Sandra Swanberg

Where did the week go? It’s Friday already and the past four days have gone by in a flash. The last thing I knew it was Monday. For me it’s been work, work, work, since my project is getting close to implementation. There’s so much to be done and the days are becoming just as short as daylight. Unfortunately I’ve picked up a new habit in my daily quest to unwind-computer games. I swore I’d never go there but do you know you can play them for free to try them out? That’s where they get you. My personal computer drug of choice, Fishdom, a match 3 game. Arrrgh. It’s so addictive, the levels, buying stuff for the aquarium. And these games are so pretty now. I remember way back in the cavemen days when they were mono looking, like Tetris. I look up at the clock and hour has passed and it feels like five minutes. I sure hope I don’t turn into a hermit because I just can’t stop playing with those fishies!

I know. I know. It’s been way too long since my last blog post. But I have a good reason. First off all there hasn’t been much to report and second, my job has kept me really busy for the past several weeks. Sherlock Bones has been under the weather but after a trip to the vet seems to be on the mend. We have rain here and when I say rain, I mean the kind where it doesn’t stop. Nature’s faucet has been on now for 3 days. Boy do we need it. It’s been so dry the plants were starting to wilt. We don’t get that kind of rain often and I’m not sure how much more we can take before it stops sinking into the ground. We’re supposed to have this through Wednesday so cross your finger we don’t float away.

I was working yesterday when my internet connection died so I called the cable company and played along with the automated help system before muscling my way to speaking with a human. I had to tell it what my modem model was and if some lights were on. The modem is hard to get to and it’s not in a well light area. Plus the writing on the modem is very small. No worries, the automated lady said she’d patiently wait for my response and when I was ready I could say continue. I had to go behind the desk to pull the modem out which took a while. She kindly reminded me I could say continue at any time. Yeah, yeah automated lady you don’t have a clue what you’re asking me to do. Of course my modem didn’t have a model name but she pleasantly suggested it may not and described the physical features and asked if that was it. Looked like it to me so I said yes. Then she asked if the Ready light was on. Damn, I couldn’t read any of the words they were so small. So I had to drag a floor lamp over, the only thing within reach at that time. Once I plugged it in and turned it on I still couldn’t read the words. I went through the house searching for a magnifying glass, all while the polite automated lady voice kept telling me I could say continue at anytime. Found said object and brought it back to the sunroom where the modem is. Hah, now I could read the words and nope Ready light was not on. Now let me back up.  I called to find out if there was an outage in my area but the automated lady would hear none of that until she made me do circus tricks first.  So now she tells me to unplug modem and keep it off until she goes through all the reasons why I might not be able to get on the internet, but she won’t even suggest an outage. Yeah talk to the hand lady.  I plug the modem back in and she wants to know if the Ready light is on. Nope I say. Then she tells me to unscrew the cable cord to make sure the prawn isn’t bent. I’d had it at that point and requested an agent. She suggested I didn’t need one and to continue with what we were doing. I request an agent again, this time saying agent, agent, agent, agent like Dorothy clicking her heels three times and saying there’s no place like home. Again the automated lady in a stepford wife tone tells me she can help. It’s only when I curse at her and tell her what she can do to herself that there is a pause and she says she’ll transfer me over. Finally I’m going to get to speak with a human. I hear the phone transfer over, the musak machine plays. Success! Or so I thought until the phone went dead. But I was about to give up. It was war.  So I called back and nearly fell out of my chair when the automated voice greeted me said that I’ve called before and if I still needed help with my internet connection. Yikes. Needless to say I was going to speak with an agent and relentlessly pushed my way through. Indeed there was an outage but no estimated time when it would be back. So that was my weekend.

This weekend I was pretty productive. I dusted and vacuumed the sunroom and washed all the windows from the inside. It now smells, well not so dusty. Cherie and team came over Sunday to finish the landscape overhaul in the backyard. Boy was it a beautiful day to work in the yard. While they worked in the back I worked in the front pulling weeds. It was around three o’clock when they finished. Cherie’s sister came over shortly after and we all headed for a new Italian restaurant to have an early supper. The restaurant was a bust, I’ve had fresher frozen dinners, but we had a good time. Worked some on my manuscript, answered emails and watched a couple of good movies. Yup it was a very nice weekend indeed.  I’ll post some pictures of the backyard later on today.

