The last 40 or so days!

I have a few people telling me things are going good. For me, I have to ask 'How bad could things get?' Why do I say that? With the festive season upon us, I have to say what has been going on with us. To give you a little understanding of what I (and the family) have had to deal with over the last 40 or so days, here is a quick list (in no particular order):

• I was injured at work by exposure to Hydrochloric Acid mist and liquid,
  • (I have lung damage, lost my sense of smell, and my vision is blurry)
• My wife (Bridget) had major surgery,
  • A bolt was installed in the right rear side of her skull to allow an external hearing aid that bypasses her hearing centers or ears for for the rest of us. Yes, it sticks out so she can clip a hearing aid directly to her skull. (long story. I will elaborate once it is all working),
• The family dog died,
  
• The roof sprung a leak in several places,
  • Of course it has been raining on and off for a week+ straight and you can't repair a roof when it is raining.
• My Mother was diagnosed with Colon Cancer,
  • She is in surgery right now (while I am typing this) so I'm wasting time while waiting for a call to tell me it is over.
• The sewage line from the house to the street clogged a couple of days ago and backed up into the basement,
  • when I augured the sewer line out, the machine broke twice and I had to take it back to get it fixed.
  • Then, no one was available to help me auger out the line or unload the machine from the truck. I fell out the back of the pickup when I slipped on some leaves. The whole auger machine (about 100+ pounds) came crashing down on top of me. The fall bruised my butt (tailbone) and lower back when it happened.
  • Lucky for me, it hit me in the stomach and side. Nothing groin related was hurt so that all still works (I guess),
  • My tailbone and such still hurts pretty bad and it was 24 hours ago when it happened. I guess it will feel better in a couple of days.
• The pickup truck stalled out and everything stopped working.
  • We had to take it to the dealership because it was under warranty (luckly) and cost us about $200 even after the warranty work was done (Counting the deductable, + Gasoline to and from the dealership to drop it off, + Gasoline to and from the dealership to pick it back up two days later).
• My daughter was rushed to the hospital last night with extreme stomach pains. We thought it might be an appendicitis but the doctors said it was probably kidney stones. For a 10 year old, she is kind of young for those but that is what they said.

All in all, not a good time this holiday season.

Plus, I have not been paid since the first week of November. The railroad does not have workmens compensation if you get hurt. Your pretty much on your own. There is some money you can get from the railroad retirement board, but that has to be paid back when you return to work (so what is the real use in that anyway?)

Bills are really bad this time of year for everyone and there is only a few dollars from my tiny Navy retirement. This will be a thin Christmas season this year. I hope we can keep the electric on until after the first of the year (or not have to sell the house).

You can't make stuff up like this. It is so bad, you have to laugh.

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The sewer pipe is OPEN!!!

I snaked out the drain (sewer pipe) that was clogged. It appeared to be a combination of:

maxipad + tree roots + William's contribution (big poop),

was the problem. Once I snaked out the two year old(?) maxipad, the tree roots cleared up and everything started flowing freely.

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Christmas Concert - New Richmond Middle School

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If it isn't the roof, it is the other direction.

Well, the problem with water outside the sink and tub this time is not from the roof leaking. Today, we have the opposite problem, a clogged (and full) sewer line.

Richard was cleaning the bathrooms and ran out to find me when he saw a potential problem, the toilet started to bubble. He could not figure out why cleaning the sink made the bubbles pop up in the toilet when they were on other sides of the room and came running to get me (and I am very grateful he did it). I knew what the problem was.

I went down to the basement and checked. I thumped the pipes. They were full. All I could do it get everyone to help me move the boxes and such from that side of the house.

Richard and I ran the garden hose from outside to the basement and started opening the cleanout fitting. It was rather nasty emptying the contents of the lines onto the floor, but there was no choice. After dumping about 60 gallons on the deck and into the sump, we cleaned up everything by hosing it down.

There are three fans down there now, circulating the air to try and dry out the moisture caused by hosing down the concrete. The smell in minimal (by what Richard says) and should not be a problem. Not much was contaminated and only a couple of boxes should be needing a replacement.

Tomorrow, I will have to get a snake to clean out the line. I know the blockage is somewhere between the house and street. There is a cleanout just past the sidewalk and when I opened it up, was clear but the flow was a tiny trickle. Aside from a little contamination, I think we have done pretty well so far. Tomorrow's plumbing task will be the real mess with a big snake and all that implies.

