Life in the South part 29

Reptiles: Hey, you've got A/C and Netflix. Can I come in?

Cats:  Sorry you weren't on the E-vite.

Me: How did the lizard get into the house in the first place?

Kids:  That's a mystery that will never be solved.

I posted the above on the Book of Faces, although this happened a few days ago.  I suspect the poor creature got into our bathroom because we currently have a hole in our shower where some tile has fallen off.

Our cats probably had a field day tormenting and then finally, perhaps accidentally, killing this guy.  

In other news, last night we had a Tornado Warning around 1 am.  Nightingale woke us up, and we put a mattress from the kids loft into what amounts to a hallway between the bedrooms and bathroom until it passed.  

Usually, these warnings and events are all NothingBurgers, but it's better to be safe than sorry.  It seems we are experiencing a lot of weather conditions down here.  More snow.  More cold.  and More Tornado warnings than in past decades.  But Climate Change is not real, right?  /end sarcasm font.  

Down to Four Bucks a Day Now

 I thought it would be good to update the Cost per Day for the Drama Playset.  We have now owned the Drama Playset since January 14, 2022.  

Conservative Estimate:  I'm assuming that 4 kids using the playset most days equals one kid using it daily.  Also, we have had an additional kid most of the year.

So using the time and date duration calculator to figure the time between January 14, 2022, when it finally arrived, and today this year, I get 1172 days.  

that works out to $6000/1172 = $5.92 per use.

Slightly Optimistic Estimate:  If we get more optimistic, then we can assume 4 kids using the playset most days equals two kids using it every day.

That works out to $6000/1172/2 = $2.56 per use.

If we take the average of these two values, we get the more like CPU of $3.84.

So as we have owned this for 3 years and some change, it costs $4 to keep my kids entertained and off their iPads.

Same as Always

In the month of February two recruiters reached out to me about contract positions at Law Firm A and B.  Recruiter A used the customary safe language of no promises but probably 3-6 months and might extend, with a slim possibility of going to FTE (Full-time Employment).

Recruiter B said the role would convert to FTE if things looked like a good fit.  This is the new normal because it's easier to offboard a contractor than a FTE.

There were 3 possibilities:  1) they both make offers and I have to choose; 2) only one makes an offer and it's pretty academic.  3) neither make an offer and I'm back to square one.

In the interest of not extending the suspense, neither made an offer, deciding to go with that person I always lose out to: Mr. Stronger Candidate.

Law Firm A just had me do one interview with the director I'd be working for and I recognized her name from when I was a support engineer at the No-Name Software Company.  I thought we had a good interview, certainly better than many of the ones I've had over the years.  Truthfully, I hoped she'd hire me and even if it only lasted 6 months it would 1) get me back in the game and 2) bring in some sorely needed income.

Law Firm B was a different story.  The first guy I interviewed with wanted, if hired, me to start FTE from the get-go.  Naturally, I said I would but this was not something I was prepared for during the interview.. it was quite a surprise.  The feedback was that he felt I'd be a good fit for the team, but let's see how the technical goes.

One issue was like always, they needed me to live in a particular state where they have an office.  And guess what, Tennessee would qualify!  All I would have to do was get an apartment and work from there.

But they still tried to find someone else.  I got a call from a 3rd recruiter for the same role!

The timeline gets fuzzy but eventually, Law Firm B schedules three back-to-back-back 30-minute interviews with some people.  Someone from the business side, a guy I actually interviewed with last year (who swears he was advocating for me then and now), and a director.  

In the end, they decided to go with someone else.  The good thing about this experience was the recruiters didn't abandon me, they were in relatively constant communication all along and even tried to help coach me.

The bad thing is that this shouldn't have taken as long as it did.  I can see mulling it over for a day or two but to make a candidate wait a week and then a weekend just to tell him that you're going in another direction is just cruel and insensitive.  

Winter Beard

 As it happened, we got our kids haircuts at the beginning of the year.  The place we go to has a punch card for adults and my was full, so I got my hair cut too.  But that day (January 4th I do believe) kicked off an experiment.  I decided to grow a beard. 

I've always had Weird Beard.. In my 20s, if I shaved on Monday, I would not get 5 o’clock shadow until about noon on Thursday.  Later in my 30s, the stubble showed up sooner, but it was still like nothing, nothing, nothing, then boom: 5 o’clock shadow that looked like I hadn’t shaved in a week.

I never minded because I’m not a beard, mustache, or goatee person.  And while the stubble grows faster as I have accumulated more spins around the sun, it still took probably longer than one would expect.  it was a good two weeks before anyone really noticed.  It was a good month and a half before the pepper was more noticeable than the salt in the salt and pepper beard.

Most people, including Nightingale liked it. In fact a lot of people who said they liked it also asked if Nightingale liked it.  There is one Friend-From-High-School who was against it but this is more about a relatively recent spat we've had on the Book of Faces and her opinion has no currency.

