Scandals

richaarde — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 03:45:24 GMT

📱 It was time to update dad's cellphone, and my parents decided that my mom should have a phone, too. So now I have two less-than-tech savvy parents with cell phones that are constantly going to be calling me asking for help.

At least my mom seems to be picking it up. We've been sending text messages back and forth. My dad still has no idea how to text after having his old phone for a few years. Maybe she can finally beat it into his head.

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Almost at the six month mark with R. Still don't know how strongly I feel about us as an item. But we enjoy each other's company, and we put up with each other's quirks.

richaarde — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 02:01:12 GMT

My taxes are done, and I still have two whole hours to go before they're due. By my standards, that's early!

richaarde — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 04:05:33 GMT

I've been kind of busy the past month, which is why I keep falling behind and catching up.

😟 A friend of mine died unexpectedly two weeks ago. RIP B. I ended up making three separate trips out to Reading, PA, to see his husband M, who was absolutely destroyed. Nice guy who was always helping people.

🙁 My other friend J wound up in the hospital with an infection. He'll be fine, though.

👨‍❤️‍👨 I'm still not calling this thing with R a relationship. It doesn't really feel like one yet. But I've spent a bit of time with him, and I am enjoying the time together. So I'll take it to its logical conclusion, whatever that is.

🥚 Lazy Easter. I slept in, then went to my parents for dinner. Now I'm back home.

richaarde — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 03:27:03 GMT

💉 After I delayed it back when everyone got sick back in December/January and then promptly forgot about it, I finally got my booster shot yesterday. I worked yesterday, and then took today off of work to recover from any ill effects.

Thankfully, the shot effects were mild, though my sore arm is getting worse now. Blah.

🌮 On my way home from work, I went to my favorite taco place for their tuesday taco special, and I randomly bumped into wantedonvoyage and his friend. It was the first time we've met in person, though we actually live near each other. Great guy.

That's all. Short update today.

richaarde — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 04:34:02 GMT

Beware the Ides of March.

richaarde — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 01:56:35 GMT

🗑 As of Friday afternoon, the borough/new trash haulers replaced one of the two missing dumpsters. So at least we have somewhere to put our trash now.

👨‍❤️‍👨 So over the past few weeks, one of the two south Asian guys that I know introduced me to a third one, R. And I think he's becoming somewhat attached to me. I don't know where this is going to lead, frankly because I don't have that much of a libido to begin with, and the mental health meds I'm on reduce that even further. Halp?

R wanted to get his ear pierced, so last night we went and did that. And we went to Costco.

🕳 A month ago, I put four brand-new tires on the road beast. Last night, I hit a pothole and developed a slow but significant leak in one of those tires. R and I found a 24 hour repair shop, where they found a hole in the tire sidewall, which could not be repaired. But they didn't have my size tire. So they pumped up my tire, and I was able to drop R off and make it home. This afternoon I was able to get a new tire. But I'm really annoyed that I didn't see the pothole, and that I had to replace an almost-new tire.

richaarde — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 04:58:39 GMT

As I drove into the parking lot of my condo complex, I noticed the dumpsters were missing. I get home to this email from my condo association:

"The town of Belleville fired the refuse company, █████, and they were so angry they removed all of the refuse containers from all Belleville properties. The new refuse company is trying to provide dumpsters, but unfortunately this is a town issue. If you can, try to keep all garbage within your unit, garage, etc. We will keep you updated."

richaarde — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 05:13:00 GMT

Just a reminder, add me over on DW if you haven't already. Same name there as here.

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Now that my parents are all settled in to their new place, my mom wants a dog again. I don't think this is a great idea, as my parents aren't in the greatest shape anymore, and they have a fairly long walk from the elevator to their apartment. Not to mention my parents aren't getting any younger, and their hips and knees are only going to get worse. But I don't know if I'll be able to dissuade her.

richaarde — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 07:17:56 GMT

So after 17 days I finally got the results of when I was tested for Covid before Christmas. It’s nice to finally know that I tested negative.

Fortunately, everyone I was with at one of two events I was at, that had gotten tested, had tested negative. So after a few days and not having any fever or night sweats or anything, I kind of figured I was negative, too.

richaarde — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 02:35:57 GMT

Nothing really going on, so here's a video instead. Merry New Year!

CW: Weird, somewhat gore-ish animation

richaarde — Sun, 26 Dec 2021 00:01:08 GMT

May your holidays be exactly this exciting. No more, and no less.

richaarde — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 05:56:58 GMT

So I've been kind of sick the last few days. Sore throat, stuffy nose, cough, and mild fatigue. Some of the same symptoms of a breakthrough COVID case... Damn it.

