swt61

Al's Sister Rini gave me a gift card to a cool record shop in Petaluma for my Birthday, back in February. Today Maki and I took the scenic back road and I decided on some used CDs to maximize my yield. I was excited to find that Nitty Gritty Dirt Band CD.

Sexy!

Thanks! It's a bit strange, because I'm used to being the guy that's 100% confident in his abilities on the job. But it's good to shake things up now and then. Also, there's a local carpenter named Jack that has done lots of work on Al's Fairfax house. In 2013 I worked with him on a bathroom remodel above the garage (Frank's old place). And he also saw me building some stuff for Al and Claire. Well on Friday he came into Fairfax Lumber, saw me working there and inquired about that. Augie (the president) started to introduce him to me, and Jack told him that we had worked together several years back. He also said that I could build anything and that I was the best carpenter he'd ever worked with. Not only did that make me feel great, it seemed to impress the boss even more. There's a guy who rents space from Fairfax Lumber who builds furniture on site. His name is Dean. Dean was also standing there, and told Augie to be careful or he'd steal me away from him. Just nice to be recognized for something I put decades of passion into.

I did too! I couldn't get the donation under Brent's name.

Thank goodness Dorothy doesn't read this forum. She's been drumming that into my head. I am getting better about drinking more water though. And I will have some grapes later. I've been on a fruit kick lately. I just realized that I set myself up for gay jokes there.

You missed nothing Rob.

What I haven't mentioned yet is the other big change in my life. That's a career change. The company that I've worked for the last 7 years has had less and less work for me. And the last job I did for them had 137 stair steps from the street to the job site. And there was rarely parking anywhere near the stairs leading to the job. On top of that, the homeowners insisted that we load our tools up daily, because they were afraid the tools would cause a break-in, which they were worried would lead to vandalism. So I was lugging many, many tools up and down those miserable stairs every day. Some tools quite large and heavy. I was having dizzy spells that I assumed at the time was related to the ascending climb as well as my ascending age. I've since discovered that my Hypertension meds needed to be adjusted, and I'm feeling better now. However, I've decided to try a career change. This old dog is trying to learn a new trick. I turned in my Resume to the local Fairfax Lumber store about a month ago, and was surprised when the cashier rushed myself and my resume back to the President of the company immediately. As it happened, they were looking for a new hand at the lumber desk. They needed someone to revive the tanking contractor sales. The President got a bit excited as he read my resume, then offered me the job on the spot. I accepted. I started a few days later, but on my first real day of work, I started having really bad dizzy spells after simply stocking shelves. I thought I was going to pass out, and my vision was getting blurry as well. It shook me up, and I had to tell the President that I couldn't complete the day. The good news was that the next day I went to see my Doctor, at the insistence of Al and Dorothy, for which I'm very grateful. The Dr. was pretty sure immediately that the issue was low blood pressure. That was caused by the 3 meds I was taking for Hypertension working too well. Partly due to an over 20 lb. recent weight loss. Anyway it was a relatively easy fix, except she told me that I needed to be as inactive as possible for two weeks while the deletion of one of the meds cleared my system. Not the best timing, with a brand new job and a big move happening. But I'm the guy that has the most incredible friends imaginable! Al, Dorothy, Dorothy's friend Gavin and Dorothy's Mom Rini moved my entire apartment to my new place. Cleaned my old apartment (no small feat), and insisted that I chill and do as little as possible. I can tend to freak out a bit when things come at me hard. Al has this incredible way of calming me down and making me see what's possible, instead of what's impossible. And I don't usually make that easy! After my session with Dr. Al, I went and talked to the President of Fairfax Lumber, explained my medical situation and the two weeks off that I needed. He agreed to give me that time and a bit more to complete the move. I just completed my first week on the job yesterday. It's going great! My experience as a carpenter is definitely crossing over. I've been able to solve customer's project questions, am learning my way around the myriad of goods that we sell and above all the boss is impressed. At closing yesterday he pulled me aside and told me how happy he was that my health issue has improved, and how happy he is with my knowledge and customer service. The last guy they hired in my position was there only a few weeks, then died of a heart attack. So I understand his relief. Well it seems I've created another marathon post, but just wanted to fill you in and express my gratitude for friendships I clearly don't deserve, but will do my utmost to repay!

We have the easy part! You're the one that does all the work! And for an excellent cause. Respect! Wish I had more to give.

That's dinner. Al's niece Dorothy, who I will refer to as my niece from now on because I've claimed her, cooked a big breakfast this morning. Eggs, bacon, bagel w/cream cheese and a big bowl of fresh fruit. And I'm still full.

Happy Birthday!

Done.

Sounds redundant.

That's the same problem I have with many remasters. Even though they may be better, my memory is expecting to hear certain things. And oddly enough, to this day there are songs I'm still expecting to pause and skip to the next track of an 8 track player, then resume.

He did indeed.

I've heard of Nuthatches, but that's not what I thought the name meant!

Spinners 2.0?

When I think of Brent, and that's a rare moment. I can't think of him except as a continuous loop in my brain, of him falling off of a bicycle. So, falling off of a bicycle is my answer.

I had my Amazon Fire TV Cube packed away for the last few years. When watching Schitt's Creek, everytime they called their Daughter Alexis, Alexa would reply, and it kind of drove me crazy. Last night I re-installed it. Tonight when I came home from work, I said "Alexa, turn on the TV", when she replied "OK" Maki went crazy. She strutted around the apartment barking for 3 minutes. I couldn't convince her that nobody else was in the apartment.

^ Brent Airlines?

Brent the stud bumper strikes again!

Just looked it up on YouTube. Apparently there are supposed to be 3 poles, one of which has two female connections. My box had only these two poles. 🤬 Greg, do you have an extra Swiffer pole in your garage?

I've always heard that it's bad luck to bring an old broom when you move. So, not to tempt fate, today I bought a new broom and a Swiffer sweeper. Now, I'd like to think that I'm a reasonably intelligent guy (please correct me if I'm wrong. NOT YOU JACOB!) And I'm pretty good at puzzles too. However, apparently not as good as I thought. WTF Swiffer!!!