Two Local Political Events

Today is March 5th here in Massachusetts. This year that means two things.

First and foremost, it is Super Tuesday today. That means it’s Primary Election Day here as well as a bunch of other states. I have not voted yet. I plan to vote after dinner tonight. It’s going to be tight as far as time goes, but the polls are open until 8:00pm so I should be able to get there with time to spare. Keep your fingers crossed.

March 5th also has another noteworthy event, historically speaking. Today is the anniversary of The Boston Massacre. On this day in 1770 a bunch of Bostonians were shot by English troops. It was an important event that turned into one of our nation’s most famous propaganda vehicles, thanks in part to this Paul Revere image:

Here’s a link to the wikipedia article, which I did not read but am willing to assume it is accurate because trust is a thing. Also, I took the image from wikipedia as well.

I could have sworn I had a photo of the victim’s memorial that is in the Granary Burial Ground in Boston, but I can’t find it anywhere. I guess I’ll just have to go for a walk down the Freedom Trail this summer to take another pic.

Anyway, go vote (where applicable).

Almost Done, I Hope

Another day for the kitchen remodel project. Here’s hoping it’s the last day.

They are doing some touch up work on things that have otherwise been finished. They are hanging some stuff on top of the tile. They are doing a little painting.

I think that’s all that’s left to do. Once they are done we have to clean up any dust they left behind and then wash all of the dishes that have been sitting out collecting dust over the last week and then find a new home for everything in the new cabinet/storage setup.

I am so ready for this project to be over. I want my house back again.

Unrelated note… I used my good camera to take today’s photo a day picture. I will post it now for no reason at all.

187/365
187/365

Epic Fail

Daily writing prompt
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
View all responses

I finished high school in June of 1989 and started college that September. I was a music major with an emphasis in sound recording technology. Basically, that was music crossed with electrical engineering. The core course work included two semesters of calculus and one of physics. Therein lied my problem.

Coming out of high school, my math skills were flat out awful. I was unprepared for college level classes which meant I was unable to pass calculus, and given that calculus is the foundation of a lot of physics, I was hosed there too. There was more to it than that. I was also just not in a place mentally where I could handle school anymore. I needed a break.

All of that lead to me dropping out of college. I couldn’t do it at that time. Academically or emotionally. That was my failure. College, the first time around.

I followed that experience with a job, and then a tech school and a certification in a field where I was unable to get a job, which was followed by a shitty job in a warehouse for garbage money. When I couldn’t take it any more I went back to school.

All of that is what lead to my eventual success. I majored in computer science. Another field that required a strong math background. I went into it knowing that I had to strengthen my basic skills. I told my first academic advisor that I was going to start at the lowest math course available. I had taken a placement test that said I could start a little further along. I said no and started at the bottom. I then studied my ass off at each level. By the time I was hitting my upper level computer science courses I had aced three semesters of calculus and two semesters of physics.

Success, babie. Take that, failure. Suck my awesome grades.

After graduation I got a job in the field. Not the best job. Not a development position. I figured I’d worm my way into a development position, but then never did. I stayed in client services and moved into management. I’m still there.

Frustration

The plumber went out to get some dinner. He expects he has about two hours more work to do tonight. It’s 600pm. I think we’re going to be working until after 9:00pm again tonight.

Insert the sign of frustration here.

Stressing out like nuts over here, kids. Like nuts.

The plumber just walked in the door. Here’s hoping he can wrap it up in two hours. Fingers crossed.

Haiku for You #154

Today’s haiku is a follow up to the previous post where I bitched about our kitchen not being finished yet.

I miss my kitchen.
I want to make us some lunch.
Remember dinners?

The tile guy is here. The plumber hasn’t shown up yet. It’s 12:20pm.

The Mood Has Changed

The last time we had a home improvement project done was about a year ago when we had new windows installed. When the project started we were so excited. After a few days without the project being completed our mood changed and the whole thing just became super frustrating. We wanted it to be over so that we could have our house back again.

We expected the kitchen remodel project we’re currently involved with to take ages. The contractor told us he would have everything installed by the end of the second day. Then we needed walls patched and tile work done, plumbing work, and touch up and paint work.

The tile guy got here yesterday around 8:00am. He left a little before 10:00pm. It was around 8:30pm or so when the mood for this project changed again. We just crossed some invisible line between excitement and frustration. It’s is totally unfair to the contractors because we are still in their estimated window of how long it would take to finish everything. It doesn’t matter. It’s all just stress now, no more excitement.

The tile guy is coming back today. The plumber is coming too. It’s 9:26am and we haven’t heard from either of them yet, but we aren’t expecting to until after 10:00. IKEA was just here picking up some of the things we need to return to them. There is a mountain more stuff that needs to be returned. We aren’t sure if we can get them to come back or not. I expect we’ll be driving down there one of these days soon. We also need to book a junk pick up because there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be removed still. We also need to clean off all of the dust that is covering everything before we use anything in our new kitchen.

I’m stressing out. We’re stressing out. It’s starting to be difficult.

I went to Home Depot this morning to pick up some stuff for the tile guy. Pics from the drive home… because.

City Hall
186/365
The clock… of course

Autobiography Again

Daily writing prompt
You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?
View all responses

This is the second time they’ve given us a daily prompt about our autobiography. This is so lame. So exceptionally lame.

Try these on for size…

  • He was grotesquely obese, mentally and physically. Then he went under the knife and had his guts butchered and rearranged. Then he was only grotesquely obese mentally.
  • He had no real brains to speak of, no talents, nothing special at all and yet somehow he lived a long time without accidentally blowing himself to smithereens.
  • He was a Rush fan, but was Rush a fan of him? Probably not.
  • First he was a red head. Then he was a husband and a step father. Then he was old.
  • Soft as a sneaker full of shit.
  • Cursed from day one with red hair.
  • A roll model for how to be a bad person without being a nazi.
  • At least he wasn’t a fascist like so many other Americans.
  • How to always say exactly the wrong thing: A red head’s story.
  • Inside the red head’s head there was nothing but mud.
  • If ever there was a life that wasted too much time and energy on Star Wars, this was it.
  • Mad Eye Moody said it best in Harry Potter #4: “his head may be filled with sawdust.”

Those are all possibilities, but there is one that would sum them all up perfectly. One that would be the first line of my autobiography, the last line of my autobiography, every line of my autobiography……….

Meh.

Me