Mortgage Monday: And Then That Happened…

Last week, in the early afternoon, I was in the middle of a project at the office. The deadline wasn’t until the end of the day and I was looking forward to taking care of a few other things before leaving the office that evening. After my phone had vibrated for the fourth or fifth time I found a good paragraph after which I could take a quick break and read the messages. I knew that they had to be from my wife but I had no idea what she was writing to me about.

Well, it could have been worse but it also could have been so much better. It turns out that the air conditioning, a project still lingering in the middle of our to-do list, decided to stop working in the middle of the day. And, of course, it was one of the hottest days of the year. That short break from the project I was working on was no longer a short break as I had to make half a dozen phone calls before a “solution could be found”.

Between the calls with my wife to get some additional details, texting my brother in law (this is what he does for a living), calling and emailing the home warranty company (the AC is covered under our policy), and finally trying to get a hold of the referred service company, all that time that I once had quickly went up in steam. Thankfully, I had gotten enough written before the chaos and I was able to get the project completed by the time I left the office (which was a little earlier than usual so I could meet the repair person when he arrived at the house). Driving home, I was expecting the worst as the half sized unit had been struggling lately.

I arrived at the house just as the service window was opening. Not surprising was the fact that it was another two hours before the technician pulled into the driveway. Almost immediately he began making comments on the small AC unit tucked away behind the garage. What did provide us with a rather pleasant surprise was the fact that it was a relatively simple solution to our problem with a loose wire (likely due to the constant usage) being the culprit. Thankfully, the air conditioning was restored quickly allowing for the house to cool a little before we put our son to bed.

Of course, this little hiccup has really put our renovation list in focus as the overhaul needs to be completed in the near future as I doubt that the next stoppage will be remedied so easily. We really are just waiting for the next time at this point and hoping that it holds off just a little longer until we can budget for the replacement system. But, for now, we are just going to enjoy the cool air for as long as it lasts.

Shots In The Middle Of The Work Day

It is always an odd feeling for me getting up in the morning on a week day and not rushing to get out of the house and on the road. Sometimes it is a holiday and the office is closed while other times it is because of weather. However, Friday was one of those days when it just made more sense for me to work from home due to an appointment right in the middle of the afternoon. Believe it or not, it was time for our son’s one year wellness check and I wasn’t going to miss this one.

As the day progressed and a surprising amount of work was accomplished, the minutes and hours seemed to evaporate. Before I had a chance to stop and assess where I was in the day, I looked up and found that I only had about 15 minutes before heading out the door. With a little bit of time left and about twice that amount of time in work remaining, somehow I managed to power through and get out the door with a couple minutes to spare. Well, that is what I thought.

On my way to the daycare to pick up our son, I couldn’t have encountered more delays if I tried. Between the slow cars (clearly not knowing where they needed to go) and hitting every red light possible, I barely made it into the classroom with enough time to grab all of his stuff from the week, turn around, and try and make up some time on our way to the doctor. Thankfully, our son was quietly watching the scenery the whole was and we did make it to the doctor on time about a minute before my wife pulled into the parking space beside us.

As we checked in and handed the woman at the front desk the forms to transfer our son’s medical record to a new doctor, our name was called. This may have been the first time that we didn’t have to wait since we first started bringing our son to this office right after he was born. While there were a few things that we specifically asked the doctor to check (and yes we actually saw the doctor this time), the great news of the appointment was that our little baby isn’t so little anymore falling within the 75^th percentile in nearly all of the usual measurements. And that is when the calmness came to an end and the needles entered the room.

While the tears began almost as soon as we laid him on the examining table, he surprisingly wanted his daddy when everything was done. By the time we left with a multitude of papers and forms in hand, our big boy had calmed down and was clearly ready to go home. With my wife taking our son home, I was able to get a few local errands done before joining them back at the house and taking the time to play with our son before his abnormally early bed time. It was a long day and an appointment we weren’t really looking forward to but it went about as well as we could have expected. Sometimes, that is the best day especially when the result is that our son is pretty darn healthy!

