Family and Life Updates

[boltnrun]

I didn't end up stopping for empanadas.  I kind of knew I wouldn't.  It's really hard for me to be motivated to stop somewhere on the way home from work because it's such a long commute and making it even longer is unappealing.  Plus I give myself a certain amount of money each week to spend on "fun" stuff, so I'd rather keep that money for the weekend.  The shop is only about 30 minutes from home on the weekend so if I really want one I can go over the weekend.  And maybe visit my cousin while I'm out there.

[Batya33]

9 hours ago, boltnrun said:

I didn't end up stopping for empanadas.  I kind of knew I wouldn't.  It's really hard for me to be motivated to stop somewhere on the way home from work because it's such a long commute and making it even longer is unappealing.  Plus I give myself a certain amount of money each week to spend on "fun" stuff, so I'd rather keep that money for the weekend.  The shop is only about 30 minutes from home on the weekend so if I really want one I can go over the weekend.  And maybe visit my cousin while I'm out there.

My son's new bus stop is at a shopping center a mile away so I've shifted to almost daily shopping on the way back -I hear you about not prolonging commuting etc (I walk) - on the upside I catch more sales that way but I suspect I might be buying more or differently too.  I like the location better than the grocery store location that is closer so that's also a bonus too.

[boltnrun]

The heater in my apartment isn't working so I have to have maintenance come in to fix it. I HATE maintenance workers coming into my apartment! I bought some carpet protection film and laid it down last night so the guy won't walk all over my carpet with his filthy shoes. My apartment is a studio so my bed is literally three feet from the heater. He better not put anything on top of my bed. For some reason anytime someone comes into my apartment they want to use my bed as a table. It's not! That upsets me so much. Last time someone came in to fix something it was a plumber and he was terrific. Very considerate and fast. I hope this time goes just as well. 

If I didn't need the heater I wouldn't bother, but it's been 54 degrees inside my apartment some mornings. And an electric space heater costs so much to run. My electric bill has already almost doubled from last month and there are still 11 days to go in the billing cycle. 

[boltnrun]

4 hours ago, Batya33 said:

My son's new bus stop is at a shopping center a mile away so I've shifted to almost daily shopping on the way back -I hear you about not prolonging commuting etc (I walk) - on the upside I catch more sales that way but I suspect I might be buying more or differently too.  I like the location better than the grocery store location that is closer so that's also a bonus too.

I would love it if my office was a 15-20 minute walk from home. It would be a dream. Unfortunately the only businesses within a reasonable walking distance are retail stores, restaurants and medical offices and a handful of property management businesses. Nothing that would pay anything close to what I'm earning now.

I did look into taking public transportation to work. But this is what I would have to do: take a bus from my neighborhood to the transportation hub in my city. Catch a train to the major airport (not the one in my city). Take another train to the city my workplace is located. Then take a bus to my office. All of that would take about 2 1/2 hours one way. I don't see how that would be less stressful than driving an hour and 15 minutes home on the freeway. Oh, and I wouldn't get home until about 5:45 pm, whereas now I get home around 4:15 pm. It's a shame because I would like to take the train but since my office is in another county it's not a simple process.

[boltnrun]

Well, I feel silly (again). The maintenance guy came by (nice guy) and he pushed the lever to turn on the heater and it instantly went on. I told him it refused to turn on for me for almost a week! I conclude the heater hates me and wants me to be cold and it likes him. Pshhhttt.

[Batya33]

29 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

Well, I feel silly (again). The maintenance guy came by (nice guy) and he pushed the lever to turn on the heater and it instantly went on. I told him it refused to turn on for me for almost a week! I conclude the heater hates me and wants me to be cold and it likes him. Pshhhttt.

So. One time I almost had the cable guy come because my TV would not come on. After like hours turned out when I wiped down the remote with a Clorox wipe i disabled some essential function lol 

[boltnrun]

I didn't even do anything to it other than try to use it for it's intended purpose 🙁 And holy cow has it been cold in here in the mornings. But I just tried to turn it on and it worked, so here's hoping. 

[boltnrun]

Heater is working!

