swt61

One of my coworkers brought in some heirloom tomatoes to share, so pasta was on the dinner menu.

Just got home from work. I've got pasta cooking on the stove and Aretha cookin' on the stereo. Life's good!

That was meant to get Doug's ire.

Who are the Ramones?

Gena Rowlands was a force of nature. I'd put her up there with Streep, though she never got that kind of credit. R.I.P. Gena.

It's been a long, long time since I was a virgin of anything. Congrat!

And I'm auditioning this with...

Wanted to try connecting my subwoofers in a simpler way. Got the RCA Y connectors delivered today. So I have a single variable output on my Parasound Zpre 2. So I used some RCA Y splitters, with one left output going to one of my 2 Zamps running in mono mode, and the Yed second left output going to my left Gallo TR-3D subwoofer. The right Y splitter goes to the right Zamp and the right input of the left subwoofer. The subwoofers have RCA outputs as well as inputs, so I connected the right sub. via the outputs of the left sub. It works like a charm.

I'll be playing that same game after tonight, but without the KEF connect app.

I'll sweeten the deal. If a caser buys both, I'll turn them into RV/tiny houses. One for you, one for me.

You lead a good life G-man!

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!