I Have A Low, Simmering Level Of Aggravation Right Now

There's nothing in my life that truly sucks, but everything in my life is bothering the fuck out of me right now.  Does that make sense?

Another Monday at work, another ten hours.  I think I set a record for most forms I needed to touch in one day.  And once again I am worried about what the hell my boss thinks.  Last week, he threw a solution in my lap that I don't like.  I wonder what kind of bullshit he's gonna pull once I go into work this/Tuesday morning.  Will he tell my co-worker to "help" me again?  Will he come down at me for not going through all the e-mails that came in before I left?  Will there be some other plan he'll concoct in an all-stops-removed effort to keep me from working overtime?

I also have planned a visit to My All-Time Favorite at My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Edition).  We planned on me coming in on Friday, but I think I have to check in with the bar where my friends watch our alma mater.  I'm thinking Thursday will work, but I have a strange feeling I promised to do something with someone that day and I completely will forget until Thursday evening.  Oh, well, hope my ATF will understand what I'm going through.

Oh, and on top of all that it has started to snow.  Not on the streets, but damn, winter's here.

See how aggravated I am?

Everybody's Stepping Up Their Halloween House-Decorating Game

OK, not everybody.  I'm not doing it; I still have a plan to go to Hooters after work on Tuesday and then, maybe, hit a strip club, so I won't be getting into the Halloween spirit.  And it's not as if everyone in the neighborhood is doing it.  But I have to say that several more houses have dressed up their houses for Halloween this year.  Didn't see so many households do so last year.  Don't know why; maybe many people are finally thinking the pandemic is behind us now, in 2023?

At any rate, it's cool to see so many orange lights and fake tombstones on front lawns.  There is one house down the street, and I'm sure that household didn't dress up their house last year, that has gone all out, with lights and a bunch of inflatable Halloween creatures like vampires, ghosts and mummies.  They're all of the cute kind, though, and not as scary.  My sister's best friend's mom's house has an inflatable bat in her front yard.  Don't think they've done that before, either.

So all of that is cool.  Real cool.  It gets me in the Halloween spirit.  Doesn't mean I'm dressing up, though.  That's still too traumatic for me.  Brings up bad memories.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -4).  I can't think of the last time the two local football teams took the top two spots in a Week's Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey, but here we are.  And moreover, I could not fathom an scenario in which the Vikings, of all fucking clubs, would be the ones on top.

They had a seemingly-impossible task of facing the San Francisco 49ers (albeit at home) on Monday Night Football.  Normally this would mean that Kirk Cousins would turn into a sucker.  Far from it.  Because of an Offensive Line that was, get this, fantastic (Cousins wasn't sacked once.  You hear very little about Christian Darrisaw because he may be The Best Left Tackle In Football), Cousins was able to shred the Niners Defense.  Meanwhile, the Vikes' Defense made enough plays, especially when it came to turning over San Francisco Quarterback Brock Purdy twice in the Fourth Quarter (well, to be fair it was just Cameron Bynum intercepting Purdy), that the Vikes were able to eke out a 22-17 Win no one saw coming.  By the way, I had some doubts about Jordan Addison, but they've been shelved, at least for now.  He was the fuckin' man on Monday.

One Game a season does not make.  But we are lustful, kneejerk sports fans, and you gotta admit the squad gets a multiplier effect from a victory few people could even envision.  Suddenly, 3-4 doesn't look so bad.  And next up, they gravel to Lambeau Field to face a Green Bay Packers club going through its post-Aaron Rodgers transition and whose QB replacement, Jordan Love, has fallen back down to earth after playing pretty well early in the season.  My goodness, there may be life in the Vikings just yet!

#-2: Gopher football (Last Week: -1).  One would be right in having fears of a letdown after a monumental upset at Iowa for Floyd Of Rosedale.  And they started off slow and sloppy at home versus Michigan St.  But they were able to turn it on in the Second Half and pull away from the demoralized Spartans, 27-12.  And wouldn't you know it, but they have a fighting chance of winning the Big Ten West Division (in the conference's final season with Divisions), even with the Loss to Northwestern.  One hopes there won't be a slip-up next tilt, Saturday vs. Illinois, also at Huntington Bank.

#-3: Timberwolves (NEW SEASON!!!).  There are a lot of writers who are really high on the Woofie Dogs this year.  They're all thinking that Anthony Edwards is about to take that step into superstardom, that the experiment of integrating Rudy Gobert will finally, fully be implemented this season.  That prediction has to go up against 30+ Years of incompetence and mediocrity, and it didn't look too good when they lost in Toronto by three Wednesday.  (They haven't beaten the Raptors in Canada since 2004.)  But they rebounded by beating Miami at Target Center last/Saturday night by 16, even though Jimmy Butler rested against the Timberwolves for, like, the fourth straight Game against them.  Does he regret that shit he pulled in that practice Game that forced the organization to trade him?  Maybe?

Tough to glean any conclusions right now.  Anyway, they begin a four-Game homestand with Games vs. Denver Wednesday and Utah Saturday.  I have a ticket for that Nuggets showdown; I am not expecting a whole lot.

#-4: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -3).  Beat Michigan St. at home last Sunday in four Sets, but went to West Lafayette on Thursday and got swept by a ranked Purdue.

You know, I didn't think at all to check the polls to see if the Goofers are ranked because the U. is always ranked, right?  Well, I finally checked just now; they dropped out of the AVCA Top 25 last Week.  Oh, I have to keep thinking this is a mulligan Year.

Like I mentioned last Week, this/Sunday afternoon they play Wisconsin in Madison.  And this Game will be on FOX/Channel 9.  This is not a special local broadcast; this is a nationally-televised volleyball Match (well, there are some areas in the country that will see the Browns visit the Seahawks at the same time -- those two markets plus New York City, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Jacksonville, among others.  Those cities won't get an early football Game, and I think there's another women's volleyball match that they will see: Ohio St. and Michigan.  And I just checked the NFL coverage map on 506sports.com; Columbus gets Cleveland-Seattle and therefore will see its hometown Buckeyes visit the Wolverines, but Detroit (and Ann Arbor) won't see that contest because they've got the Vikings-Packers Match instead).  And it's kind of sad that this version of the Minnesota program is loping into Wisconsin because I'm pretty sure this is going to be a sweep, and a bad one at that.  After that, they visit Ohio St. Friday.

#-5: Wild (Last Week: -6).  Seems as though that when the Mild have lost, they've lost big.  To wit: Philadelphia's 6-2 win over Minnesota Thursday was the fourth time already this season the Mild have allowed at least five Goals and lost.  Their next road Game, a 3-2 defeat to the Capitals the next night, is the type of conventional Loss the Mild haven't experienced much so far.  But that's going to be the way things will shake out for the time being because Jared Spurgeon has been put on this thing called Long-Term Injured Reserve.  I first heard about it at the end of last season when Las Vegas apparently used it to circumvent the cap and bring up Marc Stone, who led them to the Stanley Cup.  My fucking God the Golden Knights are such fucking cheaters.  And the Gary Bettman lets them cheat!

Don't expect the Mild to cash in like Las Vegas did.  The way they're headed, there won't be a postseason for which Spurgeon can be called up to play like a ringer.  We'll have to be content with little victories, like the 7-4 one over Edmonton at the X on Tuesday.  This Week they will have an elongated home-and-home with The Bastard Colorado Rockies -- in New Jersey this/Sunday afternoon, here Thursday.  They then host the New York Rangers Saturday.

#-6: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  Well, shit, this is not good.  In women's top-flight college hockey, you have only so many showdowns with the programs equal to you.  This weekend was one of them, and frankly, this club fucking failed, getting swept at Ohio St. by 4-3 (in Overtime) and 6-5 scores.  Sure, the margins were close, but horseshoes, grenades, dancing. ...

A home-and-home with Minnesota State-Mankato Friday (here) and Saturday (there).  Guess here is that the Mavericks will be more this team's speed.

#-7: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5).  And while the women shit the bed, the male icers were even bigger embarrassments.  Wisconsin was ranked, sure, but the Goofers were ranked higher.  And the fuckin' Badgers came in to Mariucci Thursday and Friday and swept them, by scores of 5-2 and 3-2.  You know, the admin for the Gopher men's hockey Twitter account, right after they fucked up in last Year's title Game, vowed, and I mean vowed, to return and finish what they started.  I didn't believe that shit then, and after this humiliation, I have no reason to believe they'll even reach the Frozen Four now.

Home-and-home with Minnesota-Duluth Friday (here) and Saturday (there).

#-Infinity: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -7).  They ended their season with a 3-1 Win at Purdue on Sunday, but their season did end.  They finished 3 Wins, 2 Ties and 5 Losses in-conference, 7-4-6 overall.  Now, women's college soccer isn't as cutthroat as football.  But like I said last Week, Erin Chastain just completed her third season leading her alma mater, and her charges have not made the NCAA Tournament even once.  Don't know if her seat is getting hot.  But if there are people who follow such moves in women's college soccer, you'd have to guess Chastain's is getting warm, no?

Can I Perform For Them?

So, about an hour from when I type this, I will be in south Minneapolis for -- uh, I am guessing the sixth or seventh time I get double-teamed by ***e* and ******e.  ***e* is in town for a party tonight, which I can't go to because I have plans, but they are accommodating me by having me come in this morning.

I gotta admit I am so hard right now, but that's only because of morningwood.  I am amping myself up right now looking at pornography.  But old age (and being unfit) is catching up with me, and I am scared that I won't get hard enough to get jacked off by those two.  Don't get me wrong; if there are ever two people who know how to get me off on a regular basis, it's those two.  But I've been going to them for a long time, and I can remember how, uh, manly I was when shooting back when we started, and that's nowhere close to how I can perform now.  Right now, the goal is to just shoot.

Hope I feel satisfied afterward.

