, cleaning the filth out of the athletic club I work at, and get off early enough to get a decent amount of sleep. I'm up promptly at the sound of the alarm, I get dressed, I get my pre-packed stuff together, and I eat. And she's not even ready to go.

Ever since a crippling diabetic coma a couple years ago, she's had to deal with the nerve trauma associated with high blood sugar damage. She gets phantom pains akin to electric shock throughout her extremities now, and the pain keeps her awake beyond any reasonable means. I feel for her, but it has made her an extremely unreliable person when it comes down to it. I can never be sure if she'll be up for anything, and today that is proven yet again. I'm ready to go, and if it were me driving south, we'd be out the door straightaway. But she had been up all night, and I'm unsure when - or even if - she fell asleep. I have to wait 4 1/2 additional hours before we depart. But that's ok. We'll have a few hours to spend with Grandpa, right?

Fertilizer Special at Wal-Mart Pharmacy

Well, fertilizer isn't as accurate as the word I'd use in this situation, but chances are there are going to be children present with their parents when reading this, so I'm keeping it as clean as I can.

So, we finally get out the door, and then Mom mentions that we would have to pick up a prescription at the Wal-Mart Pharmacy before leaving town. Fair enough; it'll be the last chance to get some of her more critical pain meds for 3 days. But, this is where the fertilizer hits the fan.

The pharmacy makes us wait an hour. AN HOUR!!! For filth's sake, we're already far behind schedule, and they can't get their act together! Mind you, I understand that they don't know this. But come on, a filthing hour?! Just to take a few packs of meds, sort 'em, and put 'em in a bag? They weren't even very blooming busy! There were but 3 or 4 other people in line with us. I ask you, why would this take more than 5 minutes a person, let alone one hour for 5 people?

Now I start to worry that there won't be much time for anything at all down there. We're finally on the road South, and it's 4 PM. Can this get much worse?

Yes It Can! And It Smells!

We now go to call ahead and tell my aunt we're on our way. The cell has plenty of power, though at only one bar of energy, forget the marathon calls. However, I dial the number, and I get this message that all the money on the phone has expired. This angers Mom something fierce, as she has had nothing but problems with all the cell phones she's ever been given in her life. I have to reassure this very close to road raging driver that we should just let it go, and we should just focus on getting there. I've never heard her curse more in my life, and more than once, she threatened to throw the phone out the window.

Admittedly, the trip down wasn't bad. Mom and I enjoyed some conversation, and the views were very nice. I didn't even reach once for my DS system the whole trip down, it was so enjoyable. But one thing I don't recommend is to ride in a sports car more than one hour at a time. Mom's Del Sol is a sweet ride. Good engine, nice sound system, hard-top convertible roof...but forget sitting in it for long periods at a time. Those low seats sure play hell on your back. We had to stop at a rest station just to give our lower spines time to straighten out again. After working hard all the previous night, I wasn't expecting my back to hurt like this again just sitting around.

After 2 1/2 hours, we finally arrive in Grants Pass, and restock on fuel. If we would have had to drive another 10 minutes or so, we'd have probably been stranded. We spend 30 more minutes there. Not just because we need the gas, and not only because Mom needs a smoke break, but also because we lost the keys in between getting out of the car, and paying for the gas. How do we lose the keys in a 10 minute stretch of time where we're just standing around?

At this point, we go straight to the hospital. It's my only opportunity to go see Grandpa this trip, and I'm thinking that it's more than likely my last. So we get there, and it's clear across town from where we came in. We get in, we go up to the floor he's on...and he's not there. We ask the nurses where he was, and they have no clue. So they look him up on their computers, and he had been discharged sometime in the afternoon. Discharged. My aunt makes it sound like he's on his deathbed, and he's been discharged back to his home.

Unfortunately at this point, he's better off there. It was confirmed that the cancer had spread, and that he is very tired. He is 93 after all, and is probably getting fed up with all of this. My head says it's for the best, but emotionally we're both wrecks. Mom curses the phone again quite lividly, and borrows the hospital phone to tell my aunt we've arrived safely.

At this point, it'd be unsafe to travel the roads up to Grandpa's countryside home, so we bunk with my aunt and her family and live-in boyfriend for the night. I get some Wendy's for my trouble, and get to talk with my cousin about her pending freshman year in high school. But with an early morning departure from the bus station, Grandpa's not gonna be seeing me this time around.

So, a restless night, and a 2 1/2 hour bus trip later, I'm home again...and a couple days later, I get the chance to blog it. That whole mess left me more than a bit empty. I just hope the next time I get to go out there, I'll be able to spend the time I want with my Grandfather. I swore to myself I would not lose the chance to properly say goodbye. I lost my Grandmother 4 years ago, and did not have that chance. I hope that by the next paycheck, I'll be able to make the trip again, by myself if need be.

I just hope by then it's not too late.

