Category Archives: Time Consumers

March 11, 2024 · 2:36 pm

The Bedtime Keyboard

I had a horrible night last night. It all started when I was wrapping up the work I was doing on transferring photos from my camera’s SD card to my backup hard drive, which I had to do because while I was settling into the Stevie Nicks concert on Saturday night, my camera informed me that I was out of memory on my SD card. I KNOW! That was an emergency of epic proportions! There is no visible monitoring of space on the SD card that I can find in my camera, so… there I sat at the concert deleting videos from two years ago, hoping that I had already copied them somewhere, while the legend of Stevie Nicks sang. BUT WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO, WAIT UNTIL BILLY JOEL TOOK THE STAGE? Of course not!

Anyway, so last night, I had finished clearing the SD card and I looked down at my keyboard and spied a solitary cat hair in the crack peeking out from under one of the keys. I tried to reach it with my fingers, but it defied me, so I ran into the master bathroom and grabbed my tweezers and a couple Q-TIPS, just in case. I got back and gripped that solitary cat hair and pulled it out, and wouldn’t you know, a kitten came up with it, but left its tail behind. Aghast, I ran and grabbed an unused, subpar dental tool from the master bathroom, came back and slid that tool under the line of keys on the keyboard and was even more aghast (yet, also, more than a bit intrigued, kind of like watching the Dr. Pimple Popper show) to discover even more cat fur AND, apparently, bits of snacks and crumbs in there. WHAT IN THE WORLD?

I proceeded to slide the dental tool through a few more times, loosening all manner of items and moving them to the end of the keyboard where I was able to pull them out. Every time I thought I was done, I discovered more, because there are 105 keys on this keyboard, which means there are 105 different places cat fur and crumbs can hide. That is 73 more places than in a human adult mouth!

Then I got the idea to stand the keyboard up on end, which revealed even more stuff in there and a suspicious rattling noise that required further investigation. Because, what if there was a monkey with cymbals hiding in there, waiting to wake me up at 2 in the morning?

I glanced at the clock and realized it was already 1:30 in the morning, and I had been at this project now for 2 1/2 hours, and what was I thinking? The keyboard and all its secrets will still be there tomorrow… well, later today. Then, as I set the keyboard down, the tool I had wedged in there popped off one of the keys and I was delighted! LOOK AT HOW EASY IT IS TO CLEAN THIS NOW!! I popped 4 of the other keys off, cleaned underneath and inside of them, and then realized it was 2 in the morning, so I was safe from any cymbal crashing monkeys!

I turned off all the lights and crawled into bed and then I couldn’t sleep because my mind, in its overly-tired state, wanted to find something to worry about, either in the past or future. Because everyone knows the best time to make amends or decisions is at 2:15 AM! Then I got cold, so I rearranged my blankets for better warmth. After I snuggled in, I had to get back up to go to the bathroom. Once I got back in bed, I discovered a lump in my bedding, and I had to rearrange my bed covers again. Then I thought about an Item I used to carry in my purse, but no longer do, but couldn’t remember where I keep it now. So I got back up and I searched it down, found it, and sighed in relief.

I finally settled and fell asleep, and woke up 4 hours later, before my alarm went off, shaky and tired. Good grief.

The first thing I did this morning was to look online at keyboard cleaning vacuums (yes, such a thing does exist) and thought, no, I am not ordering a $30 miniature vacuum for my keyboard. But I can see that if I had thought about that at 2 AM, I might have. Hmph. If you think the time change affects kids in a rough way, you ought to see what it does to adults who stay up past their bedtime.

But, when I get done with this new project, I WILL HAVE A VERY CLEAN KEYBOARD!

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Filed under I Worry A lot, Sometimes I Sleep, Time Consumers

October 17, 2013 · 4:04 pm

Random Bathroomness.

A few months ago, the management company replaced the toilet paper dispensers in the restrooms here at work.  This travesty was wrought one afternoon and, had I known, I would have removed one of the keys and saved it when they were available, sticking out of the dispensers the afternoon they were installed.  Then I could have been known as the Bathroom Hero and rescued the toilet paper rolls out of there when needed.