I don't want to harp too much about my troubles at work, but I can't help it.  It's the thing I do one-third of my day, and it's the thing that sustains me the other hours of my days, you know?

So I was back in my main department working for the first time in months (I was going to blog post about that, but then I decided to blog post what I did in my previous blog post, so maybe I'll revisit this, maybe I won't).  We got done a bit ahead of schedule.  Last time I worked there that department was routinely going into overtime because the work wasn't done within eight hours.  Guess that problem has been alleviated while I was working elsewhere.

My boss (who I answer to when I'm in the main department) thought I should spend the rest of my day in filing.  I was going to head back, but then my main boss told me to leave early.  Well, actually he asked me if I had overtime, and since he obviously knew that I worked ten hours on Monday, I don't know why he would have to ask me.  I said yes anyway, and he told me to leave early.  Yeah, this is even more evidence that he's been told to toe the line when it comes to time-and-a-half.  This still chafes me, though.  I don't really want to hear it, but looking at it from his side, if he's been told to avoid giving out overtime at all costs, I should just not come in tomorrow.  Makes sense, right?

I should suggest this.  Well, it'll come out passive-aggressively, and then I'll get in trouble.  Maybe not.

I Don't Want To Care What He Thinks

Stayed till 7 at work last/Wednesday night.  I.  Am.  Not.  Dawdling.  My fucking God, I'm working as fast as I can while being as accurate and complete as I can.  If the other two can fucking work faster than me, Jesus fucking Christ, maybe they should be doing this job and I should be working fucking retail, OK?

(sigh)  I hate how the overwhelming thought in my mind ever since leaving work is how mad my boss is once he sees how long I stayed after.  Does he not think I bust my ass?  Does he truly think this work can be done in eight hours?  Because goddammit, it can't.  I'm doing my job.  And I hate that he or his bosses appear to be fucking bean counters and so my boss is coming up with more draconian and intrusive ways to stop me from working overtime.

My actions yesterday/Wednesday may not have helped.  I woke up with a sort of "fuck it all" attitude, so I stayed in my car to eat my Caribou oatmeal, and that made me six minutes late.  (There's a story about the increasing pain-in-the-ass parking at this Caribou has become, but I'll probably forget to blog post about it.)  Worse yet, there was a monthly meeting in the afternoon and I completely missed it because that's when I took my lunch.  I was sleeping when he started it, most likely.  I don't know if he's mad, but considering how he's cracking the whip on me, I'm going to say he is.  Hope to God he doesn't come back at me for missing that meeting in a passive-aggressive way.

This "problem" (I don't see it as one, but my boss does) isn't going away.  I will continue to do my work in the way I see fit, and day after day it becomes crystal clear that he doesn't agree if that means staying late.  I don't want to care about what anyone thinks of me and what I do.  But because he's my boss ... well, shit, I kind of have to.  Or, more likely I will listen to him go off on me for staying ten hours one day and I'll snap at him, or inadvertently mutter an insult, or reflexively give him the finger.

My relationship with my boss isn't great right now.  And if he keeps lording over me like this -- well, it might be time to move on.

Addendum To: All The Times I Said I Just Had The Worst Day At Work Ever? I Lied -- Yesterday Was The Worst Day At Work Ever

Yeah, as bad as Monday was, yesterday/Tuesday was worse.  Why?  Because my boss decided to blindside me with a move fully intended to prevent me from racking up the overtime.

My co-worker was one of the first people I saw at my desk at The Fourth Department.  I didn't expect her there; she should only be back there to fill in one of the three positions that are regularly filled back there, and they were all, you know, filled.  That's when she told me that she was "helping me out."

I suspected as much, but she confirmed what I thought could have happened when I came in in the morning: That my boss saw that I was working more than he thinks I should be and he was going to put a stop to it.  I should be more generous and say that she was there to "help me out," but there was an obvious ulterior motive on his part, which I am still, frankly, pissed about.

But let me go back to what specifically happened in the morning.  A little later into the day, my boss flitted in and told me his "plan": My co-worker is going to come in when I come in first thing in the morning and we are going to do Fourth Department work together for a couple hours.  This is supposed to happen Tuesdays and Fridays.  What work she did ... well, that was the most immediate of the things that I hated about this move.  What I was going to do first was all the stuff I communicated out Monday.  Any answers I got from clients overnight I was going to look at, process, and send over to the lab.  That is stuff I have always felt was best done by one person.  And now I have another person coming in to "help me out?"  I don't mean any disrespect to her; she's only doing what our boss told her to do.  But I was at a loss as to how she could help.  I actually had to think for a bit before deciding that she should be doing the new work (stuff I didn't touch and therefore wouldn't, frankly, fuck me up).  I was afraid that me telling her to do that wasn't enough to last her two hours.  Hell, I was too busy trying to catch up with my own work, but it felt as though she wasn't just waiting for me.

First of all, I am very upset that my boss pulled this move without giving me a head's-up.  I could have better planned on to what to do if I knew beforehand.  I know that something similar has been going on when it comes to parceling out work when my supervisor started stepping in.  But plopping my co-worker next to me and essentially ordering that we start working together when I didn't have the faintest goddamn clue about this was, tbh, a dick move.  The mental switching of tracks alone took time and mental energy that I needed to do the job at hand, and I didn't like that I needed to stop and think of things I don't think I needed to stop and think for.

Mondays are a shitshow.  There is so much work that is piled up from the weekend that that day is the busiest and heaviest.  It just is.  So yes, it stands to reason that any spillover work into Tuesday could be shouldered by another person.  With that being said, there could, and I want to emphasize could, be a second person to do the work on Mondays instead of Tuesdays.  (And by the way, I don't get why I might need to be brought in to help on Fridays.)

And with that being said, I want to say that, while I appreciate her help, and she did help, I didn't need my co-worker's help yesterday/Tuesday.  I left a few minutes short of eight hours yesterday/Tuesday.  In that quick spiel in the morning, my boss actually encouraged me to leave early.  For some fucking reason he threw out an hour early.  That would have meant I "should" have left at 4:30.  He went ballistic once he saw that I worked ten hours on Monday, and so I do not want to venture a guess at all as to how he feels about me doing "only" eight hours yesterday/Tuesday.

Anyway, if it were just myself yesterday/Tuesday, would I have stayed late?  Yes.  Hey, it's just the work in The Fourth Department.  I remember being stressed and overwhelmed when I started off.  But you know what?  I got used to it.  Like I have said many times before, I hate change until I adapt.  Also like I have said many times before, this position has gotten way easier for me once I knew how most of the processes are supposed to work and remembered to whom I need to talk to to get the information I need.  That is the vast majority of the work, and the source of my throw-my-hands-up frustration when I started this position.  That is over and done with.  This job isn't hard.  It's long, but it's not hard.  And I wonder if my boss understands that I hold this distinction -- or cares.

So I guess I need to get real and get down to the brass tacks of this: I have come to enjoy the extra money I get from working in The Fourth Department.  Let me state this: I do not milk my time here.  Despite what I know my boss believes, I am busting my fucking ass every goddamn hour back there trying to get the work done as best as possible -- but yes, I take my breaks and my lunchtime, too.  My co-worker and supervisor get the work done sooner.  As I have said many times here in WAF before, I don't know how the fuck they do it, but I know that I like how I do my job, and I am proud of my work, and I sure as shit will not change ... and, I will get paid for it.

And I think that's the crux of this matter to my boss.  He is under enormous pressure not to give me OT, and OT is what I have been racking up for many months now.  So he imposes this move.  It may be to "help me out," but I think my boss and I both know that if he weren't under so much pressure to cut costs, he would let me do things my way.  So, what he is doing to force me to take stuff off of my plate represents, to me, another change.  And not only do I hate change, but I hate this type of change, the type that is also going to take money out of my wallet.  I have gotten used to doing this position all by my lonesome.  Frankly, I relish it now.  (More on this on my next blog post.)  I have gotten used to the long hours and the commensurate pay that goes along with it (although I should check my pay stub today at work to be sure I am getting paid for all the hours I have worked).  That is being taken away from me.  And while it is a massive blow to my pride and my manhood, I really don't appreciate the "obvious ulterior motive" I have been talking about all this time: To make sure I work only 40 hours and therefore not be paid time-and-a-half.

The time to "help me out," frankly, was back when started in The Fourth Department, when I was so angry at this job that I wanted to launch my head into the monitors because I was staying ten hours at work.  But that didn't come.  I was left to fend for myself, and while I was and am stressed out, I finally did fend for myself.  And now he's unhappy that I have settled upon my way of doing it.  I guess one could say that he was waiting for me to understand the job to the point where he thinks I should be doing it all under eight hours.  To which I say: Bullshit, if you think you can do the job that fast you are either doing a shitty job or I've been praying to the wrong god all this time.

I have nothing to apologize for.  So frankly, I am afraid my temper is going to get the best of me.  This overtime situation is coming to the fore.  This is my last day of the week in The Fourth Department.  From here on out, I am doing this only half of the week -- another change from what I am used to (although, to be fair, I was told in advance this was the plan all along).  That will allow my boss to tell me to leave early on a Thursday or Friday, presumably, just so I don't work overtime anymore.  I am really going to chafe if/when he tells me that, and on top of this bullshit move he pulled on me yesterday/Tuesday (I stammered out an, "Yeah, I understand," and I shouldn't have said that, but I wanted to not pitch a fit right there and scream, "You just fucking pulled this out of nowhere, man, and I don't appreciate it" instead), I really might snap at him.  I might say, "If you think I'm working so slow back here, maybe you should be honest with me and tell me I'm not working back here any longer.  How's that?!"  I hate how he is now nosing in on this cozy situation I have finally figured out for myself.  He ain't fucking leaving me alone, and that is costing me both my autonomy and my paycheck.

