The New Water Cooler

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  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear the scan wasn’t positive. Will them to my prayers as well.

    I have been able to find the thread on my phone by going to community, my groups and either searching water cooler or eventually it was just there after searching a bunch of times

    Again I’m sorry for the uncertainty. Sending hugs and healthy thoughts
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    We will know more in a few weeks about her heart.

    We left on our trip this morning and a few miles from home warning lights came on in the truck that the brake connection with the camper was not working. So on top of the power steering light yesterday and the camper brakes not working, we couldn't go. Turned around for home. All is canceled and we are unpacked. What a lot of work for nothing. I am so bummed we won't see Rory. That camper is an expensive pain in the ___. I'm beginning to think we should try to sell it and be done. Out of the last 3 camping trips, one went ahead but my brother died when we were gone, the next had horrible weather and we were inside the camper for two days and left early, and now mechanical issues. This is the third time we have scheduled a trip, paid reservation fees, canceled last minute and lost the money on all the fees. I'm in a really bad mood so done venting to you.

    I tried to find the water cooler through community on my phone but it didn't show up. It use to but when they do their updates, I lose my connection.

    I'll check in again this week when the cloud over my head moves on. Happy Sunday!
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    What a disappointment! I would feel the same way.

    Got some storms that rolled through. Good for the farmers.

    This will be Caleb’s first full week. And meeting Farshad for first time since interview. Farshad only comes to Columbus once a month. So far Caleb is really bored and wondering if he should bail for an overnight stocking job at Walmart. I don’t really care but honestly summer is like one third over already. Hopefully things will pick up for him and he’ll get more tasks

    Just being lazy.
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    C should do what will make him happy. Lots of studying ahead in the next years. When does he report to college? I watered the flowers at the cemetery today for a distraction. I took Charlie with me and let him out. He was really into the smells and peed on a gravestone before I could stop him. Rain will take it away I guess. Came home, ate lunch and sat in the recliner to read. Of course, I took a very long nap and was disoriented to whether it was morning or late afternoon when I woke up. The stress tired me out.

    I am reading Louise Penny books the Inspector Gamache series. They are pretty good with interesting characters and a murder to solve. Takes place in Quebec in a small town called Three Pines. They remind me of the Agatha Christie books I read when I was in grade school.

    I hope you had a relaxing Sunday. We have to deal with getting the truck to a mechanic tomorrow.
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    somewhere between 8/15-8/18. He doesn't have his official date yet. He should be getting to pick his dorm in the next couple of weeks. He has orientation on Saturday, but doesn't have advisement until 6/22. It's going to go fast.

    I thought this was Farshad week, but haven't heard him in the office yet. So it must not be this week. The bad thing if it's next week for Farshad week is that Caleb will be out early a couple of days due to doctor and dentist appointments. Oh well. It's not like we have a lot of choices on when to schedule those.

    Things continue to slow down. They eliminated the weekend shifts and most of third shifts and are rolling them into other areas. They want to drive down a million of inventory every week, but that's nearly impossible without lowering hours/headcount because we have to put work out there for these people to do. I'll take a 32 hours week happily. It hasn't been offered me yet of course.

    Making progress on Caleb's thank you's. He should be more than half done at this point after a nice chunk done over the weekend. My goal is for him to get the rest done this week. I am also more than ready for Bernie to get the tables borrowed returned (he says guy has been on vacation) because I just want everything gone so I can move on I guess.

    Hope today is a better day!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    It has been raining steadily all day so that is a win. We needed it badly. Russ is not dealing with the truck yet. I guess he needed a day to relax. He went out to his shop and painted the dinosaurs he is making for Miles. I sent Miles a spinning stacking toy for becoming a big brother next week. He loves stackers and everything has a place. Just like his Dad! I also ordered myself a pair of pants from Land's End. I have a pair in black and love them so I ordered navy blue.

    We reserved a hotel room in MPLS for a long weekend 7/14-7/18 to visit Rory and Hannah, meet her parents, etc. We will drive but leave Charlie home. Hope we can find someone to take him for those days. We aren't planning to tell any friends we will be there. We just want to be spontaneous and spend time with Rory and Hannah as much as they are interested. Our hotel is just up the street from Hannah's apartment so we won't need to do a ton of driving to get together.

    Russ was planning to build the railing for the back deck. I told him 2 months ago we should pick up the metal grids we planned to use with the wood posts because they will sell out quickly and may not get more. He didn't believe me and didn't go pick them up. Now they are out and none to be found. I guess we won't get a railing this summer. I have told him that if you see something up here and want it, buy it or it will be gone. I guess he has to figure that out for himself. He thinks he knows it all and doesn't listen to me about these things. We will see if he pursues finding what he needs or wait months to finish the deck. Of course, he isn't admitting he was wrong. He just suggested he build a "temporary" railing of all wood slats that he can change up when grids become available. I said we shouldn't waste the money on the wood and if it gets put up we may never finish it the way we wanted to. I would prefer to wait until next year. He didn't like my response but isn't admitting he made a mistake. So much pride and arrogance.

