What. Ever.

 Don't you just get tired of dealing with it all?  It finally got above freezing and I made a car appointment. My battery had died about a month ago and I've been using my daughter's vehicle when I needed one. I was a little annoyed at my dealership because aren't their computers supposed to warn them of things like this - a battery going bad or a cell dying....something?  So I don't get stranded. I've had this car for 15 years and I don't recall ever having it give me a mechanical problem. 

I told them if my car started I would bring it in. It did (it didn't want to) and I sat there for two hours (I don't mind, I brought my puzzle book) while they kept it on some kind of machine to test the battery. She said it was under warranty and as soon as the machine gave them a code she would be able to get me a free replacement.  Unfortunately, the machine said my battery was good.

She said I could drive it home and if in a couple of days if it happened again, I could bring it back to them and they could try it on the machine again.  I looked at her and tried to establish if she was for real or not.  I said 'Just replace the damn thing.' I mean really. In two days I have a dentist appointment and I really didn't want to drive my daughter to school so I could get to my appointment and pick her up later. In case my car battery decided it wasn't "good".  Screw that. I wanted to ask her "And how exactly will I be bringing it in, if it doesn't start?'  She has no idea if I have Triple A or not (I do). I get three free tows a year (I have the regular Triple A) and I haven't needed it at all this year, yet. She did give me a 15% discount on my entire bill (oil change, rotate tires, replace rear tail light and the new battery) - so --- what. ever. Be done. Be gone.  Give me my car back and let me move on.

Oh, and Triple A?  You might be waiting 2 - 6 hours for them to get to you if you are lucky. 

On a side note - my neighbor worked for this dealership 26 years. A few years ago, he slipped and fell on the ice at work on a Thursday. He took Friday off to go to the doctor. They (the dealership) called him on Sunday and told him they decided to move on without him.  (This more or less happened to me except I did not fall and I had 29  years in. We have decided to move on without you. - What a crock! ). So since they got rid of him the service there has been sub par. Word has it the owner put his brother in charge of the dealership and the brother decided he wanted all his friends and family to work there and the regulars had to go.

And the matter of other things. Here is a good one. The other day my insurance decided that after two refills, I needed to get my prescriptions on line. I did not know this. I have a new insurance (since work tossed me away) and I am not eligible for Medicare, yet. Fun stuff, I can't tell you. Yes, I know the phrase is "I can tell you" but I really can't right now. But then again - I am going to go ahead and tell you. See?  This is driving me bonkers. I don't know if I am coming or going.

So, I am setting up my prescriptions with the lady on the telephone. It is taking so freaking long. I refill the first one, but when we got to the Vitamin D2 she said that one isn't on the list. She can't send me that one. She said there is Vitamin B(whatever number), Vitamin C, Vitamin E -  but no Vitamin D2.  I'm like 'Well, what in the hell do I do?'   She asked me if I was sure I was reading the prescription correctly because sometimes the doctor's writing is bad.  (Me, being sarcastic in my mind only - "You don't say?!")  I sighed and told her I was looking at a computer printout label on my prescription bottle from my pharmacy.  I told her my doctor had not written me a physical prescription in years  - they all do it electronically now. Then she said "Let me look at Vit D2".  I looked at my label. There it said Vit D2 generic for Vitamin D2.  She found it under Vit D2. How in the HELL am I supposed to know that Vit D2 is the generic code for Vitamin D2?  Evidently it isn't that way for Vitamin B(whatever number), Vitamin C or Vitamin E.  Who in their right mind is going to say "Vit D2" instead of Vitamin D2?  The entire process is set up to drive us all insane. And really - certainly she had to know it was listed under Vit or why else would she suggest it?  

So much of this type of annoying problems come up with all this asinine paperwork that needs to be completed for retirement, insurance, taxes - the list goes on.  How do you keep your sanity doing all this crap?

 Reading "The Faculty Lounge" by Jennifer Mathieu.  Most recommendations for fiction novels come from magazines I read such as 'This Week' or 'In Touch Weekly'.  A few I read because I watched the movie.  This one takes a teacher/administrator of a school and tells a little bit about them in each chapter.  It works for me because I worked in education (not in a school but in the environment). 

I also started "The Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison.   I've heard of it but never read it.  It is slow going.  I can't seem to get into it.  Not to be confused with the movie.  Whew!  Watched that a couple of years back. 2020.  Elizabeth Moss - Psychological Thriller.  It was a good one.  IMDB rated it 7.1 out of 10.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051906/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_the%2520invisible%2520man

Movie I watched recently "Flight Risk" with Michelle Dockery (from Downton Abbey), Mark Wahlberg and Topher Grace.   Another thriller.  It was okay.  The majority of the movie takes place in a small airplane with the three of them. IMDB gave it only a 5.3 rating out of 10. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10078772/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_flight%2520risk

Movies I want to watch:

Death of a Unicorn

Novocain

On TV - currently my fave is "History's Greatest Mysteries" with Laurence Fishburne. It is in it's sixth season and last week was about "The Valentine's Day Massacre".  This week is "What is the Yeti?"  