---

Partly because of the work in The Fourth Department and partly because I am mourning the impending part-time change (or change back) away from The Fourth Department, I am going to one of my favorite speakeasies after work today/Wednesday, regardless of how stressful the day is or isn't.  After all the bullshit I got and will get piled on me, I think I am entitled to a drink or two.

All The Times I Said I Just Had The Worst Day At Work Ever? I Lied -- Yesterday Was The Worst Day At Work Ever

Yeah, I totally mean it this time.  Worked my maximum (self-imposed) ten hours yesterday/Monday.  And while there have been days when I have left work, I don't think I have ever left this much work.  My job in The Fourth Department is to call and e-mail for missing information before we can begin urine tests.  Once I get that info, I can inform the lab that they can go ahead and begin testing.  There were answers that came in before noon that I didn't get to.  I know I have never done that before.

Hell yeah I'm gonna make excuses.  It was a Monday.  Also, I took Thursday and Friday off, so I was, in no way, in "game shape."  Mondays always have a cavalcade of shit waiting for me, and while it wasn't a record, it was more than enough for a long day.  Finally, and I don't mean to throw them under the bus, I think a lot of work was left for me from Friday.  Just sayin'.

I took a quick glimpse at all the e-mails I left when I turned off the computer that I'll have to confront in the morning.  And that doesn't take into account all the new work that comes in today/Tuesday, which, although never as bad as a Monday, can be plenty bad.  And then I have worry about my boss possibly (probably?) wondering why and how in the hell I had to stay an extra two hours when, presumably, the other people who work The Fourth Department can leave after just eight.  He's still bitching about overtime.  Man, I bust my ass and he still might not be happy?  Jfc, man.

Expenses Without Receipts

Man, I keep letting these slip.  Starting from Sunday, October 22:

• And actually we will go back to Friday the 20th, when, for the first time in over two years, I got to sink my dick into ****e.  She got on top this time, for the first time!  I'm pretty sure I didn't cum inside her.  Otherwise, it was like everything was back to normal and the Earth got put back on its axis.  Thank Buddha!  Cost: $120
• Afterwards I had time to go to Moler to get my face shaved.  I said recently that customer service matters to me.  And so I will praise whenever I get great service, like I did with Q.  This man is good, I hope he has a bright future, whatever he wants to do.  With tip: $13.
• Back to Thursday the 19th, which is a date I selected for aggregating nearly all the times I threw in money for the lottery pool at work as Powerball went up to $1.77 billion.  I think we threw in four times (and I hope I'm not missing out on, say, a Monday jackpot that we actually did get tickets for), so that means: $16.
• What I actually did on this date -- after the sprinkler guy came to winterize the system -- was get my shoes shined downtown.  With tip: $20.
• And then afterward, seeing as I had a few minutes left on my meter parking, I went up to Cardigan Donuts (a place that is getting well regarded on the donut scene) and splurged for a filled clove donut.  I noticed that I had a penny owed me for change, but the guy didn't give it to me.  He probably thought it was no big deal.  This may be Gen X of me, but I am owed what I am owed.  Sheesh.  So forswearing that penny and with tip, the whole shebang set me back: $5.10.
• We go back to Monday, October 2 ... I had the day off because my supervisor, who usually takes Mondays off, needed to switch with me because she needed me to fill in for her that Saturday.  That gave me the opportunity to get a handjob from *****a.  Glad I could do it, even though I continue to have to take my time to summon up my cum.  Total: $150.
• And now we go back to Friday, September 29: I have separated the pool money for work on this date from the ones in October because ... well, just because: $4.
• Later in the evening, ********a came from out west to rub me down.  It's great to see her, and it's great to have her hands touch my body.  And not even in a sexual way, although she grabs my ass and she lets her fingers graze my cock.  I'll take it!  Cost: $100.
• To Wednesday the 27th, where I threw new-looking quarters into my cup of storage: $1.75.
• Back on Thursday the 21st, as I came back from my day trip to Decorah, Iowa, I went through Albert Lea, where I stopped by the Aragon Bar.  I had heard a few of my former stripper girlfriends had or have worked there, and I wanted to see if could serendipitously see them.  Nope, that was not the case.  I saw three girls there -- none of them familiar, two of them on the chubby side.  I didn't stay to get dances, although I wondered if I could have whipped it out if I had the chance.  I only got a Bud Light there before I left after an ... hour?  With tip: $5.
• Friday, September 15 -- had the day off (can't remember why) and I took the occasion to drive down to where ******e is living in south Minneapolis so I could get jacked off by her.  You know, at time of this writing, she is planning to move to Wisconsin to live with my longest stripper girlfriend, ***e*.  Those two have known each other a long time -- and they have double-teamed me on several occasions.  I thought ******e said she was going to stay at that place till the end of the year.  For all I know she still intends to, but a move to Wisconsin with all the stuff she has and her kids to move might take some time.  Anyway, she whacked me off to the tune of: $120.
• That evening I had to go to Caffetto to work on some stuff.  Tea, carrot cake and tip: $9.21.
• I had Tuesday, September 12 off too, so I got my shoes shined.  With tip: $20.
• Then up to Cardigan Donuts.  I think I have (or had and recycled) the receipt for it, so this EWR is only for the tip, which was: $1.

Good through October 22.

It's A Beautiful Day Outside. Why Am I Staying In?

Because I'm spending too much money and I have designs on cleaning around the house.  I have made spaghetti (tapping one of the numerous plastic tubs of spaghetti sauce Mother made for me before my parents left) and will eat a burger later.  As for chores?  Eh, I'll take a nap first.

To be pedantic, even though I am not spending any money "today," I technically did charge to my credit card on this calendar day a ticket (via a discount given to me by T-Mobile Tuesdays) to see Killers Of The Flower Moon after midnight but before I went to bed.  To me, since I haven't spent any money since I woke up, I haven't spent any money "today."  OK, maybe I'm not being pedantic -- I'm being a liar.

I guess I have to admit that I'm taking it easy on myself even though there's a ton of stuff I could do.  A lazy Sunday inside for me ... even though it's gorgeous outside.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher football (Re-Entry!).  P. J. Fleck, all is forgiven for that stupid-ass Northwestern Loss -- you've just won Floyd Of Rosedale!  First time since 2014, and the first time the U. has won it at Iowa City since 1999!  They were helped tremendously by, let's just say, a very technical "invalid fair catch signal" that wiped away a Hawkeye go-ahead Punt Return For A Touchdown.  But it seemed to be in the rules, and Justin Walley made it official with the late Interception to seal a 12-10 Gophers victory.

(Oh, going back to the "all is forgiven" part?  Nah.  I was joking.  Fleck has won back some of the detractors yesterday/Saturday afternoon, but not all.  Also, I don't think he's going to back off on asking the university and boosters for more NIL, so there's still a non-zero chance he leaves after this Year.  Hell, this Win might enhance the possibility he moves on.)

They're not in the College Football Playoff conversation, and I doubt anyone's thinking they'll get to Indianapolis.  But spirits are brighter now that they've won a trophy Game very few people thought they would win.  For those reasons, they're not above negative numbers, but they are solidly on top of the heap.  Can they follow that up with another Win Saturday at home versus Michigan St.?

#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1).  I want to make a correction: This team played only one Game this screening Week, not three.  That Game was a 2-1 nail-biter over St. Cloud St. Tuesday at Ridder Arena.  I didn't look at the U. athletic website right; their big two-Game series at Ohio St. (which, BTW, begins WCHA play) is this Friday and Saturday.  I regret the error.

#-3: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4).  After home Wins this past Week over Northwestern Sunday (albeit in five, eesh) and Rutgers Friday (via sweep, something they failed to when they lost at Piscataway), I guess they're place in the NCAAs is ensured.  That's something ... right?

By the way, while watching my alma mater embarrass themselves and shame everyone who set foot on campus, I saw #1 Wisconsin play #2 Nebraska in Lincoln last/Saturday night on a separate TV; it was being broadcast on the Big Ten Network.  Scintillating match; the Cornhuskers prevailed in five Sets on a successful Coaches' Challenge (the Referees said that the Husker Attack that went out of bounds was not touched by Wisconsin hands; Nebraska Head Coach John Cook said it was).  BTN I think is showing more and more volleyball Matches on Saturday nights, and that's a good thing; I believe there is a growing audience and appetite to watch this "Olympic" sport on television, and seeing such a big Match will in turn attract more eyeballs and whet more appetites.  Next Sunday, according to the U. athletic website, Minnesota's road Game against Wisconsin will be shown on, get this, Fox/Channel 9.  If you're a market (and I'm talking nationwide here) that will get one Game that's in the early window, you're going to see that Match after that Game.  I think it's time.

Till then, the Gophs finish up a three-Game homestand this/Sunday afternoon against Michigan St., then visit ranked Purdue Thursday.

#-4: Vikings (Last Week: -6).  Beat the Bears in Chicago last Sunday, 19-13, but as much of an asshole Dan Barreiro is, he's right; if you had to hold on to beat a club who had to go to its backup, and if that backup came from Division II Shepherd University (that's in Shepherdstown, W. V. -- oh, and his name is Tyson Bagent, and he holds the current NCAA record [across all flights] for Touchdown Passes in a career), that ain't an impressive Win.  I mean, I'll take it, but yeah, there's a reason I opted to volunteer to work that afternoon instead of watching that crap.  And besides, they're now 2-4, and they have a home date with San Francisco for Monday Night Football, and even though Deebo Samuel will not play and Christian McCaffrey might not play, and this is the unpredictable National Football League, that record is going to be 2-5 pretty quick.

#-5: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -2).  Hey, no men's top-flight college hockey team is going to go undefeated.  And it's pretty much tradition that the #1-ranked team in the nation loses every Week.  It happened to the U. as they renewed their hated rivalry with North Dakota over the weekend.  They clowned The Fighting Hawks 4-0 Friday night, but got clipped by them last/Saturday night, 2-1.  Sure, they'll fall from the top spot in the poll.  I'm thinking they'll get back up there this season ... and then go back down again.

