He Shoots! He Scores!

Dad was to leave out some medications for me this morning for a cold I feel coming on. I drove over to his house and they were in between the screen door and his back door. I called him when I got home to thank him. He is at work today. It is a major feat for him to remember to put them out.

“When are you going to order your parts for January?” he asked me after all the pleasantries and thank yous. “We are halfway through the month.”

“I thought January and February are paying for Tracy’s Christmas watch,” I replied.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” he replied. “I paid for Tracy’s watch. Email Matt what you want to get and I will see you in the morning at our usual time to take Maggie to the Vet.”

We got off the phone and I did a little air guitar and hollered a hearty YES! It startled Maggie. Sometimes my father’s generosity can catch me off guard and surprise me. I emailed Matt a full tower computer case I have been wanting for ages at $89.99. It comes Tom’s Hardware recommended just like my video card which got glowing reviews. It is the Rosewill Nighthawk 117 (link opens in a new window).

A Visit Extraordinaire…

I was sitting at this computer when Maggie started whining jubilantly. That could only mean one of three things – that Charlie, Tracy, or my father had arrived. It was Charlie and he was a sight for sore eyes.

“What are you two doing?” Charlie said as he handed me a McDonald’s bag. “You said you liked those chicken sandwiches the other night so I went and got two more for you and Maggie.”

“Well, thank you!” I exclaimed excitedly.

Charlie wanted to see all my many Christmas gifts. I invited him into the back bedroom to show him all the clothes I got.

“I liked the two shirts you got me,” I told Charlie. “They are so soft. They feel like silk.”

“I thought they would make good sleeping shirts thus the short sleeves,” Charlie replied.

Then I took the cover off the side of the computer and showed Charlie my main gift – my Vega 64 video card.

“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, but it sounds wonderful,” Charlie told me laughing.

Charlie didn’t stay long.

“Eat your chicken sandwiches while they are still hot,” Charlie said as he was heading out the front door.

Maggie gave him a good sendoff then she was ready to eat. She has become to associate Charlie with food these days. I pulled off the dill pickles and put her sandwich on the floor. I blinked and it was gone. Maggie had wolfed it down.

Cold, Dark, and Dreary…

We have been beseeched with the worst weather lately. It will soon have rained for a whole week. They say we shall see the sun again on Friday – when all of this gloom clears out.

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas…

I decided I wasn’t going to be alone on Christmas Eve this year. I took a shower and dressed in the nicest clothes that fit me and headed to my father’s house. There were a crowd of folks in attendance, but I managed to muddle on by socially. I was terribly and woefully underdressed, but nobody seemed to care. It made me feel self conscious and uncomfortable, though. Charlie had already fixed me two plates brimming with food to carry home with me. He was going to bring them to me along with my gifts. I stayed only about a short hour and a half. My sister helped me load up my car with gifts.

I was really blessed this year. My sister basically bought me a whole new wardrobe of clothes that fit wonderfully and that are stylish. I got about five shirts and three pair of pants. I also got a fleece lined jacket that is the most comfortable jacket I have ever owned. Charlie gave me two shirts that feel like silk they are so soft. My brother and his wife got me a spindle pack of 50 burnable 25GB Blu-Ray discs which just thrilled me to death. I needed them badly having only a few left. Time to start backing up computer files in the next day or two. I need a Techmas and not a Christmas.

Tracy is at work right now. She gets off at six my time and is dying to see me or so she said when we talked on the phone earlier. She is going to run by my house on her way home. I can’t wait to see her as well. It seems like we haven’t seen each other in over a week. I told her I took good care of Wheezy while she was gone. That was a long drive everyday to water, feed, and pet a cat. I made sure to spend some quality time with Wheezy before I headed back home every day which entailed me petting her while she lay in my warm lap and I watched the television or fiddled with my tablet computer.

Glittermom, I regretfully never got around to putting up a Christmas tree this year. Maybe next year. Dad and I kept procrastinating about getting it and then it was too late.

My injection was this morning and it was certainly due. It was actually due on Christmas Day. I got to feeling really shaky last night – a jump out of your skin feeling. I went to bed early and headed straight to Kamath medical in the morning. My shot was already in my fridge and I was ready to go. Rebecca took really good care of me this morning. She was in a joyful, happy mood and it was contagious.

Christmas Without You…

I am taking care of my girlfriend’s idiosyncratic cat over the holidays. I am lucky she adores and likes me. I told you all before that I am a cat magnet despite my allergies to them. I just have to wash my hands good after petting them. I don’t dare rub my eyes, mouth, or nose.

Tracy headed out for her mother’s house very late this afternoon. I am already missing her something terribly. She really brightens up a room when she steps inside. I won’t see her until the 26th and she has to be back for work. It is going to seem like an eternity. Luckily, her mother’s house is just an hour and a half drive away.

“I wanted to wake up beside you on Christmas morning,” she told me wistfully as we talked on the phone as she was headed up the interstate this afternoon.