Now we have these dispensers that are ineffective… the toilet paper breaks off (double ply, even) before you get even a couple squares off.  To be somewhat efficient, you pretty much have to start wrangling and wrestling with the thing, while it clangs and bangs in protest, the second you sit down.  In my estimation, that kind of defeats the purpose of taking a bathroom “break.”

In frustration I vented to a co-worker one day about them as we were leaving the restroom.  She nodded in understanding and commiserated that she hated them, too.  Which makes it amusing then, to me, is that sometimes the janitors leave extra rolls of toilet paper outside the stalls on top of the feminine hygiene dispenser and, inevitably, those rolls of toilet paper always end up in the stall, sitting on top of the toilet paper dispensers.  And those extra rolls of toilet paper are always used up first.

Moral of the Story:  One should always test drive toilet paper dispensers before installing them.

P1150871

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Filed under Money Hump Building, Time Consumers, Weird is Fun

October 27, 2012 · 10:12 pm

Halloween Prep.

I finished making William’s Halloween costume and am now working on mine.  You know I do this every year, wait until days before and then decide I have to make something instead of using something already in the box.  Well, this year is no different in that respect, except that it kind of is because I’m trying to be a team player at work and they’re doing “team themes” based on TV shows… and I have to still dress the same as the Barbie doll I carry (tradition, you know).  So now I’m making a dress for Barbie that matches my dress that matches the theme my team selected. Confused yet?  Good. I’m not the only one.

Meanwhile, Tony has been decorating outside our home, and I visited the card aisle for cheap entertainment.  I thought I’d share pictures of some of the cards I thought were funny.

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Once Halloween is here, I’ll post pictures of the costumes. And Tony’s decorating skills.  Promise!

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Filed under Best Husband, Time Consumers, We Love to Decorate

April 24, 2011 · 12:17 pm

Bargain Weekend.

In these parts many stores were offering various free things for Earth Day, and we managed to spontaneously participate in a couple of them.

Disney stores, in exchange for 5 plastic bags (who doesn’t have 5 plastic bags hanging around?), were giving away a free “green” bag. The store we went to had Cars themed bags and we were quite happy with that! We zipped down to our local Disney store on Friday evening, and then as we were pulling out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of El Torito over my shoulder and, man, that sounded just right to me for dinner. So, a spontaneous trip to the mall also turned into a spontaneous stop at El Torito for dinner… and there was only a 5 minute wait for a table!

On Saturday morning, I was eating my breakfast and Tony pipes up with, "I'm going to get my free tree!" I decided to tag along with him to Lowes. They were giving away free little baby trees (promoted as "This Tree is One in a Million") that once planted, we can go online and register them, as well as see where the other 999,999 free trees went.

I guess its been awhile since we’ve been to our local Lowes (Home Depot is only a mile away vs. 10 miles for Lowes). I predict that I may be going over to the Lowes vicinity more frequently now, since we discovered a brand new Big Lots! right next door. Big Lots! had this Too Tall Bunny (too tall for the box, look at its ears!), I didn’t buy it, but I thought it was hilarious.

Following a lunch break at home (we had leftovers from El Torito!), we decided to take some donations to the thrift store. I had read online that many of the local thrift stores were running 50% off sales, and I managed to find some really cool things for super cheap. Have I ever mentioned how much I love thrift stores? Or how much I love that Tony loves to go thrift store shopping with me?

They had this lovely glass thing in the antiques/collectibles area. If I’d had any inkling what to do with it, I would have bought it. As it was, I just thought it pretty, took a picture, and left it for someone else who might appreciate it more.

You know what they say, right? The family that thrifts together stays together… or something like that. Or I might’ve just made that up. You’ll just never know. ha

Happy Easter to you… I hope it’s a beautiful one.

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Filed under Best Husband, I ♥ Sales, I ♥ Thrift Stores, Time Consumers

September 30, 2009 · 9:42 pm

Desk Projects.