Graduation Blown Off for WoW Raid

I am so disappointed right now, this can't be contained in a twitter post.

One of my good friends has decided that a World of Warcraft raid is more important than my graduation ceremony. I just got off the phone with him, and he told me he couldn't get the time off. Time off?! Like that's a real bloody job!

Disappointed, yes. Angry, very yes! I love my games, but for God's sake, I can step away for important crap! If it was his, I'd be all over it. Sure, I can graduate from college again...but this is the first time, curse it! I am so close to the border of furious, it's making my eyes water.

If you're reading this pal, enjoy your bloody raid. I hope you can live with that choice. And people say I'm the addict!

Now that my anger is subsiding, I think I'll go finish preparing our spare room for our out of town family guests.

EDITED FOR CONTENT ON 9/8/09

The (Sick-Ridden, Worry-Filled) Holiday

Oh yeah, another holiday where I end up sick. At least the snow's thawed out. But that's only where it starts.

The Day Before
Prior to Christmas, I found myself rather listless. Instead of rushing out to seek work, I set myself to keeping the kids from getting into mischief while my wife sought out her training. It was a short bit, but my those kids do keep you on your feet.

My baby girl quickly figured out how to take steps, and was cruising a bit when I could give her the time to move about. Guess all that walking practice paid off in the long run. You ask what our walking practice is? It's where she grasps a pair of towels or my fingers and toddles about as I walk with her. It works pretty well, and with the towels there is a delay between when she loses her balance and where I arrest her fall. It may seem a little rough, but having a point of reference helps when you're trying to learn something.

My oldest troubles me a bit though. Her appetite has been a bit slack of late, even more so after a stomach bug made her puke. It wasn't until a couple of days after that she would reveal something of why...

Christmas Eve
It was a relatively simple day. All was relatively quiet, and it seemed everyone was well. We had our traditional dinner of Irish Rarebit (Irish Rabbit with Ham instead of Rabbit) and Sparkling Cider. It was exceptionally well done this year, my mom being quite the cook, but it was prepared about 2 hours later than anticipated. As a result, we were unable to head out and look at Christmas lights as we wanted.

I suppose that's what I get for relying so much on others who's reputation for sluggishness is now quite plain. I know Linda won't stand for it much longer, my mom's slowness being thought outright laziness rooted in depression. I find myself agreeing more and more with that opinion with each passing day, coming to the additional conclusion that somewhere she just cares less and less about herself and the effects of her decisions on my daughters' outlook of both herself and themselves.

Ahh...we struggle on, the horizon being closer than last year. I guess I won't be expecting this tradition to continue after our move out by next Spring or Summer. I will miss the rarebit, but the time is coming soon that we move out of this place and into our own digs. But Linda and I beat that dead horse enough outside of the virtual world...

Christmas
Well, the big day comes with a few surprises. The stomach bug strikes again, this time against my wife and our wee one, and I. Expecting to pick it up myself, I ate little more than a few crackers and braced myself...I did finally get it at the end of the day. My parents also took a hit, both picking up the colds that have been circulating.

But it wasn't all bad. Despite the downturn, things were rather cheery. Some extra clothes, a couple new video games - including Wii Music which I have been anticipating and we are rather enjoying (see Game Time) - and some neat little treats for the kids from both grandparents and ourselves.

My oldest got her first CD Player this year, something she's been wanting for months. I'm grateful for that, because now our room will again be pre-teen-pop music free. My baby got a number of new playthings that she can experiment with, but she's more inclined to pitch them every which way instead of try to keep things together. That's what babies do, as I've observed many times before. Indeed, they both have some additional toys that I can almost sit on, step on, or otherwise injure myself on. Let's see how that works out, eh?

After the Holiday
Not much to say about Friday, as I slept through most of it ill with the flu. Today though, I had a round of self-induced idiocy. I forgot to get some things cleaned up, and when I went to exchange something I forgot to pick up another storage tub for our new Christmas knick-knacks. But at least the girls and I had some fun at the fast-food joint, having a nice lunch to ourselves. The stomach illness left me with half the appetite I usually have, so I left my meal unfinished. But I found it odd that my oldest's fries were barely touched. Was it the bigger burger she ordered, or was there something else...

It was later at dinner that she let us know what was going on. She told me that she was trying to take off some weight. A 7-year-old, worrying about her weight! I don't know about Linda, but I took it as quite a shock. I tried to relay to her that she shouldn't worry about it, that she's a growing girl that needs the energy from food to grow. It didn't weaken any of her resolve, my comments discarded with such a flippant attitude.

I have been told I worry to much, but this has me discounting that outright. My daughter's health is at risk the longer she worries about weight loss. I mean, she's at a healthy weight now, and I'd like it to stay healthy. Letting herself go without the food she needs is going to harm her in the long run. I just hope I can convince her of this fact without sounding entirely overbearing.