The squad begins Big Ten play at home vs. Wisconsin or two Thursday and Friday.

#-6: Wild (Last Week: -5).  I was going to say that they when these guys lose, they get blown out; see Los Angeles coming into St. Paul Thursday and destroying the Mild, 7-3.  But then they lost another home tilt last/Saturday night to Columbus in Overtime.  (They did beat the Canadiens in Montreal, 5-2, Tuesday as Les Habs committed penalty after stupid penalty, and the Wild scored not one but two Shorthanded Goals on the same Montreal Power Play.)

The effects of the Parise & Suter buyouts are biting hard on this organization right now.  They were so cash-strapped at the beginning of the screening Week that the large club, the Wild, had to go with one fewer skater than a team can usually roster because they simply didn't have the cap space.  That situations relieved itself when Alex Goligoski went on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR), so the franchise got enough wiggle room to call up Gopher alum Sammy Walker from AAA Iowa.  That doesn't help the defensive corps, which is still riddled with injury (Jared Spurgeon is still out) and, as evinced by the defeat to the Kings, sucks right now.

This Week: Home to Edmonton Tuesday, then at Philadelphia and Washington Thursday and Friday.

#-7: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  Yeah, remember when I said in last Week's WMNSS that these women had the chance to reach the B1G Tournament.  Yeah, fuck that, because not only did they lose both Matches this screening Week, they got shut out in both -- 2-0 at home to Nebraska last Sunday, 3-0 at Northwestern Thursday.  They are now eliminated from all postseason play.  And it makes three straight seasons in the three-Year tenure of Head Coach Erin Chastain's tenure that she has failed to take her alma mater into the NCAA Tournament.

The conference's Decision Day is this/Sunday afternoon; they are at winless (in league play) Purdue.

#-Infinity: United FC (Re-Entry!).  Well, of course they weren't going to make the playoffs despite what the most delusional fans (let alone MNUFC itself) tried to convince you otherwise.  They had to win in the season finale at Sporting Kansas City, a place where they've never won a regular-season Match.  (They have, however, won once there before -- in the 2020 postseason, a scintillating 3-0 Win.  You know, the one with Emanuel Reynoso's three Assists and Kevin Molino's Brace [Bakaye Dibassy scored the other Goal]?  Remember that this was during the pandemic, where no one was there to watch, and this Match was shown on Fox/Channel 9 because the scheduled NFL Game was postponed because of an outbreak of COVID.  I want to think this helped ratings for Major League Soccer and lifted recognition of our Loons.  You don't remember?)

Interim Manager Sean McAuley assembled a Christmas tree 4-3-2-1 formation; Reynoso had the right side alongside Franco Fragapane with Teemu Pukki being the "star."  Frankly, though, it didn't work.  They went down at Halftime, 2-0, and eventually ended their playoff appearance streak at four with a 3-1 Loss.  I was out seeing my alma mater underachieve again last/Saturday night, but from what I heard, the XI couldn't be bothered to fucking play with any urgency.  Sounds a lot like the football team I watched.

My initial instinct is to blow it all up.  I say that because -- well, sorry to go on and on about this, but because of the bullshit I saw from my alma mater last night.  But while I think the Backline needs some serious shoring up (a point of view I don't think too many MNUFC watchers and fans are speaking up about), the big thing that ruined this season were the blown leads.  They blew 16 of them over 14 Matches (in all competitions although, to be fair, I think the two Matches in which they blew two leads were not in MLS play).  The Loooooooooooooooons were tied for second in Points dropped from a winning position, with 22.  Counterpoint: The club that finished tied with MNUFC, Columbus, and the squad that led the league in that dubious category, Charlotte, both made the playoffs.

Regardless, blowing leads is a problem with tactics and motivation, and that falls on Adrian Heath, and he was fired about two Weeks ago.  There might need to be some new blood -- should Will Trapp go?  Could Michael Boxall?  Egad, could Rey leave? -- and of course they have to spend, but is it possible the personnel just weren't in a position to excel?  Not to put on rose-colored glasses, but these guys were fighting for a spot until the final Game.  Maybe they're not far off, or gone.  Or, maybe I am one of those delusional fans.

Still Haunted By The Ticking, Still Yearning For The Silence

The electrostatic cells are still tick-tick-ticking.  I was woken up yesterday/Friday morning with it (before falling asleep), and then I heard it this/Saturday morning, and this time it kept me up.  I went through and wiped all the ... um, ionizing wires and plates (?) as fastidiously as I could one one of the plates.  And the clicking I heard the past two mornings appears to sound different than it/they did when I first heard them -- it wasn't as loud, but it have been more frequent.  Maybe it worked, and now I have to wipe/clean the other cell.  Or, maybe I'm just deluding myself.

I told my parents about this.  They said that after cleaning the sound doesn't stop, call my uncle over.  I love him and I would love the help and I would love the help to be free, but I have no idea how my uncle would be able to fix this.  I am close to calling in a person -- not only am I bothered by that sound, but whenever the furnace stops, I heard a dripping reverberating through the ductwork, and I wonder if that means there's a leak or something -- but I'm scared that he'll come over, check things out, do something real quick, say something to the effect of, "Yeah, the dripping sound you hear is normal," then charge me $200.

Rather than get screwed, I'd sooner live with the sounds.  I no longer am afraid that the snapping noise from the cells is an indication that there's a gas leak or the pilot light's about to go out.  (I actually was able to locate the pilot light; it's there and it seems fine.)  And the dripping has been going on for years; I'm only freaked out about it now because no one lives here now.  But like the clicking that goes away once the temperature reaches the setting on the thermostat, the dripping sound goes away ... uh, a while after the heat shuts off, too.  The silence so relieves me of my anxiety that I actually seek it.  I am turning down the temperature on the thermostat so I don't have to hear either sound.  I think I crave it so much that I will risk freezing the house to keep the silence.

So maybe I should try washing the other cell to see if I can eliminate that noise, then take the dripping noise under advisement.

Addendum To: Addendum To: Everything Hinges On When The Sprinkler Guy Comes

Oh, by the way, he came over at 1:30 in the afternoon.  I was about to put something in the oven because I was both starving and bored.  Really nice guy, he was done blowing out the sprinklers in 15-20 minutes.  Sure, I wish he would have been here in the late morning or something, but he has a reason for being on his schedule.  Besides, I was able to get my shoes shined and eat at the taco place; I did the shaving and the grocery shopping yesterday/Friday, and I didn't have to push anything else back yesterday/Friday because of it.  In the end, it turned out just fine!

Will The Van Get Me To My Fuck Session?

So I was finally able to snag a time to see and, after more than a year, fuck ****e.  God, I haven't had my dick sucked in a long time.  And I need to feel my cock sinking into someone who's willing to take me inside her.

Obviously I can't wait.  The last time I fucked her was, I think, August of 2021.  She's been both everywhere and a ghost, so I will try and catch up with what she's been doing the past 26 months.  With that being said, I have committed to having both dinner and a game night with two separate factions of the local ... group of smart people I'm a part of.  The dinner is in Edina, the game night is around my neck of the woods.  It'll be a pain in the ass to go down to the other side of town and back a second time in a day (even though, for the record, yesterday/Thursday I went downtown twice, once in the afternoon to get my shoes shined and then in the evening for the Ravi Coltrane concert at the Dakota), especially since ****e lives in Burnsville.

I don't want to use just one car to traverse all around the metro area when I have another one at my disposal.  But since going to this dinner (it's a buffet salad bar ... intriguing) will have me stuck in the middle of afternoon rush, I am taking my parents' minivan to see and fuck ****e.  I have actually driven the van that far to her house before; some time in the intervening 26 months since I fucked ****e, I drove down there to see if she was actually there and she just didn't want to talk to me.  I got intimidated when I saw the open garage door and what appeared to be a man rummaging in there.  I have also put air in all the tires and made sure there's enough oil and coolant in there.  (When I changed the battery, I thought the antifreeze was low; turned out I wasn't looking close enough and it wasn't, and I overfilled it.  I hope to God I'm not hurting the van.)  Nevertheless, it's a very old van, and it would be just my luck if, Buddha forbid, it starts to overheat or something.  I'm just using the van as a straight shot there and back, and it'll help that I don't think I'll be driving during times I'll run into traffic.  But I cannot see and screw ****e as much as I want because she lives so damn far away from me.  Considering my choice to use the older work van is another potential way something could go wrong.

But I want to be positive.  I need my penis to be physically stimulated, and I will drive to the ends of the earth with an overheating 30-year-old jalopy if I get the opportunity.  I just hope that all will be OK.

Addendum To: Everything Hinges On When The Sprinkler Guy Comes

So as of 1 p.m., still no sprinkler guy.  Pretty much everything is ruined.  I could have eaten at the taco place and gotten my shoes shined, and possibly done my grocery shopping and got my face shaved, by now.  But I can't do any of that because the guy isn't fucking here.

What I wanted to say in the previous blog post is that I wondered whether I noted here in Wailing And Failing what time the sprinkler guy came to winterize the system in previous years.  That might give me an idea when they'd get around.  I don't remember anyone coming this late in the day.  Whatever; it may not matter that in previous years the guy came around in the morning because it has no bearing if the guy today comes at, oh, 4:30.  All I know is that my plans are thoroughly ruined, and even though I can't blame him, because it's not his fault, this is seriously fucking crimping what I want to do today.

Everything Hinges On When The Sprinkler Guy Comes

I have plans, but they're not set yet because I don't know when this guy is going to come over and winterize the sprinkler system.  I want to get my shoes shined, dine al fresco at this taco place, buy groceries, get my face shaved, and cash in on the lottery tickets that hit.  But I don't know if I can do that because I don't know when this winterizier is coming.  Could be 7:30 in the morning.  Could be 4 o'clock in the late afternoon.  I don't know.  All I know is I am going to be home to get his call, and I won't leave the house until he's done.  Now, whether or not I will have to alter or even cancel plans, well, that's up in the air.

