How I Spent My Thanksgiving Vacation
Saturday, November 26th, 2022 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioAfter two and a half months of the Monday thru Friday routine at Grape Elementary, as you may know, I just had my first big break... WED, THU, AND FRI off this week, paid!
I'm still in that 90 day probationary period after hiring, so I haven't yet accrued a single vacation or sick day, but these were paid holidays, negotiated by the union, so I DID get paid for them!
So, it's been nice!
The recording of, Bus Call, and editing of it on Friday was fun. Monday was an easy day because there were parent Teacher conferences all night, so there wasn't much we could do... but there was a lot of pizza in the break room!
Tuesday the building was closed, so I got to go in early at noon and do the whole janitor routine as normal, but I was back home by 4:30PM. And I started my two parter here, on the Flat Earther's Guide, that night.
--<>--
Wednesday was the first full day off, and I slept in a bit later than normal... then decided to get a start on the Christmas lights... as it was a balmy 50F out there.
The front bushes are where I always start, but the front walk was buried in dead leaves, so I tried to sweep them off, to make it a bit more presentable... but quickly realized I needed to bust out the mower and just mulch the fuck out of all the leaves in the front yard and on the front parking.
I hadn't used the mower at all since just before the Mulberry fell in the back yard... back on Labor Day. I was just too busy with the tree after that... and could't really mow the back yard anyway, as half of it was a work site full of sticks and branches.
So, it was nice to use the mower again, and throughly pulverize all the front yard leaves into dust... going over it all twice. And then I swept all the walks real good with a corn broom!
After the whole front yard was clean and presentable, I went upstairs and fed a long extension cord, through my front window, and down to the foundation. Then I busted out my laundry basket full of light strings.
Four of last year's strings, of course, were mysteriously dead this year... because, planned obsolesence, or something.
But I had kind of a surplus of lights last year, so there were still enough to work with for this year's display.
I got the front bushes all strung up, and then hung the wreath on the front door... which has battery powered lights. And that was PART ONE of the job... and enough for one day.
Took it easy the rest of the evening.
--<>--
Thursday, the 24th, of course, was Thanksgiving, so Dad and I left about 1PM.
I had to stop for beer... then gas... then cat food... but we did finally get to Golden Corral for their Thanksgiving Buffet! And man!.. the place was PACKED!
Not just seniors, but all ages, all races, creeds and colors. Offering turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, and all the other staples of a Thanksgiving dinner... is a REALLY good business strategy!.. especially in a recession!
So, we ate our fill of all the Thanksgiving food, and then brought a little bit of pot roast home in a bag for Yvette.
After chilling out upstairs with the cats, listening to music for an hour or so, I went back out there to continue working on the Christmas lights... over at the side porch area.
We have a lilac tree out by the side porch, which can be seen from the street, and... since I installed an outdoor outlet on the side of that porch last year, I was able to string it up with lights... plugged into a timer outside.
We also have a street facing window on the side porch, where I set up little holiday displays, with a little spotlight on them, so they're illuminated at night.
Since Halloween, and through to Thanksgiving Day, that display had been two large pumpkins and a gourd, with some fake leaves.
So I put the two pumpkins out back, for the squirrels to have their way with... and then set up our trio of stuffed Christmas moppets, Snowman, Saint Nick, and Christmas Cat. and then I hung a couple strings of lights behind them... to give the display even more depth.
Those strings, and the little spotlight of course... all on a second timer.
Lastly, I got my electric snow shovel, and bucket of salt out of the shed and brought them onto the porch... in case it snows.
--<>--
By late morning of Friday, the 25th, the squirrels had already eaten a hole through one of the two pumpkins I put outside for them, and I actually saw one go into the pumpkin shell, and come out with some pumpkin seeds, which he ate while sitting atop the thing.
I still needed a timer for the lights on the front bushes and knew I must've stashed it in my basement shop last March, so I went down there, simply to get the timer... but... since it was again, a mild 45F outside...
I grabbed the chainsaw and went out to that fallen Mulberry tree... to cut off the last of that vertical limb... the four feet of it's base... off the main trunk.
I ended up out there for hours, cutting up all the larger logs and staves that had been piling up in that area... and carrying each hunk to it's designated pile.
And then I even cut a fairly long section off the main trunk itself... and cut that up, and wheeled the hunks over to their pile.
So... now it truly is... just a trunk on the ground, with nothing at all coming off of it!
After a quick run for smokes, I was in for the night.
------------{=0=}------------
Finally today, Saturday the 26th, I focused on our finances and the bills!
I had really been procrastinating about this, because of the crisis we'd been through the past two weeks... after I discovered to my horror that Dad had blown $670.00 on Good 'n Fun Dog Kabobs!
