dread | Piss and Moan

Dreaded place

Tomorrow I start vacation until after the first of the new year. Only, in will feel very little like a vacation since my duties will be trying to keep the house from being destroyed and small children in line.

There will be screaming from them and their parent – during the whole day, and sometimes even at night.

There will be endless cleaning up after people.

There will be a constant watchful eye on everything that is done because one is never sure if it will lead to disaster.

Truthfully, home is a dreaded place.

I know I could cancel my vacation days and just work and take them at another time next year, but I have told too many people what is coming and now not taking them will cause problems.

So, for the two weeks I will look for opportunities to hide, in the house and by leaving the house.

Dreaded tasks

Posted on January 24, 2022 by backuphill

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

I spent the weekend doing stuff I just really dislike. Chores that probably really need to be done and I can do so that I don’t have to pay someone else to do them, but chores that are not a pleasure to do by any means.

The washing machine (front loaders really do suck, don’t buy one even though they are being pushed like hell) hasn’t been working all that well as of late, so it was time to clean out the filter and rebalance to see if that helped. Disassembled, adjusted, cleaned, water everywhere (there’s no good way to keep that from happening), and then rebalanced (never mind the fact that the house isn’t level or square). All of that to find out that, other than cleaning out the filter) that it pretty much operates the same as before all that effort.

Cool. I hate life.

Then it was the dryer. Time to clean out the dryer vent.

Shop vac, cleaner brush tool, drill, duct tape, and hours of effort. Good lord! There was a ton of lint in there! CLEAN OUT YOUR DRYER VENT AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR! Anyway, that part was relatively easy. But, as I was putting it all back together I realized after starting the dryer back up to blow some of the remnant lint out of the line that it wasn’t pushing air like I expected…which means it was disconnected some place under the house. Damn. So, another 30 minutes getting ready the supplies I would need under the house and then moving everything in the way to get to the crawl space. Sure enough, disconnected. So, I put that all back together and got it all cleaned up. Not it works like it should.

Today I am sore and stiff.

I am too old for this crap.

I truly hate doing these kinds of chores. I am also cheap, so paying someone to do them isn’t even a consideration. I just suck it up and deal.

But seriously, why does it always have to go sideways every time? There is always an issue. Always something that needs to be repaired or adjusted after doing it. Why can’t it just go smoothly and with zero hassle?

Anyone else hate certain chores or tasks that they do because they don’t want to pay someone to do it? What are they?

Better luck

Posted on May 5, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Gerd Altmann on Pexels.com

Projects. So much time for projects.

BUT, do you have a project you want/need to do but are putting off because you aren’t sure the results you’ll get are what you want?

Don’t you hate it when you work on something and you have it all laid out in your head but then it doesn’t turn out like you envisioned it? OR, maybe it doesn’t go the way you want and it ends up being more trouble than it was worth, falling into that “Better luck next time” category of tasks?

I had one last night like that latter of those two. A retractable screen door on the house needed to be fixed. The most expensive option was to just replace the thing and with a new one or the other option was to buy parts for half the original cost and attempt repairs with no instructional manual. There was a vote and I lost, so repairs it was.

After much grunting, Pissing and Moaning, and not so quiet mutterings under my breath, I got to the project last night after work. And it went about as well as I thought it would. It was more trouble than it was worth. I would have rather started over with a new setup, but there is now a semi-functional screen door again. It just doesn’t work like it did when I originally installed it…which was perfectly (if I do say so myself). Now, it will make due but its not operating as smoothly as it could be.

Oh well.

So, I ask, do you have any projects you are dreading to tackle? Or did you do a project you dreaded only to regret tackling it afterwards?

I’m curious.

197

Posted on April 13, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Zachary DeBottis on Pexels.com

Today marks the return back to work, from vacation.

Coming off the “worst” vacation ever (see previous Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 posts), getting back to work is still tough.

Last night as I enjoyed some down time I began to think of the things that would need to get done on my first day back to work…several things that didn’t get done before I left and, knowing there would be a crap ton of emails while I was gone, newly assigned things for my return. As you might imagine, the dread for the coming work day started.

Not to disappoint, 197 emails filled my inbox. Fortunately, that is likely a number that is down from the usual vacation absence since schools are not operating as normal so support needs have dwindled slightly. So, I have been wading through those this morning. After an hour and 15 minutes, I still have 87 more emails to get through. Yes, there are some that just need deleted as they are quick communications between team members for innocuous things. I am glad for those. It makes that number go down faster!

Anyway, I better get back to those emails. Oh, and I have a meeting right off the bat too.

Where’s my coffee?

Ugh

Posted on May 31, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

It’s meeting time again and I just don’t wanna go.

‘nuf said.

Perhaps I can hide on the toilet like I do at home when I don’t want to do something.

The phone call we all dread

Posted on October 24, 2018 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Yep, it happened. I got the call we all dread over the last weekend. The one that you just wish you didn’t answer the phone. The one that makes you regret getting up in the morning.

“Hi, it’s your sis. Are you available next weekend? We are gonna move and need some help.”

And there it is…yes, you are free and no you don’t want to help. You don’t want to help because moving sucks, always. It is no fun moving yourself, let alone someone else. So, no, I am not free and no I don’t want to help.

“Yeah, I am free. What time do you need me to be there?”

Damn it! That isn’t what I was going to say. Stupid family relations. So you go help.

While you’re there and after having moved stuff all day, your mom says, “While I have you all together, can you do me a favor? After we’re done here, can you all come over to the house and move the piano out of the house? Someone is coming to pick it up.”

Are you serious, mom? We just spend all day moving someone else’s crap and now we gotta go move a piano? I swore off moving pianos the last time I moved a piano. I am NOT doing it this time.

I hate being a good family member. 2500 pounds of piano later…I need pain killer.

Pets, kids, and parental stupidity

Posted on October 17, 2018 by backuphill

girl lying on white surface petting gray rabbit

Photo by Anastasiya Gepp on Pexels.com

OK, parents, why do we do it?

Do we do it just for the moment of joy we see on our kids’ faces, or are we just secretly gluttons for punishment?

You know we all have gone through the debate with ourselves while at the pet store, or at a neighbor’s/friend’s house, or a relative’s house…the debate is always the same. Ami I right?

I don’t really want to get this animal because I am gonna end up taking care of it. But it would make my child so happy and I do want them to be happy. But, I am gonna be the one feeding it, walking it, cleaning up after it, paying for it, etc., etc., etc.,…Oh, look at her/him smile! This would make me such an awesome parent (maybe even their favorite???). I should totally do this. NO, WAIT, what I am saying, I don’t want more animal puke, animal drool, animal poop and pee, animal whatever whatever whatever. Dang, it is kinda cute. Couch snuggles would be nice. UGH, I am stupid because I know that joy on the face will only last for two days and then it will be battles trying to get him/her to take care of it. I don’t want it. I hate animals. But, it is awful cute. Where will be put it? Who will care for it when we are out of town? This is a really bad idea. I am just gonna say no.

OK, we’ll take it.

Followed by screams of joy and many smiles and “Thank you, thank you, thank you”s.

And now all you can think about is, What have I just done???

Followed by dread and loathing until the animal dies or disappears.

Parents, why are we so dumb? I don’t want more pets and yet the kids still get them and we still end up taking care of them. We knew it and we still did it anyway.

We are lame.