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I did a couple of good deeds recently.  Minor stuff, but I think it had a small impact.

1. I bought my neighbor’s dogs a wading pool.  They have think coats and I thought they might enjoy a cool down during the hot summer days.  They are still getting used to it, but one of them got in without prompting today and seemed to enjoy it.  In any case, at least they will have a supply of drinking water in the backyard.

2. One of the entrances to campus has a sharp corner and some shrubs that have over-grown.  It’s technically on the property of the electric sub-station, but they aren’t doing anything about it.  So, on Friday, I took my hedge clippers to work and after I had parked my car I walked over and restored visibility.   Another minor thing, but it may make that intersection just a little bit less dangerous.

3. Finally, I was walking past a co-worker’s office and noticed that he was clearly having a bad day.  Head propped up on his hand, intent scowl on his face – the works.   And on a Friday, no less.  So, I went to the vending machine and bought him some fruit snacks (or fooit naks, as my niece would say), then went back to his office.  “Looks like you need some fruit snacks,” I said, handed him the package, and went on my way when he smiled and thanked me.  Hey, who doesn’t need some fruit snacks every so often?

Spent much of Saturday morning doing yardwork.  I care just enough about my yard to make a vague attempt to keep up with the Jones’.  Still, it was good to be outside and enjoy the day.  Ran some errands in the afternoon and went for some amazing pizza at Donato’s and some of the worst fountain drinks ever – then did some folding and watched True Blood on DVD.

Today, went for a hike at the Portage Lake Park.   They’ve got some nice trails and a beach I’d like to check out.  It was hot outside, but the breeze was nice.

I swam three times last week and I hope to be able to do that again.  For now, though, I plan on enjoying the rest of the hours of my weekend and relaxing.

One of my friends had picked up Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol from RedBox and hadn’t watched it yet – though it was due back yesterday evening at 9:00.   The start of the movie was delayed for pizza and as a consequence, the end credits didn’t roll until until 8:50.   (I thought the movie was fun, though somewhat predictable.  “The sandstorm is coming!  Oh, it’s too far away to be a factor. Oh no, here comes the sandstorm! [duh] )

So, we hop in the car and head out to the nearest red box.  My friend took the corners sharply and tore through the streets of Akron like someone on a mission.  An impossible mission… some might say.

As we pulled into the parking lot, one of the machines was already in use and I was instructed to do a dive roll out of the car and elbow the woman in the head if the other machine wasn’t working.  It was, and I inserted the movie in the slot with 2 minutes to spare.  As the woman got into her car she told me that she had called redbox and found out that we actually had until 9:06 to return it.  I told her it was more exciting this way.   With the movie returned, we headed out – at a much more subdued pace.

I went to visit my folks for Father’s day this past weekend and on Saturday we got up early and went to the Columbus Zoo.  We got there a little before 9:00 AM and spent about 5 hours total walking around the zoo with only a short break for lunch.  We were all pretty worn out by the time we were done – except for my niece who rode around in a wagon most of the time and appears to be nuclear powered based on the amount of energy she had.

My favorite animals were the otters and luckily there were two otter exhibits.  Little fellers always look like they are having such fun.   The flamingos were neat and the polar bear exhibit was really cool – you could go to an underwater viewing area and see the bear swim over you.    It was good weather to be at the zoo, but I don’t think I drank enough water.

When we got back to my parents place, I think everyone was ready for a nap – except for my niece who was still going a mile a minute.   I think my sister was the worst off physically – she’s very pregnant and all the walking was doing a number on her hips.

We had dinner and hung out for a bit before my sister and her family had to leave.  I stayed the night and hung out with my parents on Sunday when they got back from church.     I left for Akron that afternoon and drove through pounding rain the entire way back.  The rain doesn’t really bother me – but trying to keep track of all the crazy people on the road was the real challenge.

I got back safely and then had Chipotle for dinner – then home and video games until it was time to go to bed.  Back at work today and wishing I could stretch out the weekend just a little bit longer.

I went for my swim after work, then over to the Akron Art Museum.  I got in free with my university ID and the exhibits were pretty cool.  Afterwards, over to Spaghetti warehouse.  Now, I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce, but the last time I was able to convince the server that I wanted spaghetti, meatballs, and pesto sauce.  She was skeptical about that, but they made it and I enjoyed it.

This time, the server was even tougher to convince.  It was like I was asking for something that wasn’t food.   “Yeah, I’d like silly string, with sponges, and could you add some mulch to that?”

She shook her head, but went off to the kitchen to try and convince the cooks that this was something that a human being might want and might be able to gain some nutrition from.

A little while later, she brought over the food and said – and I quote –

“Well, it doesn’t look very good, but it’s what you wanted”

I dug right into that and cleaned up my plate – and used the bread to soak up the rest of the pesto.  It was excellent – as I knew it would be.

So much for the customer is always right, more like – “The customer is an idiot and should be protected from himself,”

I considered taking a picture for my meal for the next time I came in – but it wasn’t quite right since the meatballs has been heated in the tomato sauce this time and I didn’t want to add more confusion.