Game Time!
Alright, enough of the worries around me. Being sick has taken some of the wind out of my sails, but it hasn't kept me from trying out my new games.

Wii Music
The critics have been quite unkind to Shigeru Miyamoto's latest creation, but my wife picked this one up for me this year, and it has been a sheer joy. The controls have been oversimplified, allowing the player to control any instrument with unparalleled ease, with the hopes that you'll use the program to create your own arrangements of up to 50 tracks. Among these tracks are a mix of genres, ranging from classical and rock, pop to reggae, hip-hop to Japanese; and it includes a few of Nintendo's own game tunes.

The wide variety of instruments available - including some off-the-wall choices - three interesting, fun minigames, and a highly customizable part and instrument selector makes this a fun introductory step into music arrangement. Next week I'll have updates about this game, and what I've been able to mix together.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Yes, I finally picked up this late 2007 FPS. Sadly, I had to trade in the game my mother-in-law sent me as a holiday gift. Oh well, I had Super Smash Bros. Brawl already. Bring on a new challenge!

I just had enough time to play through the first couple of hours, but it's whet my appetite for more. I knew the Wii would be an excellent platform for an FPS game. Control was tight and responsive, even at low battery power. The fighting's intense as ever, and now that I have full movement control, it felt perfect. And once again, Retro Studios also loaded the game with an extensive lore collection waiting for a scan-crazy kid to have at it. I can't wait to get back into the fray.


Alright, that's the week. Be safe out there, and watch your backside. You never know when the ranger is watching.

...another week rolls by...

Ah, another week rolls by, and another fit of fun flits through. I tell you, it's been a rough one too.

Oregon gets snow?!
That's right, the Willamette Valley got dusted with a hefty layer of snow. Traffic snarled to a stop, and Eugene shut down as it wondered what the blazes just happened. Two days, we sorted through the suddenly frozen realm. All the while, my oldest was able to enjoy some well earned time off from school. (Those who want to hear my diatribe on how the school systems now overwork the kids until their eyes bleed and fingers ache, post a comment.)

She didn't enjoy the snow very much though. During our only snow fight, I accidentally hit her in the face with a snowball. It was only once, an honest misdirected throw, but she didn't see it that way. At that point, it descended into an immature battle to see how much snow we could shove into each others' face before the opponent submitted. I ended it before it got to that point, seeing neither of us was having any fun and getting angrier and more aggressive. She and I both got some wicked cold weather hives from that mess.

About 6 hours later, she developed a full blown rhinovirus-induced cold. She was happy to pass that along to most of the rest of the house. The real problem was the resultant rash that developed due to irritation of the skin just under her nose. It was red, dry, and angry, apparently brought on by contact from her own mucus. I wonder why her skin reacts as such.

She was ill enough that she missed one of the only two school days this week. You might be asking, why 2? There were two snow days, there should be three for school. Well, we had another thick dusting of snow the following Friday, so that killed any return to school until after the New Year.

Game Time
Thanks to the frightful weather, I had a lot of time for gaming. I decided finally to give Savage 2 a shot.

I had played the original Savage, the pioneering RTS/FPS hybrid that pits mankind against a bipedal beast tribe in the far flung, post-apocalyptic future. It is fun to play, but a number of bugs still persist, even after the source opened up to the public. Savage 2 addresses several of these, and adds a number of convenient functions that make playing much more fun. And best of all, S2 Games made it free-to-play!

Anyone who wants to give either game a shot, check them out at S2 Games' Website.

And yes, I still play Guild Wars. In fact Lady Kingel, leader of the United Legit Gaming Guilds, requested me to return to the in-game leadership rotation. This rotation is in place so that the responsibility of running the guild is shared between a small council of leaders. Each week, the leadership is passed to the next in the circle, which allows for a fresh take on how the guild is run.

I said I wouldn't get so deeply involved in guild life again, but it just seems that these things follow me to whatever guild I join with. I just hope I don't overextend myself again. I'm certain I won't though. I know my limits, and what will have to go should I find myself having issues again.

Financial Woes
I thought leaving Courtsports was a permanent arrangement. Boy was I wrong.

I found myself calling my old boss today, asking for whatever sub hours he might be able to kick back to me. Truth be told, I'm gravely worried about our financial situation. It's like my money is bleeding out, and the well's almost dry. To top it off, my wife was supposed to start work this week with a load of training, but the winter storm kinda killed that before takeoff, which means fewer hours.

So this week, instead of finishing preparations for Christmas, I'm finding myself contemplating a late-year job hunt. I wish I had thought about this sooner, but after the brutal finals week, I was more inclined to just let the world go by without me for a few days. Here's hoping I don't go mad from all this rushing about.


Well, that's my week at a glance. Before I close, congratulations to my wife Linda for passing her State of Oregon Tax Preparerer's Certification. She does the family proud with all that she has done to get this far.

Until next week, watch your backside. You never know when the ranger is watching.