Firearms Friday: (Temporarily) Out Of Stock

I have seen the frustration both online on various forums and Facebook pages and also in person when the firearm that they have been looking for is currently nowhere to be found. And this is a regular occurrence for one reason or another and I guess you could say that ammunition falls into the category too. Thankfully, there have only been a handful of times over the year when I was looking forward to seeing something in the store only to find it long gone from the shelves… usually my situation is that I just want to be able to see it in person not necessarily to buy it.

These disappointing moments usually come down to two very simple reasons… legislation/politics/current events and new products. Those are the two basic categories that cause the shortages on the shelves. While there are other reasons that we encounter from time to time (i.e. low production numbers, recalls, poor ordering by the shop, etc.), those moments are few and far between. Especially lately when there have been lines of people either in person or on wait lists trying to purchase certain products.

Over the past couple of year, even so recently as a week ago, there have been constant attacks on our right to own certain firearms, magazines, and even ammunition. These usually cause what I like to call the camper lines when people are showing up hours before opening or even the day before and waiting for the doors to open so they can be one of the few to walk out with what they want. For everyone else, it is out of stock. We definitely saw this cyclical pattern when there was talk about banning AR15 rifles. While I was never one of them, I remember seeing the pictures and Facebook posts of people lining up the night before the local shop opened its doors on Saturday morning.

The other times when I have been unable to inspect a firearm was basically because it was a new release. From the successful Springfield Armory Mod 2, the single stack Glocks, and striker fire products from Sig Sauer and H&K to the failed Remington R51, each was hard as heck to find on the shelves as the wait lists didn’t just consist of a few names, those lists were pages upon pages of interested buyers. And some are yet to be determined as Remington still has to do a full rollout after the recall and Ruger just released the American line of pistols. I am curious to see both in person if I can find them in the stores and some of the other items that come out of SHOT show this month.

I guess what this all comes down to is that we have to be patient. Once the legislation failed, the supply went right back up and AR15 rifles and pistols are once again readily available. And all the new pistols are no longer new and I have even seen a number of them in the used cases. Out of stock rarely lasts and if you can wait there will be plenty of opportunities to buy what you want in the future (and most likely save you a lot of money).

Firearms Friday: ‘Tis The Season For Deals

This time of year it seems that everything is on sale. While some deals are better than others, you are pretty much guaranteed to receive some kind of discount on whatever you order. And these sales are not just limited to the national retail chains or products with general consumer appeal, there are even deals to be had for those of us that enjoy the shooting sports. Having written about this before, in one form or another, you can basically consider this as the annual lock and load post.

As many of you have experienced, especially over the last few years, some retailers have better deals than others. While I won’t call out any websites or stores, we all know which ones to avoid. However, there are always great prices on a variety of items with some being sent to email subscribers, Facebook followers, and others exclusive to club members or existing customers. There are also great sites such as Slickguns that make it easy to find the prices that are just too low to pass up. Keep in mind that these sites usually don’t include local gun shop deals.

Over the past couple of months there have been a number of deals that caught my attention with the majority of them being discovered first in my email. Here are a few examples of the tempting products with retailer, item, and sale price included for reference:

• Palmetto State Armory (Daily Deal) - 7.62 x 39 Complete 7.5” Upper (with BCG and Charging Handle); $269.99

• Sportsman’s Guide (with Double Discount coupon) - S.W.T 30 Round AR15 Magazines: $5.59 - 30 Round Beretta 92 Magazines: $11.99

• Delta Team Tactical (Black Friday / Cyber Monday) - Crosshill Tech / Davidson Defense Right Side Charging AR15 Upper Receiver (with BCG): $239.99

• Damage Industries (50% off sale) - AR15 Short Barrel Muzzle Break and Sleeve: $34.95

• Amazon (Flash Sale) - Stack-On PDS 500 Drawer Safe: $31.99

Basically, anyone who is looking to build an AR has had a heck of a time and saved a lot of money recently. Some of these are more recent than others but not all of them were Black Friday / Cyber Monday prices and that is the most important point that I can make in this post. Sometimes the best prices are not during the holidays, they can really happen at any time. The key to finding a good deal is waiting (and getting to know your local shop owner) but sometimes, especially recently, the deals seem to just happen and if you’re paying attention, and didn’t spent too much somewhere else, you can take advantage of them.

