Omphaloskepsis  -

+ 4 - 1 | § ¶Updates

I'm not dead.

Got fillings in three teeth yesterday morning. Weird. Didn't really hurt, except for a little bit before the local took full effect.

Got new tub installed yesterday. Very relaxing.

Got new bedroom furniture yesterday. Very nice. No interest, no payments until January 1, 2007. Very nice. :-)

Vacation extended: After Shore Leave in Maryland, going to spend a few days in Colorado with Josh's family.

davidh

+ 4 - 1 | § ¶Out of touch

It's getting more and more difficult to update here, since the computer at home is in pieces that have to be shuffled around to do anything, and things are very very busy at work. So, briefly, rearranged to be in more or less chronological order, but in various grammatical styles...

Had a somewhat goodish weekend. Mom and Grandma came over Saturday. Went to the hair salon... Grandma got a new style; Mom got a new color; both got manicures. Went to get a new outfit for Mom. Went to the Olive Garden for supper; got too full. Grandma went back to Bloomington-Normal; Mom stayed the night to watch a movie (The Reagans mini-series on DVD). Around halfway point in the movie, verbal conflict regarding cleaning ensued between Josh and me; everybody was uncomfortable.

Sunday morning, got into undesireable-at-the-breakfast-table conversation about reconciling my homosexuality with my Christianity... I've been working on this in my own time; Josh demanded answers NOW; everybody was uncomfortable. Afterward, didn't go to church. While driving to Bloomington, got a phone call from Lowe's; they were trying to deliver the dryer we'd ordered. I'd thought they'd said 8am-11am (it was 11:30am when they called), but they said no, 8am-noon, and if we weren't there, they would charge us a second delivery fee to come back another time. Cancelled the dryer altogether... the one we have now, while it takes two or more complete cycles to actually dry the clothes, does at least work. Decided not to do any more work with Lowe's, after an incident where the guy in the flooring department in the Peoria Lowe's got upset that we'd done some work with the East Peoria Lowe's in terms of flooring. Will be moving future work to Menards instead. Save big money at Menards. But I digress...

Arrived in Bloomington; exchanged dollar bills for rolls of quarters and nickels for Doug at Wal*Mart; had lunch with Dad and Dan (Dan had to go to work at 2pm); gave Jerry (Mom's new husband*) his Father's Day gift; had a shower at Mom's; went out for supper at Outback Steakhouse with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Doug, Misty, and my two nieces; had birthday cake for Mom at the restaurant. Returned home. Was good.

* - Interesting... they've been married over ten years, but I still think of Jerry as "Mom's new husband". Although our relationship is more cordial now than it had been in the past, I still can't bring myself to think of him as a step-anything.

Monday (two days ago), Jim and Joe came over to help get the basement cleaned out for the HVAC guys. Josh and I got into a fight about an iron (I'd purchased a new one a few days prior; while cleaning the basement, we found an old iron; I thought that if the old one worked, I should return the new one and get my money back; Josh thought that the old one should be gotten rid of (either throwing it away if it didn't work, or selling it if it did) and the new one kept). Joe stepped in on my side, and Josh redirected his anger from me to him.

Had a joint counseling session with Josh last night. Talking with a disinterested third party about some of the issues and conflicts we've been having has helped bring some things out that I think will be more helpful.

Joel has moved/is moving out. Can't say as I blame him, considering that he was looking for a nice place to stay this summer, not a place that's being remodeled and rather unliveable at times.

The bathroom walls and the basement ceiling are down.

The air conditioning folks are taking this entire week to get the new system put in, which means no A/C for some of the hottest days this summer. We're keeping the cats very well watered, but Josh and I are staying at a nearby motel at night since the heat really is unbearable. This also lets us take showers without having to go over to a friend's house/apartment to do so. It's a bit pricey, but it's only for a few days. And I got a discount because I work at [Client], which was pretty nifty.

The bedroom furniture (nightstands, armoire, etc.), except for the top of the armoire, is being delivered today.

The electricians are coming next week to take care of re-wiring the bathroom to get a new fan/light installed (there was no fan in the bathroom, which was a strong contributing factor to the deterioration of the drywall behind the tub surround), to replace 2-prong outlets with 3-prong ones (or ground-fault interruptors (GFIs) where necessary), to repair some electrical splices which have the potential to be carrying an unsafe amount of current in various places (such as the basement and the garage), to fix a light fixture over the kitchen sink, to remove a light fixture in an odd location in the kitchen, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting at the moment.

