Sunday, July 27, 2008
Week Past 07/21-07/27/08 (Husker Red Beard Side Planting)
Wed 07/23 W flew to Chicago for about a week of business. A quiet week except before W left for Chicago she bought a "number" of plants day before that I'm now obligated to plant or they might wilt and die. So Sun 07/27, just like a "devoted" husband I "dutifully" planted the plants on both sides of the house. Luckily it was not hot that day as it took me a good three hours to complete the task. Three hours contempalting on whatever. If you see somebody doing garden work and focused at that. Rest assured his mind is not only on the task at hand but somewhere else thinking about....life, finance, work, past, present...or asking himself...why am I doing this?...Afterwards...with back and legs stiff, you slowly pull yourself up, stand back and look at your work satisfied you accomplished something that day. Now you hope that after this coming winter it will survive to grow and bloom for next year's spring.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Week Past 07/14-07/20/08 (Backyard Clearing)
Mon 07/14 picked up W at the airport and had dinner at New China Buffet in Bloomington. This week the highlight is backyard clearing. Tue 07/15 I started working on my backyard project. Clearing shrubs and weeds (third pic second row). Wed 07/16 poured sand on the pavers located in W's part of the backyard project so it would hold together and I'm just about done with mine (first pic second row). First pic top row shows W working on her project. Second pic second row is the "before" pic taken last year. Third pic first row show the general improvement and the pavers (small brownish patch on the left) . By Thu 07/18 I started to cover my backyard project by recycling the black material (shown at the middle pic first row) that was used as a fence to prevent soil erosion during the construction. Bottom pic is the "before" pic I was working on.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Week Past 07/07-07/13/08 (Alarm-Bloodletting-Passport)
Wed 07/09 an alarm system was installed at our home. There was this sales guy walking around the neighborhood to promote their alarm system Pinnacle. He offered us discounts and we thought it was a good deal since we will also be able to get a discount from our home insurance. His installer finally got done around 10:00 pm. I asked him if this is their usual schedule. He said yes. He's not happy about it but that is the only time they could talk to homeowners on weekdays. That is around 5:00 pm. He said sometimes he gets to finish ast 11:00. I can only imagine what time the other house will get done if ever the sales guy was able to close another deal after us.
Wed I started cleaning the floor tiles installed at the porch to remove the grout residues. Took me almost the whole day. Tile work is never done. Thu 07/10 is blood letting day again. This time it was not a success (again, second time). I guess the attendant did not fully insert the needle in my vein. The blood flow was slow. Another attendant tried to correct it later to no avail. I guess my blood started to clot and it just stopped flowing. I was only able to fill about one third of the bag. I hate it when that happens. They lost one potential blood bag and a waste of my time.
Fri 07/11 I finally received my Passport in the mail.
Sat 07/12 dropped off W at the airport for a business trip. Sun 07/13 I started sealing the floor tile in front of the house. Took me almost half the day. Not as hard as cleaning.
Below are some "before and after" pics in our yard. After almost a year.
Wed I started cleaning the floor tiles installed at the porch to remove the grout residues. Took me almost the whole day. Tile work is never done. Thu 07/10 is blood letting day again. This time it was not a success (again, second time). I guess the attendant did not fully insert the needle in my vein. The blood flow was slow. Another attendant tried to correct it later to no avail. I guess my blood started to clot and it just stopped flowing. I was only able to fill about one third of the bag. I hate it when that happens. They lost one potential blood bag and a waste of my time.
Fri 07/11 I finally received my Passport in the mail.
Sat 07/12 dropped off W at the airport for a business trip. Sun 07/13 I started sealing the floor tile in front of the house. Took me almost half the day. Not as hard as cleaning.
Below are some "before and after" pics in our yard. After almost a year.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Week Past 06/30-07/06/08 (Passport-4th of July)
Tue 07/01 I finally got a call from the Philippine Consulate in Chicago. I mailed my Passport for renewal sometime 05/23 Fri. They called after a week leaving a message but it was not clear. I called them back but only got an answering machine in the extension I was directed to. So this went on. I eventually did get hold of somebody but it was not the person working for my renewal. She said she'll pass on the message. Until finally Tue after three weeks. It was my day off, I was home and the phone rang. Bingo. The lady (it was not the person working for my renewal but they got my last message) at the other end said I might need to go to Chicago since they have started the new Passport that is machine readable. Renewal must be done in person. I explained to her that I submitted my application way back May when renewal by mail was still acceptable. And I have been trying to get hold of the person processing my renewal for weeks to clarify the cause of delay and what needs to be done. She said she'll talk to her supervisor and she'll call me back. Kept my fingers crossed. After about thirty minutes I got the call. She informed me that they'll process my application but it will not be machine readable. "Maraming Salamat" is all I can say.
Mon thru Wed 06/30 07/02 is continuation of out tiling project. This time the kitchen and master's bath. This is our major project for summer. It's tiring because we can only work early evening to late night with the help of Dennis and his Dad. It's messy because of the grout. I'm glad when it's done with. Tue 07/01 I tried my hand installing the tiles on the side wall of the kitchen. W was also there to assist. Night before Dennis and his Dad installed the tiles for the back splash. As can be seen from the pics we were a success. We did that six more times. Then I also did part of the master's bath.
Wed 07/02 was my last session with the chiro. End of the package. One less appointments to think about. It feels good when they pop your back and neck. But since I really don't have any serious back complaints yet I didn't find the need for a follow up. Hopefully I won't need it.
Fri 07/04s is what else: Fourth of July. Fireworks. We met some of W's staff at home early evening . The plan was to watch the fireworks at Mystic Lake Casino so we had dinner at the Casino. The place was not that full. After dinner we ended up at Axel and Rosch's (A&R) house. Their home is situated close by the Casino. They have a good view of the fireworks. Pics below shows the group in front of A&R's home posing while the fireworks was on going. Inside their home and some of the fireworks.
Mon thru Wed 06/30 07/02 is continuation of out tiling project. This time the kitchen and master's bath. This is our major project for summer. It's tiring because we can only work early evening to late night with the help of Dennis and his Dad. It's messy because of the grout. I'm glad when it's done with. Tue 07/01 I tried my hand installing the tiles on the side wall of the kitchen. W was also there to assist. Night before Dennis and his Dad installed the tiles for the back splash. As can be seen from the pics we were a success. We did that six more times. Then I also did part of the master's bath.
Wed 07/02 was my last session with the chiro. End of the package. One less appointments to think about. It feels good when they pop your back and neck. But since I really don't have any serious back complaints yet I didn't find the need for a follow up. Hopefully I won't need it.
Fri 07/04s is what else: Fourth of July. Fireworks. We met some of W's staff at home early evening . The plan was to watch the fireworks at Mystic Lake Casino so we had dinner at the Casino. The place was not that full. After dinner we ended up at Axel and Rosch's (A&R) house. Their home is situated close by the Casino. They have a good view of the fireworks. Pics below shows the group in front of A&R's home posing while the fireworks was on going. Inside their home and some of the fireworks.
