Well, we are almost done with the bathroom. In some places it looks done. And others, well, it's almost done. The problem is...it will probably take another two years to finish it! So what is not done? Well, the obvious: there is no vanity so no sink; there is no wardrobe; there is no shower curtain, so what good is a two headed shower if you don't have a curtain, of course the floor is all tile so it could get wet; and there are no towel racks, but if you don't have a curtain and can't use the shower you don't need the towel rack; and then one last minor detail: no toilet paper holder!
After another week of renovations in the bathroom we finally have tile laid! It seems it has been forever since this renovation began, and it has if you go way back to when I was doing the demolition! (see earlier blogs like a long time ago.) Last week our contractor told us it would be completed on Friday. But as you can plainly see, he isn't. In fact, I would be surprised if it were finished this week. I'm not sure if it will ever be finished. But it is looking great. And even when the contractor is done, the bathroom still won't be done because we ran out of money and won't have the vanity in until later.
Discovering Your Geekiness or Nerdiness, or Dorkiness, or Dweebness
Dear Bob, I am having trouble discovering who I really am.Lately, many people have taken to calling me a dork. I am not really sure what a dork really is. I have always seen myself as a nerd; possibly a geek, but not a dork. Now I am not sure what I really am. What is the difference anyway.Confused Dork, or is it Geek, or Nerd.I don't know.Dear Confused,Just recently I have stumbled across the answer to your dilemma. It is all right here in this chart. As you can see it really depends on where you fall in the overlap of the three circles: Intelligence, Obsession, or Social Ineptitude. All you have to do is determine where your greater characteristic is and then your minor characteristics. Then chart it to the circles and look for your overlap. For example: If your major characteristic is social ineptitude, and you think you've go some intelligence and very little obsession, then you would actually be a Dweeb and not a nerd, geek or dork. Whereas if you thought you were really about the same in everything, then you would be a nerd. Go ahead and chart yourself. There is nothing more empowering than self awareness.
Do you need help from Bob? Send in your questions to the Bob Blog and someday Bob just might get around to answering them.The answers supplied for Bob are not necessarily the opinions of this blog and are meant for meaningful self-help assistance. For advice, e-mail Bob at dearbob@boboston.com.
After spending so many months away from home there are still a few things that I am getting used to now that I am back and living with others. One of those things are the "rules" of how things are done. One of those things is Juice and the rules that go along with juice.
Now you probably didn't know juice had rules; but it does. At least in this household. I discovered this yesterday when I poured myself a glass of apple juice and not lemonade. You see, I didn't pick out the apple juice. I picked out the lemonade. The Juice Rule goes something like this: He/She who picks the juice drinks the juice. Do NOT drink a juice that you did not pick out. That is the Juice Rule. Whoever knew?
I finally made it to the dentist. My tooth started hurting me clear back in February, but it would come and go and I didn't think too much about it. It wasn't until our trip to Provo this last week that it started hurting and wouldn't go away. This morning it hurt so bad I could hardly see straight, talk, or do anything.
I saw the dentist at 1pm and after x-rays and probing which would send me through the roof, he finally declared to me that I had a tooth problem and needed a root canal. He called it an emergency root canal so he could get started on it right away. The worst part of the canal was getting it diagnosed. Once he deadened it I didn't feel a thing. Didn't feel a thing until just a little bit ago. But then he gave me these little pills that he told me would make all my problems go away, at least for a little while.
It has been about two weeks since I last took pictures of the remodel project. Last week we were out of town so the contractors really went full steam ahead in making progress. It could have been done by now, but like any project there is always some little thing that will get in the way to slow things down. Our little problem just happened to be TERMITES!!! Now when we moved in we knew there had been a termite problem. It had to be manifested when we bought the house. But what we didn't know was to what extent the problem was. Fortunately, it appears all the little critters are dead. But their damage was still quite evident once the drywall came down. There was a lot of termite debris (droppings, or whatever it is that termites leave behind.) and damaged two by fours in the framing. Some were so bad they had to be replaced. In fact, the contractors had to virtually reconstruct a couple of the bathroom walls. That put everything behind schedule a few days.
But despite the setback, when we got home and walked into the bathroom, despite it's unfinished status, it looked and felt like a brand new room in a brand new house. It looked, and felt wonderful. We can't wait until it's done. I never could understand how someone could be so excited about a bathroom. But now I know. Today we got paint. Tomorrow the tile starts to go in. I think. But we will see.
It's baseball season once again! And to kick it off right, the Boston Red Sox defeated arch rival New York Yankees 9-7 in baseball's opener. I don't know why but I have always loved baseball. I hope to take in a few games this year. Living in Visalia, California, I have access to a number of teams. To the south there are the LA Dodgers and LA Angels of Anaheim. To the north are the SF Giants and Oakland A's (Are the A's really a baseball team?). And then right here in Visalia we have the single A Rawhides farming for Phoenix; in Fresno we have the Grizzlies, farming for the Giants; and then while I'm in Stockton in July I can visit the Stockton Ports, single A farming for someone. I will have to find out.