I've got a dentist appointment next Wednesday morning. This is unfortunate, because Wednesday is pizza day in the cafeteria at work, and I probably won't be able to eat any of it.

davidh

+ 3 - 2 | § ¶What a big smile you have...

For about ten or twelve years, I extremely rarely brushed my teeth. The number of times I flossed during that period could probably be counted on one hand. So I was a bit nervous going into the dentist yesterday morning. . . (more)

+ 2 - 3 | § ¶My Current Week, June 13-19

A new format for a new focus.

Home:

✔ Talk to bank about changing homeowner's insurance (Monday)

X * Electrician provides estimate for house (Monday, 11am) [Didn't show up?]

X * Carpet installed in bedroom (Monday, 2pm) [Lowe's messed up in communication; re-scheduling for Tuesday afternoon]

✔ * Carpet installed in bedroom (rescheduled: Tuesday afternoon)

X Take out trash (Tuesday evening)

✔ Sign non-rescission document for the bank (Wednesday) [Did it on Thursday]

✔ Dentist appointment (Wednesday, 8am)

❑ * Electritian #4 comes (Friday)

❑ Change cat litter (Saturday)

❑ Mom's birthday stuff (Saturday)

❑ Father's Day stuff (Sunday)

TV:

❑ Queer as Folk (Showtime, Sunday, 9:05-9:55pm)

Shore Leave:

✔ Visit travel agent to book rental car, flights, and hotels (Tuesday)

❑ Contact Erinn

✔ Purchase SL tickets

❑ Book hotel room

Other (daily):

X--❑❑❑❑ Brush teeth

✔✔✔✔❑❑❑ Feed and water Patches (I)

XXX✔❑ Be into work by 8:30am and be home by 6:00pm (Monday-Friday)

✔✔❑❑ Clean cat litter (every other day)

Other (one-time):

X Duplicate video tapes and ship [Redirected to someone else]

✔ * Pick up Josh's new glasses at Sears (after they call)

❑ Get documents to SS

❑ Find doctor in health insurance plan

❑ Schedule routine check-up

+ 4 - 1 | § ¶Catching up: Furniture (part 1)

Over the past few weeks, with Josh's suggestions and advice, I've purchased a good amount of new furniture for the house. This has also required the storage, destruction, reorganization, or sale of some of the old furniture. Here's what we've currently got:

Basement:
+ New sectional with chaise lounge [JC Penney]
+ New end tables (2) [JC Penney]
+ New coffee table (top pops up for an eating surface) [JC Penney]
+ New TV stand [JC Penney]
++ New bookshelves (not yet assembled) (6) [Amazon.com]
++ New DVD/CD shelves (not yet assembled) (2) [Amazon.com]
- Old coffee table to storage (to be sold at neighborhood garage sale)
- Old couch #1 to storage (to be sold at garage sale or donated to Goodwill)
- Old TV stand to JC Penney moving crew (for intention of giving to Goodwill, except with no tax deduction)
- Old DVD/CD shelves moved to other side of the basement (to be sold at garage sale)
- Old computer desk #1 (my computer) is dismantled (to be thrown away)
-- Old couch #2 (with fold-out bed), TBD
-- Old computer desk #2 (Aaron's computer) is to be returned to Aaron's parents if they want it, otherwise TBD
-- Old bookshelves near Aaron's desk, TBD
-- Old big desk/shelf thingie in the middle of the room, TBD

Old Library/New Bedroom:
+ New bed [JC Penney]
+ New curtains and curtain rods [JC Penney]
++ Upcoming headboard, footboard (not arrived yet) [JC Penney]
++ Upcoming armoire, bench, night tables, etc. [JC Penney]
- Old bookshelves to storage (one got damaged and was replaced with a brand new one by the moving company)

I'll list out some other rooms later.

davidh

+ 4 - 1 | § ¶CSI Dream

Thursday morning, I had a very odd dream involving some CSI characters and actors. . . (more)

+ 1 - 4 | § ¶Catching up: Patches

Last Thursday, Josh and I took Patches to the vet, because she had been throwing up. They looked her over and gave a few suggestions about her diet, but said she was otherwise just fine, and she came home the same day.

Last Sunday, when we were at the PetsMart to pick up Patches a new nametag, we saw that TAPS (the Tazewell (County) Animal Protective Society) had brought some cats and dogs that were available for adoption. We looked through for a bit, and I found a kitty cat who caught my eye and leapt right into my heart. He was a grey-and-white domestic short hair who had lost his front left leg in an accident.

