Sunday Stealing-Quirky Questions

Hi! Our host is Bev Sykes of the blog "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Quirky Questions from SwapBot

 1. Did you become what you wanted to be when you grew up? Are you happy with your choice? Yes I did. I became an accountant. I’d say I’m happy with my choice, however, had I known my children would have mental health issues I may have changed my major and worked in some capacity in a field that would bring greater insight to mental illness.

2. Did man really go to the moon or was it a publicity stunt? I personally don’t think NASA and the government would go to such lengths to do a publicity stunt like this. Then again, Russia purportedly went to the moon and the United States can’t be one-upped by Russia. Whether it was real or not, it doesn’t affect me either way. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

3. Given the opportunity to change one major aspect of your life (i.e. career, relationship, family) with no guarantee of the outcome, would you take the chance? Why? I don’t think I can freely say on this blog, but suffice to say, our lives would be much different for the better.

4. Does money buy happiness? Give me $1million and I’ll get back to you. 😉

5. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? I take care of personal business. 🤫

6. What are we going to do when we run out of room to bury the dead? Are we talking in general, or due to the coronavirus? Either way, it’s not in my wheelhouse.

7. What is your greatest fear? Why? Is it rational or unreasonable? My greatest fear right now is if my daughter goes off the rails and has to be hospitalized due to her mental illness. It’s totally rational. Were she need to be hospitalized at this point with the coronavirus, I would take her home because 99% of the reason this could happen is because of the bullying, screaming, and terrorizing by her nutjob housemate. Said nutjob housemate actually called the cops Wednesday, basically on herself. She does it all the time. The female cop even recognized her from previous calls.)

8. How do you feel about the exploitation of your private data in the digital age? Does it ever cross your mind or are you hyper-aware of the risks? I don’t like it, however, I don’t see what can be done about it. I’ve been reading how our government (state or federal-?) wants to contact track people under the guise of determining who a person with the coronavirus has been in contact with using our cell phones. I’m sure we all have complete confidence that this will only be used for this purpose, right?

9. You can be forgiven one debt. What is it? If you don’t have debt, then how did you do it? My mortgage. It was sold to a horrible investment group who refuses to do anything to help a borrower in ANY way. I’m sure when I try to pay my mortgage this week that they will charge a late fee. I’m not paying it. Our government says late fees are to be waived for mortgages, this month. Without getting into personal details, I have a situation going on, and won’t feel comfortable using any funds in my account until mid to late this week.

10. Hot or cold? I prefer cold weather. I can always throw on a hoodie or an extra blanket. With hot weather you can only take off so much before you make a scene. Lol!

11. What is your favorite thing in the world (aside from family, friends, pets)? I have no idea what, if those are excluded.

12. You have to give up one of your five senses. Which one would you go without? Pass.

13. Do you believe everyone has a doppelgänger? Absolutely! I have at least 3. One near where I grew up. One in Chicago near Skokie. And one in the area where I now live. In all 3 cases the people would not believe me! 

14. Likewise, does everyone have a soulmate or is it just a matter of proximity and circumstance? I believe in everyone having a soulmate and proximity and circumstance certainly does help in finding them.

15. Imagine you have a theme song that plays every time you enter a room. What would your song be? Lmao! All I can think of at the moment is Flo Rida’s “Apple Bottom Jeans”. And yes, I had those Reebok’s with the straps. Lol!

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 27, 28 of Sheltering In

Friday and Saturday...if you are ticking the days off on your calendar. I woke up this morning and thought it was Friday.

Friday I got my Auto Insurance checks. Woot! Woot!

Friday our electricity went out at 5pm. It was out until 6:45pm. 1,238 people, including area small businesses.  My messages from ComEd indicated the cause was being investigated. People on local Facebook pages were saying they were doing maintenance. Trucks were out with workers prior to the outages. Dinner time on a Friday evening, during a pandemic is the perfect time do to maintenance. So my joke was...”ComEd is in cahoots with small business owners of restaurants to get people to order for delivery or curbside pickup because with the power out people can’t cook.” Our gas range has digital controls, so we couldn’t cook. Our grill is not yet set up for the season. We waited it out and had a very late dinner.

