Family | Piss and Moan

Precious

Posted on March 30, 2020 by backuphill

This “stay at home” order is killing me. Well, actually it may end up killing others in the house…

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY SNACKS!

Little people. Adults. Adults in charge of little people. I don’t care. These are mine and I don’t want you touching them or eating them or moving them or anything else.

I know what you are thinking. “He still has snacks left?”

That’s a fair question.

I had a personal stash that I didn’t tell anyone about. But someone caught me hunkered down in a corner eating a tasty morsel and the curiosity began…

Thus, my own little pot-o-gold for times of telecommuting in the garage has been sniffed out. Honestly, the stash was getting a little thin after two weeks of telecommuting and I am not sure how I could sneak more into the house…leaving the house is suspicious, for obvious reasons, and if I return and skulk back into the garage carrying grocery bags it is going to be even more suspicious.

This whole event has caused me to view the eating habits of a few people in the house and can say that I don’t like it. The munching, the crunching, the gobbling, the face stuffing, the pie-hole gorging are starting to irritate me. Do I really need to feed all these people? Who can I vote off the island? Who can I sacrifice and live without?

Anyone else feel like Gollum from “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” when it comes to their snacks?

Cooped up & melting down

Posted on March 25, 2020 by backuphill

close up photo of man holding melting ice cream cone

Photo by Vincent Rivaud on Pexels.com

Being cooped up is tough.

Being cooped up with lots of people in a small space is possibly enough for some to consider “bodily harm” to others. As the crazy sets in, Jack Nicholson in “The Shining” comes to mind, you are gonna need an outlet to keep Ozzy Osborn’s “Crazy Train” from coming to get you.

So, I’m here for you!

Remember, this is a space to Piss and Moan about all the things (from large to small) that just drive you crazy, seems unfair, generally confuses the hell outta ya, or makes you wanna “redrum” someone…you get the idea.

Wanna vent? Wanna have a safe space for on online virtual meltdown? Contact me about submitting a guest post. I KNOW I am not the only one that could use this space. I’ve got blogger friends and I see what you post! LOL You all have a little sump’n sump’n to get off your chests. This space is for you!

Try not to have a meltdown today…but if you must, let me know!

Apathy

Posted on March 23, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Александр Македонский on Pexels.com

I don’t know about you, but I have felt a general sense of apathy set in as a result of all this “isolation.”

I am not all that isolated since there are people around (neighbors in their yards, and other family members in the house, co-workers via Teams and Zoom). BUT, the general assumption is that we shouldn’t be going out and about to run our normal errands unless it is necessary.

So, the normal routine of life is interrupted. I find myself sitting around (more than normal) with a general sense of apathy towards doing anything productive.

We had decent weather this last week/end and all I wanted to do was sit. I didn’t want to go out and do yard work. I didn’t want to go out and wash the car (I did). I don’t want to cook dinner (but I do). I don’t want to be productive at work (but I am). I don’t want to…*insert something here*.

To be clear, I am still grooming myself and still going about the daily routine of eating and showering and getting dressed, because my day doesn’t feel like it starts until I have had a shower. LOL I mean come on, I am not a lazy-ass slob (nor a teen)! But, after that, all bets are off.

Are you feeling apathetic at all too?

If you are feeling it, how are you combating it? Are you combating it or are you just giving in too?

Who did this?

Posted on March 20, 2020 by backuphill

WHO DID THIS?!?!?

…leaving a square destroyed like this is just not acceptable. It’s unusable at this point!

I may hyperventilate at the wastefulness. This impacts resources. Seriously. This stuff doesn’t grow on trees…and neither does the money needed to buy this it…

Wait.

Wipe that…from the memory banks…

Maybe both do grow on trees.

OK, “toilet paper math dad,” what do you do with this? How does this calculate into your figuring? And does the average person actually need (or use) 20 squares? But I digress.

All right, what do you do with these wasted squares? Do you put them inside the next wipe, do you tear it off and drop it in the toilet so you have a nice neat edge for the next wipe, or do you tear it off and re-purpose it? Any other ideas you can think of?

National Treasure

Posted on March 17, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by David Bartus on Pexels.com

Tom Hanks.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now. I mean, this is big news. Top Story stuff right here.

How can our national treasure, Tom Hanks, have COVID-19?

There has to be some conspiracy going on here. Aliens. For sure aliens.

Hear me out here. They could easily land in the Australian outback undetected and bring COVID-19 to Tom and his lovely wife (I assume she is lovely. I haven’t met her, but Tom picked her so there must be something to her. Oh, I haven’t met Tom either. I’m just saying.)

Of course, I am kidding. He’s not our only national treasure…

Betty White! What about Betty White?

Apparently she has checked in and is doing just fine. Whew! National crisis averted.

BUT SERIOUSLY….

