Do People Work?

Obviously of course people for the most part do work.   In fact U.S. workers work a lot harder and longer than most other countries.   According to this Money article, Americans work hundreds of hours more than their European counterparts.   This translates to around 1750 hours.     Apparently if you hate work, Germany is the place to be as they clocked the least number of average working hours.    Americans work about ten weeks more than their German counterparts.   

Despite the high number of hours Americans work, China and India workers work much longer.   Average working hours in those countries clocked over 2100 hours annually.

But I wouldn't know that after I ventured over to my local Costco last Friday just around 11am.    I thought it would be less crowded but the parking lot was nearly full though at least the gas line there wasn't as bad.  I was released early from my voluntary time off that I've been doing periodically for the last six months.   My company encourages employees to take Voluntary Time Off to help out the local communities.   I found a foodbank in Northwest Indiana to volunteer some time at.   

So as I said earlier I was leaving my VTO after 10:30 am since work was light.  Dom and I needed some things from our local Costco so I decided to take advantage of the extra time since I wasn't due back to work till 12:30.   As I walked into the store I couldn't help but ask myself 'Do People Work?'...*LOL*.

Obviously remote work has become more common since the pandemic.   With that flexibility I imagine a lot of folks take advantage of being close to home by venturing out to run errands during their workday. Remote working is nothing new as I first was introduced to the concept at my old job back as early as 2002.   

It was more of an anomaly back then.  I remember telling a few friends that I worked remote sometimes and they were so jealous.   When our company moved headquarters to a location further from most folks locations in 2008, to appease workers they allowed remote work 2 days a week.   And the last four or five years before I eventually got laid off in 2017, I was working remote 4 days a week and coming in one day a week.

The rest of the working world caught on to remote work when the pandemic took over in March 2020.   Companies have been fighting to bring workers back to the office but once people got a taste of it and the newfound freedom being at home bought, folks do not want to go back.    Judging from the shoppers at Costco, I can see why they don't want to be pulled back in the office full-time.   I will say if there's a way I can work remote 5 days a week, I would do it in a heartbeat.   But I do have a sweet schedule now, I go in the office once a week in Chicago now and then I venture to the Indianapolis office once a month (with some flexibility in the winter months meaning I probably won't venture there until March or April).   Hopefully I can still hang on to that deal.

Barbie-d Out

 As I've blogged before my hubby Dom has a little thing for dolls.    His hobby has been fascinating and annoying me for years.   When bitching about it with a random acquaintance once, they asked me what is behind Dom's obsession with doll collecting.   Dom explained that growing up he was envious that his two sisters were given dolls and he was never given any.   You know one of those gender microaggressions where boys need to be into sports and action figures (which actually are a different kind of doll) and girls need to be into dolls and pink.   So when Dom grew up, he decided to make up for his parents not giving him dolls by purchasing them en masse.

Our home literally has dolls sprinkled in almost every room with only the kitchen and bathrooms not having them on display.    When we moved into our home, he insisted on the largest bedroom being his doll room.   Every inch of that room is filled with all kinds of dolls.    His main style of doll are what are called 16-inch dolls which are slightly taller than Barbie.   His collection even has various dolls from a cartoon I used to watch in the 80's that was catered to girls.    The cartoon was Jem & The Holograms.    I used to secretly enjoy singing songs from Jem's rival band The Misfits.   I never had an interest in collecting anything from them though.   Dom didn't really know much about Jem but collected them because he liked how they looked.    It wasn't until the DVDs came out around the time we started dating and I introduced me to them that he said he collected those dolls as well.    

The dolls managed to creep their way into the other bedrooms including our main room (though I sleep alone in there since he's more comfortable these days sleeping on his easy chair).   But I get the pleasure of having his dolls appearing everywhere.    His collection is so huge that he has boxes of doll stuff overtaking our upstairs hallway and also in a couple rooms in the basement.    It borders on hoarding but at least I'm not stepping on dolls everywhere though I have to be careful not to step on a pin that may be hiding on the carpet.

I could go on and on about how unhealthy his obsession is but what has me ranting about it in this post is that at the time this rant began, it's 4:20 AM and we're both up because of work and he decides to blast music from the 2023 Barbie Movie that came out.   Such a fun thing to wake up to.   He's of course been obsessed with that movie since it's came out and he's forced me to watch it when it finally was released on Disney.   Of course he had to see it when it came in the theatre.   

Yes it's one of those things I've had to get used to.   I guess it's a good thing I love him...LOL.   Time to get ready for work.   How fun!

Hodge Podge

 I stumbled across a YouTube channel that I used to watch on the regular in the mid 2010's.   They were a pair of sexy physically fit twins named Keith and Kevin Hodge born in Virginia.   They started their original channel to try and see if they could supplement their income while both were working as insurance agents.    Things quickly took off for them and it wasn't long before the money they made off Youtube was enough for them to quit their jobs and do their channel full-time.

