January 31, 2033

 I started my current job journey as a support engineer on January 31, 2022.   I already documented the journey it took me to get from analyst to picker to now an engineer.   Having the word 'Engineer' in my job title was one I never thought I would have.   There were many majors back in my college days (oh how I miss the 90's..well some of it...LOL) related to engineering like Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineers.   I didn't phantom back then that offering technical support would be another form of engineering.

So the job is definitely stressful at times.   But I remain grateful that I was given the opportunity to prove myself.   It has afforded me the opportunity to get my financial life back on track and resume work towards my goal of financial independence.

I'll be celebrating 3 years at my present job today.   Hard to believe how fast time is flying by.  I'm nearer to the retirement finish line now as well.   I find myself thinking a lot more about retirement these days.   It doesn't help that Dom is targeting his retirement from being a teacher to be in August 2026.   He's been very vocal about it with the way kids act today.   On the daily he shares horror stories from his classroom.   Also school shootings continue to be a thing in this country.  He is ready like yesterday to get away from the madness.

I also have a lot of acquaintances that have recently retired and seem to be enjoying life.   It adds to my wanting to have that life as well.

With that said I have a date in mind for when I would like to retire.   That date is January 31, 2033.   I'll be 60 years old at the time.   That date assumes that I'm still alive (LOL big one there),  my mortgage will be paid off (still on target for June/July 2026 for that to happen), no major expenses left (though life throws a lot at you), I still have a job without interruption (i.e. layoffs), and that I have a nice healthy amount of cash saved.

I did have a stretch goal of retiring at 55 (January 31, 2028) but I feel that's not realistic.  I anticipate needing to get another car in the next year or so.   The way prices are on cars these days is a mess.   I watched one Youtube video that normalized a good car deal at $58K.    Granted it was a Ford-150 or something along those lines but paying over $30K for a car is insane to me.   That's like a mini-mortgage to me.

In addition to the car, there's a few things that need to be fixed/replaced in our old house.   We need windows replaced throughout the house for example.   We have an old radiator that thankfully is hanging on but at some point it'll need to be replaced.   Plus the radiators in a couple rooms are not working properly and would need to be fixed.  Insulation is needed in a couple of rooms that tend to stay cold.    We have old wiring that needs to be changed as well.   I'd love to change our flooring in the main rooms to be hardwood flooring and there's of course plenty of painting and refacing that needs to be done.   All of that will cost money.

In terms of home upkeep, I pretty much am the one financially responsible for 99.94% of it.  So I would have to hope I'm able to take care of a lot of it and have it paid off before my retirement date.

Of course I could work till the standard 67 years old (January 31, 2040) or heaven forbid 70 years old (January 31, 2043).   It's scary thinking that future is really not far away at all.   

Also who knows what our health situations will be like.   That factor can quickly ruin any plans that are made.   But at some point the trigger has to be pulled whether by your choice or forced (layoffs anyone).   So for now I'm manifesting into the universe that I will be officially retiring on January 31, 2033.   Mission accepted!

Zero To Shitty

 

As a support engineer, some days at work can be so crazy.    There are times when you get crazy issue after crazy issue.   The customers have little decorum at times, demanding someone reach out to them right away or else.   To top it off I still have to assist others on their own nightmares.   There are days that I'm so busy I barely get time for lunch.   

The worst is when a day that is seemingly quiet turns into what I recently coined "zero to shitty".   It's enough to make me want to scream.   When I'm in the office it's terrible because I can't even scream.  I may have an outburst but I have to keep it in check.  It sucks too since my immediate team is in Indianapolis while I'm in Chicago.

One of the shitty issues I received last Friday was from a customer who was checking on a "promised" fix to a bug that they found.   They referenced the previous case where the claim was made.   The only thing, there was no documentation proving that an investigation was made or another acknowledging the issue and scheduling a fix.   The customer had an angry tone and said they did not want to get called to ask about the issue.

I reached out to the previous engineer and his excuse was that he was a newbie at the time.   I involved my manager who reached out to that engineer's manager.    The engineer gave me a webex video of the call which helped me narrow down the issue.   I was able to repro the issue on a demo org and document the steps.  It would be a matter of me "swarming" the issue with a different channel to verify on it and create an investigation where our Research and Development team could confirm on the issue.

I then forgot that the specific issue gets handled by a different team.  I put in a "swarm" request to the dedicated channel.   The leader of the channel declared that the channel was only for those who handled that specific skill set and to transfer the case to their team.   They basically gave me an out.  Woo hoo!