I ended up working from home part of the day, and going to get a COVID test.

While I was on a VERY long line to get my COVID test, a local doctor's office sent a tech over to the line to get people to go to his office to get a COVID test with no wait. Sure, I'll play along. I drove down the road to the doctor's office, and was in and out in 15 minutes.

I'm probably going to work from home tomorrow, too.

-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+-+=+

Maybe it's better that I end up missing the holidays. Christmas came so soon after my estranged uncle passed away. I hope my mom and her two surviving siblings are done bickering over the burial arrangements. Otherwise dinner is going to be interesting.

richaarde — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 02:50:27 GMT

My uncle died this morning. He was schizophrenic and not particularly fond of staying on his meds, and was consequently extremely difficult to be around. He was abusive and managed to burn every bridge, and was estranged from everybody in the family. His three adult children (my cousins) didn't want to have anything to do with him. The only relative that even occasionally checked up on him was my mom.

A lifetime of heavy smoking and eating nothing but junk food caught up to him. He had had heart problems for a while, and he was eventually done in by them. My mom saw him a day or two before his death, and his arms and legs were already very swollen from poor circulation.

There will be no mass and no funeral. My mom and her two surviving siblings are going to put together money to get a spot for his cremated remains in a cemetery, and that's it.

I'm not really sure how I should feel.

richaarde — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 01:45:31 GMT

😑 So this morning I got my pill cases mixed up and accidentally took my night time pills in the morning instead of my morning pills. Of course this included a melatonin tablet. I tried to make myself vomit them back up, but couldn't. I ended up calling out of work, and stayed in bed until around 2 in the afternoon. That's a first.

😑 I tried to get refills on some meds on Sunday. After not getting the text that the drugs are ready to pick up the next day or the following day, I went to the pharmacy on Wednesday to find out they are having phone and internet issues and can't fill the prescriptions. Fortunately I have enough pills to get by, so I didn't need the refill right then. I finally got the notification that my pills came in late today, just as the pharmacy was closing.

😑 And now I've had a headache all day.

richaarde — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 01:41:47 GMT

14 years living in this place, and I have yet to have a single trick-or-treater come to my door. I guess the kids don't want to bother with a block of garden apartments. Whatever, less work for me.

I didn't even bother to buy candy this year. I sat around undressed and had a lazy day all day.

richaarde — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 02:18:39 GMT

I haven't posted here in almost a month, but nothing exciting has happened, so you didn't really miss anything.

🌧 We have our first Nor'easter of the season coming through, and we're supposed to get a lot of rain overnight and into tomorrow. They're calling for 2 to 5 inches (50 to 125mm), maybe more. I wouldn't be surprised if we get some river flooding in the next day or two.

😑 I've managed to avoid seeing my parents for the last three weeks. My mom hasn't had anything to occupy herself with, so she's taken to nagging me about stuff. Blah.

🛠 Work is work. We're busy at the office, so I can't complain. Hopefully it stays that way.

💊 Apparently, after my last psychiatrist appointment, I never made my appointment for a follow-up. I should really do that before I run out of pills.

richaarde — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 01:37:47 GMT

You should, like, check out this friendzy. And stuff.

richaarde — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 03:31:00 GMT

OK, all caught up reading posts. I didn't comment on most things, but I did at least skim through everything.

Dad is doing much better after his surgery. I drove down to see my parents today. He can now hobble around a little more freely with his walker. He'll be back to his old self in no time.

I wanted to do a RAM upgrade on my dad's cornputer while I was there. But apparently the RAM card that I got wasn't the right one for his computer. I now have to do a little more research to see if his RAM card can indeed be updated. At least I didn't open the package on the RAM card I bought for him, so I was able to return it with no trouble.

richaarde — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 01:49:54 GMT

I took a few days off from LJ while my dad had surgery on his other hip. I took a few days off of work to spend time with mom while dad was having surgery, and then I spent the first night that my dad was home with them.

Mom still thinks subcompact cars like mine are "girly." I don't know what that's all about. Fortunately she was otherwise tolerable through the last few days.

The area around my parent's condo is currently swarmed with spotted lanternflies, an invasive species that was accidentally introduced to the northeastern US a few years ago. I was surprised to see so many of them, both because they were absolutely everywhere, and because I haven't seen a single one of them near my condo, my job, my friends' houses, or anywhere else that I've been. I did my duty and stomped on a bunch of them.