Moving Day Recovery

As soon as we got out of bed yesterday the long and hectic day started. We had a lot of appointments scheduled and, needless to say, a lot of work ahead of us. Yesterday was moving day and that was not the only task that needed to be accomplished… we also had an ADT consultation in the morning, Raymour & Flanigan delivering furniture by noon, and the cable company coming out to the house to get our phone, internet, and cable up and running by the end of the day. While I was taking care of those tasks, my wife was at work, our son was at daycare, and my parents were supervising the sluggish movers.

With all of these things set to a certain schedule, my wife and I got up a little earlier than usual, got our son ready for ‘school’ and were about to head out the door when my parents arrived. Actually, while my wife was changing, feeding, and generally getting our son ready, I was busy finishing up the remaining packing around the house and making sure that every box we purchased was being used. By the time I stopped to take a breath we must have had over 100 boxes stacked in the various rooms all labeled with their new locations at our home.

By the time I finished putting things aside, closing off all the rooms that the movers didn’t need to address, and coordinating the day with my parents I was already behind schedule and ADT was calling just as I was about to get in the car and head over to the house. Fortunately, the woman with whom I was working was very understanding of the situation and had the patience to wait for me until I arrived about 15 minutes after our originally agreed upon appointment time. Just before we completed the walk through of the house for the quote, the furniture arrived and we officially began the transformation from house to home.

ADT left shortly thereafter and, just like it was planned, the cable company arrived and began work immediately. Thankfully, I remembered to bring a television, my laptop, and a phone with me that morning to test. By mid afternoon, all the furniture was in place, the cable, internet, and phone were up and running, and I already had the quote from ADT in hand. All that was left was waiting for the lackadaisical movers to arrive.

Needless to say, we were not happy with how long it took the moving company to get things done. While I did get them to move a bit faster upon arrival it still took them until 8:30 to get things done, close up the truck, and leave all of their trash behind (I will be checking for damage over the next few days). Today was largely spend cleaning up after them and moving many of the clearly labeled boxes into the correct rooms. But, the important thing, regardless of the issues that we encountered, is the fact that we are now home! Let the recovery begin.

A Reason To Celebrate On Columbus Day

For all the lessons that were drilled into my memory in school while growing up, Columbus Day is not something that I celebrate. Like most people, as I have gotten older, I have learned a lot more about the man who “discovered” this once unknown continent. The more I learn the less interested I am in dedicating this day to the famous European explorer. This is why Columbus Day is just another day on the calendar… we didn’t even close the office.

However, this year there was reason to celebrate on Columbus Day and thankfully it was because of something completely unrelated to the historical figure. Today is also my wife’s birthday. Albeit completely different from all other birthdays she has had in the past. With all that has happened since her last birthday, this year there was good reason to both be sad as well as excited about turning another year older. Of course, I wish I would have done a better job of making the day special… time seems to be getting away from me too often lately.

While there have certainly been a number of tough days this past year, my wife has shown a strength in her that few possess. Even though she may not be able to see it let alone admit it, there were times when it was quite evident when she made the choice to keep pushing forward rather than giving up. That alone is enough to celebrate this day but it is only one of many reasons.

This, of course, is also the first birthday in our small family since the birth of our son. What a change from previous years. With such an amazing gift that we both received it is hard to think of something to give my wife that she would like. And it shouldn’t be a surprise given all the things going on this year and lately in particular that the gift that I did order has yet to arrive (completely my fault as I should have ordered it sooner). I was holding out hope on Friday but by the time I left the office without a package in hand I knew that I was in trouble.

Hopefully I can be forgiven for the late present but that is only the half of it. I found something that I think my wife will like but I need to figure out a way to incorporate something of our son in it. I don’t think that the current idea floating around in the empty space that is my head is going to be enough. I already know that I have some making up to do but I just don’t know how much I am going to have to make up for later. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Taxes Done?