While I enjoy both of these actors, can we get away from covering the celebrities? Not to be callous or anything, but I am. I don’t care about their status. They don’t actually warrant “top story” headlines or an international outpouring of love and concern (you can count Kobe in on this if you want too).

They are just people and quite frankly they aren’t people we should care about any more than people in our families or our neighbors. Actually, those last two – family and neighbors – should get more care and concern than celebrities and athletes who have money to take care of themselves just fine.

Your family and neighbors need your care and concern. Pay attention to them. Stop and visit. Say, “Hi!” when you walk by. Shop local and support small business who employ the people you should be caring about.

Put your focus back on the people who actually deserve it.

Without notification

Posted on March 16, 2020 by backuphill

airline flight schedules on flat screen televisions

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com

Someone left town to visit family this weekend. Flying in these times is a rather curious endeavor now and there was already anticipation that some flexibility would be needed. The thought was that returning home might end up being a problem (that still remains to be seen). So…

Night before flight, 11:23pm: Flight is on time for an 8:00am departure.

Morning of flight, 4:11a.m: Flight cancelled and booked to another flight at 10:21am.

If I hadn’t checked of my own volition, the change would not have been known until arriving at the airport.

Did you catch that, “of my own volition”?

That’s right. Not a single notification from the airline that the flight details had changed. No text. No email. No call. That last one I didn’t really expect, but not even an email? Is that how they handle flight changes now?

Really disappointed in Alaska Airlines.

Granted, for the first leg of the trip the flight is not on their actual airline, but the trip was booked through them and they are the “confirmation number issuer” so you would think they were the ones responsible for notification.

I have always liked flying with them. They take pretty good care of you and they fly to most places I want to go for a fair price (most of the time). But, this taints the relationship a little. She luster is now gone. Oh, I’ll still probably fly with them but there is a little love lost now.

I may have a wandering eye, checking out the other options available. Fair warning Alaska, fair warning.

Sick note

Posted on March 9, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by bongkarn thanyakij on Pexels.com

I’m in WA state and there’s this thing going on. You’ve probably heard about it. So far, I’ve just heard about it too.

But, last night I developed a cough that came from nowhere. And a wheeze at the bottom of my lungs.

I checked in with the doc. At the moment they think it is related to the bronchitis I had two weeks ago. But, with the ongoing situation in WA, work doesn’t want me physically present. So…I have been “quarantined” to telecommute from home.

Can’t complain about that! No morning or afternoon traffic. No early mornings. No late dinners.

Win-win.

Except for the cough…and wheezing…

Expenses and new adulthood

Posted on March 6, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels.com

Here’s a TOUGH question for you?

At what point do you have your adult children fend for themselves?

Specifically, a child has graduated from high school almost a year ago and is now 19. Oh, and I’ll add that the child is not currently living in your home. Said child has college expenses covered already (tuition and housing), but has no job.

What do you think?

What do you continue to support/provide and what do you not? What would you consider “extra” versus necessary?

There are some difficult discussions coming up and I am curious how you see this topic. I realize this is a bit of an open ended question and can be taken in a lot of different directions, so I am open to any and all responses.

Exhausted

Posted on March 2, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

So, I got a good night’s sleep last night. After being up at 3:00am to get to the airport, I waited as long as I could to go to bed so that I didn’t end up getting up too early from going to bed too early.

It worked. I got eight and a half hours of sleep, BUT I am still tired. The last five days have really worn me out! It was packed full of activity and warm, sunny weather.

It is safe to say that was one of my top vacations ever. I couldn’t have asked for much better. And, as you probably have gathered, I am not really the kind of person to “see the bright side” of many things so that is saying a lot.

I am going to lay low today and tomorrow before being back at work (I’m telecommuting) Wednesday and Thursday. Friday will be back to the office.

I’ll pick up with the regularly scheduled Piss and Moan tomorrow. I am sure there will be something to make your eyes roll then.

The list

Posted on February 25, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

I am leaving, on a jet plane…and I know when I’ll be back again, unfortunately. I seriously could enjoy the life of retirement and no plan or commitments every day. *sigh* Alas, I must settle for small breaks in the routine.

Anyway, I have a list.

A self-imposed list. It’s always self-imposed.

I wrote up all the things I need to do and would like to do before leaving, in less than 24 hours. It’s too long.

Some of the things are just reminders of small things I need to make sure get packed and other things are actually things I want to get done.

I know one of my blogger friends, Curt, wrote about his “to do list” not too long ago, and how a list before traveling is a love/hate-win/lose kind of exercise. I totally identified with it because I do it too, and have done it again!

How many of you are the same way? Suddenly seeing your physical or mental “to do list” grow so long before vacation that you can never get it all done if you had two weeks to do it? Why do we stress ourselves even a little before we vacation?