Most of their early work comprised of answering "viewer" letters that they received asking them for advice on various topics like Friends With Benefits, Getting Your Partner To Go Downtown, or Signs Your Partner is Cheating.   Their videos would start with antics where Keith will initially be sitting alone on camera on the right-hand side background and Kevin will slowly appear on camera, primping and posing and starting off the topic before Keith would leap up in front and playfully shove Kevin aside saying "Move out the way" before he starts primping and posing himself and eventually tag-teaming with Kevin on the given topic.   Some of their older videos which I can't find anymore they used to actually read the letters and at the end Keith would always say "but you can do whatever the fuck you wanna do".    I loved hearing them talk about "mushroom tips" and "getting in sugar walls".

I definitely enjoyed watching their antics and while both are hot, I had more of an attraction to Keith.   He was the more serious of the two twins and maybe that's what appealed to me.    Both were big on fitness and also had various fitness videos as well both on their channel and as guests on other Youtube fitness channels.   They also for a time made various food videos where they review items from various restaurants.

Anyway they got so big that they started scheduling comedy shows and selling merchandise.   I never did attend any of them and I remember stopping watching them after they started showing their "conversative side".

Apparently they lost a large number of their viewers once they did so.   I was also dismayed to learn that they are Donald Trump fans.   I just can't imagine anyone with a brain supporting him.   Plus it seems like a lot of their posts are on attacking trans folk.    They come across as ignorant during those times.

But I do feel like a lot of it is that people will root for their team no matter what.   In their case since they consider themselves conservative, they'll support Trump no matter what.   The same happens on the other side as well.   I know growing up we were raised to support liberal no matter what.   The Hodge Twins were no exception as black men growing up in a liberal family.   But somewhere along the way they decided that their opinions lean more on the conservative side.   

I will say that I have found that I have some conservative values.   I do believe in individualism in the sense that I believe in relying on myself to make things better.   At the same time though I do know sometimes folks may need a helping hand.   I just don't like it if people abuse the system (whether they receive welfare instead of betting themselves or get to shield the majority of their riches from being taxed and not helping those in need).   Also a person's individualism should not infringe on any other person's rights.   

But getting back to the Hodge twins.  I actually do find their videos to be entertaining.   Even though they tend to harp on the negative stereotypes of black folks, they do sometimes seem to try and apply logic in trying to understand the other side of things.   For example they drew a conclusion that if a trans woman "tricked" them into having sex, they would not consider themselves to be gay since they were attracted to the feminine aspects of the person.   I also agree with them that trans women (though I wonder how they feel about trans men) should not trick straight guys into having sex with them.   I do get that they are attracted to straight men but I feel that honesty is the best policy.   If a guy doesn't want them because they are trans, they have to move on to the next.   I've had to learn that lesson with gay guys that weren't attracted to me so that should be the same with trans.

I think for me what I most like about the Hodge twins is that it's cool seeing how they both interact with each other.   They are brothers in every sense of the word.   They joke around with each other and have an inside language all their own.   They seem to balance each other out too.   Kevin is the mellow jokester to Keith's stern serious nature.

I always remember wishing I had a twin growing up.   I feel like my life would've been more interesting.   I do wonder if my twin would be a carbon copy of me or if he would be completely opposite of me.   

Seeing the Hodge twins interact fulfills that fantasy for me.  I do believe that is their main appeal even if on the underlying level I do not agree with a lot of what they say.    Needless to say I'll still occasionally watch their videos.

If I Won The Lottery

 

I know I'm not alone in this.   I always fantasized what my life would be like if I ever won the lottery with a substantial amount of money.   If I won at least 20 million dollars (after taxes of course), would I quit my job?   Would I tell my family?   Sell my house and move somewhere warm?   Take the lump sum or spread out the winnings over 20 years?   How would my life change?

I've heard the horror stories about people who've won big jackpots but managed to lose it all either because of unscrupulous people (including family), bad money management (which is at the heart of it), and just not knowing what to do.   Some people even lost their lives because of those same reasons.

I definitely feel like I would not tell my sisters if I won.   I wouldn't be able to hide it from Dom but I would implore him not to tell his family either.   I would definitely opt to not make my name public.  That would mean hiring a lawyer and I believe setting up a trust and having that trust be named.   I can just imagine every Tom, Dick, and Larry coming out of the woodworks begging for a piece of the pie.

I wouldn't want my neighbors to know either which means keeping the same car or just buying a newer car that's a few years old.   I probably wouldn't quit my job right away either.   Maybe stick it out for another six months to a year and then make up a different excuse for leaving.   Thankfully age may help out here.   Ideally I would love to early retire at 55 if possible.   I'll be 52 in October so that'll only be 3 more years after that.   So I could definitely rock that excuse.   