A diagram would be helpful though – maybe a single slide from a powerpoint.   Just hand them the sign and say, “like this”.    I actually did try that with a hamburger place once and got about a half of a laugh out of them.  Not sure how it would be received at the Warehouse.  My diner may not have looked good, but it did taste pretty good.  🙂

The crew came by to my house yesterday morning and installed a new water heater.  I provided bottled water and then stayed out of their way while they worked – they appreciated both gestures, as well as the fan I had running.  Took a couple hours and more money than I would have liked to spend, but the end result is a new hot water tank that should be more efficient and safer than the old one.  The water that was on the basement floor is gone and I’ve got the dehumidifier running again.

In other news… as expected, I started getting spam from Radio Shack even before my cell phone battery had arrived.  The first was thanking me for signing up for their… I frankly can’t remember what they called it.  Some kind of membership thing.  The second was coupons for things I don’t want.

So, I found their customer service site, tracked down a form, and submitted my compliant.  I got an automated response telling me my message had be submitted, then a couple hours later I got a message – presumably from a human, but that can be tough to tell – informing me that they had shared my concern with the relevant groups, blah blah blah.  Meaningless.   I unsubcribed myself from the list and if that doesn’t work, I’ll filter them in gmail.   I mean, nobody likes to get spam – why would a legitimate business spam their customers like that?

For dinner last evening, I went to the Hartville Kitchen.  Which is not just a restaurant – it’s more like a themed compound. In addition to the gigantic seating area in the restaurant, they also have a gift shop, a gallery, a candy shop, a bakery, and an entire separate building that’s like a lowe’s+mendards+tractor supply.   The food was okay, the service was reasonable – though slightly unfriendly, and I didn’t get struck my lightning when I walked into the Thomas Kincade gallery.  I don’t know that I would go back again with all the other restaurant options in the area, but it was a nice change of pace.

I checked the mail this afternoon when I got home and saw that I had an envelope from Jeff’s sister.  I opened it and saw that she had sent a copy of his death certificate to me – which we’d discussed and which I’d been expecting.   I read through it and there were no surprises – the official cause of his death was what I’d expected based on what the medical examiner and the detective had told me the day that we found him.

What I wasn’t expecting is how hard it would hit me.  As I read those dry and sterile words on the paper, I got overwhelmed.  It was like I’d been physically struck.  I sank to the floor of my living room and wept uncontrollable for a few minutes.

And then, by slow degrees, I got myself back under a semblance of control and stood back up to get a tissue to wipe my eyes.   After all, there were things to do and places to go and if I’m nothing else, I’m a do-er.

Next will be a round of paperwork with debts to be settled and decisions to be made.  Jeff had left me some money and my plan is to hold back what he had borrowed from me, then give the rest to his family.  I suppose I’ll be able to put that towards a car since mine is in such bad shape and we’ll all begin a new round of trying to move on.

His family will soon be going to Myrtle beach to spread part of his ashes off the pier at the beach he so loved.    And I think some time this summer I’ll make a trip to Jeff’s hometown to visit the grave where the rest of his ashes have been put to rest.

Just a simple piece of paper.  A summary of a person’s death and the last few moments of their life.   I know that I’ll need to read this again as I make my phone calls and sort out some paperwork, but I think for tonight I’ll put it away and try and get some rest.

On Saturday, I was out much of the morning running errands and essentially just enjoying the day.  I got home around the middle of the day and thought I would start some laundry before going to a party later in the afternoon.  I headed downstairs and noticed that it was rather warm and humid – unusual for my basement.  Or basements in general, I guess.  Anyway, it only took me a moment to identify the problem.

The hot water tank was leaking.

Though ‘leaking’ is actually a mild term for what it was doing.  The water was actually geysering out of the top of the tank like a little fountain, then running down the side of the tank and across the floor. I started shutting things off and closing valves – then had a friend come over to help me assess the situation and verify that my house wasn’t going to explode.

With everything as secure as it could be and no damage in the basement – other than the water tank itself – I headed to the party. Only to find that I had the day wrong and it was actually on Sunday.

That night, I took a very very quick and very very cold shower – grateful that this had happened in the summer when I could at least recover from the cold quickly.

Sunday was spent with friends and then later some downtime with video games.  As the evening wore on, I decided to run some bathwater and let it warm up to room tempeture.  Which is a fine idea except that the stopper in my tub isn’t very good and by the time I was ready for my bath, the water had all drained out.

So, I sort of squatted down in a shallow tub of very cold water and had a very quick bath.  I’m not usually one to take a long time getting cleaned up, but this may have been a new record.

Today, I was up early and started draining the tank the rest of the way  – then went on into work and called a HVAC company to come out and look at it.  They were able to come by this afternoon and I was able to meet them at the house and show them what was going on.  As expected, the tank is a loss, but then were able to schedule a new tank and install for tomorrow morning.  One more cold bath and I’ll be back to normal – though I am getting a little tired of all the sudden expenses.  First the car, now the water heater.  I can swing it, but it’s making me crankier than usual.