I'm about to pass out now, so I will make this blog post very short and then go to bed.

Customer Service Sucks And I Don't Mind Saying So

Man, I think I'm entitled to basic manners like eye contact and saying goodbye.  And yet last week while working the Twins Game I was telling the press box concession lazyass he's run out of coffee lids and he tells me he already told his supervisors about it while scrolling through his phone, probably looking at TikTok while on the clock.  And just now, when I made an appointment for my check-up (which is fucking December, for crissake), she confirms the appointment, I say thank you, and she just hangs up.

I don't think I'm an entitled douchebag to expect decency when it comes to customer service, or any interaction between strangers.  Is that so difficult?  And I really don't get people who don't care about customer service, who think just getting what you want matters.  How transactional of a prick are you to think like that?  Does being kind mean nothing to you?  Am I the asshole for wanting that?

The After-Second Shift Munchies

I weighed 176 pounds on Monday.  Very disappointing for me.  Didn't think I ate that much up to that point, but assuming the scale isn't broken, it don't lie.

I am working second shift Monday through today, then getting the rest of the week off.  (Tomorrow/Thursday the guy from the sprinkler company is coming over to winterize the system, and I want to be there for that.  Then, I have some paid time off to burn, so I thought to just make a long weekend over it.)  I usually buy sandwiches beforehand to eat for lunch, then drink tea and the pop I also bought, and that would be my dinner.  That doesn't seem that calorie-rich, and I don't think it is.  But in each of the past two days, and for all I can remember every time I work second shift, as soon as I get home past midnight, I'm eating something.  This time around it's either Doritos with french onion dip or peanuts.  I think my diligence at work is suppressing my body and my appetite so that once I'm done, my urge to eat is unleashed like an animal freed from a cage.  And depending on how much I eat (which, if you remember, is on top of the sandwich and pop and tea I usually consume at work), it might blow my self-imposed calorie restriction.

But I'm hungry, darn it, you know?  Eh, I might as well be on laxatives on a regular basis if I want to lose weight. ...

Addendum To: Beset On All Sides

And yesterday I was able to do the yardwork I planned on doing: Mowing and feeding both lawns.  (Funny story: I thought I wasn't going to be able to mow the lawns because the lawnmower wouldn't start.  I was getting ready to just feed, but I pulled the cord and it finally started.  It took about 20 minutes off and on.  I thought Father took out the sparkplug or something.  I hadn't used it in a long time, but I didn't think that the mower would die or something.)  And I still feel like I have an overwhelming amount of stuff to do.  Cleaning the electrostatic cells remain a burden in my mind.  And there really isn't any pressing matter I have to do, but those damn cells and the tick-tick-ticking sound they continue to make still bother the hell out of me.

---

One of my stripper friends, *****e*, moved from Minnesota to Miami a few years ago without telling me.  But I follow her on Twitter.  It looks like she is building a career as a social media-savvy escort.  Anyway, on Sunday I stumbled upon a tweet of her, outside on the beach on a cloudy day with a fanny pack on, flashing her humongous tits on her cellphone.  And I said, "Yep, gotta jerk off to that."  And I did.

And I still feel overwhelmed at all the stuff I think I need to do.

Beset On All Sides

It's a testament to how many problems are in my life right now that I spent the weekend replacing the car battery on the minivan and I still don't think I accomplished much.

The damn electrostatic cells are clack-clack-clacking still, but at least I know for sure that it's the cells and not the pre- or post-filters or something more major.  Huge credit to Father, though, I must say; although it seems so simple now, he suggested that I take out the pre-filters and then run the furnace to see if the ticking continued.  Make an experiment out of this by isolating each individual part to hone in on where specifically the problem is -- of course!  I think I was afraid I'd break the furnace, but at this point, who cares.  And even though I kind of knew it was the cells, running the furnace without them and hearing nothing but beautiful silence was the evidence I need and, more importantly, it gave me the feeling that I am successfully working toward a solution, even though I felt like I knew what it was.  Now I just have to get over hearing that noise whenever the heat comes on.  I get so on edge hearing it that I would rather the furnace be off, and that's not good because I can't let the house freeze either.

The next thing I need to worry about are the yards.  I plan on making one final mow of both in the morning (or early afternoon), then seed them both.  Easy job, but I might be pushing it if I procrastinate.  It's great to do this when I am working second shift, but my body clock will be out of whack for at least a day, so I'm hoping I can come through with my plans.

Oh, and then the leaves, the damn leaves.  I will mow the ones on the yards to mulch -- I think they say that's a good thing -- but we're at peak now, which means there are many more leaves that have yet to fall.  Last year I tried raking them all, but I failed.  This year I don't even want to bag them up and take them to the county composting site.  I'd rather take out the lawnmower and mulch the hell out of them again.  But that also takes time.

Eh, so beset on all sides. ...

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -2).  Swept St. Thomas by a combined 12-0 over the weekend.  The 8-0 rout Friday was played in the afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center as part of a women's & men's college hockey Doubleheader between the two schools; see the men below.

Other than that, blah-blah-blah, tournament.  Busy Week ahead: They host St. Cloud St. on a rare Tuesday tilt, then visit Ohio St. Friday and Saturday for a two-Game series.

#-2: Gopher men's hockey (NEW SEASON!).  In one way, last Year's title-Game losers didn't ease their way into the new season: The club's first regular season Game was back on Friday night as the back end of the U./St. Thomas college hockey DH at the X.  But since they were playing The Tommies, they were easing their way into the start of the season.

Or so they thought.  The Gophers made it 2-0 after one Period, but St. Thomas then scored four straight.  Minnesota then scored three in a row, only for The Tommies to tie it with about seven Minutes left to go in regulation.  Then, in the cheap scheme known as 3x3 Overtime, Jimmy Snuggerud scored the Game-ender by jetting past a Tommies Defender and getting one past St. Thomas Goalie Aaron Trotter.  I thought about going to the Game but decided against it because I have triskaidekaphobia.  The Gophs then completed the home-and-home sweep last/Saturday night by beating The Tommies by a more-comfortable 3-0 score.

They should retain their ranking, whether it be 2 or 1, for next Week, a Week in which they'll revive their cooled-off rivalry with North Dakota this weekend in Grand Forks, N. D.

#-3: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -4).  Hmmm ... just as I was ready to write these women off, they rip off a pair of Wins at home (3-1 over Illinois on Sunday, 2-0 over Ohio St. Thursday) to put them in the conversation for the conference tournament.  With three Matches and two screening Weeks left, the Golden Gophers (along with Iowa) are only two Points behind The Buckeyes, Michigan and Rutgers for sixth.  Now, they face a red-hot Nebraska outfit this/Sunday afternoon to finish up their three-Game homestand (as well as wrap up the home portion of their schedule), but as the Cornhuskers have won their last three, the U. is unbeaten in its last three.  A visit to Northwestern comes Thursday.

#-4: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -7).  This team rebounded from their humiliating sweep at the Atlantic schools by sweeping Michigan in Ann Arbor -- guess they're not as good right now as they historically are -- on Wednesday.  But those back-to-back Losses to Maryland and Rutgers feels fatal to their tournament hopes.  They begin a three-Game homestand with contests versus Northwestern Sunday and Rutgers Friday.

#-5: Wild (NEW SEASON!).  It's, er, wild to see all the U. teams ranked before the pro teams for this Week's survey.  But to be a Minnesota sports fan is to know pain, and to be pain, and then to become pain.  Anyway, the Mild started their season Thursday by beating Stanley Cup Finals Losers Florida, 2-0, on home ice.  They then went to Toronto last/Saturday night and ruined their perfect record as they got clubbed by the Maple Leafs, 7-4.  Auston Matthews notched a Hat Trick; he becomes only the fifth player in National Hockey League history to open a season with consecutive Hat Tricks, and only the second to do so in the past 105 seasons.  For the record, Alex Ovechkin did it in 2017, and then you have to go back an exact Century, to 1917, to see that feat accomplished -- and, by chance, it was done by three players.

Oh, but back to the Wild: Is anybody really thinking these guys are going to do anything special?  This is the second of four Years where the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are damaging the organization's salary cap, and this is the first of two seasons where those buyouts bite the hardest, with a $14.7 million salary cap hit.  (It was only $12.7 million last season.)  They're banking on Rookies to grow up fast and become superstars and scorers (Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, Brock Faber) because they have no other way to improve the team.  And yet, writers and analytics people think the Mild will reach the playoffs ... and summarily excuse themselves out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as soon as they walk in.  I think I've said that same shit for the past Decade about this squad now.  Why in the fuck should we think this season will be any different?

You wanna jazz up this organization?  Take back The North Stars name, logo, colors and history.  Do that -- and make sure Dallas doesn't get to use any North Stars intellectual property -- and I'll be yours forever.

This Week: In Montreal Tuesday, then home to Los Angeles Thursday and Columbus Saturday.

#-6: Vikings (Last Week: -3).  It was a lot closer than I initially thought it would be.  But honestly, it was Patrick Mahomes making plays out of nowhere that helped his Bastard Dallas Texans walk out of Ooooooosbahhhhhhhhhhhnk Stadium with a 27-10 victory.  That pushed the Vikes down to 1-4.  Worse yet, the turf monster apparently was hungry in Minneapolis as both Justin Jefferson and Travis Kelce slipped on the ... whatever that is and were slow to get up.  Jefferson got victimized by it badly; he's out 4-6 Weeks with a bad hamstring.

So the season's over, even though no one is saying it is.  Talk continues to foment that the squad should just trade Kirk Cousins.  It makes sense, but no one seriously believes that'll happen, mostly because Cousins has a no-trade clause.  So we are just playing out the string; this/Sunday afternoon they face The Bears in Chicago, who are also 1-4 but might be very close to hitting rock bottom.