As an aside I'm still keeping the faith that Blackberry will allow me to have that dream happen.  I also invested in a "blockchain" play that I'm hoping will blossom.   Supposedly "blockchain" is the next big thing after Artificial Intelligence.   Just hope I'm on the right trains.   Of course the bulk of my investments are in safer vehicles.   

But back to my hypothetical question.   I would probably keep the same house and if I hadn't already definitely pay off the mortgage.   That's a big thing with me and I am blessed that our mortgage is very cheap compared to the average mortgage which according to Trading Economics website is around $407,000 (as of Jan 5th).   In 2022 the Average Monthly Mortgage payment was $2,317.   Ours is definitely below average for both.   Dom had hinted that he'd love to move to London though realistically I don't know if that would be possible unless we won the lottery.   Plus that dream would have to be funded by me...*LOL*.   But if we could swing it, it actually would give us access to visit other European countries more easily.

If I won the lottery I would look into anonymously giving money to my family and include myself so suspicion would be taken off me.   I'd do the same with my current Church and of course Dom's family.  Once I quit my job I'd love to do more volunteering and again anonymous donations to different charities.    Again I do not want them knowing it came from me.   I'd like to be one of those people that when I finally leave this Earth, people would be shocked to find out I was a multi-millionaire.    Basically being "The Millionaire Next Door" blending in with the rest of the neighborhood and not standing out in any way.

Dom and I would definitely go on more trips.   We've both been blessed to have traveled to many places (together and separate) but there's so many places I have not been too that I would love to see.   There's Germany, Italy, France (which is a shame since our family has French ties), Australia, South Africa, just to name a few.   I'll admit I would worry a little bit about the house being gone but I would definitely have more cameras installed throughout to keep watch on things.

I would probably get some newer clothes and gadgets.  Eat out more and if the servers are particularly good, leaving $100 or $200 tips.   Of course I would pay off all Dom's debts as well.    Basically it would be nice to enjoy life more instead of always stressing about money.   I will say that I'm not stressing about it as much as I used to but I know that we're all just one disaster away from losing everything and having to struggle.

Basically I'd do almost everything the caller in the video I shared has done.   Some almost think the caller was a plant and he very well could be but it was so cool how they seemed to have everything planned.    He and his wife didn't even tell their two teenage kids (don't have that problem) which I definitely think is wise since they're not old enough to realize the ramifications plus as he said cleverly -- he doesn't want them to become "waiters", waiting for them to die...*LOL*.    He wants the kids to figure out what they want to do in life and work to achieve those goals.   Then once they have their jobs and lives started, sharing the news with them.    It just makes so much sense.   Now he did tell one sibling which I'm not sure I would've done.    But otherwise he seemed to do everything right.   Maybe he was a plant for the show...LOL.

But anyway it's nice to dream a little dream sometimes.   Who knows, maybe it'll come true?   Will I share it on the blog?   You'll have to wait and see.   LOL.

Stealing Garbage

 Last November our garbage container was replaced with a new container.   The one we had since we moved was falling apart with holes on the side and loose handles.   So it was needed.    We weren't told it was going to be replaced though.   I just went to reposition the garbage container since the collectors never bother to put the containers back properly and found it gone.

I wound up calling our waste management company (after a comedy of errors trying to figure out who to contact) to get a replacement.    They scheduled the replacement to arrive the same day as our garbage pickup.    They took no consideration to whether anyone would be home or not.

So the new container came that morning and the delivery person gave no consideration to even bother to let me know that it was there.   I guess he made enough noise just arriving and taxing in front of the parkway for almost fifteen minutes.   Just as he left, the collectors were arriving to pick up garbage so I put our garbage for the week in the spot where our container normally resides.   As soon as they were done I moved the new container to the spot where the old one used to be.

It was nice having a spanking brand new container.   Little did I know that jealous thieving assholes would be eyeing the container for themselves.

Fast forward to the morning of January 4th.   I woke up and from our second floor window, I saw that the new container was missing.   Our neighbors, the Joneses, have a tall fence next to us and my first thought was that the container was hiding there and the collectors who picked up our garbage the day before didn't bother to put it back in the vicinity of where it should be.   I went outside and found the container tossed in the yard.   My first thought was that pranksters were messing with us again.  In the past I found random items tossed in the yard.   Dom was wondering if it was the wind but I know the wind would not push it over the small fence and surrounding tree branches.   I have a security camera facing our garage but unfortunately none in the area facing the alley.

I picked up the container and put it back in place.   I saw that my neighbor's containers were not touched.   The only difference I surmised was that our container was newer.   I was concerned and I even contemplated how to put the camera on the vinyl siding.   I wasn't sure drilling holes would work on the siding.   I found some videos that showed how to install cameras without drilling holes using vinyl siding hangers.    But since I had to work for a living I didn't have time to contemplate it too long and by the time work was over, it was dark.