The past couple of years have made me dread this particular day on the calendar. Having received hefty bills from the federal government and not enough funds to cover the costs, we have filed extensions. Seems like this is the time of year when everyone does some spring cleaning especially the government which likes to clean out your bank account. This year, we have the funds to pay what I am certain will be a ridiculous amount but don’t have the time to pull everything together. The extension streak is alive and now in its third year.

We were actually keeping things organized for much of 2014. This was in large part due to having to pull together all the documents in early fall before that extension ended. It was rather easy to put some of those items aside in a folder designated for the current year. Yep, things were pretty organized by the time December came around.

It really is amazing how cluttered things can get when you move from one place to another. Not the space in which we were living but in the individual boxes where all of our papers and documents were relegated. All of the organized folders seem to blend together in a pile of muddled ink... this reminds me, we have to set aside those receipts from the move. This is only accentuated by the fact that all of the tax forms arrived the following month so now what was once consolidated into one place is now in a few places waiting to be collected again.

Normally it wouldn’t be a problem pulling things together as in the past I have had time to do it. And that is the key. February and March were, to say the least, busy months. With all the hours that I have put in at the office and doing my best to protect the time that I have with my son, there are few minutes remaining during the day when I can take care of all these other projects that keep building up. Time is not being kind at the moment.

It doesn’t help that the days seem to be evaporating before us. Just as we get ready to plan for one thing or another, the pages of the calendar have turned and the time we once had was gone. Other things seem to pop up now and again as well chipping away at the days when we thought we would have a chance to catch our breath. But, as we have done many times over, we will find the time to get the taxes done and hold our breath waiting to hear the final total… hopefully the news will allow us to breathe afterward.

Back To The Office (Eventually)

While the worst part about traveling for business is being away from my family, running in a close second is the pile of work that needs to be done once I get back to the office. It really doesn’t matter if it is a day or a week, there is going to be a mountain of things that need to be taken care of once you walk into work. This is also true when taking time off (see the posts from last month about the birth of my son) but to a much lesser extent… I have been working all week but there are still things that I have yet to get done.

Of course, it didn’t help this morning that was working from home. We had rescheduled our son’s doctor appointment for later in the morning and I wanted to make sure that I was present for the checkup. We had originally scheduled the visit for 10:50. A few days ago it was bumped up to 10:40 which I wasn’t complaining about. So we arrived right on time (it helps that the office is only a couple blocks away) and we waited. This was followed by more waiting. And additional wait ensued after that until we were finally brought back to the examining room about 45 or 50 minutes after our scheduled appointment time.

Everything went well and our baby boy is growing as health but not happy after another shot and being stuck at the doctor’s office for over an hour. I should mention that throughout this whole morning, including the time in the waiting room, I was fielding calls from work and lodge trying to keep everyone calm and projects moving along as scheduled. As soon as we got home I had to immediately grab my work bag, turn around, and head to the office.

It was nice getting back on the road and at my desk for the rest of the day. That feeling lasted about as long as it took to get my computer back up and running and seeing all the emails updating to my account. I had seen the number of correspondences from my phone but now I took a closer look and saw that they all required my attention and were not just CC’s or updates that I can put off for a little while. A long afternoon followed a long morning but, thankfully, many of the things that I had been dreading seeing on my desk never showed up. I am still trying to catch up and probably will throughout the weekend but there was good progress made despite the chaos and delays of the day.  

Taking Turns

Yes, I am using this post as an excuse to include another picture of our baby boy!

 With everything that is going on lately with the move, work, lodge, and other things, I was looking forward to going to the next doctor appointment to check on our baby. That’s right, I actually had a reason to look forward to a doctor appointment. With our scheduled checkup a little later in the evening, I left the office a little later than usual and called my wife during the commute. It has been, to say the least, a little chaotic for her lately as well and she too was looking forward to hearing our son’s rapid heartbeat.