Josh and I had been discussing for a while the idea of getting another pet. I was initially opposed to the idea in the short term, but had been growing more in acceptance of it. I think I ended up surprising Josh when I agreed to adopting this new cat. But what should we name him?

As it turned out, the shelter already had a name for him: "Patches". We thought it over and decided to keep the name.

So we brough home Patches II to meet Patches I. Patches I was very snarly and hissy. I suppose that's not surprising... although she had lived with a couple of dogs years ago, I don't think she had ever lived with another cat before. Patches II was submissive, not aggressive at all. Eventually they seemed to work out a "keep away from me and I won't snarl at you" arrangement.

The Patcheses were in an uneasy truce for a couple of days after that. But then two things happened yesterday:

First, it seemed like Patches II may have gotten out of the house and gotten lost. I was very worried about him, because a three-legged cat wouldn't be as able to defend itself against attackers if he needed to. I wandered around the block, looking for him in various potential hiding places (shrubs, fences, etc.) Fortunately, he was located in the garage, perhaps a bit lonely but no worse for the wear.

Second, Patches I was throwing up again, and Josh took her to the vet again. This time, a different doctor examined her, and found some kidney problems. I'll find out more about what exactly the problem is and what the prognosis is when I get home tonight. I hope everything is okay with her.

davidh

+ 3 - 2 | § ¶Movie thoughts: "Latter Days", "Saved!", "9 to 5"

Over the past few days, I've seen three movies: Latter Days, a gay film; Saved!, a Christian film; and 9 to 5, a comedy. Here's what I thought about each (note: may contain spoilers!). . . (more)

+ 4 - 1 | § ¶On health

Sunday morning around 3am, Josh came upstairs in severe pain and woke me up. I drove him to the emergency room at St. Francis hospital, where they took his vital signs and various bodily fluids. We were there for two, maybe three hours. The doctors said that they did not know what was wrong, but that based on the test results, it was nothing life-threatening, and that he should have his primary care physician look at it.

Josh had only been in Peoria for a couple of months, and didn't yet have a primary care physician, so the hospital folks gave him a phone number to call to find one. This got me thinking... I've lived in Peoria for about seven and a half years, and I don't have a primary care physician yet, either. I figured I would get one when I got sick enough to need one, but I guess that hasn't happened.

So I'm going to check out the doctors in my health insurance's plan and find one who is accepting new patients, and go get a check-up. Or perhaps a complete physical would be better... get everything checked out and make sure to head off any potential problems before they get serious.

Josh has already taken the step of making dentist appointments for each of us, just for a check-up. I think the last time I went to the dentist was a few years before the last time I went to a doctor (other than the optometrist for my new glasses recently). So I'll be going next Wednesday.

davidh

+ 2 - 3 | § ¶House update

You can see Josh's updated plans for the house, including several photographs, in this post here.

(I should note that my old bedroom was only about a third as cluttered when I was actually living in it as the photos depict. Now that I'm not sleeping there, it's become another temporary storage area for stuff as things get moved around and cleaned.)

It's pretty remarkable how clean the living room and dining room have become. Within the next couple of days, at least the northwest quarter of the basement and most of the kitchen should be much better. The library needs to be ready by Friday, when the new carpeting arrives.

davidh

+ 3 - 2 | § ¶My Upcoming Week, June 6-12

A new format for a new focus.

Home:

✔ Schedule a U-Haul truck to move Josh's furniture to the house (Monday; schedule for Saturday)

✔ Talk to supervisor at work about electricians and plumbers (Monday)

X Contact above electrician and plumber to get (free?) estimates for the bathroom; tell Josh when they will be by (Monday) [Josh contacted instead]

✔ Talk to bank about home equity loan (Monday)

✔ Call Eric about mowing the yard this week (Monday)

X Cancel phone installation for Josh's apartment (Monday) [Didn't need to cancel because they never called to confirm the appointment as they said they would]

✔ Clear out old voice mail messages on home phone

❑ Change outgoing message on voice mail to include Josh and Joel

❑ Organize kitchen cabinets and clean dishes

✔✔ Clean basement (Monday and Tuesday evening)

✔ * Eric mows yard (Tuesday)

✔ Take out trash (Tuesday evening)

✔ * Basement furniture arrives (Wednesday, between 9am and 1pm)

X * Electrician/plumber plans bathroom fixes (Thursday evening) [

✔ * HVAC guy comes over (Thursday evening)

X * Library carpet arrives (Friday) [Re-scheduled for Monday, 2pm]

❑ Go to bank to finalize home equity loan paperwork (Friday, 2pm)