    Well lazy day reading and watching TV. I should be cleaning but not interested.

    C does have a short summer! Do you think there is a chance you would get laid off at some point or just less hours? Why is business not what it was with the new owners?



  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    It’s always a possibility in manufacturing. Stores inventories are high and demand has slowed way down. Wish something on indeed would trip my trigger
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    Still very unmotivated. I vacuumed our bedroom and two bathrooms, then mopped our bathroom. More cleaning is needed but not interested today. I may go to the local nursery and buy a small pot and some flowers to plant for the table on my front deck. Easy to water and manage. My new seat cushions for the two wicker chairs should arrive sometime today. The ones they came with are faded and it looks like a mouse got to one of them. Next winter I will store them in the basement not the pole barn.

    There is a new small country market that opened up on a cute farm less than a mile from our house. My sister and I stopped on our bikes a few days ago and they gave us a tour. Today was their opening day and Russ was their first customer. He brought home a dozen farm fresh eggs (they raise the chickens) and some butterscotch cookies for me. So sweet of him. I love butterscotch.

    The rain was good for the garden and it is pretty saturated. The lettuce and carrots are doing great after the rain. I'm going to need to thin the lettuce again tomorrow or this afternoon if the mood strikes me. I am still in a slump due to canceling our trip. I have a couple friends from MN that may come visit this summer if they can find common dates to make the trip.

    I have several projects to complete this summer. Paint two chairs, make slip covers for another chair, and finish the basement curtains. I pray I get motivated soon.

    I hope something interesting pops up on Indeed for you. Maybe apply to some for the interview practice and see how it feels?
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    I love farm fresh eggs. I have been getting some from a guy at work recently and they are so much better. It's kind of a hassle, but for now I will keep doing it. They cost less than the store right now and are much better.

    I hope the cookies and a new flower help you feel a little sunnier. It's ok and natural to be super disappointed. I just hope it doesn't linger too long for you. I am feeling a slide in my own mood as well, as next week was when I was supposed to be leaving for Hawaii. Makes me sad to again consider it's looking unlikely we'll ever make it. Ah well. It's better to be putting that money on the house and putting more aside to help the boys. With the price of things continuing to sky rocket. It is better to not have dropped ten thousand on a trip. (That's what I'm trying to keep telling myself.)

    Caleb is so bored. They still have had very little for him. Although, to be fair, there is very little work - period - right now. I am pretty limited on what I have myself. Ironically, it would have been a perfect time to be on vacation. Sigh.

    There is a job on workforce development (nebraska dept of labor site) that actually sounds pretty good today. It's remote! for a real company (Mosaic) doing the payroll transactions and other reporting. I haven't done the actual payroll processing here at Behlen, but I am responsible for capturing all the data that becomes what payroll turns into ADP. If there is good training, I think I could slide into it.

    Still keeping your g-babies in my prayers.

    Hugs
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    I went to the nursery and bought a galvanized water can with holes in the bottom as my pot. I bought sun/part shade flowers and plants and put them in it. It is cute but next year I may spray paint the can or paint flowers on the galvanized metal with acrylic pants to spruce it up. My cushions for my chairs arrived. They are cute and fit nicely. I picked the flowers to complement the cushions with greens, dark blue, white and yellow in the pot.

    Are you going to apply for that job and see what happens?
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    I saw a deer eating from a tree on our road while I drank my coffee from the front porch. It is chilly here so I had on slippers, my robe and a blanket! When it warmed up, Charlie and I refilled the hummingbird feeders (he follows me in and out of the house) and then we thinned carrots and lettuce sprouts and trimmed up the tomato and pepper plants. It is getting cooler and the wind is picking up. Feels like rain is coming. According to radar we will have quite a bit. Yay! I will message you my photos of my porch pot in the watering can and my new chair cushions. I also ordered bright sunburst yellow chair pads for my two chairs that go to a small table on my front porch. It will look simple and pretty with bursts of color out there this summer. I'm not doing anything with the back deck since it will not be done.

    I am really hooked on this Louise Penny Armand Gamache mystery series. It's addictive. Great characters! Quick reads.
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    I love mysteries - I'll have to try to remember that name when I am standing on my machine trying to find my next book to read on my kindle.

    Have I said things are slow? Wow, things are slow. I have been here nearly 12 years and this is definitely the worst I have seen. And yikes gas, and cripes groceries. Wowza. It's only Wednesday and I have all my work done. I don't really have anything to do until Friday when I can start some timekeeping stuff. That's a lot of hours to try to look busy. And I would just bail, but need to try to let Caleb get as many hours as he wants/can before they decide there really isn't anything for him to do and punch him out. So much for this terrible summer to be his money maker.

    I love yellow. I have always wanted a yellow house. Not sure why, it just speaks to me.

    Hump day!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    Yellow is a cheerful color and we certainly need some cheer in these crazy times in the USA.