I've been watching and reading about one of my favorite TV shows and even though this wasn't the exact topic of an episode, it was set in a school where the arts and creative expression was nurtured and encouraged.  And my school experience was the exact opposite.  I went to a school run by a religious denomination and we were taught that we were all sinners and we needed to encourage our parents to give a lot of money to the church to make up for our sins.  And creative thought and expression was suppressed in favor of following the teachings of this church to a tee, never deviating or questioning.  And the quality of education was just awful.  When I got to college I found I had not read books all the other kids had read and I was woefully behind in almost every subject.  Mainly because this school required us to take a course in the religion every semester and therefore didn't offer any advanced placement courses and almost no electives. My experience resulted in me completely separating myself from this religion.  My former husband had the same experience with attending schools run by this religious denomination and while he's still a member, we both vowed to never send our child to a school affiliated with any religious organization.  He had access to electives and arts courses and he wasn't forced to comply with any religious teachings because we sent him to a public school (albeit one that is in a school district well known for its excellence).  I feel like I could have really enjoyed high school instead of hating every second and feeling vastly relieved when I finally graduated. 

Nothing that really affects me today but I still feel like I missed out.  Education is so important and so is creative expression.

[Batya33]

In my experience these days more religious schools do have a rich arts curriculum and literature etc.  My religious elementary school didn't really and in many public schools art and music programs are the first to be cut/underfunded.  Our son went to secular schools till this year -high school. He chose a school run by a religious denomination.  It has an extremely rich art/music program that is heavily funded and it's religious curriculum is part of the curriculum but only part.  The local public school was not a good fit and we don't want to move to a suburb where it might potentially be better.

[boltnrun]

That wasn't my experience.  We had almost none of those things available.  And when the drama/music teacher was arrested for inappropriate contact with some of the male students he was never replaced.  My kids' school was a public school but one where the city has its own school district.  This district has won accolades for being one of the best in the state.  They had literally almost anything they wanted to learn available to them. 

My brother and I really struggled in college due to our complete lack of any real education that could help us do well.  We had to go on our own to read classic literature, learn advanced math and science, etc.  

[Batya33]

11 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

That wasn't my experience.  We had almost none of those things available.  And when the drama/music teacher was arrested for inappropriate contact with some of the male students he was never replaced.  My kids' school was a public school but one where the city has its own school district.  This district has won accolades for being one of the best in the state.  They had literally almost anything they wanted to learn available to them. 

My brother and I really struggled in college due to our complete lack of any real education that could help us do well.  We had to go on our own to read classic literature, learn advanced math and science, etc.  

that’s so great about your school district. The zoned elementary school was very good  pandemic when he was in 5th grade had a hugely negative impact on all aspects of public school education including in the better school districts. My public school elementary district was awful. So we went to private. For high school I went to a specialized public school with an entrance exam. The parents in the neighborhood whose kids went there organized a private bus to take us there. 

[boltnrun]

I am thankful my kids weren't school age during the pandemic.  I can't even imagine how gut wrenching that experience had to be for both the kids and the parents. 

[Batya33]

12 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

I am thankful my kids weren't school age during the pandemic.  I can't even imagine how gut wrenching that experience had to be for both the kids and the parents. 

It was HORRIBLE.  2 bedroom apartment. Virtual school.  Two teleworking parents.  Thankfully I was part time.  Also from March-May virtual school was mostly a joke.  The following August was better.

[Seraphim]

Wow, here Catholic schools are funded by the province. Both primary and Highschool. When my mom was young it was parent funded. My grandfather paid a MINT. My mother was part of the school band and she even played at Carnegie Hall and for President Kennedy. Her brother was captain of the debate team. The province started funding Catholic Highschool the year before my husband went. However, in exchange for this public funding, they must take any student regardless of religious standing or background. My son went to Catholic school and was in the band and media arts and every possible class. 
 

Private Independent schools and Private Protestant schools do exist but you pay a hefty hefty price tag of $35,000 a year or more. 
 

My mom had no heat as well as last week. 😓Glad you both have heat back. 

[boltnrun]

So far it's been nearly impossible to find a breakfast bar that is either sugar free or very low sugar and is also free of any kind of nuts. They all seem to have nuts or peanut butter. Even the ones that don't have nuts or peanut butter in the name (such as cinnamon apple or chocolate caramel) have a warning that they contain peanuts or tree nuts. I found ONE so far but it's not sold at the grocery stores I go to so I have to buy them online. I eat these at work because I can't just lug a half gallon of lactose free milk and a box of Weetabix and a bowl and spoon to work with me every time I go in. I bring enough crap with me as it is. 