#-Infinity: Twins (Last Week: -1).  As a Minnesota sports fan, I'm used to seeing so many good Twin Cities clubs play their way into a postseason only to be eliminated nowhere near the championship series/Game that, when the Twinks were finally bumped off by The Houston Asterisks, all I could do was shrug.  I mean, at least they broke their 18-Game postseason losing streak, then won their Wild Card Series vs. Toronto.  That's ... something.  And as a beaten and abused Minnesota sports fan, we'll take it.

Now, seeing that of the four Division Series, the underdog won three of them, and the fourth were the Twinks, that hurts and I think the franchise is responsible for knuckling under the superior Trashtros when Philadelphia, Arizona and The Bastard Washington Senators v.2.0 were able to overcome home-field advantage.  And yeah, I know Minnesota won Game 2 in Houston.  But they lost Games 3 and 4 in Minneapolis, and that was fucking humiliating.  (I couldn't even stand to watch it, and I was working both Games!  I paced outside by the production trucks while the Games were on, and it turns out that was the right decision.)  So, this wasn't the worst playoff Loss in Minnesota sports history, it may not even reach the middle of the list, but it has its low points.

What to do in the offseason?  Say goodbye to Byron Buxton, figure out their Starting Rotation (I think Kenta Maeda is the first starter out the door, but I want to keep him around), and hope to Buddha Royce Lewis comes back to Ft. Myers at 100%.  They get all those things right and ... they'll be back in the playoffs and I'll pray they don't go out like bitches.

Too Many Clicking Noises

Wish I had a weekend to myself.  Well, that's not going to happen really until college football season is over.  And there is a distinct possibility I will be strongly encouraged to come in on Sunday to work on the backlog of forms that need typing.  But even if I didn't have those things looming over my weekend, wicked ol' me still wouldn't have any rest because I have two distinct problems I need to deal with.

I still hear the clacking sound whenever the furnace kicks in.  I no longer am concerned that the cause of that ticking is a gas leak or a bad pilot light, either of which could, conceivably, lead to the house exploding.  But after doing what one Internet site said and cleaned the housing inside the furnace cell area, I still hear.  It's a lot quieter, however, which leads me to believe I cleaned up some debris in there that is the source of the arcing.  I will look further ... if I have the energy.

And then the battery in my parents' minivan appears to have died.  I had trouble starting it Monday when I was going to the gym, but I eventually got it to work.  I thought it was just a case of not using that car as much as I should, but I tried to start it up the other day and I all I got was the click-click-clicking noise of a tapped-out battery.  I will check, but that has to be an old battery.  And I suddenly feel unsafe having one car and no back-up, so getting to the bottom of this battery suddenly becomes a top priority.

Beset on all sides, man, beset on all sides. ...

Cellphone Battery's Crap Now

I should get into this more -- if I haven't blog posted this already -- but the battery in my cellphone is going downhill rapidly.  Don't exactly know when, but it's just hemorrhaging energy right now.  What used to be a steady but slow loss of juice over the course of the workday has become a much more rapid loss of power.  And just now, after I unplugged it (I plug it in before I go to bed every night so my phone's at 100% once I wake up in the morning -- everybody does this, right?) to take a quick scroll through my phone, the battery goes from 100 to 99%.  I don't think I've ever seen that before.  I unplug it to look at, like, my e-mail and after 60 seconds I lose one percentage point of energy.

The phone is showing its age in a lot of other ways, too, but the battery life is annoying the hell out of me now.  I really am not looking forward to replacing it because I don't want to spend another damn grand on a phone, for crissake. ... 

I Thought Walking Was Supposed To Be Good For You

So I worked the Twins Games the past two days.  The majority of my work came in the several hours before the actual Games, where I run this place to get that, etc.  Once the Games started (and this usually happens when I'm working as a gopher), I was largely left to my own devices.  And since I'm a bitch for sports and I live or die with all Twin Cities sports teams, I couldn't bring myself to watch.  I hung outside for most of both Games -- partly because I didn't want to catch COVID, but mostly because I couldn't bear to watch the Twins lose and get eliminated.  Which they did last night.

But there isn't a whole lot to do.  There usually isn't in jobs like this, but moreso when everybody to whom you would need to get something is preoccupied with doing the Game.  So I just stayed outside ... and walked.  Well, more like paced back and forth while charging my phone, checking my News app and staying like hell away from Twitter.  There wasn't much to do beyond that, and besides, I needed to get my steps in.

But damn my knees and legs and feet and heels hurt right now!  That seems to happen whenever I am standing for long periods of time, but moreso now that I'm old as fuck.  I feel it most in my knees, and the possibility I'll lose walking function because of my knees frightens me.  Maybe it's my Doc Martens; they really weren't the most comfortable shoes to be on when I broke them in, and they're so old right now that they have got to have lost its natural cushion.

I'm reclining in my bed while blog posting this, of course, and the soreness in my legs is quite noticeable.  I hope that will abate with some sleep and sitting in a desk the next two days.  This is the price I pay for walking so much, I guess.  But if it hurts to walk, and if this eventually leads to (gulp) losing all mobility, what's all the walking for?  It can't be healthy if it damages my health, you know?

Work Early Or Work Late?

My call time for today's Twins Game was dependent on another Game.  How long I will be at work today depends on the Twins Game.  Know what I mean?

So the Twins Game was over after a half-Inning.  (Sonny Ryan, man, what happened?)  As much of a bummer that is (I thought they would win Game 3; I don't know what mood I'll be in if they lose Game 4 today and are eliminated at home), I would really be upset if I had to wake up at around 5:30 this morning to report to work.  That would have happened if we stayed at our original First Pitch time of 1 in the afternoon.  However, because Texas swept Baltimore to end that series last night, our Game tonight slips down to 6 o'clock because, of course, baseball fans hate a vacuum in prime time.  (Why that Game couldn't have been played before ours yesterday is a decision made well, way above me.)

However, if the series ends with a Houston win tonight, the production will have to "strike," or tear everything down.  If the Twins win and extend the series to a winner-takes-all Game 5 in Houston Friday, there is also a strike, but apparently because there is a possibility the production comes back to Minneapolis, the strike is not as extensive.  So I don't know how long I am going to have to stay after the Game and work.  I worked a Golden Gopher football Game several years ago that started at around 7.  Game ended around 10:30.  I was done around 2 or 3 in the morning, and that blindsided and exhausted the hell out of me.  I hope to God I don't have to stay that late, or worse, tonight.  (Frankly, I don't know how much of the strike we are supposed to do.  Most of that involves wires and cameras, and I don't do that stuff.)  I have to go back to work in the morning.

So I am all over the place as to what I want, or wanted.  I hate waking up early, but that would have meant I get done early.  I don't mind sleeping in late -- I got up before my alarm, which means my body is ready to be awake -- but that means I come home late.  And there's still the variable of possibly needing to stay late if the Twins lose.  Ideally, I go to work now and the Twins win and so the strike is as minimal as possible.  Worst-case scenario?  I get home at 3.  Who knows?

Have to remember I'm making money here -- and making money at my main job at the same time, too.

Ate Another Large Pizza By Myself; The Clacking Of The Furnace

And now there's this fucking tick-tick-ticking coming from the furnace.  It kicked on Sunday night, just as I turned on the space heater.  I don't think I've ever heard of such a noise before.

I, of course, tried researching on the Internet.  But I saw one too many websites saying, "Call your repairman because your house is about to explode!!!"  I tried washing the electric cells, but they don't seem to work.  What next?  Replacing it?

---

Oh, I ate another large pizza all by myself.  Little Caesar's, which I hadn't had in years.  It was a deal through T-Mobile Tuesdays.  It was a steal for three bucks, but I wasn't quite planning on eating it all.  I think it's the stress over this clack-clack-clacking I hear ... and the Twins Games I'm working today and tomorrow.  I should go to bed, but I'm too stressed out to sleep.  I am going to turn on the alarm on my laptop as well as my phone.  And hopefully the tick-tick-ticking from the damn heater isn't going to keep me awake.

I Just Went Through Fucking iPhone Update Hell

I spent about the past, oh, 90 minutes to two hours trying to update my iPhone but then needing to restore my iPhone after I got that dreaded goddamn "plug phone into your computer" screen.  I got obsessed with updating to the latest software (it was like a week after another fucking update -- really, Apple, the hackers are forcing you to make weekly updates now?), which led me to deleting a couple more of my apps (I erased a few for the previous update -- you know, I was going to blog post about the bullshit I went through for the previous update, but I never had the time to sit down for it so I just mentally kicked the can down the road) and then, after that didn't work, I thought I could just hook up my phone to iTunes on my laptop to update it.  But then something really, really bad happened and that's when I got that fucking "plug phone into your computer" screen.

I thought my phone was a goner.  I thought I would have to have one of those "Geniuses" at the Apple Store help me.  But I tried to update it again, and then back up my phone, and then finally restore my phone.  I don't know if I needed to just put my laptop level, plug it into an outlet so it was running on the house's power, or be very, very careful with the plug into my iPhone (that goddamn thing is making me crazy -- have I blog posted about that yet?), but on the third or fourth try, I got my phone unstuck.  I had to restore it, then back it up with everything I thankfully uploaded onto my lap before all this bullshit started.  I also had to guess the password to begin the restore, a password which is different from the iTunes password, and I was totally fucking guessing what that password was.  If I didn't guess right -- my God, I would have wiped whole phone clean, and I would have no idea how or even if I could get all the apps and phone numbers back into my iPhone.

But after a long goddamn while and re-doing my Face ID and putting in my credit cards, it looks as if my iPhone is where it was -- and it got updated to the latest software, too.  My long (if you want to say 90-120 minutes of looking at my cellphone praying it didn't die on you) national nightmare over losing my cell is over.  I would've been so lost without the use of my phone.  It's my lifeline to my family, my alarm clock, my security blanket in case I get stuck on the highway.  But I don't have to worry about that -- at least not until the next fucking update.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: -1).  I don't know if I should start with the good news of the bad news.  I'll start chronologically, with the good news.