I have a PARALYZING anxiety about banking and bills that kicks in when things get that desperate!
It comes from childhood dread of math and homework... together with absobring all Mom's financial anxiety as a kid... together with having been extremely poor through a lot of my twenties and thirties!
When I was making good money at the hospital for so many years, and even for the year after I left, living off a sizeable 401K... I didn't experience that anxiety.
And even this year... as things began getting tight, I was doing good about... facing the music, so does speak, every week... looking at the bank balances and doing all the math.
But this latest crisis was so out of left field!.. I hadn't been expecting Dad to insanely overspend like that, and didn't see it while it was happening...
And that old paralysis just took over this week.
I knew I'd gotten Yvette to eat normal dog food... so had taken care of the main threat... and Dad had gotten paid again, and so had I... but I was still terrified that if I sat down to look at everything, I'd find out we were still way the hell into the red and destined to starve to death.
--<>--
But today, I did face the music, and... turns out we'll be okay!
WHEW!
First thing I had to do was figure out how to PAY my two new credit cards... as they're both so new, I haven't had to do that yet. But luckily, neither one was past due, and I paid the minimums on both of them... to keep them viable for another month.
That left me with $120.00 in my main checking account. So I spent ten of those bucks on a bit more gas (I'd already gotten some gas on Thursday) and then went to Aldi and got exactly $50.00 of groceries, which I charged to one of the cards.
Back at home, feeling better, now that I had gas for another week, and food for longer... I sat down with Dad to open up all his bills and work through all of that.
All his bills came to about $850.00, but... happily, that left him with well more than enough to make it until next Friday... when he gets paid again.
So much more than enough, that I can dip into that too... to survive until I get paid again!
--<>--
I haven't heard back from DHS about SNAP, but... if I do qualify for that, and get a SNAP card... now that Yvette is eating normal dog food... we should be able to move forward without any more dead zones.
And if I can scare up some handyman work this winter, then I should be able to keep those two credit cards paid down and viable for future emergencies.
And then we'll just see what the possibilities are for increasing my income next Spring, after I'm well established with GeoStaff... and Snoop & Prowly are adults... and there's no more snow to shovel or walks to salt here at home.
------------{=0=}------------
So... all in all... a very good break! I relaxed... had a little fun... got some shit done... and am emerging with a positive outlook for the weeks and months ahead!
Tomorrow, Dad and I will go out to eat again, as per our Sunday routine... and then I'll do my laundry and it'll be back to Grape on Monday for the final push through my probationary period... and on toward benefits, my sign-on bonus, and Christmas break!
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
I'm still in that 90 day probationary period after hiring, so I haven't yet accrued a single vacation or sick day, but these were paid holidays, negotiated by the union, so I DID get paid for them!
So, it's been nice!
The recording of, Bus Call, and editing of it on Friday was fun. Monday was an easy day because there were parent Teacher conferences all night, so there wasn't much we could do... but there was a lot of pizza in the break room!
Tuesday the building was closed, so I got to go in early at noon and do the whole janitor routine as normal, but I was back home by 4:30PM. And I started my two parter here, on the Flat Earther's Guide, that night.
Wednesday was the first full day off, and I slept in a bit later than normal... then decided to get a start on the Christmas lights... as it was a balmy 50F out there.
The front bushes are where I always start, but the front walk was buried in dead leaves, so I tried to sweep them off, to make it a bit more presentable... but quickly realized I needed to bust out the mower and just mulch the fuck out of all the leaves in the front yard and on the front parking.
I hadn't used the mower at all since just before the Mulberry fell in the back yard... back on Labor Day. I was just too busy with the tree after that... and could't really mow the back yard anyway, as half of it was a work site full of sticks and branches.
So, it was nice to use the mower again, and throughly pulverize all the front yard leaves into dust... going over it all twice. And then I swept all the walks real good with a corn broom!
After the whole front yard was clean and presentable, I went upstairs and fed a long extension cord, through my front window, and down to the foundation. Then I busted out my laundry basket full of light strings.
Four of last year's strings, of course, were mysteriously dead this year... because, planned obsolesence, or something.
But I had kind of a surplus of lights last year, so there were still enough to work with for this year's display.
I got the front bushes all strung up, and then hung the wreath on the front door... which has battery powered lights. And that was PART ONE of the job... and enough for one day.
Took it easy the rest of the evening.
Thursday, the 24th, of course, was Thanksgiving, so Dad and I left about 1PM.
I had to stop for beer... then gas... then cat food... but we did finally get to Golden Corral for their Thanksgiving Buffet! And man!.. the place was PACKED!
Not just seniors, but all ages, all races, creeds and colors. Offering turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, and all the other staples of a Thanksgiving dinner... is a REALLY good business strategy!.. especially in a recession!