I'll try to catch up on reading in the next day or two. In the meantime, Bang Your Head:

richaarde — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 01:45:47 GMT

☀️ It only took me a year to get around to it, but I finally moved my old air conditioner out of my living room. I got tired of looking at it taking up space, so I grabbed it and took it outside. The building super has a guy he can call to take it from there that recycles them for cash.

🃏 I met up with friends down at Atlantic City and spent part of this past weekend there. Fortunately, I was able to get away from the casinos and walk on the boardwalk for a bit. In any case, I got my fill of the place. I should be good for another year or two.

richaarde — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 02:37:50 GMT

I came up to a traffic light, and the car next to me had a chihuahua poking its head out the window.

I rolled down my window and barked at the dog. The dog barked back at me. A sleepy-looking second chihuahua popped its head up next to the first dog. The driver of the car smiled at me. I smiled back.

The light turned green and we both went our separate ways. But that little exchange totally made my day.

richaarde — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 01:29:48 GMT

They repaved the parking lot where I live. I don't understand why, since they just repaved the lot a few years ago and the asphalt was still in fairly good shape. I would have just cut out the one or two places where there were potholes and fixed them. Oh well, it's just my condo's maintenance fees being spent not-very-wisely. I can always cough up more money, right? Maybe I should start showing up at these condo board meetings for a change...

Maybe two years ago, my local Walmart put all their phone cases for the iPhone X/XS on clearance and I grabbed one, cheap. Then I got home and noticed that the one I grabbed was bright lavender-colored. But I didn't feel like going back to return something that only cost me $3, so I stuck it in my drawer and bought another phone case for myself. This weekend, my new phone case bit the dust, and nobody seems to be selling phone cases for the iPhone X/XS anymore. And without a case, my phone feels like it's going to slide out of my hands. So it looks like I'm stuck with this lovely lavender-colored one until the case I ordered comes in from Amazon.

I went to check on the elderfolk today. My dad managed to lose the notebook where he jotted down all his email passwords, and then asked me to figure out how to change his address on his eBay account. I was eventually able to reset the password and change his info, but now he has to find his notebook, which he thinks is lost forever. Bah.

That's all I got.

richaarde — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 03:17:12 GMT

I'm kind of amused that every time I go to my parent's building, the main hallway there always smells like pot. Evidently, someone on their floor smokes quite a bit of the stuff. Somebody's got a really mellow red-eyed grandma in that building.

I went down there to put together my parent's computer. I got it together, got it connected to the internet, ran updates, and let it shut down. Then I left. While I was on my way home, my dad called to complain that he couldn't log on. I'll have to deal with it another time.

Other than that, my parents seem to be settling in quite nicely. They got their furniture, and they are slowly taking things out of boxes and packing them away. Another few weeks, and they will have everything in its place.

richaarde — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 02:18:27 GMT

My parents' Big Move is still ongoing. The closing on both the new place and the old place is tomorrow. They worked something out with the new owners of the old house, so they could keep their stuff in the garage for a few days while the new place is being painted. In the meantime, I spent last weekend and yesterday boxing things up and helping my parents move stuff into the garage. All the heavy work was done yesterday, so today I didn't need to go down there. They just had a few little things left, and it was stuff they could handle by themselves.

I wanted to go to NYC Pride today, but when I woke up, my body said no. I woke up, had breakfast and coffee, and then went right back to bed to lie down. Today was for getting back spoons. I hung around in bed until the afternoon, and then went out to eat.

My parents still want to take a day off this week to help them move stuff into the new place, and then I should be free of this task once and for all.

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I stopped at the store and found a nickel on the ground. Then I took a better look at it and realized it was a buffalo nickel, minted in 1937: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQmirRIljBt/ It isn't in mint or near-mint condition, so it probably isn't worth much (if anything), but it'll make a fine addition to my little collection of curios.

richaarde — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 02:22:56 GMT

Another weekend spent clearing out the parent's house. My elbow still hurts, and the work seems to have aggravated it. Their junk now seems to be trickling into my place even though I don't want any of it. I guess it's up to me to figure out what to do with it.

They had a garage sale yesterday and today to help get rid of stuff. They got rid of a few things, but not a lot.

I put out two almost brand-new laundry baskets in the laundry room which came from their house on Thursday evening with tags that said "free." By Saturday morning they were gone. I also put out some old travel bags near the dumpsters Friday evening. By Saturday evening they were gone, and they didn't seem to be in the dumpsters, so my neighbors seem to be taking them. So my mom gave me three more laundry baskets and a bunch more junk. Let's see how much more I can get my neighbors to freecycle.