So I transferred the case.   Of course I checked on the case to see who ended up with it.  Later on I saw the new owner reached out to the previous case owner and basically made them take the case.   I probably should've done the same but I hate when engineers try to pass the buck just because you may have worked on an issue a year ago.   I've had it happen to me.  I honestly may not have remembered the issue.   But in this case since the mistake made by that engineer was so blatant, maybe it was justified.   It'll definitely be a case I'll keep watching periodically to see where it goes.

In the end a lot of the issues eventually get resolved but the journey to get there is a shitty ride.   Is Blackberry stock at $20 yet?   LOL

Bishop Buddle's Plea

 

I don't blog often about politics.  It's not because the topic doesn't interest me.  I'm aware of how it shapes our daily lives, especially at the local level.   The last few federal elections have left me exhausted but even I knew the implications if Trump won the election.   I thought it was common knowledge.   How could a convicted felon, rapist, racist, and plain dumb man be given the keys to the highest position of the land?   The homework assignment was for everyone to do their part and vote for Kamala Harris.   It's disappointing that half of the country was so against having a black woman as president that they chose to re-elect an out of touch and dangerous man.   Harris was not perfect and perhaps the democratic party should've went through the normal vetting process to get a candidate that the party could stand behind.   But Harris at least was willing to work with folks even across party lines.   Trump has shown time and time again that he's not willing to do this.

I could not bring myself to watch the inauguration except for what the local media forced on the TV.   I felt the pain of Biden and Harris to have to sit there and listen to the nonsense that he was saying.  So imagine my glee when I heard about Bishop Mariann Edgar Buddle making a plea directly to Trump and the even more stupid but evil vice-president J.D. Vance during today's (01/21) service at the National Cathedral.    It was a thing of beauty to see and hear how Bishop Buddle pierced through with her words.   The whole family was squirming and appeared disgusted.   The only person that seemed to listen was ironically J.D. Vance's wife Usha.   

From the little I've seen of Usha, she seems to carry herself as a decent person.   How she ended up married to the likes of J.D. Vance I'll never understand.

Sadly Buddle's words will fall on death and dumb ears.   All it did was make Trump angry and he and the rest of the clan tuned it out.   But those who stand for decency heard her loud and clear.    The United States needs a lot of help and prayers to get through these next four years.

Triple Play

 

I was excited to see that Netflix finally added Shemar Moore's show S.W.A.T. to its arsenal.  The show follows the lives of the Special Weapons & Tactics LAPD team as they fight crime.  Shemar headlined the show after leaving Criminal Minds after 11 seasons.    

I'm currently on Season 2 of the series.   Overall I'm enjoying the action packed series so far.  It's been nice seeing Shemar shirtless as well.   He's definitely aging like a fine wine.

 The show is currently in their 8th Season.   I've purposely avoided spoilers as I'm sure some of the current cast may no longer be on the show and I want to be surprised as it happens.    One of the stories explored in Season 2 includes a S.W.A.T. member contemplating joining a polyamorous relationship with a couple.  

I thought it was interesting that the topic was explored since it's a taboo subject.   The episodes I've seen so far show the member in question struggling with the notion of whether they should join or not.   One of the issues explored was how individuals close to the character, including co-workers and immediate family would react to the news.

So far the show seems to be treating the storyline respectively.  I should know as once upon a time yours truly almost became part of a polyamorous (Triad) relationship.

I'm fuzzy on the exact timeframe but I believe it happened sometime after Rock and I broke up.   I chatted with Mark1 on one of my social networking sites.   On his profile he did mention that he was in a relationship and was looking for a third.   I remember at the time being curious about it but I mostly was attracted to the guys in the photo so I replied initially.

Our conversations were good.  Mark1 and Mark2 were located in Tampa, FL.   After about a month of chatting, Mark1 invited me to visit Tampa.   He wanted us to have a trial run and to answer any questions I may have.  It was not my first time in Tampa as I've visited a couple times beforehand.

The weekend of my visit quickly approached and I flew down to Tampa.   After getting my bags, I walked around and received a message from Mark2.   We eventually connected and we walked over to his car where Mark1 was waiting.   I remember we drove to a local grocery store because they needed to pick up items for a dinner they were planning.   Mark1 stayed in the car while Mark2 and I went to the store.

Mark2 and I had a chance to chat a bit while we were shopping.  It's a long time ago but I don't recall there being any red flags.   The two of them were a regular couple who at the time had been together for over seven years.   They were wanting to look for a third person for a while.  It looked like Mark1 was slowing down sexually which was why they were opening things up.

I remember we had a good time that weekend both in and out of the bed.  I was even introduced to important people in their lives.   But ultimately I knew that the Triad life was not for me.