Well I am finally starting to get back into the blog of things. Eventually the Bob Blog will get back to it's generally interesting and witty postings. It took me two years to get to the eightieth posting; mostly because I didn't post much over the last year and a half. Between my SEIS consulting job, Disney, and of course commuting, it didn't leave much time to do much else. It did, but I spent much of my downtime sleeping trying to get rested for the next gig. Disney was fun, but it was hard physical work. Then when you put it on top of SEIS, and then travel; it was just downright tiring. There were times I would go three to four weeks without ever seeing home. I knew it was time to cut down when Nushka Dog attacked me when I got in late one night.
Disney was fun. It was the funnest thing I have ever done when it comes to work. What more can you say when you get to go to the "Happiest Place on Earth" everyday and ride the train or give excursions on the World Famous Jungle Cruise. I miss it a lot. But as I said in my resignation letter, for all things there is a time and a season. I had my time fulfilling a life's dream working as an archeologist with Indiana Jones in the Temple of the Forbidden Eye; and I was a conductor on the Disneyland Railroad; and a jungle guide on the Jungle Rivers of the World. What more can one ask? But now it is time once again to be a guest and to experience Disneyland as Walt Disney originally intended. Only now I need to find someone to get me in or pony up the money for a pass.
So what has life brought me in the two months I have been gone? Well, things have not slowed down. I don't even think I have traveled less. Just differently. Since I left SEIS has picked up and I have a number of days lined up through August. Right after I left Disney I spent three weeks in the SF east bay; traveled to Provo, Utah; worked a couple days in the LA area and traveled to Provo, UT. I have another two days scheduled this month in Redding, California, and another trip to Provo, UT. And more to come. And best yet; I got a raise on my daily fee! With a promise of even more days to come this summer and fall. I have already taken home more money in the last two months than I ever hoped to bring home in the entire 18 months at Disney. Plus I have a lot of down time. Which is important for health right now as well.
Speaking of health. I seem to be doing fairly well, other than a toothache. Two years ago, my assistant, kind as she is, bought me a bean burrito. And it broke my tooth. I have never broken a tooth before. And it was on a bean burrito! I got it capped, but lately it has been hurting so bad I had to make an appointment with the dentist tomorrow. We will see how it goes.
So what are the plans for the future? Riverside in June. Virginia in the middle of June. Yes, watch out for the Post Cards. I should get some nice ones. Stockton for three weeks in July. And back to Riverside in August. So stay tuned. There is more to come!
This last week found me in Salt Lake City, Utah. I spent spring break in the Salt Lake City and Provo area visiting my old stomping grounds of BYU. Things have changed a lot since I was there way back in the early '80's. One thing sure hasn't changed, though: Spring! As you can see it was snowing. It was snowing a lot! I had a hard time walking across Temple Square because the side walks were so slippery. It was also so cold most people were hustling and bustling to get inside and stay inside. And then there was me. Trying to take a picture with my i-phone. I am still trying to get the hand of it. The hardest part is trying to figure out where the shutter button is on a piece of glass that is facing away from you. Half the time I end up taking pictures before I'm ready because my fingers slide over the virtual button. If you have an i-phone, you probably understand what I am talking about. The hardest thing is people watching me from inside the warm building trying to take a picture of myself as I get covered with snow. Finally, someone feels sorry for me and scurries outside to help me take a picture. But then I have to explain, since it is for my Post Card entry, it has to be a self portrait. Nothing else works. Then they shake their head and scurry back into the warmth as I continue to struggle with my picture. Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 as Great Salt Lake City. It was settled by Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young. The Salt Lake Temple is probably the best known of the Mormon temples. It was started shortly after the arrival of the pioneers and completed some 40 years later, though some of those years construction was dormant and they had to rebuild the entire foundation. It is built from quartz monzanite which most people take for granite. (That's a little Jungle Cruise humor there.) But it's not. It just looks like granite.
Temple Square has a lot to do. I spent time taking tours, listening to an organ recital, and visiting some of the history museums and learning how people lived once they first arrived in the valley. It was a very interesting trip to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Please remain seated with your arms, hands, feet and legs inside the boat at all times...and in the likley event of a water evacuation, please use the seat bottom cushions as floatation devices...oh, no cushions??? Uh, please use small children as floatation devices!
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will probably take another two years to finish it! So what is not done? Well, the obvious: there is no vanity so no sink; there is no wardrobe; there is no shower cur
tain, so what good is a two headed shower if you don't have a curtain, of course the floor is all tile so it could get wet; and there are no towel racks, but if you don't have a curtain and can't use the shower you don't need the towel rack; and then one last minor detail: no toilet paper holder!
will probably take another two years to finish it! So what is not done? Well, the obvious: there is no vanity so no sink; there is no wardrobe; there is no shower cur
tain, so what good is a two headed shower if you don't have a curtain, of course the floor is all tile so it could get wet; and there are no towel racks, but if you don't have a curtain and can't use the shower you don't need the towel rack; and then one last minor detail: no toilet paper holder!