What a beautiful day it was yesterday and today seems like it’s shaping up to be more of the same. After waking up this morning I took Sherlock for a walk and it was wonderful. You can’t beat the sunshine under sixty degree weather. I took a few deep breaths inhaling the cool air. I sure hope this is the begging of the end of summer. It’s been nice but it’s time for a change. I’ve decided the heat this year has really gotten to me. It’s made me lethargic and yesterday just proved that. I was great in the morning when it was all nice and cool. Then by the afternoon when it warmed out I was out of steam. I decided to watch Watchmen last night and selected it from pay per view. Wow! I really enjoyed the dark Urban Fantasy about fallen superheroes but I don’t think it’s a movie I could watch over and over. It’s super dark and gory and had me closing my eyes in parts, but the character development grabbed and held me intrigued from the beginning, especially with a character named Roshak. In my opinion there was no one to root for, but each character is so troubled and so complex that I gave this movie two thumbs up. If you dare, this would be a film to watch.

It’s 4:30am. I woke up at 3:12am. I woke up on the couch. I woke up on the couch in the same position I was in when I went lights out right before TMZ. Darn I missed TMZ. What’s that little ball hanging off the couch bunched up in the comforter? Oh it’s puppy dog. I wonder if he’s been hanging off the couch all night. Maybe. It was a loveseat. Took puppy dog outside. Boy it was a beautiful 69 degrees. Finally a breath of fresh air. Went back to bed. Mind racing I closed my eyes. Nope, not falling back to sleep. Turned on TV. Boy a lot of channels show the Girls Gone Wild commercial at four in the morning. Click, click, click. Ah The Weather Channel. What’s Danny up to? Oh I didn’t know Mike Sidel worked on Saturdays at four in the morning. You got a raw deal Mike. When you’re not reporting from inside a hurricane they put you on in the wee hours of the morning on the weekends? Oh screw it, I’m up now might as well blog.

I’ve been having a hard time coming up with things to blog about. My life lately hasn’t been very exciting, at least in the sense of anything worth blogging about. I have been on a Discovery Science channel kick and Tuesday nights they run a series of shows about space and the universe. I can get swept up for a couple of hours spending time with black holes, asteroids, and the big bang theory. Asteroids were particularly fascinating this week and can always give writer ideas for a story. Did you know that the asteroid belt circles around Jupiter because of its mass and resonance? Did you know that theory behind the asteroid belt is that it’s left over debris from the big bang which formed of our galaxy? Did you know these asteroids happily circle Jupiter but the resonance sometimes flings asteroids out of orbit and they travel closer into our solar system? Did you know we had a close call with one of these not so little space rocks in 2004? Did you know we’ll have another close call in 2029. Did you know NASA is taking it so seriously that they’ve developed a space toy to jettison into outer space and land on it and it will push it away from us? Neat stuff huh? Happy Friday.

While I appreciate the cooler weather, and I do mean cooler not cold, I don’t appreciate the front that blew through and brought me my current headache. This weekend I sat like a log on the couch in pure slugdom and vacillated between reading a book and watching TV

Poor Sherlock. He wants to go to the dog park but it’s too darn hot. We’ll see about today. I did manage to get him out of the house a couple of times and we did two short walks around the block. Sometimes it gets tough. Because of his eyesight troubles he relies on hearing and smelling. Sometimes it gets the better of him and he’ll stop and want to go in a direction he shouldn’t because a smell or noise has caught his attention. I have to pick him up, walk a few feet and then put him down and he’ll start walking again. I may be taking him to a trainer so I can learn how to walk him with his handicap.

Today is the first day of school for all the kiddies. I’m not looking forward to the renewed increase in traffic on my way to work. The hubbub of activity in the morning has risen. I hear the school bus and parents urging their kids to get a move on. The days are noticeably getting shorter and dawn takes a little longer to show its bright sunny face. Fall is around the corner. Soon the trees will begin dropping their leaves, the grass won’t grow as high, and summer won’t be on such high alert.  One day very soon, a crisp cool breeze will takes us by surprise and we’ll all take a deep breath enjoying the sensation of cool air in our lungs, the scent of pumpkin pie in the air, and delight in the orange, red and brown hues as summer waves goodbye.

