Bombing Moscow

Yesterday the temp got up to 89 (F).  I consider that warm.  Today and tomorrow the forecasters are saying that our high temps are going to hit 98 (F).  That's hot.  That's mid July weather, not middle of the month of May weather.  Thursday a cooling trend is predicted to start with high temps for the rest of the week hovering in the mid to upper 70s (F).  Start prepping for the heat waves now.

I had lunch with my friend Betsy yesterday.  We always do Chinese buffet for the meal and Dairy Queen for the dessert.  This is our routine.  Conversation is always good.  Sometimes if revolves around age, since both of us are getting older; there ain't no stopping that.   She rents and I feel bad about that for her.  But then at some point, all of us seniors will end up paying some form of rent, either to a landlord or to a senior living facility.  American capitalism dictates that unless we are wealthy, we will always owe.  At least I will have a financial cushion when I sell my house.  That's something many will not have.

The thought had occurred to me to take the day off using the warm temps as an excuse, but I probably won't. It's not as though I have any plans to occupy my time.  So, I suppose I'll be punching for my normal Monday shift.

And here's a real old pic of me from high school.  While this isn't dated, I think it's from 1969, the year I graduated.  This was long before I could grow a moustache.  Don't those lapels rock!

One of the things that came up in my conversation with Betsy yesterday was, as you might expect, the Orange Anus.  She had a very dim view of our future, believing the Republicans are going to destroy everything.  I did my best to convince her otherwise, whether I was successful or not is anybody's guess.  It did brighten her day when I showed her the pics and videos of Moscow being hit by drones and missiles.  It's my understand that internet coverage was shut down in large swaths of the country.  A spokesperson for Orangei's blow bro Vlad shrieked that Ukraine had stooped to terrorism, and the world laughed at him.  Vlad's in a bit of a stinky mood.  He had to cut short his VE parade.  The Russia economy is in the shitter.  He's relying on North Korean solders to help on the battlefield.  And now Moscow being bombed.  I'm wondering how long it will be before he slips, trips, and falls out of a wndow.

And finally, the blasphemers gathered on the Washington Mall yesterday in an attempt to spread their heresy.  Like everything associated with the Orange Anus and his regime, the fools our going to fail badly.  Everything he touches dies.

First the legs and now the Abs... and other stuff.

So, I went to see my Mom today, as I do every Wednesday.  I suspect she doesn't have a lot of friends at Graysonview; her personality overrides friendship since her 2 defining characteristics are:  1) she is always right and has no problem telling you you're wrong; 2) above all else, you need to feel sorry for her and therefore cater to her.  Among 95 other seniors, many of whom share these same traits, she tends to keep to herself.  She also suffers from dementia which means that most of her memories are a mish-mash, and time is constantly warping back and forth.  None of this bothers me too much.  There is not a strong bond between she and myself, nor is there much of a connection between her and my brother and sister.  This is how it goes.
Anyway, I was expecting my legs to be sore after spending 30 minutes on the treadmill yesterday, and, they aren't, which is nice.  I did pull out an Ab Workout book which was practically my Bible in my younger days.

I guess the Idiot in the White House when on some sort of Twitter tirade, no surprise there, blaming conservatives for his recent defeat.  Now isn't that just like a Republican?  Evidently even Dick Cheney the Russkie thing is... well, pretty bad, quite possibly and act of war.  And, of course the GOP really wants this to be gone... well, sorry buddies, it ain't going to happen.

And this just in, Gallup says the Idiot's approval rating is still on the decline.   You know, you would think that simple, common sense would tell the GOP there's a stench emanating from the White House.  Duh, no one ever accused them of having commons sense.  They are a failed party with a failed president... how low will they go?  Who knows?  Just hold you noses and keep back, when this baby goes it's going to be one really, huge, I mean really huge, explosion of shit.

The cost of making Money

So, yesterday we weren't as busy as Corporate thought we were going to be... this was to be expected; not all Americans see a holiday as a day to put themselves deeper into debt.  Corporations don't understand.  They expect continued growth, in fact their yearly budgets reflect a slowly, continually rising effect to consumers.
Here's an example:  2016 just ended and a tradition has evolved in which just about everybody and their brother does a "Memoriam" tribute.  For the entertainment industry, nothing tops the one done by the Oscars.  People like to watch them.  One of the worst was on NBC News.  I thought I'd watch that one and was surprised to find out I'd have to sit through a 30 second commercial.  Wrong.  I didn't watch it.  I find it sad somebody at NBC, which is owned by Comcast, decided they were going to make a buck over dead celebrities.  Somebody in that organization actually calculated how much revenue they were going to make by forcing people to watch that 30 second commercial.  When that person passes, I believe that before the funeral services begin those mourners should have to sit through a 30 second commercial for Handy Wrap, or perhaps Crest toothpaste.
Costs are continually rising, you know, they need to make money.

My Mom is in Greenfield on Graysonview, a Senior Living facility.  Right after Thanksgiving I received a letter from them saying I needed to sit down with the administrator and go through her 80 page contract before December 12.  While I was sitting there, initialing and dating every one of those 80 pages, I asked if her rate was going to go up and he said "no."  Last week I received a letter from their corporate headquarters which stated that, per the contract I had just signed, all they needed to do was give me a month notice before raising her rate... and of course her rate was going up.  This was all calculated in advance.  This was also why I had to sit down with the administrator and initial and date a new contract.  And, of course, he didn't point out that little 4 sentence paragraph about the "month notice."  She has the money in the bank so while I was irritated, I wasn't royally pissed off.  What pissed me off was the fact that they wanted me to sign an agreement to the increase and mail it back to their corporate headquarters... they even included a self-addressed envelope.  However there was no postage on the envelope.  And that's what pissed me off.  They were too cheap to even put a damn stamp on the envelope.

Anyway, I didn't mail the envelope back to them.  I dropped it off at my Mom's facility and told them they could mail it to corporate.  They weren't happy about that, no doubt be cause they would have to pay the postage.  Costs are going up constantly, bit by bit, percentage point by percentage point and all too often the only thing they reflect is a profit increase.  It's not about the quality of the service, it's about making the money.

Senior Living

On Tuesday morning, my sister and I are taking our Mom to Senior Living facility.  They used to call these places 'assisted living' but I suppose that wasn't politically correct enough for some seniors, God forbid they might need assistance.  Anyway, we're hoping she likes it enough to agree to the move, and we're hoping that if she does move it doesn't turn out to be a big mistake.  You see, my Mom loves to tell people what to do.  She loves to be catered to.  She tells her neighbors she's having a bad day to garner their sympathy.  Here's an example:  12 years ago she had a very minor stroke on the right side of her brain.  She was in the hospital one day and out the next.  She had some weakness in her left hand which disappeared shortly.  Yet she tells everybody she meets about her stroke.  That and her Maccular Degeneration.  She tells everybody she's going blind.  She isn't.  I've been with her to Optometrist, her eyes are fine.  But it gets her sympathy.  People say, "oh, that's so terrible, she's had a stroke and she's going blind."

Mom & Big Seig

This isn't to say she doesn't have some health issues, she does.  Her circulation isn't that good so she needs to sit on the edge of the bed in the morning, and she needs to walk a little slower, but then that's a fairly common problem in an 82 year old.

My sister, brother, and I are all hoping this meeting on Tuesday goes well, and that she decides to sell her house and downsize.