❑ Pick up U-Haul truck (Saturday)

❑ Move Josh out of his apartment and into my house (Saturday)

❑ Change cat litter (Saturday)

TV:

X❑ The 4400 ("Wake Up Call", USA, Tuesday, 8-10pm; "Voices Carry", USA, Sunday, 8-9pm)

❑ The Dead Zone ("Broken Circle", USA, Sunday, 9-10pm)

❑ Queer as Folk (Showtime, Sunday, 9:05-9:55pm)

Shore Leave:

❑ Contact Erinn about Shore Leave trip

✔ Check with Joe about his friend in Pennsylvania

❑ Purchase SL tickets

❑ Book hotel room

Other (daily):

✔✔✔✔✔❑❑ Brush teeth

✔✔✔-✔❑❑ Feed and water Patches (I)

✔XX✔X Be into work by 8:30am and be home by 6:00pm (Monday-Friday)

✔❑❑❑ Clean cat litter (every other day)

Other (one-time):

❑ Duplicate video tapes and ship

❑ Pick up Josh's new glasses at Sears (after they call)

❑ Get documents to SS

❑ Find doctor in health insurance plan

❑ Schedule routine check-up

+ 3 - 2 | § ¶Catching up: Accident

Last Saturday, Josh and I nearly witnessed an accident. As we were turning onto Knoxville from Glen, I saw a bunch of smoke suddenly appear from the far side of the intersection. A moment later, a small car, rather smashed up, rolled into the intersection. I turned into the nearest driveway and parked, and ran over to see if there was anything I could do to help.

By the time I got back to the intersection, other people had already called 911 and were looking over the people in the cars. I focused on the mini-van which had been travelling north on Knoxville. There was a family of five or six, including a little boy. I saw that they were all badly shaken (except perhaps for the boy), and I asked if anyone was bleeding. I think only one person was in that vehicle, but she was already being attended to. I saw that the other vehicle also had at least one child in it.

The fire truck was the first to arrive; it came up Knoxville from the south. It couldn't've been more than three minutes after the accident. Next, an ambulance arrived from Knoxville from the north, and the scene was soon joined by a police car, though I don't recall where that one came from. It appeared that they were getting everything under control, and since I didn't actually see the collision, I didn't think there was anything I could tell the emergency workers that would be of use, so I went back to my car.

From what I could gather or extrapolate, it seems like the small car had tried to race through the intersection when their light had just turned red, and the minivan had entered the intersection just as their light turned green. Result: Collision. However, I don't know if this is actually what happened.

Although it appeared that nobody had been seriously injured, the fact that there was a collision with two cars full of people, including children in both cars, had me shaken up for a while afterward.

davidh

+ 1 - 4 | § ¶Catching up: Drunk guy

A couple days ago, I saw an old grizzled man walking horribly drunkenly down Main Street. In the middle of the week, around 8pm. His arms were flailing about as though he were trying to keep from falling over.

If this had been on television, it would have been funny, an exaggerated caricature of the stereotypical drunk. But this was real. I feel so sorry for that guy.

davidh

+ 5 - 0 | § ¶Catching up: Grooming

On Saturday, May 28, 2005, for the first time since I was... oh, probably in my early teenage years... much of my jawline and the lower part of my cheeks saw the light of day.

An after picture... (more)

+ 3 - 2 | § ¶Catching up: Math Diet

Sometime last week, I was introduced to the concept of the "math diet". By replacing the Pepsi I drink each day with Diet Pepsi, I'd be cutting several hundred calories out of my daily diet. Since it apparently takes about (weight in pounds * 10) calories of intake per day to maintain your current weight, this would be a very simple way to reduce my calorie intake and thus lose some weight without reducing the amount I drink each day or changing my diet in any other way. I believe the calculation performed showed that if I drank only Diet Pepsi instead of Pepsi for one year, I could potentially lose up to 73 pounds. And that would be pretty remarkable.

(Though, come to think of it, that math may have been in error... it assumed that I was always at my current weight, and thus my current maintain-weight calorie level, rather than having a lower maintain-weight calorie level as time went on. So the incremental benefit should have diminished over time as my weight approached an asymptote. I may have to calculate this out later.)

A 20-oz. bottle of Diet Pepsi was purchased for me. The taste was not great, but not horrible either. I figured the taste might be bearable for a while to easily lose some weight. However, I was not able to finish the complete bottle, just because the taste was not appealing enough.