Sorry for the lack of blogging these days. I’ve been super busy playing catch up at work after coming back from vacation. My email is still out of control and I have the perfect storm brewing with multiple projects being implemented around the same time. Last weekend I did major house cleaning. I vacuumed and dusted. I got out the FloorMate and washed the floors. Then I got out the carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpets. I also cleaned both bathrooms. That took all of Saturday. I cooked chicken to put in salad for my lunches. Have I taken my lunch to work this week? No. Why? Because I’ve been in and out of the office so much there’s been no time to eat it. It’s okay though because I have a Seal-a-Meal so all the cooked chicken breasts are sealed and frozen. The roofer guys have been out to fix gaps in my skylights that were letting the elements in my house. Boy that silicone they use stinks. Poor Sherlock has been a casualty in all this. Because of my hurrying around he hasn’t been on his walks or gone to the dog park. I’m going to take him today for sure because it’s beautiful out. It’s a cool 70 degrees thanks to a cold front that blew through yesterday. I don’t think we’ve felt that kind of weather in months. It’s amazing. This weekend I’m going to try and read another book in a series a friend turned me on to. It’s kind of creepy but very interesting and entertaining. Maybe I can even read outside since it’s so nice. Have a good weekend.

Well it’s travel day today. Back to the grind tomorrow. I had a really good time on vacation and I’m sorry to leave the wonderful weather behind. I’ll be traveling most of the day, seeing it’s an hour and half journey to the airport, then a two hour flight home. Before I head out I have to do a couple of chores of around the house and see my folks. Also have to take Sherlock to the dog park so he can do his business before all the traveling begins. We’re supposed to have thunderstorm around the time we depart. I hope they are south of here so we aren’t delayed. That wouldn’t be fun with a little four pawed creature in tow. Have a good Wednesday everyone.

I had a very good weekend. Lore and I took Sherlock on his first golf cart ride—which he loved btw. He enjoyed the wind in his face, the sunshine, and the sounds and smells of being somewhere new. We drove around and even over the big bridge that connects both sides of the retirement community and straddles the highway. At the bottom and to the left is a nice little dog park. It’s divided into two sections, one for big dogs and the other for little dogs. It’s dotted with live oaks covered in Spanish moss and across from it is a nice little lake with ducks, geese and ibis. I think he was happy to make new puppy friends and be off the leash. There were seven humans and seven pups. One dog even had fun playing with the water bowls. He kept pawing at it and making the water splash out, giving us some good entertainment. Sherlock made a buddy and they followed each other around. At one point the other little dog decided to dig in some dirt and poor little Sherlock received a dirt bath. He shook himself off and little dust cloud proceeded to follow him for the rest of his play time. All the people kept saying what a good little doggy he was which made me feel like a proud mama.

Afterwards Lore and I went to the pool and chatted with some of the locals. The pool is a great place to catch up on all the local gossip. I had every intention of reading the last few pages of a book I was engrossed in but the people were so nice I didn’t get the chance to pull it out of my beach bag. Oh well guess I will have to finish it on the plane ride back home.

After that we went home got cleaned up and headed out to dinner. Then we headed over to visit my folks. My dad was having computer issues so I fixed those. I felt so accomplished and needed.

Yesterday we went to the dog park again but scraped the pool. I decided I needed a siesta in the middle of the day and was down and out for a couple of hours. Dad, Lore, and I went out to dinner since mom wasn’t feeling all that well. Dad had already had dinner earlier but he came anyway and had dessert. We went back to my parents place and visited for a bit and then after we went home decided to vacuum and shampoo the carpets. I can’t believe our success at getting up the dirt in all the high traffic areas. When I woke up this morning I was amazed. We done good I say. And just when I feel like I’m just getting relax and into a routine of leisure it will be time to leave and go back to the real world. Oh well.