We had a crazy night last week (or was it the week before last? Time, it’s a blur…) when the cat access door to the garage was accidentally left blocked overnight. The significance of that is, that’s where they go to take care of their “delicate” necessities. Since their access was blocked, clean-up was a necessity in the house the next morning and our losses included the kitchen rug and the batting from their purple pillow. The batting replacement required a trip to the crafty-land of Michael’s.

Michael’s is a place I like to wander through and “ooohhhh” and “awwwww” over things. Much like fireworks. I think they’re beautiful and well arranged, but have no idea nor desire (usually) to figure out how to do what I’m supposed to do with the stuff.

But this time I had a mission. I had to conquer something.

I needed to replace the batting in their pillow, which I found for $3.27 on the back wall of the store. Then I remembered that I needed a coaster for my desk. I searched and found the picture coasters that Noonie suggested in the comments of this post, but they were sold in a package of four for $12. Even with my 40% off coupon, that was enough to make me feel non-committal about them. So, I carried them around for awhile, like they were a very expensive doll that I wanted but couldn’t afford. I thought and thought while carrying them.

I happened to wander over to the bare frame and wood pieces section and thought to myself, “Cork board. I wonder if they have cork board?” Why, yes, they did. Four 6×6″ squares for $6, minus 40%, equals a reasonable price. Yay!

When I got home, I got to work.

First I grabbed the biggest cup I will be using, and used the base as a guide for how big around the coaster should be.

Then I grabbed my mouse pad for the pattern.

And photocopied it on the reduction setting. Then I cut out the outer parts on half of the pattern to use as a stencil.

I put my stencil on the cork board, grabbed my permanent marker and blackened the “outer” sections I’d cut out and then used my mad art skillz to draw in the “inner” details. Tony says there’s a scary face in that drawing, but I shrug his fears off because I’m not a scared little ninny like he is.

The other project I did was install a notebook arm inside my rolltop desk. This required that I make the cord hole a bit larger so the clamp of the arm would have something to clamp onto. That involved drills and saws and measurements, only to realize after I was all done with my hole making, that the clamp part of it easily disassembled and the hole didn’t need to be all THAT big, so the project really shouldn’t have been as complicated and manly as I made it out to be.

Oh! And check out the cubby hole area that I previously opened up (off to the right side of the picture). Remember how I pulled the frame off to give myself some working room? Well, turned out the sides of the cubby were unfinished, since they weren’t ever expected to be seen by the light of day. Since I didn’t want to go to all the trouble to finish it, I came up with the idea to glue a large scroll pattern over the unfinished area. I think it looks great!

And to wrap it all up, replacing the batting was really no big deal and the kitties love their clean, puffy, purple pillow with the new batting in it.

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Filed under I Stimulate the Economy, I'm Never too Old to Learn, Time Consumers

September 10, 2009 · 1:48 pm

Really.

… or things I learned in traffic court this morning:

* You don’t really have to be there by 8 AM, and the courtroom’s doors don’t really open at 8:30 AM.

* Interestingly, what time you check-in has nothing to do with when your name is called once inside the courtroom. Really.

* There are a lot of really strange people in this world and the judge and bailiff really have heard everything.

* People don’t dress decently when they go to court and they really should.

* If you don’t have the money to pay the fine, and you don’t think you can get the money to pay the fine for exceeding the speed limitation of your car (which really made me wonder what kind of car the dude had been driving), you will end up handcuffed and spending the next 4 days in jail, courtesy of American taxpayers.

* It is not advised to write an obscenity on your fine payment check. It is also not a good idea to laugh about it (whether from nerves or amusement) when the judge points it out. You will find yourself in contempt of court. Really not a good idea.

* If you pay your fee for traffic school, have three months to take care of it, and then “forget” or “get too busy” to go, and then appear in court a month after the deadline, you won’t get an extension and will be out the extra money you paid… and it will still go on your driving record.