A great site for all you want to know about your favorite or any TV shows:

https://epguides.com/

For a fun trip down memory lane - check out the first edition of the theme song to 'Gilligan's Island'.  It is not AT ALL like the one they ran on the regular TV show!  In the pilot, Mary Ann, Ginger and The Professor were played by different characters than what the regular show aired.  The Professor was a High School Teacher, and Ginger/Mary Ann were secretaries.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpimVRP3EW4  (for the song - skip to 25 seconds in to miss the intro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IkZ2neSamw   (for more detail on the pilot episode)

And in between all of my reading and watching, I am still painting my kitchen cabinets and drawers. I don't plan to stop there. I want to change the walls. 

Thank you for your service

 I know it isn't Veteran's day or Memorial day. Three of my family members have served in the Armed forces. The older ones had it pretty rough when they returned from Viet Nam in the 60's. They were treated poorly. It is encouraging to now see them wear a hat when we go out and are proud to be a Veteran. They get a lot of compliments and attention - as they should. 

It was a very real experience when the Wall Memorial came to my town and we went to visit. I remember assisting a couple of people with finding their loved one(s).  It has been a few years but it is something like you go to the information booth and give them the name of the person you are looking for. They give you a panel number that pertains to the section of the wall. Then you go down the side of the panel to find the line number and find the name. My brother-in-law had about four friends he lost. They were so young.

One of the amazing things is they have a person from the military guard the wall. That person stands there without moving for hours. I can't recall how long before they get relieved but it was pretty impressive. I remember they hold a gun but I can't remember if the gun gets to rest on the ground or on their shoulder. I could not find any information on this aspect of the tour.

I did see the "changing of the guards" in 1970 when my family visited DC. Such a remarkable ceremony.

Painting

 I started painting all my cabinet doors and drawers in the kitchen. I had purchased the above paint to freshen up my front door and realized it would work on my kitchen cabinets/cupboards. I only purchased a quart at the time because I was only thinking of the door.  I bought two more cans of the quart size because I like handling the smaller can. My cabinets/cupboards had begun to show little chips and I realized (horror of horrors) that at one previous time, the owner of the house had painted their kitchen turquoise blue. All those little nicks (and some surface cracking) are getting covered up nicely with this paint. It's a slow process but as they say - "I've got nowhere to go and all day to get there."   

I've kept in touch with some friends I worked with back in the 80's and 90's and we met for dinner last night. All but me live in the same vicinity. I live about 40 minutes away. We've been meeting for so long we know pretty much everything about each other. The past two years another from the workplace has been joining us so she gets to tell all her stories. She was busy raising her family before. The birthday girl chooses the restaurant. She chose the same Asian place as last year. Our next birthday get together is in April That birthday girl usually chooses Italian.

The group skips March (nobody born that month).  I'm so glad, though. My family has 11 March birthdays. Two of them are extended family members. We are meeting at a winery this year in the middle of the month. For some reason we get together this month to celebrate (but not any of the other months).  LOL - whatever.

My brother and sisters have all stopped smoking. The three (out of 8) who did smoke. The one brother didn't even start to smoke until he was 50.  I see less of the vaping than I used to. Or I should say "smell less" because that is the part that gets me. The smells.  Even though my migraines have all but dissipated, I still get annoyed by strong odors.

I meet up with another group of former co-workers once a month. They are ladies I worked with at the Educational office. There were about 10 of us but after Covid, we only have a regular 6 - 8 that show up. All but one is retired and she works only part time. A new one came last month and it was SO nice to catch up with her. I send out the invites and while dining, we choose the next restaurant and date.  We used to drive a lot farther than we do these days. With good weather, we may venture out more as we tire of the places close to home.

I make certain to keep up with the get togethers as my family has a tendency to shut ourselves off from the world and gather only with family. We have a large family so that keeps us hopping. Through therapy and reading I realize that it is very important to do this - for mental health. Large families who get together often are probably fine for getting their socialization. Especially as members marry or change partners (bringing in fresh people to get to know) and have children. And sprinkle in a friend or two here and there.

I only read two books in January. Getting a slow start this year. I think this was due to me watching a marathon of "Call the Midwife".  I've caught up to the current season so I'll probably read more. I discovered that the actor Gene Hackman wrote a couple of novels. I am going to give them a go. And puzzles (not jigsaw). Crosswords, kryptograms...etc.. I get the variety puzzle books and I'll go through and do all my favorites first. Alphabet Plus, Codeword, Syl" La-cros'tic, Crostics, and Flower Power.