    I know how you feel about it being slow at work. That happened to me about 8 years ago on my job when I was working on the evaluation team. The secretary took over scheduling us for evaluations and I was doing fewer than when I scheduled myself. Also, referrals for little ones to be tested was low. I was bored to death and couldn't stand the job any more. Luckily someone moved to DC and her position doing intervention with little ones in the home opened up and I asked for that position. I did that my last 6 years and it got me through to retirement without feeling crazy. I hope things improve at your company or you find a new job. Change is rejuvenating even though it is scary to make changes.

    Two of my friends are coming to visit August 15th! They didn't get to come with the group last Fall so it will be good to see them. A small group, 3 of us, will be nice.

    I am going to be volunteering at our local movie theater doing concessions, etc. The small town theater was privately owned until about 3-4 years ago. The family decided to close it down and people in the town formed a non profit and took it over. Now they staff it primarily by volunteers. I will get free snacks and a movie ticket to use for that showing or another of my choice. It is similar to a paid job I had at Michigan State University when I was in college so it will be like going back to my younger years only most of the volunteers will be older people like me now. I'm hoping to meet some new people that are local.

    We are taking Charlie in for an allergy shot tomorrow. Instead of trying to trick him to eat a pill every day we are going to try allergy injection every 6-8 weeks. Hope it will help him with his goopy eyes, licking, biting himself and scratching.
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    serving at the movie theatre sounds fun, is this the one that is showing classics or do they show new releases?

    Caleb is set for 'orientation' at UNL on Saturday. He's not super excited for it because originally it was supposed to be something him and his roommate did together (Brandon - they went parochial school and high school together) but Brandon didn't fill his sign up out right and missed the date Caleb is on. And I thought it was the date they did their advising, but it's not. It's some 'pre-advising' and ice-breakers I guess? Which is kind of a waste of a tank of gas when the C isn't feeling it. After his first full week of work he is not looking forward to another day of boredom. But, I found a sample itinerary, hopefully the 'important/required' things are done by lunch and then we can bolt. The stuff after lunch looks like stuff we have done three other times.

    Friday-eve.
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    Why have a student come to orientation if he doesn't get to meet advisor and pick classes? Well I hope he meets people and has a good time anyway.

    I've been working on seasoning my griddle pan that lays across the burners on the stove top. I'm doing it twice each side (grill side and griddle side). Hopefully this keeps pancakes, etc from sticking.

    My hummingbirds are little piggies. I filled one of the feeders yesterday and it is less than half today. There is another feeder in a tree near the deck but I'm not sure they check that one out as much.

    I wanted to ride today but it was cool and windy. Hopefully tomorrow.

    I have been scheduled to volunteer at the theater on Sundays for the 4:30 show. I will be doing concessions. It is the same theater that has the classic films one Wednesday per month in the afternoon. The 4:30 and 7:30 showings are regular movies that come out for the theaters. This Sunday they are showing Jurassic Park: Dominion. I saw the preview and want to see it so that will be nice to see it for free. My first day is this Sunday.

    Your work and C's experience there sound less than exciting. Have many people quit or are they just glad to have a job to pay bills? Nothing worse when working than having no job satisfaction. The perk is the pay which we all need.

    Well TGIF! I hope you enjoy orientation.
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    Fri-yay.

    Been pretty busy this morning, but now watching the clock. I hate being a clock watcher.

    Nothing new to report yet, so hopefully you have a nice weekend and get your ride eventually.

    Have a good one!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    I rode 19 miles on my bike today. It is beautiful weather in the 70's.
    My DIL in AK, Chantrelle, texted and said Halen split her lip tripping over a stool (she is a climber) and got 3 stitches under her bottom lip. Chantrelle got a call from her doctor who read the scan done at 20 weeks on the baby. A little more abnormality of the heart than technician conveyed. This defect is .2% occurance and family members on either side could have a heart like it but was never detected. They have learned about it early and can make medical decisions on what needs to be done later. When she is born they will know even more. I'm still scared but am glad they discovered it and are testing.

    I will portal with Chantrelle tomorrow and get to see Halen.

    Enjoy orientation.
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    Happy Birthday Marla! I hope you have a great day and orientation goes well.

    Celebrate you!
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,803 Member
    Thank you for the birthday wishes! I stayed home and let boys go to orientation. I still got up early to see them off then got myself a good coffee and bagel.

    Hopefully baby dx early can help with treatment. Enjoy Halen!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,346 Member
    Halen is growing up so fast! It was fun to watch her play and try to talk to us on the screen. It makes me miss not having more time with her. I wished they lived in the lower 48. It would be so much easier and cheaper to visit more often.

    Karah goes in to the hospital tonight and is induced in the morning. I hope all goes well. Another worry on my mind.

    I will do my training and first volunteer shift at the theater this afternoon. It will be interesting to see what it is like and if I'm alone at concessions or they have a second person.

    What did C say about orientation?