I will say most of the hang-ups were on my side which is why nothing further was pursued.  At the time I was not officially out to my family.   My thinking at the time was that it would be hard for my parents to process not only that I was gay but that I was in a relationship with two guys.   Also I was worried about what other friends (especially Eugene) and family would think.   I also would have to relocate to Florida.   Ironically this wasn't the first time the option to move to Florida would happen.    At my job they were also giving employees the option to relocate to the Brandon, FL corporate facilities.   This was way before I met Mark1 and Mark2.   I decided not to do so ultimately which was for the best given the crazy that Florida is now.

There were of course some benefits of being part of a TRIAD besides the bedroom.   There would potentially be three incomes in the family which would no doubt help with finances and possibly reach financial freedom faster.   I believe Mark2 worked in the Information Technology field like I did and I forgot about Mark1 did for a living.   But yeah that was my foray into polygamy.   

I am definitely curious to see where the storyline goes for S.W.A.T.   I haven't seen the issue explored too much (though I'm sure there may be some shows that have done so I just don't know) so it definitely caught my interest.   So far they seem to be handling it well while still sticking to the premise of the show, catching bad guys.   The character in question was struggling with the idea and the last episode I watched ended with her deciding to give it a try.   So now I'm waiting to see how it goes.

Girls5eva No More

 

I briefly posted last year about a show I first started watching on streaming platform Peacock that actually introduced me to Peacock.   At the time I did not have a subscription but somehow the show Girls5eva caught my attention.   Since I didn't have a subscription I was only able to watch the first episode for free.  It was all I needed to get hooked.   I enjoyed the characters of Dawn, Wickie, Summer, Gloria, and sometimes Ashley (at least in flashbacks since her character died falling from the edge of an infinity pool...LOL).   The premise was that the remaining ladies reunite and try to get their 90's girl band back together after a popular rap artist samples one of their old hits.

Since I wasn't able to watch the remaining episodes, I would find other sources to get tidbits on the show.   These included message boards like PRIMETIMER, the descendant from the now deceased Television Without Pity boards.

Once Season 2 rolled over on Peacock, I told myself if I passed my latest Salesforce Certification, that I would treat myself by buying a subscription to Peacock so I could watch the full show.   I thankfully passed and quickly purchased it so I could watch the rest of Season 1 and then Season 2.   I even got Dom hooked on the show (the same way I got him hooked on Schitt's Creek...LOL).   The jokes on the show were so funny to me and I enjoyed seeing the ladies journey as they clawed their way back to stardom.

But Peacock wound up cancelling the show.   However, Netflix saved the show by adding it to their roster.   It took another year and a half before 6 new episodes were added.    It was disappointing that the number of episodes were reduced from 8 to 6.    But it was nice having the show back on the air.

My favorite character out of the main 4 protagonists was actress Renee Elise Goldsberry's Wickie.   Wickie was that vapid character that in her mind's eye was the cat's meow.   She always had to do things to make her stand out from the other group members.   Be it doing extra vocal acrobatics during their various songs or making everything about her.

Wickie had so many funny one-liners as well.   She made it all about her from her first entrance in the show.   

"Cease and desist, bitch!"

"I finally get empathy.  It's when you feel sad for others because the same thing's happening to you."

"I think being a publicist is mostly about having a phone."

"I cannot disclose the size of the man I'm meeting, I signed an NDA with the NBA on TNT."

"Normal almost destroyed me, Dawn.  Never again."

"Fine.  But you should know I've never lost at singing...except once as a minor, so those records are sealed."

The actress Renee has been in numerous shows, movies, and theatrical performances through the years.   Going through her resume on IMDB, I didn't realize that she guest-starred on a few shows that I've watched over the years, like Ally McBeal and The Good Wife.   I'll have to rewatch some of those episodes to see her early works.   She first came to my attention when Dom and I went to see Hamilton in 2020.   She played Angelica Schuyler, the eldest no-nonsense sister of Eliza, the future wife of Alexander Hamilton.   I enjoyed her performance there and then I saw her guest star on the show Evil who's main character David played a drug dealer villain on the Good Wife.   She played the temptress of David who was studying to be a priest.   

She also played a role on the futuristic Netflix show Altered Carbon which shows characters jumping into literal "human body" suits to give themselves different looks.

This past November I drove to South Bend to see an independent film called Albany Road.   She played ad executive Celeste who agrees to travel from New York to Washington D.C. where she needs to meet with a potential backer who can save the fledging ad company from going belly up.   Celeste used to live in D.C and flashes back to a significant relationship she had there that ended when her present employment came up.   She runs in her ex's mother at the airport and comedy ensues as the two wind up forced to drive together due to flights being canceled for bad weather and car rentals running out of cars.   The highlight of the movie was getting to see Renee interact with the legendary Lynn Whitfield.

