Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Moving Our Computer

We have a computer upstairs in a spare bedroom that our daughter uses for school and fun. She really enjoys spending time on the Internet, visiting various websites for kids, playing games, learning new things, and just wasting time. However, now that's she's getting older, we're becoming aware of the dangers that the Internet poses. We have filtering software set up on the computer, but still, it should be in a more visible spot. So, I think we're going to move the computer into our dining room, onto a small corner desk. While that's not the most convenient place, it will be in a more open place, giving our daughter less of a chance to do something that she shouldn't, not that she's doing that now, but we don't want to give her a chance. Thus, we intend to buy a small corner desk and a flat panel LCD monitor (to take up less space). In the end, while it may be a pricey solution, it will give us the peace of mind that we need.

Election Day

Today was our primary election. Unfortunately, I'm a registered Democrat, and we live in a Republican-heavy state. In fact, I don't know why I bothered to vote. Of all the races that I voted for, most were uncontested, i.e. there was only one candidate running. In more than half the contests, there weren't "any" democratic candidates. So, it was a wasted trip. Oh well. At least we have that right.

Hemorrhaging Cash

It's like a terrible disease. Money is hemorrhaging so fast out of my bank account, it's not even funny. When it rains, it pours, and man, am I drowning. Sigh. Oh well, I guess that's why we make money, in order to spend it. But at this rate, I'll be in the poor house within a month, or sooner. Ha.

You see, we live in a money pit. Even though our home is only 3 years old, it's falling apart. Yes, it's beginning to show its age. All homes go through this inevitable breaking period, but our's seems to be never ending. We've had to repair or refrigerator, our dishwasher, and our washing machine twice. Now these aren't old appliances, they were brand new when we moved in. Today, I had a contractor tear out part of our driveway because a huge sink hole developed and allowed the concrete pads to settle. In fact, I've got sink holes all over my property. Along the side of the house, we had a huge sink hole develop. We had to have it filled in last year, but it sunk again. And more are developing. We have a sink hole in our front yard where the water shutoff valve is. I've filled it in, but it keeps sinking. I suppose there's a leak somewhere. The good news on that, the leak is before it hits our water meter. We have a sink hole that runs the entire width of our back yard, where the electrical wires are buried. And, after working so hard on my yard, and spending so much money, it looks like crap. The neighbor's yard looks absolutely beautiful, and he hasn't done jack with it. Nothing, nada. And mine looks like, well, you know. My new lawn mower (again, purchased new with the house) wouldn't start this year. It's a Toro, and has an always-start guarantee. Ha. That's so funny. So, I had to have that repaired. My snow blower burned out a belt on the season's last heavy snow. I haven't even begun to tackle that project yet, it can wait. And, my weed eater (which was 10 years old) finally broke. The shaft snapped, so it was time to buy a new one.

Of course, recall from my previous post that our digital camera broke, again, only 3 years old. Kaching, another chunk of cash floating out of my wallet. Plus, we just bought the new puppy, and she's having health problems. It's like we have a revolving door at the vet's office now, as it's like a zoo in our house with 2 cats and 2 dogs, and a batch of sea monkeys. We need to remulch our flower beds too. And, the polyurethane is peeling on all of the trim on my windows in the house. So, I'll need to strip those and reseal before winter hits. And speaking of sealing, I need to seel all of the cracks in the driveway, as that's what caused the sinkhole to develop anyhow. Ugh, I could continue as the list keeps building.

Oh yeah, not to mention, gas is now $3 a gallon. I filled up my truck yesterday, which cost $50. Ouch. That's pricey. Speaking of vehicles, my car needs new rear brakes. I've never replaced the rear brakes, they've always been OK. But, with 130,000 miles, it's time to get those back into specs. You can't discount your safety when traveling, that's the most important thing.

At some point, I'll likely have a nervous breakdown trying to keep track of all of this. Seriously, I think may visit the doctor to get something to relieve the anxiety. My mind is like a pressure cooker, and one of these days, the pressure will be too much and I'll crack. Unfortunately, I think the telltale signs are beginning.

Ideally, I long for the days of no responsibility. I long for the days when there isn't something to do, a problem to solve, or a crisis to manage. It seems there's always something on my calendar. For just once, I wish for a stress free week where I didn't have to worry about my job, didn't have to worry about my family, didn't have to worry about the money pit that we now live, didn't have to have responsibility. Perhaps in retirement. But for now, the pressure cooker continues to build.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

I'm Back

Well, I've been very busy over the previous month. I've been away on a whirlwind around the world tour. I had a great time, couldn't believe the things I've seen. Ha! NOT! Actually, I just haven't had the time. Life goes on, and now that spring has arrived, it seems there's so much to do outside. Keeping up with the yard work is hard enough, but I've had to work quite a bit of overtime too over the previous month.

One new item of interest, we adopted a new puppy. She arrived last night, flying in from a breeder in Texas. She's a toy rat terrier, just like our other dog, but is black and brown. She'll likely be quite a bit smaller than our other dog, weighing in at 6 lbs. when fully grown instead of 9 lbs. like Ginger. We named her Maisy. I have to admit, I really did not want to get another dog. I really don't want the hassle and responsibility again. Puppy training the first time was hard enough, and I really have no desire to do it again. My wife really wanted the dog though, to be a playmate for our other dog. Sigh. Whatever. The puppy arrived with a really bad cold, and now today, we can't get her to use the restroom. Ugh. The timing really couldn't be worse, with my schedule, and upcoming events over the next 10 days.

I may be getting a new digital camera. We've had some trouble with our old point and shoot digital camera. It's only 3 years old, but is becoming a bit unreliable. I may buy a digital SLR camera to take advantage of my collection of lenses and external flash. It would be the pricy route to follow, but the pictures would be much better than what we've been getting.