We started watching Mrs. America on Hulu. All star cast...Cate Blanchett, Uzo Adubo, Sarah Paulson, Tracey Ullman, Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Banks, Niecy Nash, and more. Really enjoying it. I was too young during the time of the fight for ERA, and really didn’t pay attention to news at the time so I find it interesting.

My brother in law cancelled coming today to take out the dead appliances and take them to the recycling place. I am NOT paying the store $50 per appliance. That’s absurd. I probably won’t get much $ for them, but I’m definitely not paying. So I cannot order my washer and dryer. 🤬🤯 He’s not doing anything anyway, why can’t he do this for us?

My wife is involved in a pickle in the middle situation, where she is the pickle and multiple family members are yelling at her about one sibling. Said sibling was angry because she didn’t get the stimulus money, and another situation. I did some research (because I have an accounting mind and I research stuff, AND I like to help whenever I can). I sent a link to the IRS website which should help anyone who did not receive the money. Turns out said sibling has not filed tax returns for multiple years. “Normal people” would be thankful for the assistance. Said sibling not only had a cow, she had an entire herd of cows! It’s like I always say, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Unfortunately my wife is the one being punished. I will NOT be volunteering my expertise to this individual. I refuse to help said sibling by preparing the tax returns (and it wouldn’t be free if I did), if my wife or myself are going to be screamed at because said sibling isn’t going to like the results. And said sibling will not like the results. Taxes and penalties will be owed.

So, nothing like peace and harmony in a quarantine. Just listened to part of our governor’s news conference. He danced around the topic of ‘when will the quarantine order be lifted’. I fully expect to still be in quarantine for my birthday in July. I say this because of the increasing number of asshats that are congregating in groups of more than 10 and not following social distancing rules.

My son’s iPhone 5s won’t charge. Last time this happened I cleaned lint out of the charger port and it worked fine. It took a lot longer to clean it out this time. I saw on Amazon a plug you can put in your port to keep the lint out, but you have to order in quantity, 10 or 20, I think. I’m going to check it out again. If it fits iPhone 5s, 6s, and 7s I will order it if it ships from the USA. I think we know only 1 person with an iPhone, so if any blog pallies have an iPhone and want one, let me know which one and I’ll make sure it fits yours.

I have to say, my son and I have gotten a lot closer. Tonight my wife was downstairs watching WWE on the big screen and my son and I were watching Wedding Crashers, then my daughter called. I added my wife to the call and we were all crackin up. It was like my son and I rehearsed bits, but we didn’t. I’d look at him, nod, I’d start and he’d sing along, or say a joke together. It was hella fun considering everyone’s situation. Being all together is more fun, but you make do with what you can do.

Neighbor across the street is using manly tools and blasting music. Next door they are having a party. I got thumpa thumpa comin at me from 2 sides.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 26 of Sheltering In

Thursday...if you are keeping track.

Got up way too early, put on my outside clothes and mask and headed out with my son who did the same. My spouse told me Wednesday night that Friday we are expecting several different inches of snow and cold temps. Fabulous! Because I haven’t wasted enough money on electricity due to having to use space heaters. So she said I might want to switch my outing to Thursday. Not thrilled, but I did it anyway. So Thursday we hit Meijer when they opened at 8am. Still out of Country Crock and only had a few boxes of Parkay sticks. So I grabbed 2. I picked up everything on my daughter’s list and bread and eggs and a few non food necessities. I really was hoping to skip grocery shopping for 2 weeks but we are going through bread like crazy. (Not me. I bought a loaf of Killer Dave’s and divided it up into 4 slice packages and froze it. The 1 loaf should last me a month.) We also quickly used up the farm fresh eggs I got about 2 weeks ago. After Meijer was CVS. Then out to my daughter’s area to get gas. $1.68/gal by her, $2.01 here. Goniffs! (Yiddish for greedy...thieves.). Then to my daughter’s, then to pick up more medication, then home. Gah! Long day.