In the past we have endured prolonged periods in the waiting room so as the first flakes of precipitation brushed across our cheeks we walked into the office a little early and settled in for what we expected to be another long evening. Thankfully we were wrong as before we could even get settled, and certainly to the displeasure of those who were already waiting, we were escorted back to an examining room. Once all the basic vitals were checked, it was time for my wife to lay down and let the baby take over the moment.

As many of you know and have experienced before, hearing your child’s happy heartbeat takes over the moment allowing for everything else that may be going on in your life to disappear for a brief moment. Last night it couldn’t have come at a better time as that one instant, that fleeting flutter of a moment, made much of the thoughts from the previous few days, weeks, and months disappear from our thoughts. It didn’t last long of course but it was enough to get us through the rest of the day and into the night.

In the end, our baby remains healthy and slightly ahead of schedule. That is really all that we want. It just happens to be a bonus that he is already starting to listen to us, sleeping when we need to sleep, and shifting into a different position when needed. Even if he didn’t do any of those things we would still love him just as much as we do now and that, our new reality as parents, continues to be what is getting us both through many tough moments lately. Essentially, baby is already helping to take care of us know before we have to start taking care of him.

And now we wait for the next appointment. While we just had the most recent checkup last night, we are already looking forward to the next one. Before long he will be here and that is when our lives will really change but, for now, we are enjoying the change that he has already had on our lives.

Ahead Of Schedule

This might be the last time he was on schedule!

Now that my wife is in her third trimester we are scheduling doctor appointments for every two weeks. The last time that we were in the office we had quite the wait as couples crammed in one last appointment before Thanksgiving and many of the doctors had already headed out for the holiday. Last night was much better as we were shown back to the examining room a few minutes ahead of our appointment time.

After enjoying hearing our son’s heartbeat, it was time for the doctor to come in and take some measurements. As it turns out, at 28 1/2 weeks my wife is measuring 31 weeks. With very little weight gain to speak of, it is safe to say that our baby is a wee bit ahead of schedule. This also explains the discomfort and sometimes pain that my wife has been experiencing lately and her inability to sleep throughout the night.

Now that he is so far along, it is fun to play with him from time to time. He knows both of our voices and can feel each time that we rub him usually poking or kicking our hands. He is surprisingly active during the day and even into the night after I get home from work. I like to think that he waits up to hear daddy but I know that it not realistic.

Even though we have not been able to find the right name for our son we do have a couple of options that we have been keeping to ourselves. However, it is safe to say that Deuteronomy, Percy, and Junior have been eliminated from contention. While we would like to have a few options selected beforehand it is probably going to come down to what comes to mind when we see our son for the first time. Maybe that time will be sooner than expected.  

This is a little different of an approach than one of the brothers from the lodge. He and his wife had the named picked out for their daughter months ago in anticipation of today actually. Sometimes you just come across the one name that just fits and you stick with it… of course, we already have a name picked out for a girl but that is not helping us at all right now. Of course, at the same time, we are not going to let ourselves fall into the Paul and Jamie conundrum either.

It will all take care of itself in time. It is just a matter of how much time we will have to think about his name. So far it looks like we are having that timeframe cut down by 2 ½ weeks. I guess we will have to keep thinking of options as we continue looking forward to his arrival.

Not Welcome!

Last night my wife and I decided to again take our apartment building up on an offer that was made to us shortly after moving in… we decided to attend a board meeting. We had attended a meeting sometime during our first few months after being encouraged to do so by board members and management but haven’t been to one since. While we are not shareholders, the meetings have always been promoted as open to all residents but we really had no real motivation to attend until this month. Having handed in our request to terminate out lease last week and no hearing anything back as of yet we were hoping to at least get an answer.

Before heading down to the basement, we went up and finally visited with a couple of residents that we are very fond of. Regardless of the issues that we have had with the building, there are many great people that still live there as well as many that work there too. What we were able to confirm is that we were not the only people that have had issues and do not agree with how things are being managed. And this was coming from a former President of the board.

After catching up for about 20 minutes we all piled on the elevator with someone else heading to the meeting. We walked into the room and quietly shuffled into the back row not saying a word to anyone. We were there to listen not to cause a ruckus (other residents had already planned on doing so making there no need for us to say anything). My wife and I had just settled in and were chatting about other things that we needed to get done when the current president made her way to the back of the room.

