Morning Update: 04/19/24

Everything I’d hoped to do, needed to do yesterday was done. The results, however, were not necessarily what we had hoped. After calling Social Security multiple times, I finally got an answering machine instructing me to leave my contact information. Sigh. Will they call back today? I’ll give them a chance. They’re on central time, which drives me a bit nuts, but I need to know what to expect and/or how to plan before relocating myself. I also contacted some apartments that are supposed to be for people who are over 55. What frustrates me there is that their ads on Facebook, which I’m getting in droves, hide the financial information until you give them your contact info. THEN, you find out their prices are well outside your budget. This isn’t going to be easy but we simply must find a solution somewhere.

A thunderstorm hit early this morning. The result was that I went from having two large dogs and five cats scattered around my bed to two large dogs and five cats all trying to snuggle as close to me as they possibly could. What the hell are they going to do for comfort when I’m gone? I think Hamilton would lie in my lap while I’m typing if he wasn’t so freaking big.

Tipper went to the pediatrician yesterday. She saw a new doctor because her usual pede is out for the month. I was a little concerned about how that would go, but it was fine. Tipper reported that the doctor told her to either get more sunshine or she’d have to take more pills. Tipper said she’d rather take the pills. Is anyone surprised by that surprise? No, not at all.

G got his PSAT scores back. I was impressed that his score puts him in the top 2%. He was disappointed that he didn’t make the top 1%. He said he was tired and hungry while taking the test, problems he’ll be sure to eliminate the next time he takes it. Let’s hope the child doesn’t choose the dark side at any point. Something tells me he’d have the Death Star up and operational in a matter of months.

Perhaps he can devise a way to keep stupid people from doing catastrophically stupid things. When we woke yesterday, we discovered that parts of six states had lost their 911 service just hours after Homeland Security warned that our 911 network is at risk of cyber attacks. Naturally, everyone immediately assumed that the report had been a self-fulfilling prophecy, possibly in an effort to increase funding. Nope. Turns out it was just stupid people doing stupid things. Late yesterday, we were told that workers installing a light pole in Missouri cut into a fiber line, causing the outage. You know all those signs you see everywhere about calling 811 before you did? One might think that doing so would be a natural part of the process for a utility contractor, something completed days before they started installing the new pole. Nope. Stupid people do stupid things that have dangerous consequences. If anything what we’ve learned from this experience is that yes, the nation’s 911 system needs to be protected. From ourselves.

Kat sent me a screenshot last night showing me the insane number of steps she had yesterday. She’d obviously had a full day and she’s feeling the results of that exertion this morning. It was only two years ago that I was putting in a similar number of steps on a daily basis. Now, I’m afraid to walk around the block alone. I almost fell over unfastening the gate this morning. Still, I want to try and stretch my stamina somehow. So, I think I’m going to see how many posts and images I can put in front of your eyes today. I have to try and stay awake to hear from Social Security anyway, so I might as well try to achieve some form of productivity even if it doesn’t really matter to anyone at all.

I find it interesting that since I started posting again, the highest amount of traffic still goes to a three-year-old post that is perhaps the most explicit I’ve ever published. I also find it interesting that a high number of those hits come from outside the country, often from Islamic countries where I’m pretty sure such content is illegal. I’m questioning whether I should try and top that one with something new. I’m pretty sure I still have some images I’ve never processed.

Breakfast time. Ya’ll try to stay out of trouble, okay? 🤣