My cell phone battery has been giving me some problems, so I went to radio shack to get a replacement.  I walked in, waited until the clerks stopped talking to each other and acknowledged that I existed, then produced the battery and said  I needed a replacement for my cell phone.   The clerk took the battery as he walked back to the counter and asked what company I was with.  I didn’t understand why that mattered, but I answered him and he replied:

“Before we get you going with a battery, how about we check to see we can get you out of your contract and get you a new phone?”

Well, I give him props for the epic amount of “up-selling” he tried to do, but I raised an eyebrow at him for the attempt and said I just wanted the battery.

Turns out they don’t have it in stock, but they can order it for me – and ship it to my house. I proceed to give him my address and then the phone number – though I told him that it wouldn’t do much good until I had a new battery.

He didn’t get it.

He then asked for my email and I politely told him I would rather not give that out.  He insisted it was for the order confirmation – though I’m pretty sure the receipt he was going to print out would do that job.  I gave him the address and made a silent vow that the first bit of spam I got from them would result in a scathing response.

The battery should be here in a few days, but of course my current battery charged up normally and my phone is fine.

In other brutal news, I had a dentist appointment this morning.  I was once again amazed at the low level of technology they use.  Metal picks, string, grit, water pressure?   Where are the fricking lasers?  Ultrasonics?    My teeth and jaw didn’t hurt beforehand, but they sure did afterward  – and still do this afternoon.    Oh, and I don’t floss enough.

So, short day at work and looking forward to the weekend.  I plan on some serious relaxing – starting right after my swim this afternoon.

So, my car got worked on yesterday and for a car that seemed to generally be running okay, it had a lot wrong with it.  The mechanic cheerfully broke it down for me.

1. Brakes – in terrible, terrible shape.  Pretty much everything that could be wrong with them, was.

2. Exhaust – holes in the pipes, things falling off.

3. Air filter needs replaced.

4. The service light indicated a problem with the daytime running lights – and I had a headlight out as well.

5. Several other things were wrong as well, but by this point I was too numb to pay attention.  Oh, something about rear tires.

Grand total – had I decided to get everything fixed – $2,100

And that’s the point where – if my knees hadn’t thankfully chosen to lock – I would have fallen to the floor.

I recovered and the mechanic and I talked through the repairs into two categories:  Danger to myself and others vs. Annoying.

So, I go the brakes repaired and that was “only”  $770.    I had expected “stop on a dime” kind of results, but they are just “ok”.  Grumble.

I really like my car but I can’t keep throwing money at it.  It’s got 125,000 + miles on it, guess it’s time for me to start looking for a new ride.

In funner news… I went out to dinner with some friends and got some really excellent sushi.   Also had a little seaweed salad and some sticky rice with mango for dessert.  Sort of made up for the car repair bill.

I went to the Cleveland Museum of Natural history on Saturday.  First time I’ve gone – it was really cool.  They had some art by an autistic man that lived in the area as part of their Mystical Creatures exhibit and then the rest of the museum was the regular – and amazing – collection of history.  The dinosaurs were neat, the rocks were shiny, and the weight of millions of years was palpable.  Really amazing stuff.

For dinner – Melt.  A grill cheese place in Cleveland.  I got “the dude abides” – and got more than my weekly quota of cheese.  It was okay – too many onions for my taste (and by too many, I mean “any”) – but the fries and the atmosphere were good.  I don’t think I have enough tattoos to have gotten employment there, but it was fun.

After dinner, Big Fun – a toy and game shop.  Pretty much ripe with nostalgia – I could have spent a lot of money in there, but luckily my action figure obsession has died off as I’ve gotten older.  I did get a crystal tree that grows when you add dangerous chemicals to a cardboard tree shape – so, that was cool.

On Sunday – went for a 5 mile hike in the Metro Parks.  It was a great day for it and the trails had a few people – but not crowded by any means.  The ongoing cold/allergy hit me pretty hard a few times, but I trudged on and enjoyed the trip.  The waterfalls were neat a usual and except for the distant sound of traffic you could almost forget you’re in the middle of a city.

Today, as I was pulling out of my drive, I heard a rapid ticking sound – like,  ticktickticktick –  and then my Service light came on.  Now, I’m familiar with the Check Engine light – we are old friends and it’s been with me through car repairs and e-checks alike – but Service is new and worrisome.  So, I drove extra carefully (whatever that means) to work and made an appointment to have all my money taken away from me.   I mean, to have my car worked on.  They cautioned me that if they need to do a diagnostic (i.e. hook up my car to a computer and have the computer tell them what’s wrong) they would have to charge me $89.   Great.

I stopped off at home after work and changed clothes, then drove to the service place and dropped off my car.  It’s only 2.4 miles away, so I just walked home.  I made arrangements to get a ride to work tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes.  For the record, I need the Service light diagnosed, the brakes glared at, and exhaust quieted.

Wish me, and my bank account, good luck.  What’s that smell?  Oh, right.  Monday.