My dietary restrictions: no sugar, no dairy, no peanuts, no chocolate, no tree nuts, no red meat. And I have to be careful because I have an intestinal condition where constipation can be literally deadly so I have to be sure to eat properly to avoid becoming constipated. 

Some good news? Since I drastically cut down my sugar consumption I have lost five pounds. I am four pounds from my goal weight. I used to whine that I was doing everything I could think of and still was never able to lose weight, but I was still eating pastries, ice cream or cookies every day. Well, duh 🙄

[Seraphim]

I am sorry dietary restrictions are awful. 

[boltnrun]

Wall heater once again not turning on. Now I have to buy more plastic, lay it down and call maintenance again. He brought a new switch with him but chose to leave the old one in place. I will insist he install the new one this time. In the meantime I have to use my old creaky electric space heater that uses a zillion watts of electricity and costs a fortune to use. 

[boltnrun]

My space heater is also broken. Thankfully it's supposed to be in the mid 70s this week. Although mornings are really cold. I ordered more plastic and I'm buying a space heater after work today 

This is ridiculous.

[boltnrun]

I'll have to eat breakfast before I get on the freeway tomorrow morning. I never feel like eating at 5:30 am but I can't go all the way until 11:15 am without eating. I bring snacks but they're more afternoon type food. And I looked at the vending machines at work. Barf! It's all chips, candy, cookies, Slim Jim's...all unhealthy garbage. My previous employer has the same vending and when I asked for healthy options they said "there's fruit!" Like I want to buy fruit from a vending machine 🙄 Who knows how old it is. They also told me they stock what sells and apparently people love overly processed chemical filled crap food. 

My order of no sugar breakfast bars will be delivered Wednesday.  That's a relief. 

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, boltnrun said:

I'll have to eat breakfast before I get on the freeway tomorrow morning. I never feel like eating at 5:30 am but I can't go all the way until 11:15 am without eating. I bring snacks but they're more afternoon type food. And I looked at the vending machines at work. Barf! It's all chips, candy, cookies, Slim Jim's...all unhealthy garbage. My previous employer has the same vending and when I asked for healthy options they said "there's fruit!" Like I want to buy fruit from a vending machine 🙄 Who knows how old it is. They also told me they stock what sells and apparently people love overly processed chemical filled crap food. 

My order of no sugar breakfast bars will be delivered Wednesday.  That's a relief. 

Ihope you like them!

[boltnrun]

58 minutes ago, Batya33 said:

Ihope you like them!

They're the same ones I ordered last week and they are delicious. The sugar free oatmeal cookies I baked this afternoon are also really good. So after Wednesday I'll be set in the snack department for a week or so. I'll bake more of the cookies later in the week. 

Oops, just remembered I'm out of eggs. No more cookies this week!

[boltnrun]

I'm in the office and I made myself a cup of tea. When I got back to my desk I thought "this tea sure smells like chamomile." Then I checked the package and it was chamomile! Oops. I took out that tea bag and put a lemon ginger tea bag in my mug. Hope I don't fall asleep at work lol.

[boltnrun]

ZOMG 

My blood draw isn't until 9:00 am and I am DYING without my morning tea. Also can't eat anything. 

I'm going to try to get there a bit early to see if I can get seen sooner. I do have to work until 8:00 though.

Also wall heater stopped working again. Bought a new space heater but it's not super effective.

[Seraphim]

How cold does it get there at night ? 

It is a pain to wait for the blood draw. I haven’t done a fasting blood draw in a while, I am usually high in the morning because we have hormones that jump start the body so we can get going in the morning but I don’t have the insulin to handle the increase. I might now due to medication. 

[boltnrun]

It's not that cold in comparison with a lot of other places. It gets down to the low 40s during winter time. It feels cold though!

So I get to the office building where the lab is and they charge for parking! That is ridiculous! I didn't bring my debit card. I'm parked on the street in a 20 minute zone while I wait for the text for me to go inside. Insane that we have to pay for medical services AND for parking.