The following day, I bought as 12-oz. can of Diet Pepsi from a vending machine and started drinking it. Later in the day, I found that I was having very odd backaches. I searched on-line, and found that some sites claim aspartame (the ingredient that replaces sugar in the diet version of many beverages) has been known to help heal backaches in some people, but the only reference that I found to it causing backaches was on some odd holistic medicine website (link omitted). But I could think of no other reasonable causes for the ache (e.g. if I had slept funny the previous night, wouldn't I have felt that all morning instead of developing it later in the day?), so combined with the taste, I decided that Diet Pepsi just wasn't for me.

In thinking about it now, I may not have to completely give up this approach. I tried Diet Dr Pepper a few weeks back, and was surprised to find that, just as the ads say, it "does taste more like regular Dr Pepper". Although Pepsi is my first love as far as carbonated beverages are concerned, I do like Dr Pepper. So assuming that it wasn't the aspartame that caused the backache, maybe I can do a partial replacement in the future. Though the office I work in doesn't have any Dr Pepper vending machines, so I guess it'll still have to be Pepsi during the workday.

davidh

+ 5 - 0 | § ¶Catching up: Car

[Getting caught up on events from the past couple weeks]

On Saturday, May 20, Josh and I went out to Metamora (yet another one of those little "M" towns near Peoria) to look at an old car. It was a 1964 Chrysler Newport. The previous owner of the vehicle had moved to California, and had left the car with relatives to be sold. It looked like a fairly sturdy car... a few cosmetic issues here and there (e.g. the upholstery was coming apart in places, and there was some surface rust), but nothing that couldn't be repaired. It had a push-button automatic transmission, which was new to me (see this picture for an example). The test drive went well... the car had a lot of power.

The asking price was $1200; after discussing it with Josh, we negotiated them down to $1000 and scheduled the purchase.

On Monday, I called my insurance agent and tried to get the car and Josh added to my policy, but there was a question about whether Josh could be added, and since the DMV is closed on Mondays, we couldn't check. I was told that the car would automatically be covered for a few days before it had to be added to my policy, so I went ahead and, during my lunch break, went out to the bank and purchased the vehicle: I transferred $1000 into the owner's account, and I got the keys and the title.

On Tuesday, Josh and I went to the DMV when they opened in the morning, and registered the car (I found out while waiting in line that the DMV only takes cash, checks, or the Discover Card, but not any other credit card... so I had to run back to the house and get some extra cash to pay for the registration and sales tax). We also checked on the potential impediment to getting Josh added to my policy, and found out that it didn't apply in this case. So I called and had my insurance agent go ahead and complete the registration as we'd discussed the day before. Remarkably, by adding a second person and a second vehicle to my policy, my insurance rate was actually reduced. Does this make sense? I don't think so, but I suppose there's a reason for it, and I'm certainly not complaining. :-)

After getting everything there squared away, we drove out to Metamora and picked up the car. Josh drove it back to town, while I went in to work in my Lumina.

(Side note: The drive from Metamora to Peoria is very beautiful. Illinois may not have mountains, but those big hills can give you "the world's most beautiful drive", as described by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1910.)

Josh got the car checked out at a Meineke shop, and found a few things. First, there was an issue with the transmission, where a rubber mount needed to be replaced. Next, the engine tended to overheat, which suggested a problem with the thermostat or the water pump. Third, I got a really good bargain... even with the problems, the car is worth more than what I paid for it. Joe came over that night, and we went over to AutoZone to address some of the problems.

Wednesday was fine.

On Thursday evening, I got an AIM message from Josh saying that the car had died at the corner of Knoxville and Forrest Hill, and was blocking traffic. I called the insurance company, but although the car had just been added a couple of days earlier (I checked on-line to be certain: It had gone through on Tuesday.), the folks I talked to couldn't find it in their system. After being transferred through a couple of people and put on hold for several lengthy lengths of time, I was finally put through to someone in the Policies department, who had the information, and who said that we hadn't opted for roadside assistance coverage on the car. Argh!

But they did find us a tow truck (non-reimbursible), so I left work and drove out to the car until they got there. The car had been there for over an hour, and it turned out that it hadn't exactly been blocking traffic, just slightly obstructing it. As I was waiting with the car, several people driving by asked if I needed to use a cell phone. That was unexpected. Also, a couple of guys helped me push the car into a nearby bank parking lot to get it out of the way of traffic. The tow truck finally arrived and brought it home.

Either Friday or Saturday, Joe came over to look at it again, and it started right up. It may have been overheating. I think he and Josh did some more work on it, but I don't really recall. Anyway, it's running fine now.

So that's the story of my second car.

davidh