So it appears staff was unsuccessful getting a Dish remote. Wish I knew someone who had Dish who could order one. The brother of a housemate pays for it and apparently staff were unable to convince Dish her request was legit.

If you’ve been out lately, have you noticed how ugly some people have gotten? I mean their attitude and behavior. Especially fellow shoppers. Gah! I try to be extra sunny and polite, (me sunny? yes, you read that correctly) but dammit some people are hateful, motherforking asshats. Thank goodness I got one of my favorite cashiers. She is always so cheerful and pleasant. And she remembers us. She said ‘your daughter works at that grocery store, how’s she doin? Why isn’t she with you?’ I gave her the short version. How nice is it that she remembered? And she said the store, but I don’t want it mentioned on my blog. 

My spouse is freaking out because tobacco stores closed this week by order of the governor. Even the ones that sell CBD products. She gets her cigarette rolling supplies, tobacco and tubes, from a local place. The owner is really nice, knows we recommend his store all the time and cuts us a price break or gives a freebie every now and then. My wife said he was out of sorts last time she was there, maybe he had been notified already? So now she is freaking out. She’s trying to figure out her options. Walmart, probably not, I don’t think the one here sells tobacco. Amazon, doesn’t sell tobacco. And yes, I went there. I said she had another option...to quit smoking. Aww hell no! She did not like that option. Then she came up with her friend who had to temporarily move back to Joliet, while still working in Indiana. If tobacco shops are open there, she could get her what she needs. She was living with her 2 little ones at her elderly mother’s house. She got pressured by other family to move out to protect her mother’s health. Lucky her, had to move in with her ex. That is not going to end well, but she doesn’t want to give her mom the coronavirus if she becomes a carrier, or gets it herself.

My son isn’t doing very well. He is used to having his sister spend 3-4 weekends a month here. He’s also talking too much to his dad who is pressuring my son to go visit him on Father’s Day, which is his birthday. Umm, hell to the no! Not happening. My son doesn’t want to go anyway. He has a better understanding of the coronavirus and the quarantine than his dad. Of course, because his dad thinks only of himself and always has.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I’m not leaving the house, and I’m setting paperwork/research aside for at least 1 day. I have to research Medicare plans. I started, but my stuff isn’t fully processed, so I only got so far the other night when I started. I will probably hang out and watch movies with my son. I think we’ll FaceTime his sister tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. Our internet has been horrible. Sites reloading, crashing. When I was finishing our taxes I had to have my wife and son close all their apps and stay off the internet. My son would be on all day if he could, but when I need it I tell him to close all apps and stay off the internet because we only get so much “juice” because everyone is home on the Internet for work or school. 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 25 of Sheltering In

So I put on my going outside clothes and went to the post office. Given that filing deadlines and payment (I think) have been extended, there was a lot of people at the post office. 

My brother in law that works for a bus company is still not being properly paid because the high school the bus company drives for refuses to pay the bus company. So the bus company refuses to pay the drivers. The union is involved AND representatives with the governor’s office met with the people in charge at the high school and told them that the money to pay the drivers is in their budget and they MUST pay them. When and if they pay the drivers remains to be seen. I say the state should pull back the entire budget and pay the drivers, teachers, janitors, lunch staff, etc to insure they get paid. And while they are at it, they should not pay the people at the high school that refuse to pay them, and they should go without pay for as long as the bus drivers weren’t paid. Sounds fair to me.

And the police were at the group home my daughter lives in. Nutjob is still hiding the living room Dish remote (she’s had it for about 2 weeks). My daughter asked for it, she refused. My daughter called staff who came up to ask for it, she refused, then she called the cops. That is, nutjob called the cops. Yes, she basically called the cops on herself. Done it many, many, too many times. They sent 2 squads (4 officers). They were there for about an hour. Nutjob still has the remote! Supposedly the staff that tried to help my daughter is calling Dish for a new remote. I’ve said before to do that, but it’s complicated and other staff apparently feel it’s good entertainment for this to continue. (A family member of a client pays for the bill.) I told my daughter maybe this staff person is smarter than the others, or she has Dish at her home and ordered a new one. They are probably free. At least they are free for DirecTV.) So, to sum it all up, nutjob still has the remote, nothing happened! The cops thought she should be taken for a 5150 because she seemed unstable (that would be 24/7/365), but the senior staff member refused to sign for that to happen. That’s what my daughter said. I thought the cops could call for an ambulance and make it happen. Who knows? 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 22, 23, 24 of Sheltering In

That’s Sunday-Tuesday for anyone keeping track.