Tracy is a hopeless romantic at heart and it is catching.

Tracy’s and my Christmas went without a hitch last night. She loved the food and her watch. She said I am spoiling her. She’s my little princess I tell ya. She really loved the stocking full of candy and gum. She has a sweet tooth like I do. She said that was very thoughtful and a very nice Christmassy touch. I loved the video games she got me. Yes, Morrowind Online was included along with a game time card for one month’s play. I will have to sign up for a subscription when that month runs out. It will be nice playing with real people from all over the country in that game. Think of Facebook with a 3D world of swords and shields and monsters to fight. I haven’t played an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) since Warcraft. 

Charlie will be here in the morning with breakfast. I look forward to seeing him. Maybe we will get bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits again like last weekend.

Of Casseroles, Kitchens and Christmas Cheer…

I ended up making a broccoli, chicken, rice and cheddar casserole this evening. All I have to do is put it in the oven in the next 30 minutes or so and let the cheese get bubbly and the bread crumbs get brown. The heat and serve rolls should take only 10 minutes to bake. I’ve also got a tasty green salad with some of dad’s homemade thousand island dressing he made for me. Tracy will be here at seven my time for our very own Christmas extravaganza. Tracy says it is novel having a boyfriend who can cook when Michael couldn’t even open and bake canned biscuits without burning down the house.

We are going to exchange gifts after supper. I hope she likes what I got her – the turquoise inlay watch. I also got her some stocking stuffers and she has her very own decorated Christmas stocking. I already know what she got me as she told me – an “action pack” of four currently popular video games. I am sure I will enjoy them. I am wishfully hoping Morrowind Online is included and alluded to that fantasy. “Men are so hard to buy for,” I can hear Tracy say now.

No Trash For the Trash Man…

Charlie and Old Fuss and Feathers were in extraordinary moods tonight. As you already know, Charlie and my father bring meals every Sunday night. I obfuscated things somewhat asking for a plain single with cheese for Maggie, but they got the order right. Charlie took Maggie’s water bowl into the kitchen to empty and refill it.

“You didn’t leave me any trash to take out tonight,” he said almost mournfully. 

Dad was getting Maggie stirred up on the couch. She was really “talking” to him.

“She’s been a good companion to you all these years,” dad said.

“She’s my Magster,” I replied as I bent over and hugged her. “I don’t know what I would do without her. Thank y’all for getting her a burger tonight.”

“If you lose any more weight, you are going to waste away,” Charlie told me which made me feel good.

They soon left and Maggie and I settled in and ate our burgers. Mine was delicious, A Wendy’s double with cheese and Maggie’s was just a plain single with cheese with none of the fixins. I told dad before he left I had about filled out on the fill-ups from KFC.

Dad broached the subject of Christmas Eve before he left tonight.

“Now, you can come, but there is going to be a lot of people there,” he said. “I thought that would make you nervous.”

“Let’s have another Christmas at Andrew’s house afterwards,” I told my father.

“Charlie and I will bring your gifts and I will bring you a big plate of food,” he said.

“Sounds good to me,” I replied, content with the arrangements.

As Slow As Molasses…

Well, my father and Sir Matt finally got my Christmas ordered today. It was the last day for free shipping and they just squeaked by. I sighed a big sigh of relief. Why we can’t just order it on my father’s computer I do not know. It confounds and aggravates me the rigmarole it takes to get computer parts ordered around here. Dad also ordered a watch for himself from Amazon and got Sir Matt to handle that as well so it is not just me. He actually had the acumen to email Matt the watch he wanted which surprised me. Welcome to 2018 father!

I watched a little of Dr. Phil at Old Fuss and Feather’s house this morning. Just your usual and typical dysfunctional family type stuff – families torn apart by an abhorrent family member or broken families, divorces, etc. Dad cooked breakfast for him and I as well. We had fried eggs and bacon and some frozen biscuits warmed and toasted in the oven. I didn’t stay too long. It was getting close to time for me to take my medications and I didn’t bring them with me

“For god’s sake go take your medications,” my father told me with a laugh when I told him I had to go and the reason why. .

I came home and took off my glasses and my ballcap and was just going to lay down for an hour and rest. It was about 1 pm. I fell asleep and awoke tonight at 6:30 pm and the house was pitch black dark – very disorienting and disconcerting. I guess I needed the rest. It was amazing my phones didn’t ring in all that time nor did Maggie bark. It left me with little to write about today.

We should’ve went and got my Christmas tree, but dad and I both put it off until after the weekend. We're both supreme procrastinators. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow type of stuff.

What Tracy is Getting for Christmas…

12k Gold & Silver Turquoise Inlay Watch

I hope she likes this. She loves turquoise so this should fit the bill. I didn’t realize turquoise jewelry was so expensive. I am using my January and February computer parts money in advance to pay for this. It was $229 dollars.