I was definitely concerned about the container but there wasn't much I could do.   We do not have security lighting in the yard so it's extremely dark and not able to see.   I just had to pray that everything would be okay.

But it wasn't.   The morning of the 5th I saw the container was missing again.   But this time when going to the yard, the container was completely gone (including the garbage I tossed in it).  There is an identification number that is on the container but I did not think of tracking the number.   I drove around the neighborhood and I did see a container with a black lid but I had no way of telling whether it was ours or not.   

I called the waste management company and reported the theft but they won't do anything about it.  I inquired about the identification number and operator stated they don't even use that number.    But I'll be getting a new container once more next Tuesday.    This time, however, I plan to keep the container closer to the house (Dom even suggested keeping it in the garage).

One of the things I liked about living where we are was that I didn't have to push the container to the curb every week in anticipation of garbage pickup.   It was nice being able to have it remain in the same spot just outside the fence in the alley.   But now I'll have to push the container weekly.   I fucking hate people.

I did file a police report online but I'm not expecting anything to come from it.   They didn't even want to investigate when our home was broken into.   I will get more cameras installed in the rest of the yard.  What a mess.

A Coughing Matter

 Another new year has officially made its way.   It's a reminder of how fast time is flying.   As far as major accomplishments go, I would say my biggest one was paying off my oldest credit card debt.   I am at the point thankfully that I'm able to pay off my credit card balance every month w/o carrying over debt that would quickly snowball into interest.   Workwise I obtained 3 new certifications and received recognition for my work from management.   I'm in the process of renewing my Comptia Sec+ certification that is set to expire 01/11/24.    Thankfully they give an option (for $200) to take a training module and successfully pass five assessments to renew it.   The alternative is to retake the exam for $329.   I am not utilizing my Sec+ knowledge since I'm not in a cybersecurity role but nonetheless I do feel like it's a good one to have on my skillsets.  I so far completed four modules and passed 100% after several dozen attempts (each assessment)...LOL.   I anticipate finishing the last module by this weekend, well before my current cert is set to expire.

Dom and I made it through another year of living together for better or worse.   We're currently experiencing the worse part of it.    As a school teacher he is unfortunately susceptible to catching "bugs" that his students and/or fellow teachers have.    One of his teachers was out of the office and in the hospital for the RSV that seems to be the latest virus plaguing the U.S.   He started feeling stuffy and coughing violently the week before their holiday.   He forced himself to go to work (because he was no more time off) which I think helped me initially not succumb to it.    In fact I left for Detroit while he was at work on his last day.

So I was fine while in Detroit.  I staved off a potential sore throat that was coming my way prior to going.   I came back home on the 26th and the next day I started getting sore throat symptoms again.   I tried gargling with salt water like I did the week prior but it didn't go away.    I woke up on the 28th with a severe sore throat.   I continued to gargle to no avail and drank hot tea with honey and lemon.  Dom in the meantime was still hacking and feeling stuffy.   I didn't feel any cold symptoms.   That changed the morning of the 30th.

I was disappointed because I was planning to hang with Eugene and his friend on NYE but knew I would not be in any condition if I was coughing and sneezing.   Things got worse on NYE and I knew that I would not be making it there, my third year in the row not attending.   2021 I had "stone drama" and in 2022 I was in Detroit.   I am glad we did get together over the summer for a day this year at least.   I was feeling feverish as well and barely ate.    Dom made some tasty beef barley soup that I did manage to eat a bowl and half of it.   I popped some Tylenol and before 9 I decided to head upstairs and spend the rest of the night in bed.   I opted to watch a Netflix movie called "The Noel Diary"   It honestly wasn't that great though I was pleasantly surprised to see cameos by Dexter's Dad actor James Remar and none other than Half & Half actress Essence Atkins who is my age.   The lead actor in the role was pleasing to the eye but the lead actress worked my nerves.    The ending was so stupid too.   But it did help me pass the time.   I went to bed just around midnight (I could tell because our resident idiot[s] was [were] out shooting firecrackers or a gun).   So that's how I rung in the New Year.

I'm not coughing as much today but it's still there.   And my mucus continues to feel very thick even though I'm trying to drink more water.   I'm actually trying different approaches.   I took a zinc pill and also some manuka honey and black seed oil.   I also resumed gargling and did a neti.   Dom and I went to the store on the 30th and I bought some knock off Lysol that was 80% cheaper that I've been spraying periodically hoping to kill the virus we keep spewing when either of us coughs.   I unfortunately go back to work tomorrow though I may opt for a sick day to give me one more day of recovery.   I have days that will go to waste so I may just do that.

Dom says he's almost at the tail end of his cold though he still has the cough.   I am praying this goes away.   It's not the way I wanted to end or start the year.   Not that I welcome this at any time.   Uggh.