Sunday was Easter. I did plant my vegetable seeds as planned. One seed starting tray, and 6 small pots from herbs from last year. I left (2) 6 packs empty. I forgot to get Parsley seeds. You’re thinking, whoa, what are you gonna do with 6 Parsley plants? My answer? Save money! I have been making my own tabuleh which uses a lot of Parsley. Usually 3-4 packages at the bodega. At the grocery store that would probably be 6 bunches at $1.49+ each. Remember when parsley and kale were garnishes and no one ate them? Ah, the good old days. It’s super healthy. I make it with quinoa instead of bulgur wheat.

Easter dinner was ham, corn pudding, and roasted Brussels Sprouts. I didn’t make the pineapple upside down cake and I forgot to hand out the Easter candy. I have to make a porch drop to my daughter Thursday or Friday, so hopefully I will remember hers. I have prescriptions to drop off.

Monday morning my daughter called and woke me, crying hysterically. She’s not doing well. She said an animal was chewing on her arm, trying to tear it off and she was in a lot of pain. Dear Jesus, please help my daughter get through this without having to go to the hospital. I talked to her and calmed her down. I told her it was just a dream, no animal was in her room, her arm was fine. No blood, right? No. Then it was just a dream. I’m very concerned. It wasn’t a dream. It was a visual and sensory hallucination. She’ll have been ill for 13 years in October. She’s had similar hallucinations many times, always preceding a hospitalization. I told her she can talk to me any time and I meant it. I got off the phone and cried for a 1/2 hour. Then I pulled my shirt together and called my wife (it’s the only way I can have a convo with her, with my son not hearing my side of the convo, she replies with yes and no and anything that doesn’t give away what we’re talking about). We both agreed that if my daughter continues to have symptoms or starts to de compensate, I will tell my daughter to pack her bag and I would go get her and she will stay with us rather than go to the hospital. If she needs to stay here 2 weeks because of the state’s rules on the lockdown, then so be it.

In better news, it looks like my daughter moving into one of the new apartments close to my home is coming closer to happening. They are working the numbers and wanted her gross wages from her W-2. They have to calculate with her benefits and wages what rent she should be paying. My daughter got all concerned because they asked for that info and when I told her why she got excited. I had to remind her what the plan is. Lockdown needs to be lifted by the state, then we meet with the Director and Asst Director to talk about the apartment and they give us an update on construction. (I drive by there every now and then and have a look see from the street. All built, windows and doors installed, still only Tyvek on the outside. They are likely working on the inside now. Electrical, plumbing, drywall, flooring, etc. Since the lockdown I give my daughter an update about every other time.)

Monday and Tuesday I worked on our taxes. Two days because I can’t sit for for long enough to get it done in one day. I had gotten my daughter’s done when she first got her W-2. I was thinking we owed, because I had 2 surprise 1099’s, but it ended up zero/zero. A refund would have been nice, but zero tax owed is good. I efiled the Federal Tuesday and planned to go to the post office to mail the state. Why should I pay $29.99 to efile it when I’m not even getting a refund? Keying it in on a site so I could efile for free would be too much hassle. Especially since I had to fill out some weird additional forms.

So the movie count with my son is 1 Star Wars movie, 3 We’re the Millers (it’s ok, I really like it), 2 Rocketman (I really liked it too) and more Mysteries at the Museum than I can count. 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Sunday Stealing-More Covid 19 Questions

Hi! Our host is Bev Sykes of the blog "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

For COVID 19 Questions from SwapBot

That’s my sister and I. I’m the goof on the right. I have two legs, but during the time this photo was taken I had a penchant for lifting my left leg. No idea why. I even did it when I was a flower girl at my uncle’s wedding!