* It is really worth it to go to traffic court if you are only paying the bail amount or if it’s a non-moving violation (cell phone ticket, etc.). The judge will knock a lot of money off your fine, and you can make payments!

* However, if you’re eligible for and want to go to traffic school, the only thing you can do is ask for an extension of time. The fee is mandated by the State of California, so the judge cannot adjust it and you cannot make payments.

That’s what I did this morning.

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Filed under Hmmm..., I ♥ My Miata, I Left Home for Awhile, Time Consumers, Weird is Fun

February 7, 2009 · 5:49 pm

Protected: Leftovers.

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December 13, 2008 · 1:17 am

Protected: Gettin’ With It!

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Filed under Entertainment can be Expensive, I have Family, I own a Home, Life Encompasses Me, Time Consumers

October 26, 2008 · 9:26 pm

Happily Busy.

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when I start searching for the missing Barbie doll and the outfit she’s wearing. Because, you know, Barbie and I dress alike for Halloween day. Thing is, I know I’m not making up the outfit because I have a picture of it. But every year since I moved in 2005, I’ve searched for her and every year I’m disappointed.

Ah well.

At work this week we’re having Halloween Festivities. It’s something our Fun Committee thought up. Starting Monday we get to display a miniature pumpkin they gave us to decorate. I decorated mine Saturday night. I pulled pictures of two of our cats, Ripper and Tug. I love Ripper’s eyes, they are an unusual shape and color, plus I love his masked look. Tug has some hilarious facial expressions and I can almost always catch him mid-meow, so it looks like he’s smiling in some of the pictures I’ve taken of him. With those attributes, I combined the two pictures and drew my pumpkin. I think it turned out pretty well.

Went from this…

… to this…

Tuesday we get to decorate our offices or cubicles; whichever we are blessed to have. I talked Tony into coming by Monday night to help me decorate my office, since he’s the best holiday decorator I know. On Friday we’re having a potluck and “work appropriate” costume contest. Thus my search for the missing Barbie and her outfit. I’ll probably end up using one of my other matching outfits, I always do, but I sure would like to find that missing one.

Fun Committee’s invitation…

This past weekend’s highlights include my battle with a neck muscle that has been giving me pain since Wednesday evening. I’ve been taking two ibuprofen every morning just so I can move it without crying. I have no idea what caused it to start giving me pain, Tony thinks it’s the job and fish stress manifesting itself. Could be that he’s right about that. On the upside of that, though, I’ve discovered that when Tony’s watching a movie, I can lay across his lap and he will give me a neck and back rub. It’s a rather absentminded one, which is to say there’s no real rhyme, reason or rhythm to it, but it sure does feel good.

We had dinner with Tony’s family yesterday to belatedly celebrate his dad’s birthday (his parents were in New York seeing their new granddaughter over his birthday). This birthday dinner enabled us to get our nephew fix, so it was kind of like our birthday, too. Other things I did was make an enormous mess around my desk area — I decided that a corner that had a fake plant in it was wasted space and am in the midst of transforming it into a usable area for files. The only problem with that is, under the fake plant was a dark spot that had a tiny cat bed which was a perfect fit for Snug. Snug rotates his hiding spots and was using this spot right now because he’s getting over a cold. If I had waited another week to do this transformation, he likely wouldn’t have even noticed that it’s gone. Since I didn’t wait, I’ve had to deal with his reproachful looks at me all afternoon after he goes over there and looks at it to make sure it’s really gone. After the fifth check and resulting reproachful look, I started telling him that nothing has changed since the first time he noticed it missing, that I know his memory is longer than a fish’s memory, that his cat bed has been relocated to behind the cat tower, so stop with the dramatics already.

Snug’s former corner:

Now my corner:

Snug’s new corner… nevermind that it looks like a broom closet:

Oh well. I can’t please everyone, now can I?

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Filed under Kid Substitutes, Life Encompasses Me, Time Consumers

September 25, 2008 · 10:50 pm

Protected: King Sized Project.

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Filed under Best Husband, He Fixes Things, Sometimes I Sleep, Time Consumers