I saw the two actresses interview on the Sherry Shephard show and one of the things asked was about the fate of Girls5eva.   Renee was beaming when talking about the show and expressing hope that it would be renewed.   The whole interview was a delight to see and the movie was excellent.   It's sad that it's not getting the promotion like bigger movies but that's the lot that independent movies have to deal with.   At the theatre I saw it, there were only 3 other people watching.   I do hope that it makes its way to DVD or streaming so I can rewatch it again.   

It's possible that Renee may have already known the fate of the show.   But she put on a brave face when talking about it and I was convinced that she was hoping that it would get renewed.

I'm so pissed at Netflix.   But alas there's not much that can be done.  Unless a third network tries to rescue it but that's not happening.   The actors no doubt will be moving on to new projects.   I will continue to watch the show before Netflix takes it out of rotation completely.   I do hope though that maybe they'll do a limited series follow-up if there's enough outcry.   But I'm not holding my breath for that.   I do look forward to seeing what Renee and the other actors on the show do next.  

R.I.P. Jimmy Carter

 The last time I blogged about Jimmy Carter, I was celebrating his turning 100 on October 1st.   His birthday being the day before my Mom's birthday on October 2nd (different years).    He was defying the odds by remaining in hospice care for well over a year.   Well President Carter was called home on Sunday, December 29th.    He lived just long enough to cast his vote for Kamala Harris and died during a time to add a wrinkle to Trump's inauguration. 

The White House (President Biden) ordered the flags on the White House and other public buildings to be at half-staff starting at 30 days from Carter's death.   This period includes the day that Trump gets inaugurated into office.    Of course Trump was upset about this and threw a tantrum.   

A part of me wondered if Biden was being petty about the order knowing that the 30 days would also include inauguration day.   That day is set to be a pretty sad state of affairs.   Having the flags at half-staff does seem appropriate given the crazy that is taking over the White House again.   It may serve as a precursor of what may come over the next four years.   Will the United States survive another four years of his insanity?

He's been talking so much nonsense about having Canada become the 51st state, changing Gulf of Mexico's name to Gulf of America, taking over Greenland, and criticizing the handling of the L.A. wildfires.   It truly is scary that the majority of America chose to vote a convicted felon as president.  If he can be president, other convicted felons should be able to get lesser jobs.   In fact, all they have to do is utter the word "Trump" if a prospective job discriminates against them.

I wonder though if Trump will make it through his entire term.   I feel like they are setting the stage for J.D. Vance to step in and then all hell would really break loose.   All we can do is pray.

But back to what this post was really about.   It's celebrating the life of a great man who many say wasn't a great president.   However he was a better man who made a positive difference in many lives with the work that he's done with Habitat for Humanity.   Earlier today was Jimmy Carter's funeral at Washington National Cathedral.   I haven't seen any articles yet of any bad behavior but I'm sure those are still being printed.   But Mr. Carter is finally at peace.  

Two Odds Making It Even

 At the Church I attend there are two folks with odd behaviors that crossed paths and have coupled up.   I wasn't there when hints of their relationship first became apparent but thanks to COVID and the church's decision to continue "Facebook Live-ing" services long after the pandemic (5 years and counting...uggh), I got to witness the hints during a rewatch of a service.

Before I get to that moment though here's a brief snippet about each individual.   Norbit is the name of the first guy.   I believe he first came to the Church sometime in 2018 or 2019.   I can't remember exactly.   But Norbit has the habit of talking and talking and talking and not knowing when to stop.   At the time Dom and I were both actively coming into the Church together.   Hemingway poor Norbit kept wanting to hang out with Dom and I outside of Church and neither of us had the heart to tell him no.   Dom quickly threw me under the bus telling Norbit to get my number.  I reluctantly gave him my number but kept making excuses for not hanging out.   I felt bad but did not want to be forced into a situation I wanted no part of.   It took him awhile but he finally got the hint.   He also stopped coming to services regularly once he got a job at Menard's.

Theron is the name of guy #2.  He first appeared at Church around June 2024 at the Church's Pride Picnic event.   I remember he seemed pretty nice but had a tendency to overshare on things.    As it turned out, he had experience playing piano and there hasn't been a steady piano player since Dom stepped away from playing full-time after over 10 years being the main music man.    We did hire another guy a year or so after Dom stopped playing but he unfortunately did not work out and there was a vacancy for several more years that was filled with random muzak from Youtube that I as a choir member had to adjust to singing too.   Originally when Dom was playing piano there were three other regular choir members who one by one stepped away until only I remained.   Our good Rev inserted himself into the choir just before the third member left.   He tends to sing very loudly and is not that great.  Plus he selects the music and comes up with the oddest selections which I have to struggle to figure out live.    But back to Theron.