So that motherfucking streak is over!  First, on Tuesday, they beat Toronto at Target Field for their first playoff Win (after an all-time, all-major sport streak of 18 straight postseason Losses) since 2004.  The next Day, the beat the Blue Jays again for their first playoff series Win since 2002.  Both tilts were tight affairs; the Twins won by scores of 3-1 and 2-0.  But the Defense was fantastic -- Carlos Correa is a cheater, but he made incredible defensive Outs in both Games -- and, by the way, Buddha bless Royce Lewis.  Also, God bless Blue Jays Manager John Schneider for doing what too many Managers do in the postseason (IMHO) and yank his Starting Pitcher, in this case former Twins Pitcher Jose Berrios, in the fourth Inning when Game 2 was still scoreless.

I hope Twins fans aren't exhaling.  I mean, I understand and they should, but in baseball, a team that is much better on paper can lose a series to an inferior team.  Now, that didn't happen yesterday/Saturday afternoon vs. the Asterisks in Houston as they dropped Game 1 of their Division Series, 6-4.  But Minnesota was down 5-0 against Trashstros Ace Justin Verlander and they fought back, which matters because it shows this young team, now that that goddamn cosmic yoke of The Losing Streak has been broken, ain't scared.  Unfortunately, Minnesota was the only road team of the four Div Series that lost, which means that the Twins top the survey but sit in negative numbers, so this could be a 3-0 sweep on our team.

Game 2 is tonight/Sunday night.  Games 3 and, if necessary 4 are Tuesday and Wednesday.  I am taking off both Days to help out the television production and hoping in my quiet little heart that I see them win the series at home.

#-2: Gopher women's hockey (NEW SEASON!!!).  Well, I think that we can expect this club to make it to the NCAA Tournament and then get upset by, like, fucking Colgate or something.  But that is later.  This is now, and the start of the season, when every good possibility lays in front of you.  And these Gophers take advantage with a sweep of The Rochester Institute Of Technology this weekend by a combined score of 8-1.

Like with most other seasons, there really is no reason to dwell on this squad until they beat the likes of Wisconsin and Ohio St.  St. Thomas is not one of those teams, and so we'll just state here that the U. has a quasi-home-and home with the Tommies, where the latter hosts Saturday but both outfits play at the X the afternoon before.

#-3: Vikings (Last Week: -6).  Well, finally.  The Vikes get off the schneid and broke their duck, defeating the Panthers in Charlotte, 21-13, last Sunday.  Carolina's probably a terrible club, but the Vikes, despite the final margin of victory, looked really good at many points as the contest went on.  The Defensive Line, in particular, was able to get to and maul Rookie Quarterback Bryce Young.

But let's not get all goo-goo-eyed here.  They're 1-3.  Season's over.  Especially knowing that The Bastard Dallas Texans and Taylor Swift are comin' (naw, she ain't comin' -- if she did, I think we would have known by now).  It may be closer than we think -- that Chiefs offense just isn't clicking, as if they're not of one Borg mind -- but the Vikes remain too deficient in too many areas to win this.  At least I don't think.

#-4: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -3).  Kind of surprised that this XI has a Week between Matches.  And on Sundays, no less.  I would assume that the Big Ten Network would like some live sports content during the Week, so they'd sneak in a Tuesday or Wednesday tilt.  Anyway, last Sunday, they went to Bloomington and fought ranked Indiana to a scoreless Tie.  They host Illinois this/Sunday afternoon; it ends about a half-hour before the Vikings Game starts.

#-5: United FC (Last Week: -4).  Well, the people who wanted #HeathOut finally got their wish.  And when the Looooooons scored first Wednesday at LAFC only to be bludgeoned, 5-1, I have to admit that I became one of them.  That chokejob was the XI's 15th blown lead in 13 Matches this Year in all Competitions, and they have blown leads in the past five Games if you includes last/Saturday night's contest at home vs. The Los Angeles Galaxy.  (To be clear, the statistic now stands at 16 blown leads over 14 Matches in all competitions in 2023.)  And so, after seven Years, the first Head Coach for Minnesota United in top-flight American soccer was relieved of his duties.

Look, I have nothing personal against the guy.  But it was obvious that his time had come.  He simply wasn't winning enough, and blowing lead after lead after lead this season had to piss off somebody in management.  He has a reputation for being the Striker Whisperer, but he tried to replace Christian Ramirez with scorer after scorer -- Mason Toye, Thomas Chacon, leading up to Teem Pukki right now -- and it didn't seem to work as well as we think it should.  And he doesn't use all of the substitutions he's allotted, meaning a lot of players are gassed near the end of a Match, making them more susceptible to allowing Game-tying, or -winning, Goals from the other side.

People who are acolytes of advanced statistics continue to insist MNUFC is a good team; it just needed a break every now and then.  I fall back to Bill Parcells, who says that "You are what your record says you are."  And they are still on the outside looking in.  Sure, they responded to a 1-all tie (under interim Head Coach Sean McCauley) with four Goals by Pukki as they routed the Galaxy, 5-2.  But they are behind Kansas City on Goal Difference, and the club currently in ninth place, Dallas, has one more Game to play, which is a home Match versus Western Conference bottom-feeder Colorado.  It's over.  The Loooooooons streak of reaching the postseason will be broken this Year.  Those back-to-back chokejobs to the Galaxy and St. Louis back on September 20 and 23 sealed this squad's fate, and Heath's.

Well, they do play Sporting on the 21st in the regular season finale.  And it is in Kansas City, so they may win this one.

#-6: Gopher football (Last Week: -2).  This is what I was afraid was going to happen.  This is supposedly one of The Big Three Rivalry Trophies the U. plays for, even though expansion has led to The Little Brown Jug to be fought for only sporadically.  I think that's a good thing, because last/Saturday night they got destroyed by the Wolverines at home, 52-10.  The thing is, for the first several seasons Head Coach Jim Harbaugh looked lost and like he wasn't the answer for his alma mater, but he somehow has put it together the last two or three Years and now seems as unstoppable as Kirby Smart in Georgia.  P. J. Fleck?  Not so much.

The next contest is another rivalry Match: At Iowa for Floyd Of Rosedale, on the 21st.

#-7: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -5).  I now have to repeat "This is his first year ... this is his first year" as I slowly inhale and exhale, but this weekend has become a new low for the program because they lost at the Atlantic schools for the first time since the B1G shoehorned in those schools.  They lost at Rutgers last/Saturday night for the first time since 1983 -- and in four Sets, no less.  And Friday night they lost at Maryland for the first time since ... ever.  And now they are in serious danger of missing the NCAA Tournament altogether.

I have done a quick scour of the chatboards.  Apparently Taylor Landfair ain't moving her ass and the Backline Defense is shit.  I have no expectations for this club, especially after the city hosted the tourney and the Gophers didn't even get close to making the Final Four.  But I did assume they would make the postseason even under a new Head Coach.  I don't know what the fuck is going on right now, but this squad is in a tailspin.

At Michigan Wednesday.

The Inert Tension Rod Situation

Last week, while I was at work, apparently the tension rod holding up the shower curtain in my (upstairs) bathroom fell into the bathtub.  The springs just gave up, I guess.

It's been sitting in the bathtub ever since.  I have had two stripper girlfriends come over, ********a for a massage and *****a for a handjob, and they both have needed to go into the bathroom and obviously saw the fallen tension rod.  I would think that any houseguests would be, uh, wondering why I haven't done anything to clean up that mess.  I figure that so long as there isn't anything, uh, worsening in there, and how could it, it's just a mess that's in the bathtub.  I'll get around to it when I get around to it.  And that's why I don't have houseguests over beyond the two stripper girlfriends I pay to come here to give me a massage and a handjob.

But I did buy a tension rod from Target a few days ago, and I might as well put it up, or at least unwrap the rod.  Man, I'm so darn busy -- I work today until Friday, including helping out for Vikings and Twins broadcasts.  If for some stupid reason the tension rod doesn't work or I have trouble setting it up -- well, I'll just leave the whole thing in the bathtub till I have an afternoon or evening to see what is really going on.  Like I said, it's just a mess in the bathtub.  It can stay there a long, long time.  It has already!

Hottest Babe In The Hooters Calendar: September 2023

Overall, this is one of the best months I've seen in any Hooters calendar.  Hesitate to say it's the best ever; I would have to do research.  But I will say that this months contains the hottest, most innovative and paradigm-shifting photo in the history of the calendar, and I look forward to beating off to it as soon as I have the time and energy to do so.

Of the dozen babes that adorn September '23, I think I can single out six of them.  Well, eight: Honorable mention goes to The Main Woman, Cassidy of Grand Prairie, Tex., for her long, dark brown hair, her blue two-piece bikini and her tight-ass body; and to Katrina of Ontario, Calif., a dirty blonde whose only drawback is that I can see her orange bikini top underneath her cropped hooded sweatshirt, and if she hid it, I would think she could easily flash us.

Contrast that to the server that winds up in sixth place, Lillie of Westminster, Colo.  The long-haired brunette has on a red bikini bottom but a black Hooters tank top (which, by the way, says "Denver, CO" -- close enough, they said?), and I can't spot a bikini top underneath the tank top.  She's pulling on her shirt, so if she indeed is wearing nothing underneath, it's flashy time!!!

In fifth place is Kianna, of Odessa, Fla.  Long and dark hair, red two-piece whose straps both loop over her left shoulder.  She's got big lips and a Mona Lisa smile, and while I'm not super-aroused (her posing at a steep angle to the camera is a minus), she gives off an aura of mystery I'm attracted to.  (I'm noticing a lot of expressions with this month.  Don't know why.)