It didn’t come as a surprise that we were asked to leave. After all, I didn’t bow and kiss her ring when we walked in the door. The new rule (declaration might be a better word) is that the meetings are only for shareholders… a complete change from our last experience nearly three years ago. Again, we were not there to make a scene so we got up, let our friends know what was going on, and made our way back to the apartment without any answers or even an acknowledgement of our formal request.

For now, we have to keep waiting until we receive notification. However, given the length of time that has passed, I am starting to plan on taking alternative action with regard to our lease. Nothing drastic, just putting all of the hard facts on the table and allowing them to speak for themselves. I guess we will just have to keep preparing and see what happens from here.

A Long Baby Appointment

Here is your obligatory baby photo for this post (old picture from 20 weeks).

For the past several months we have been seeing the doctor every four weeks to check in and make sure our son is on schedule. Last night was the last appointment in that particular schedule as we will now be heading to the doctor every two or three weeks until our son’s birthday. Thankfully, everything has checked out so far and he is developing close to what the doctor expects (he is actually a week ahead of schedule at this point).

However, while the baby is progressing as planned, the doctor was running late last night… very late. We both made our way to the office a little quicker than expected and checked in at the front desk about twenty five minutes early. Once a couple of seats opened up in the waiting room we settled in for the duration as given the mass of people in the office we knew there was no way that they would be running on time. Our appointment time came and went with little expectation as to when we would be seen.

Jeopardy kept us occupied for a little while but our patience began slowly degrading as Wheel of Fortune gradually killed our brain cells. By the time that show ended there were still a few of us fidgeting in the waiting room and what little patience was left quickly vanished once Dancing With The Stars came on. Honestly, I don’t know how people can watch that show. Fortunately, it wasn’t long after the dancing started when we heard my wife’s name being called and we moved as fast as we could to the examining room.

This change in scenery was met with more waiting as we could hear the doctor and nurses scurrying up and down the hallways like mice trying to escape from a trash can. This was accompanied by the sounds of heartbeats from the adjacent rooms. It was nearly 8:30 when the doctor finally opened the door, listened to the heart rate, took the usual measurements, and answered the couple of questions that we had for her. We discussed the net appointment and were on our way out having waited over two hours for a ten minute appointment.

It was a long night that followed a long day but it was well worth the wait as we were able to once again hear our son and watch him as he kicked wondering why he was being poked and prodded. Like many nights, that is what grounds us. But we also learned the important lesson to never again make a doctor appointment the week of Thanksgiving… I think even the baby was not happy about having to sit in the waiting room so long.

Draining My Patience

I know, your already jealous with anticipation.

With a busy day planned (as has been previously mentioned), I was up and out of the apartment early so that I could get to the office in time to pull some plans together an prep for a couple of calls. Nothing like a full day ahead of you to ensure that your entire morning routine is completed in about 15 or 20 minutes… showered, dressed, packed, and coffee poured. As is a known rarity lately, I was actually running on time and was on track to get everything accomplished on my list by the time I went back to sleep that night.

Just like the day before, Wednesday, my phone betrayed my progress at the office. As I read the text from my wife I knew that it wasn’t going to be an early evening. In my rush to get out of the apartment in the morning I didn’t notice the fact that the shower drain was completely blocked and so when my wife got home, looking forward to a relaxing shower, she found herself in anything but a relaxing situation as the water level was still a quarter of the way up the side of the tub. This wasn’t the first time so toward the end of the work day we agreed to meet out for dinner and I would pick up a couple of bottles of Drano on my way home.

When we got home, ceiling still in shambles by the way, I headed to the bathroom, made a quick and unsuccessful attempt to snake the drain, and poured about half a bottle of the clog dissolvent in the tub. Per the instructions I waited about thirty minutes and checked the progress. With the water level unchanged it as time to escalate the attack so I pulled off the plate below the spout and attempted to run the snake down the trap. Once again, unsuccessful. Finally, I poured the other half of the bottle directly down the trap and walked out of the bathroom to calm my exhausted wife while we waited the thirty additional minutes. These apartment issues have really been a drain on my patience (embrace the pun).  