Theron offered to play for free on Sundays.   He does okay though we've gotten used to singing fast with Dom's playing.   Theron plays a lot slower.

So as I said I did not attend service the week Norbit came back to the Church.   Actually a month prior to that he appeared as well and I happen to not be at service that week.   But the week in question I couldn't help but notice that Norbit parked himself in the front row near the piano.   Theron sits in the front row as well whenever a muzak selection is playing or during Rev's sermon.   In the video I saw that Theron reached out to hug Norbit.   But Norbit didn't seem that receptive.

So the week after that I also didn't attend for whatever reason (I may have hooked up with Anthony that time).  I watched the playback later and Norbit wasn't there that week.   During the weekly "news to share" segment, Theron spoke up.   He basically was saying how much he enjoyed meeting Norbit and was looking forward to seeing him again.  That was when I realized something was brewing there and I remember Rev being at a loss of words initially on how to summarize what was said before calling for the next person to give their "news to share".

After that the two of them have been inseparable and have stated they've been at each other's homes.   They're an unexpected odd couple.    I have to say though I am glad that they found each other.   There truly is somebody out there for everybody.    I think the crazy tendencies the two have play well off each other.

During our board meeting, the Rev mentioned that Theron was asking for some money now for playing.   Part of me was wondering if Norbit put that idea in his head.   Besides he needs some spending money to date Norbit.   I don't know if Theron has another job or not.   But nonetheless it'll be interesting to see where things go with them.   Hopefully they don't drive each other crazy with their individual craziness.   

But at the end of the day, it's none of my concern.   I remember when Dom and I started dating how annoying some folks were getting when they were wondering where Dom and I were heading.   Some wanted to put the cart before the horse.   There were some that tried to plot against us.   But things wound up working out for us.

I wish Norbit and Theron well.

In A Detox Mood

 With the new year creeping in, I've been thinking that I'm overdue for doing a detox.   There was a time in the mid-2000's where I had done several of them over a few years.   I did a popular one called the Master Cleanse at least ten times.   The last time I did a Master Cleanse was in 2009 I believe.   I've done a couple 3-day juice cleanses in recent years that haven't been as intense as the Master Cleanse.

I'm thinking of doing a detox cleanse by Dr. Bobby Price.   I first heard about Dr. Price on Youtube when watching an interview that he part of by an investment guru Anthony O'neal who had him as a guest.

Dr. Bobby came across as very insightful about how unhealthy a lot of foods are.   He advocates eating a plant based diet.   Even the so-called vegan processed foods are not healthy either.    He shared his story on how he was diagnosed with high blood pressure and how plant based foods reversed it.   He also has his own Youtube channel where he discusses a lot of topics in relation to improving health.

On his website, he has a link to a 14-day herbal detox that I'm curious to try.   The detox consists of drinking two different 32-oz bottles of tea.   The first tea is called Tummy TeaTox and it consists of various herbs like dandelion, rhubarb, senna (which was the main ingredient in a tea I drank when I was doing Master Cleanse), and slippery elm.   The second tea is called Parasite Candida Cleanse and it contains herbs like neem, burdock, black walnut hull, and oregano.

From what I understand you basically steep the tea overnight and then you alternate drinking 2 oz. of one tea and then the other every 20 minutes.   While detoxing it doesn't look like they mention any dietary restrictions so it seems you can eat regular meals as well.

I'm still trying to research others who've gone through the cleanse.   I have read that it does help clear up a lot of accumulated waste in the system.   Some have said they haven't felt as hungry while on the detox and that it helped eliminate bad eating habits.

I may wind up doing a juice cleanse once more before trying the herbal detox.   The rub is since I have to commute to the office more, I would have to take my juices or tea with me to the office.   It also means that I would be going to the bathroom more frequently which is not good in my current role.   So that'll be something I'll need to navigate.   I've had to do the same years back with the Master Cleanse.  I will definitely blog about it depending on what I decide.

In other news my Dad's birthday is tomorrow.   He would've been 95 years old.   An interesting fact is that my Dad told Trina a year or so before he passed that his birthday was actually on January 4th but they mistakenly put the 5th on his birth certificate.   I'm trying to remember if he said that before.  But regardless of whether it's on the 4th or the 5th, he is still missed.   Happy heavenly birthday Papa!