In fourth place is Nashville's Kat.  Long, light brown hair, red two-piece bikini.  Not a fan of her wrapping her arms around herself.  But she's got a gorgeous face, and a muted smirk that also is quite, quite delectable.

In third place is Kimi, of Costa Mesa, Calif.  Another waitress with long, light brown hair, she is wearing a light blue two-piece.  Has just the beginnings of a curve of a smile, and that, on her, is arousing to me.  She is also posed kneeling (looks like on a rocky shore), and kneeling naturally arches out her body and thrusts her sizable boobs forward.  Me likely!

In second place is Auna, of Boca Raton, Fla.  Long, dark hair, solid blue two-piece bikini.  That bikini is on the skimpy side, and that shows off her toned, olive-skinned (is she of Middle Eastern extraction?  Indian?  Arab?) body.  You can tell that her tits are fake, but I don't care, she's fucking hot.

But, in first place is, and I have never seen this name before until now, Enxhi, of Mesa, Ariz.  (Apparently, "Enxhi" is Albanian.)  Brunette who's tied up her hair.  Jean shorts that are opened up front to show off her red-and-blue underwear -- nice touch!  And she's wearing a flannel top that's tied up in front and ... oh, wait ... that's not a shirt -- THAT'S BODYPAINT!!!  Now, they brushed out Enxhi's nipples -- BOO -- but you can't hide the fact that Enxhi was willing to pose topless for the fucking Hooters calendar!!!  I will venture to say that since I hadn't seen anything like that since I started buying the calendar several years ago, this is the first time a Hooters waitresses was willing to be photographed naked.  And sure, I'm not a big fan of bodypaint because, you know, I'd rather see breasts.  But this is a massive, game-changing step into provocativeness.  And I fucking love it!!

Goddamn right I'll masturbate to these women.  Thank you to Enxhi and everyone!!!  Fap-fap-fap!!!

I Now Love What I Hated And Hate What I Loved

I have been in The Fourth Department, off and on, for months now.  It might even be a year.  But as I have gotten used to the work -- and accrued overtime in the process -- I have begun to exhale calmly through the stressful parts of the position -- OK, sorta -- and have grown to really like the intangibles with it, like being tucked away in a nondescript part of the building, enjoying the company of the people I am with, the ability to just stick my earbuds in and work, and, well, being left alone.  I think I do a good job there.  Not as if my boss has much of a choice, but I think I do a good job there.

But with my co-worker getting back from her leave, I am being moved again.  For today and Friday, I am in My Favorite Department.  This is a position I haven't worked in weeks, if not months.  And frankly, I don't know if I like it as much as I used to.  I think that's partly over my trepidation over not working there in some time, but off and on over these past few hours I've been dreading the worst part of that position.  Not to bore you with the details -- I actually can't remember them, to be quite honest -- but if something needs to be tested a second time, we have to draw up these documents that have all these details that we need to fill in, and that requires going through a few systems and programs, and we have to make sure we track wherever we go.  I've always hated that particular job, and thinking that I'll need to break up my notes to refresh my memory is not something I relish.

So a job that I once hated I ... well, kind of like, and the job I once liked I ... well, kind of don't like now.  Heh.

The Last Of The Food I Bought For Work

Partly because of the food Father has forced me to take with me to work, I have now been conditioned to eat at work.  When they initially wintered in Las Vegas, I was OK, and in fact grateful, not to eat food that I didn't want to eat.  But now that I have gotten used to eating during the day, I have to have something -- maybe not the banana and the peanut butter sandwich and the other Chinese stuff he seems to pack for me as if I'm going off to war, but something little.

Last winter, when they were away and once I got through all of the perishable food they left for me, I was craving food again.  But just something small, so I bought a huge variety pack of granola bars.  I think I timed it so that by the time I got finished with them, my parents would be back.  But work has this thing where we get praised for the good things we do at work by getting showered with candy bars, so I interspersed those with the granola bars.  And then a co-worker gave me this huge canister of European candy bars.  They were so filling that I could only eat a few of them every break.

Add those all up, and by the time my parents came home, I still had a ton of food stashed in my cubby hole (every employee is given either a locker or a filing drawer in which to put our stuff).  Now, my parents came home in March, so I had food to bring with me from then until about Labor Weekend.  So all that food I saved I saved basically for half a year.

Yesterday/Tuesday at work, I got done with the last of them, the final granola bar.  I think those granola bars and those European bars and those candy bars all would have been fresher six months ago, but they were edible.  But now that they're gone, could I just go without?  No.  I went to Target last night and bought more bars.  I think I'll need more reinforcements in a month or so.  Eating something quick at work is now something permanent, for better and/or for worse.

Time Off Or No Time Off

I am torn about taking time off.  Not the concept; of course in any job if something comes out or if you just need a break, you should take some time off.

With that being said,  I am taking time off because of the Twins.  They've made the playoffs, which means that they're going to playing Games at home, which means the production companies I have worked for in the past have put out calls for more work.  If you follow and understand which networks are broadcasting which stages of the postseason, you would see that one production company is (or was) asking for help for the Wild Card Series which starts today and could last through Thursday.  Another company is stepping in to do the rest of the playoffs ... so long as the Twins make it that far.

And therein lies the rub.  The overarching variable is the Twins, of course -- will they advance in the playoffs or not?  After thinking about it, I decided to save my powder, so to speak, and not help out the production that is doing the Wild Card Series.  They wanted someone who could've started Sunday, by the way, so I would've had to use up to four days.  But if they advance, the production crew doing the Division Series and beyond is the same company I have been working with for a quarter-century now.  I think it behooves me to at least help them out.  Unfortunately, the dates they need me are still up in the air.  I mean, I know the Game Days.  But if they need me to work, say, a Set Day, which is a day before a Day the Twins would play, I don't know if I can help them out.  The last-minute suddenness of asking for time off is something I really don't like and really don't want to bother both my boss and the people who would need to fill in for me.  But, well, that's the playoffs, right?  And besides, I told my boss that "my other job" takes priority.  I will work for them if the need arises because it's my field.  And it's happening now.

With that being said, if the Twins lose this Series, all of this is moot.  But, well, I need to put in time off for next week, and if I have to pull that back and work instead, well ... I hope everyone deals.  I feel really bad about this, actually.

Late Night Talk Shows Are Back. And I'm Not Ready

So with the WGA (the writers') strike over, late-night talk shows can come back ... even though I wonder how they are going to put on shows since, talk shows are filled with interviews with actors from SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union that is still on strike.  And aren't all the talk show hosts part of SAG-AFTRA, too?  Are they allowed to even come back?

Well, I guess they are, and new shows begin tonight/Monday after about five months dark.  Honestly, I don't know how to adjust to watching them again.  Yes, I blog posted about missing these talk shows.  But like I think I have also blog posted, I whine about a change, but then I finally get used to the change, and so once it changes back I whine about it changing from what I am used to.  Same here.  I liked turning off the TV after seeing the weather forecast and doomscrolling through Twitter/X until I got my fill.  I'm going to be curious enough to tune in and see whether the talk shows are going to be back to normal or if there are still going to be some elements of the genre missing because of the continuing strike.  But I think I will prefer to be on my computer at around, oh, 11 o'clock, at least for now.  And then, soon, I'll look forward to turning my eyes away from my laptop and cellphone and watching some TV instead.  But, as with all things, it'll take a while for me to adjust.

Watch My Dirty Clothes On The Floor, Stripper Girlfriend

So I have *****a coming over here this morning to give me a handjob.  She says it's her birthday; my gift to her is money, even though, when I'm in the throes of her vicious hand lovin', I'll say that my actual gift to her is my cum.

Anyway, my lazy behind is starting to do some chores around here, including doing the laundry.  What I do -- and have I blog posted about this before? -- I imagine a matrix on the floor, a chart where each piece of clothing can be separated by the wash and dry cycle it's supposed to be laundered.  I did the "warm wash" clothes (thought not the ones that need to be on gentle cycle -- guess I'll get to those some other time -- but all the others I've left on the floor.  Yeah, I moved the clothes I haven't gotten around to washing and drying aside, but when *****a gets here she'll see and maybe need to step over my clothes ... not to mention all the clothes and crap I have around my bedroom, any of which I will only move in the minutes leading up to her getting onto my driveway.  Maybe.

I don't necessarily want to be seen as a slob, but frankly, I'm paying her for a HJ, so ... should I really care if I am not tidy?  Should she?  She's seen the house as I have laid it out a few times before, so it won't be a surprise to her.  Should I make more of an effort to clean up, though?

Nah!

No, I Will Not Turn On The Air Conditioning

I remembered back in the spring when it began getting hot and Father refused to turn on the AC.  It isn't necessary ... use fans ... AC takes a lot money.  I resented him for putting me through such torture until it got too hot even for him, and he relented.

Well, damn, I have turned into my old man, because the Twin Cities reached a high of 92 degrees today, breaking the daily record.  I made a mistake of keeping my bedroom window open from the overnight, when the humidity was tolerable so long as I kept my fan on.  My bedroom faces the sun at the hottest part of the day, so once I went back into my bedroom from the kitchen in the mid-afternoon, it was baking, even with the curtains closed.  It's Hell's Kitchen in here, no lie.

And yet ... no, dammit, I will not turn the air conditioning on.  It isn't necessary ... I'll use the fan ... air conditioning takes a lot of money.  Yes, my calculus changes if I'm the one now paying for utilities.  I planned on going out to the community center to exercise today, and maybe I should go out there because it's cooler out there.  Once it gets dark I'll hope and pray I can still resist turning on the AC.

It'll remain this hot till Tuesday.  After a storm moves in, it'll get cold enough that we'll need to use the furnace by next weekend, actually.  And I'll still hold off on using that because it's not necessary ... I'll wear more clothes ... the heater takes a lot of money. ...