I personally didn't really like it.  it's itchy, scratch and I have to trim it to keep from looking like a cooter.  I was only gonna keep the beard until middle of February but I extended it to the middle of March.  I trimmed most of it off this week and will eventually get around to being clean shaven again, probably when Spring officially starts.

I might do Winter Beard next year but maybe not.  

Yes but what about Second Snowfall?

If it is rare to get snow in the South, it is even rarer to get more than one snowfall per year but here we are.  Last week the kids were off school for President's Day.  They went to school Tuesday and that evening, in anticipation of the coming snow, schools were closed, and if you didn't have to go anywhere STAY HOME! order was given.

from the first snow 

Nightingale had to use a PTO day because they couldn't reach all the patients in time to close the clinic.  It wasn't as much snow as the last one but down here any snow that lasts more than an afternoon is bad.  I started to clear off the driveway but while taking a short break -- I have a football-length driveway just from the street to the base of the house -- noticed that my neighbor's driveway was melting with the sun beating on it and realized ours was too.

On Thursday, schools were still closed, but the roads in our subdivision had melted, as had our driveway, so it was safe for Nightingale to go to work. The kids did have school on Friday.  The majority of the snow melted over the weekend with the last remnants fading away today.  

also from last time but it looks just like this

We had a big day on Saturday because we actually left the house.  First, it was for Nephew G birthday party at a bounce house.  He is 7 now.  Then, since we didn't have much food in the house, we opted to treat ourselves to Mexican.  We also invited Nightingale's parents who also invited Confederate Jethro et al.  

But first, the party.  I usually sit in a corner and just make sure my son isn't getting into any trouble but this time I made an effort to be social and sat at the adults' table.  Since I only see these people for G or M's birthdays for the most part, I always forget the names of most of Jethro's family.  

His Aunt B asked the table "Well, are we happy with the results of the election?"  My MIL said "We are, they aren't" referring to me and Nightingale.  Nightingale said I hope I still have a job and MIL said "I don't think that will happen, I have a gut feeling".  usually, it's FIL who is clueless.  

A short time later I was asked how I like it down here.  Whenever someone asks me a variation of that question, I respond with "People are uncomfortable with the answer to that question" which I did here.  Credit Beau Bennett, The Ranch.

She didn't quite hear me and thought I said something else but then she said "I'm not like Jethro" which Nightingale thinks is code for liberal.  I think it's more a way to say she's not as bat-shit crazy as Jethro et al but she is still likely conservative and Republican.

So then Dinner.  On the one hand, Jethro probably would have preferred anywhere but a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  On the other hand, if he didn't want to eat there he would have had to go home with at least one kid and make dinner.

It was loud and hard to carry on a conversation but I did manage to have a semi-pleasant chat with SIL and Jethro, though mostly SIL.  We talked about the upcoming trip to Michigan to visit the other SIL because her son is being crowned Prince of the Universe graduating High School and the Adamas want everyone to be there.  

I opposed to going for several reasons, which I may cover in a future post.  

A time ago

 This picture came up in my On This Day on the Book of Faces today.  It feels like Forever Ago, but just 4 years ago we were still in Chicago.  

Timing is everything and my timing genuinely sucks.  If the Dobbs decision had come out or leaked a year earlier, we could still be there.  If the job market heated up just a tad sooner I might have landed one.  IF IF IF.  

Now we are down here in the land of the idiotcracy and nightingale is worried about her job at the VA.  If you are paying attention to current events, President Trump and Elon Musk are gutting the government.  Firing as many as they can get away with.  

what's left out of this is that many Federal workers were not allowed to take the buyout because their position was considered too essential, yet they may also lose their jobs eventually.

Make it make sense.

Winter is Leaving (eventually)

It is wintertime in Mississippi and the rest of the South. Usually, what passes for winter down here is a few below-30-degree days and maybe one snowfall. Since we moved here, and even a few Christmas visits before, there has been bigger-than-standard snowfall and colder-than-record temperatures.  

kids attempt at making us breakfast

The good news is that winter is usually just mid-December to mid-February, give or take a week. Typically, it will be biting cold in the AM, but by 1 pm, the sun will be out, and it will be anywhere from 45 to 60 or even 70 F.  

This year, Winter seems to want to stick around into March according to the weather forecast.  We might actually get more snow next week.  

Finally got the chicken right for the Alfredo

Every January I wonder what I should do with this space.  I've been blogging here for 15 years with 922 posts to show for it.  While blogging isn't dead, it definitely has taken a back seat to other forms of social interaction.

I could go over to SubStack and revive my ChicagoNow blog in hopes of growing an audience, but I don't think I want that anymore.  Writing, running, and playing volleyball were my passions in my teenage and early 20s.  But each one eventually became "work" and thus not as much fun.  

Beyond that, by the time I can make words about something it turns out that other people already said what needs to be said much better than I could ever say it.  

The reality is that I'm not gonna be a viral influencer or pundit and I'm never gonna write that great American novel.  And I'm okay with that.  Having a space where I can write my occasional this happened to me and here are my thinky-thoughts about it is fine.