Turquoise gems are channel inlaid in this 12k gold and silver ladies watch band. The watch band is 9/16" tapering to 5/16" and has a gold extension band. This comes with a quartz movement battery operated watch face. Navajo made in New Mexico. Signed by the artist.

I Am So Excited! I Can’t Wait for Christmas!

GIGABYTE Radeon RX Vega 64

I am actually going to own a top of the line Vega video card!

8GB 2048-Bit High Bandwidth Memory 2

Core Clock 1276 MHz

Boost Clock 1560 MHz

3 x HDMI 2.0b 3 x DisplayPort 1.4

4096 Stream Processors

PCI Express 3.0 x16

Just Your Usual Sunday…

I got up at the ungodly hour of 8 am this morning for no apparent reason other than to wait on Charlie I guess. Within a hour he was here with Maggie’s and my breakfasts.

“I just love your Christmas lights!” Charlie exclaimed.

“Dad said they looked tacky,” I told Charlie with a chuckle.

“Don’t you pay no attention to Mr. Perfect!” Charlie replied smiling.

Charlie thought they were tacky, too. I just know it. He was just being nice.

Charlie was soon gone leaving us heathens to fend for ourselves. Maggie ate her sausage and went and buried her biscuit halves in the backyard as usual. Her nose was all muddy when she came back inside after both trips. I called dad and asked if I could come over after breakfast. He welcomed me over the phone. He was eating his sausage biscuit and drinking his senior coffee when I arrived. We got to talking about how I used to lead the local Methodist church choir when our music director went out of town.

“That’s amazing you could do that back then with all your social phobias,” dad said.

“I used could kill Mrs. Adcock for doing that to me!” I replied with a laugh. “I’d be a nervous wreck. Rachel (ex-wife) got me in all that mess.”

“We need to order your Newegg Christmas tomorrow,” dad then said. “What are you getting?”

“A Gigabyte Radeon Vega 64 video card, some blue lighted fans for my computer case, and a big pack of recordable DVDs,” I replied. “Oh, and a 4K ultra high definition compatible HDMI cable.”

Old Fuss and Feathers had no clue what I was talking about and told me so.

“Be sure to email Matt (pharmacy computer guru) when you get home,” he told me. “We’ll try to get it ordered tomorrow. Call me at the pharmacy and remind me.”

He better bet I will. This will be the first time I will own and install a tier one and also a company flagship video card. I just pray it will work in my computer. They recommend at least a 750 watt power supply and that’s exactly what I’ve got in my main gaming rig. I am going to be just squeaking by on that requirement.

Bleary Eyed But Fortified...

I finally fell asleep at 4 am this morning. Yes, I am cycling again to a nocturnal existence. It might be one week or two weeks of late nights and sleeping in the day before I am back to a diurnal existence again. The shrill ring of the phone woke me up at 8:30 am.

"Chuck? You up and at em?" my father asked cheerily.

"I am now," I replied with a moan. "Glad you called. I will see you at the pharmacy at nine."

I hastily dressed and put on lots of deodorant as I didn't have time for a shower.

The warm lobby at Kamath Medical felt absolutely wonderful. I basked in its heat as I waited for my nurse to call me back -- warmth was just returning to my toes. As usual, I didn't have to wait long.

My injection burned something terrible this morning, but I grinned and bared it. This was after a lengthy conversation with my nurse about what we got for Christmas.

"I wish I had a hobby like you do with computers," Rebecca told me.

When I got back to the pharmacy, I talked to Matt, the computer guy extraordinaire.

"They were out of stock on that sound card you wanted for Christmas," Matt told me. "I am going to reorder it today when I get some spare time."

I thanked Matt profusely and made my way back up through the Valley to home.

OMG!

My sister gave me the most comfortable clothes I have ever owned. An L.L. Bean fleece pullover and pants. They are so warm and super comfortable. I had to turn the heat down in here two degrees they are so warm. I am going to wear them to get groceries tonight and it will make for a much more comfortable experience. The grocery store experience always freezes my butt off every week. They keep it cold so the food lasts longer.

My brother and his wife gave me a very nice fleece jacket and the world's most powerful flashlight (torches as they are called in England). At least, that's what it says on the box. "You can see it from space!" I'll go over budget grocery shopping tonight trying to buy batteries for the thing. It takes like eight "C" batteries.

I didn't get into bed until 1 am last night playing some old emulated Sega Saturn games. My biological clock then decided I needed to get up at 9 am. I took my meds and got in the kitchen and fixed the Mags and I a hot plate. Just some cheese eggs and buttery toast, but it tasted absolutely delicious. It was all washed down with my last glass of sweet milk. I hadn't been on the computer for a few minutes when I felt as if the weight of the world were bearing down upon my shoulders. Back to bed Maggie and I went. The Magster and I didn't get up until 4 pm this afternoon. Can you say some serious sleeping? Dad would say I am depressed. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Yes, I set my alarm and took my noon meds. It wouldn't be unlike my father to show up this afternoon and do a spot med check with Maggie and me in the bed and medications sans taken.