So, we ate our fill of all the Thanksgiving food, and then brought a little bit of pot roast home in a bag for Yvette.
After chilling out upstairs with the cats, listening to music for an hour or so, I went back out there to continue working on the Christmas lights... over at the side porch area.
We have a lilac tree out by the side porch, which can be seen from the street, and... since I installed an outdoor outlet on the side of that porch last year, I was able to string it up with lights... plugged into a timer outside.
We also have a street facing window on the side porch, where I set up little holiday displays, with a little spotlight on them, so they're illuminated at night.
Since Halloween, and through to Thanksgiving Day, that display had been two large pumpkins and a gourd, with some fake leaves.
So I put the two pumpkins out back, for the squirrels to have their way with... and then set up our trio of stuffed Christmas moppets, Snowman, Saint Nick, and Christmas Cat. and then I hung a couple strings of lights behind them... to give the display even more depth.
Those strings, and the little spotlight of course... all on a second timer.
Lastly, I got my electric snow shovel, and bucket of salt out of the shed and brought them onto the porch... in case it snows.
By late morning of Friday, the 25th, the squirrels had already eaten a hole through one of the two pumpkins I put outside for them, and I actually saw one go into the pumpkin shell, and come out with some pumpkin seeds, which he ate while sitting atop the thing.
I still needed a timer for the lights on the front bushes and knew I must've stashed it in my basement shop last March, so I went down there, simply to get the timer... but... since it was again, a mild 45F outside...
I grabbed the chainsaw and went out to that fallen Mulberry tree... to cut off the last of that vertical limb... the four feet of it's base... off the main trunk.
I ended up out there for hours, cutting up all the larger logs and staves that had been piling up in that area... and carrying each hunk to it's designated pile.
And then I even cut a fairly long section off the main trunk itself... and cut that up, and wheeled the hunks over to their pile.
So... now it truly is... just a trunk on the ground, with nothing at all coming off of it!
After a quick run for smokes, I was in for the night.
Finally today, Saturday the 26th, I focused on our finances and the bills!
I had really been procrastinating about this, because of the crisis we'd been through the past two weeks... after I discovered to my horror that Dad had blown $670.00 on Good 'n Fun Dog Kabobs!
I have a PARALYZING anxiety about banking and bills that kicks in when things get that desperate!
It comes from childhood dread of math and homework... together with absobring all Mom's financial anxiety as a kid... together with having been extremely poor through a lot of my twenties and thirties!
When I was making good money at the hospital for so many years, and even for the year after I left, living off a sizeable 401K... I didn't experience that anxiety.
And even this year... as things began getting tight, I was doing good about... facing the music, so does speak, every week... looking at the bank balances and doing all the math.
But this latest crisis was so out of left field!.. I hadn't been expecting Dad to insanely overspend like that, and didn't see it while it was happening...
And that old paralysis just took over this week.
I knew I'd gotten Yvette to eat normal dog food... so had taken care of the main threat... and Dad had gotten paid again, and so had I... but I was still terrified that if I sat down to look at everything, I'd find out we were still way the hell into the red and destined to starve to death.
But today, I did face the music, and... turns out we'll be okay!
WHEW!
First thing I had to do was figure out how to PAY my two new credit cards... as they're both so new, I haven't had to do that yet. But luckily, neither one was past due, and I paid the minimums on both of them... to keep them viable for another month.
That left me with $120.00 in my main checking account. So I spent ten of those bucks on a bit more gas (I'd already gotten some gas on Thursday) and then went to Aldi and got exactly $50.00 of groceries, which I charged to one of the cards.
Back at home, feeling better, now that I had gas for another week, and food for longer... I sat down with Dad to open up all his bills and work through all of that.
All his bills came to about $850.00, but... happily, that left him with well more than enough to make it until next Friday... when he gets paid again.
So much more than enough, that I can dip into that too... to survive until I get paid again!
I haven't heard back from DHS about SNAP, but... if I do qualify for that, and get a SNAP card... now that Yvette is eating normal dog food... we should be able to move forward without any more dead zones.
And if I can scare up some handyman work this winter, then I should be able to keep those two credit cards paid down and viable for future emergencies.
And then we'll just see what the possibilities are for increasing my income next Spring, after I'm well established with GeoStaff... and Snoop & Prowly are adults... and there's no more snow to shovel or walks to salt here at home.
So... all in all... a very good break! I relaxed... had a little fun... got some shit done... and am emerging with a positive outlook for the weeks and months ahead!
Tomorrow, Dad and I will go out to eat again, as per our Sunday routine... and then I'll do my laundry and it'll be back to Grape on Monday for the final push through my probationary period... and on toward benefits, my sign-on bonus, and Christmas break!
°¦}