I will also have to replumb the sump exhaust to a more manageable route. Currently, it all runs up hill to the exit pipe. That freezes up and we can not pump anything after that. If nothing else, this will give us an emergency pump in case this happens again this winter.

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Today's 'Fact of the holidays'

People wonder why I dislike the 'holiday season' so very much. Sure, my ex had a lot to do with it. As well as the bills, the constant barrage of 'Christmas sales', (See footnote number 1 below) 'Holiday commercials' and 'special television shows', Plus the need for some to 'out do the neighbors' in Christmas lights and decorations. These are just a few of the things that makes me want to throw up.

If your saying "get over it" or something along those lines, then go screw yourself. My life, my thoughts, my blog. You don't like it, don't read it. Even better, make up an 'Anti-Todd blog' to rebut me. I would be glad to read it.

Even company hold music is Christmas music.

I have had to be on hold for about 90 minutes earlier in the day and every time, there is Christmas music playing when I am on hold. I can't stand this anymore.

Of all places, I called the phone company 4 times today and yesterday to assure my voice mail was still working. Apparently, someone important had called to tell me that they didn't get an answer. I had to make sure it was set up correctly (after they updated the service a week ago). Well, after a 3 minute lecture on fixing static on my phone line by a recording, I spoke to a woman who put me on hold for 8 minutes, they subsequently transferred me to to someone else, who put me on hold for 12 minutes, who then transferred me to another person who either couldn't or wouldn't help me to get my voice mail fixed. This kind of thing makes me want to get rid of the phones all together. Of course I can't right now, but I sure would like to. (See Footnote #2)

Anyway, after yesterday and today's bout with the phone company, I had to endure about an hours worth of combined time with various doctors offices. All of them had this irritating jolly music that just made me more and more angry with every passing minute..

What ever happens, don't get sick this month!

A new billing period for Medical.

Isn't it just grand that the new billing period for your medical deductions starts on October 1st?!? That means that if anyone in the family is sick, you get the bill for the deductibles just in time for Christmas (when everyone else has broken your spirit and emptied your bank account. It is comforting to know that there are parents all around the country, just worrying themselves into an early grave because the kids got sick from some stomach virus they brought home from school before Halloween. Or maybe, they have to see the doctor because they just received a bill for the $3000 of the deductible cap for the 2008 fiscal year just after Thanksgiving. I guess you could call it a after dinner treat.

I know we received enough medical bills to crush any kind of thought of Christmas surprises for the kids. If that was not enough, I still have bills I know are coming from when I was injured at work and no one will pay. That in itself is a medical bill list to destroy my holiday spirit on it's own. Or should I say, 'Enough to suck the life blood from me, just as things looked their darkest."

Footnote #1: Christmas sales are BS since they could have sold the stuff at the discounted price, brought more people in and made up the difference in the first place. So, Stuff the 'Christmas sales'.

Footnote #2:The phone company is not the only one to provide phone service. Shoot, Walgreen's and Kroger sell prepaid cell service which works just as good. I will have to price everything this week to see who is best.

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Does the demise of Sears also equate to Craftsmen?

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Baby, it's cold outside!

Burrrrrrr......, today is cold. The temp is 17 degrees and the snow we had yesterday is now frozen.

The good part is that the kids are back to school today. Yesterday was a snow day for the elementary and middle school. They were happy, we didn't get anything done.

The weather (temp) is supposed to say below 30 for the remainder of the work week, but it should clear up a little by the start of next week.

Click the picture to get a larger version.

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Today's 'Fact of Life'

Now, this is the story of my life right now.

I just see this sight as my typical day right now. Yes, we have what is needed, but it seems that no one else can do their part to help out.

I wonder how long it will really be before everyone gets their act together and helps out?!?

I wonder a little more every day if the kids will ever clear their heads and see that every little thing they do to disrupt life around here (intentionally or not) really does have an impact on the whole.

I have to admit, that when I have to stop, do something trivial (like actually stopping to put the toilet paper on the holder), there is a big time delay in getting to the things that should matter.

I have to imagine I am 'beating a dead horse' here. But at least I am not keeping it all bottled up inside.

Thanks for reading.

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Today's 'Fact of Life'

"No matter how hard you work, how much dedication you put to a task, or how much you commit to something meaningful and just, there will always, always be someone there to kick you when your down."

Todd

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Bridget's Cat

Bridget needed a picture posted of her cat so we could use it for a user forum. It is a good picture.

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