1 – What is something you are doing due to the pandemic that you normally don’t do? After the pandemic will you continue to so this? I am doing porch drops at my daughter’s group home. The drops are prescriptions and care packages of magazines, craft supplies, grocery items, and treats. We drop the package on her porch and watch her from the driveway come out to get it. I won’t continue. I will return to taking my daughter grocery shopping with me so she can select items herself.

2 - What made you happy, sad, or frustrated today? List, all big and/or small, as there may be some of one or all of these feelings! I’m frustrated because the bully at my daughter’s group home has not heeded the warning of the Assistant Director to stop the bullying or she will be moved to a different group home. That warning was a week ago. It has not lessened and she has not been moved. There are a few group homes on 30 day lockdown WITH staff staying 24/7/30. Not sure if there are clients in those homes with the Coronavirus, or if they are testing how to handle if a client were to become infected. This could be why the bully hasn’t been moved.

I’m both sad and frustrated by the convo with my daughter last night. She is really not doing very well and I fear she may need to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. I do not want that now because of the Coronavirus. I may need to take her home for 2 weeks. Any client who goes on a home visit can’t return for 2 weeks. My daughter is manic, talking so fast that I can’t understand her and she can’t catch her breath. She’s also saying some odd things. One thing she told me, she said shebhad previously told her counselor, her dad (who she hasn’t talked to in several years because of his manipulative behavior), and her counselor at the behavioral school she attended 5 years ago. I was shocked and concerned. I tried to change the subject and lighten the mood. I asked her why she told all those other people in the past, but waited until now, during a pandemic lockdown to tell me. She laughed, then said some other things that were either confused thoughts or visual hallucinations. I’m very concerned. I know the bullying housemate who has been stealing the care package foods I bring is getting to her. Also, she was so proud to be an essential worker, only to have the governor halt all group home clients from leaving to go to work a week after he announced the sheltering in order. She misses her coworkers and her favorite customers at the grocery store she works at as a bagger. I’m going to talk to her in a bit.

3- What is one of the first things you will do when the pandemic is over? Go to my daughter’s group home and give her a big hug and squeeze her tightly. Then I’ll take my family out for a meal in a restaurant. That’s something we did just about every weekend and I know my daughter really misses it.

4 – Are you an essential employee or do you know someone who is? Is this affecting you in some way? My daughter was an essential employee until the governor ordered group homes to not allow clients to leave their homes for work.

5 – What are you doing to destress during this stressful time? Other than drowning in paperwork, I’m trying to spend more time with my son who continues to torture me with watching Star Wars movies and other shows I dislike. Yesterday he wanted to watch “Raider’s of the Lost Ark”. I put my foot down, no way! But we did watch “Rocketman” twice, which we both really enjoyed. I will be starting my vegetable garden from seeds today. It’s kind of late, but it’s my only shot at having a vegetable garden this year. Garden centers are not selling plants due to being categorized as non-essential during the lockdown due to the Coronavirus.

6 – Have you tried any new recipes during this time? Please share your recipe if you want to. No, we pretty much stick to the same recipes. It’s a lot of recipes, all different types of cuisine. We change it up a lot because we can’t dine out. I make takeout food at home. Which is a good thing because all the Chinese restaurants near us closed. Either due to small kitchens and tight working space, or for safety reasons. There had been quite a lot of racist comments and threats made to Asians due to the Coronavirus because certain people were calling it the “China Virus”. I think we all know where that got started. 

7 – Have you always lived where you do now? If not, how did you wind up in the place you currently live? No. I’ve lived in this burb since 2005. Prior to that I lived in Chicago from ‘88 to ‘05. Before that I lived in a SE burb in Wisconsin where I grew up. 

8- Where is the last place you visited on-line? CNN. I read way too much about the current situation.

9- What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? People have commented positively on how I’ve handled my children’s mental illnesses. Well, all but two who are exes, and who are exes for obvious reasons.

10 – Tell me about the last photo on your camera (phone or real camera or both!) A food shot! I got a new double Belgian waffle maker because our old waffle maker died. it makes 2 waffles at a time!

First batch, learning how much batter to use. Lol! 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020