Day 3551

I got asked to reprint a business card I'd designed years and years ago. I couldn't even remember doing the card, but it seemed like something I might have done. I looked through my files and couldn't find anything. I did find hundreds of projects I'd completely forgotten about. I tried to remember printers I used to use and looked up my account on several that still had websites. Nothing again. One printer I've used dozens of times had purged all my files. My folder of old jobs was completely empty. This was a weird feeling. When you retire, it doesn't take long for you to be forgotten. Jeez. It hasn't been that long. Is it that weird to want to reprint a twelve year old business card? I could have recreated the card from scratch in less time than I took looking for the missing file tonight. I should have been able to find the file though. I keep good records. I always thought printers kept old jobs too. Live and learn. I guess I'll have to recreate the business card from scratch.

As I expected, our road was a mess when the highway department finally closed it to demolish the bridge. There were long lines of cars trying to exit to the poorly planned detour routes. It's going to be a pain to travel North now. I guess I'm going to have to just head South for a while. I was able to get gas, do my grocery shopping, pick up a prescription, and go to the post office by heading in a Southerly direction. Eventually I'll have to go North though.

Somebody already took the two lawn mowers I took out to the curb the other day. That didn't take long. If they were just trying to sell scrap metal, they're probably happy with their find. If they were planning to get the mowers working again and actually use them, there's going to be some frustration. You can't even get parts for one of these old mowers and the other one needs a lot of work. I'm glad the mowers got picked up though. The city might not have even taken them on bulky trash day because there was still a little gas in the tanks.

The White Pelican has been gone for a week. If he's gone for good, the bird sure picked a weird time to migrate. His buddies will be returning for the Winter soon. Maybe the bird knew this. I wonder if birds can be antisocial? Maybe this Pelican just wants to be left alone.

I definitely paid a price for the barbecue I ate last night. I woke up with heartburn several times during the night. Was the tasty meal worth it? Who knows. I know exactly what to eat to avoid acid reflux, but it gets boring. It's a shame that the things that bring the most pleasure usually cause the most trouble. I'll definitely be eating barbecue, chili, and pizza again, but I'll give it a rest for a while. When I eat healthy, I sleep better. A good night's sleep trumps just about anything these days.

It's back to the gym tomorrow. This week sure went quickly. I never did get my 20,000 steps yesterday. I fell asleep 37 steps short.

Nicholas is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1007

I went to the pest control store and got some more roach bait to replace the tube of gel that had gone bad. Hopefully, I won't wait seven years to use the stuff this time. I find bug guys oddly comforting. There are very few ambiguities about professional exterminators. They don't salt and pepper their conversations with words like sustainability or multiculturalism. Ask these guys about getting rid of pests though and they'll pragmatically tell you the best way to kill virtually anything. I've always thought if we were in a war we really needed to win, it wouldn't hurt to put a few bug guys in charge of things. They'd get the job done.

When I'm working up on the roof, I can see over the neighbor's fence. Today, I noticed a very brown and very dead Christmas tree tossed right outside the neighbor's back door. It was obvious that when they took the tree down after Christmas, this was as far as they got. I guess I find this comforting as well. It's nice to know that as disorganized as I've become, the neighbors are even in worse shape than I am. Since it's September, I don't know why I never noticed the dead Christmas tree before. I'm sure it's been out in their back yard for a long time. Probably the tree escaped my attention in exactly the same way as that tube of roach bait that expired in 2003.

The FedEx guy delivered some business cards I'd designed this morning. It continues to amaze me how easy and inexpensive printing has become. There really isn't much need for people like me anymore. When online printing first arrived on the scene, I would carefully prepare Quark Express files to upload, just like I would for a traditional printer. This time, I was in a hurry and used the handy online design wizard on the printing company website instead. I had everything completed in a matter of minutes and the results were just as good as if I had done everything by hand.

It's starting to get cool in the mornings now. It isn't exactly jacket weather yet, but it won't be long. This leaves me wondering what to do about the furnace. As some of you may remember, my furnace is kaput. I either need a brand new furnace or some very expensive repairs. Last Spring when the furnace broke, I decided to postpone making any sort of decision until it got cold again. Pretty soon, I'm going to wake up shivering and realize that once again, my chickens have come home to roost.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day