Thankfully this final attempt was indeed successful and we were able to resume with our usual, but slightly adjusted, evening routine. An hour until midnight and I was finally sitting down at the computer to get some work done. Not a great end to the day especially given the number of things on my to do list and the fact that I have to crawl out of bed and be awake enough to participate in a conference call at 7am. I guess it is a good thing that I am able to function on four hours of sleep for an entire day. I am sure that skill acquired during college and, more recently, working the overnight shift will continue to pay dividends.  

I’m Feeling Kind Of Woody Today

Five years ago today my wife and I nervously paced around the synagogue waiting for everyone to arrive. We had just finished taking the family pictures on the stairs, signed the ketubah to the right side of the bimah, and we were now anxiously waiting for the time to get started. What seemed forever to wait for, including the two and a half year engagement, was over in what seemed like seconds. While a memory that seems like a blur in time, the moments are as vivid as the world currently surrounding us.  

We frequently look back on that day, flip through the pictures, and find ourselves still amazed that it has now been five years since we became husband and wife (the gift for this year is wood). While there have been a few moments here and there since that day that we would have done differently or wished had gone better, we are here today stronger and closer than we have ever been. With life getting busier and busier by the day, I look forward to heading home for the night to be with my wife.

So today we mark the first five years of our marriage with all the love that we have shared during the past half-decade. Our bond has taken us from Pennsylvania to Brooklyn to New Jersey to Jerusalem and back to Pennsylvania. We have each experienced various levels of employment and kept a wide variety of work hours. We have seen sickness and we have experienced health. We have struggled financially but we live in the wealth of our connection to each other.

We have seen one another at our best and at our worst. We have traveled around the state and around the world. We have lived a life at varying degrees of observance. Throughout those journeys and those different points in our life, we have continued to stand by on another, grow as a couple, and, eventually, find what works best for the two of us.

I am grateful each morning to have you by my side (even when you are trying to shake me awake as you yell at me to turn my alarm off), thankful for you constantly supporting me no matter how insane my schedule gets, I appreciate you keeping me grounded and forcing me to hold back at times when I try to do too much, and I’m amazed that you put us with me day after day after day. Thank you for the first five years of marriage. I will do my best to improve a few things during the next five years. Happy Anniversary! I love you!

Anyone Have Some Flying Monkeys For Sale?

As I mentioned in my Knoebels post from yesterday, my wife and I had to stop by the front desk before we left for our trip on Friday. The problem, a leak and water on the floor in our apartment (also referred to by someone else who shall not be named as “not a big deal”). I am generally a trusting person so we left for our trip expecting to come back to a remedied issue.

Why the heck do I trust some people to do their job? I don’t know, I think it is a character flaw which needs to be addressed ASAP.

Needless to say, we arrived home on Saturday evening to an apartment with a full bodied musty smell. To top it off it took only a couple of minutes before my wife’s allergies decided to say hi as the mold particles wafted by our noses. I immediately called the front desk to have someone come in and address the issue only to find that the person on call doesn’t have access to his car and he wouldn’t be able to make it until the morning. I am so happy that this isn’t a big deal.

Inspection the following morning is a bit of a blur as I was trying to function after having been up for about 30 hours. However, I do recall a big freaking hole in the wall and water hitting the maintenance guy on the head as he vacuumed. A professional carpet cleaner and plumber are now going to have to be involved. Is it a big deal now?

Now Tuesday is coming to a close and what else has been done? Nothing! No appointments set. No return date. No reasonable accommodations made. So, my wife and I are staying with my mother-in-law for the duration, our moods are deteriorating by the minute, our sleep is regularly lacking, and any confidence we have in those involved is quickly fading.

At this point, we just want to go home and sleep but we don’t know when that is going to happen. If this takes as long as I am expecting it to I may have to deploy some flying monkeys to find a solution. Maybe I don’t need them; after all it’s no big deal.

Never mind, bring me some monkeys!