My Aching Back

Well, after straining my back yesterday, I've lied in bed nearly all day today. I've used a combination of ice and heat and really haven't moved a whole lot. I did have to get up and pick my daughter up from school. That may have been a mistake. I was scheduled to work today, but there was no way I could have. I'm sure they all think I just wanted a 7-day break (after my 4-day weekend in Vegas), but I really did throw my back out. I do have the next 2 days off, so hopefully can rest most of each day. I did intend on getting a lot of yard work done, but I'm afraid it will have to wait. Such a shame to have wasted 3 great fall days. I may go to the doctor tomorrow to try and schedule some physical therapy. I can't believe this. The last time I threw my back out like this was in 2006 I think, but it wasn't this severe. The last time I've been in pain like this was 2000. Ugh. My damn back. I'm so mad at myself, although there was no way to know this was going to happen. S%#t!

What an Awesome Weekend

We spent the last few days in Las Vegas! Wow, it was such a fun weekend, we had such a great time, and didn't want to come home. We arrived Thursday night, very late, and it took a couple of hours to get our car and get to the hotel. We had a reservation for a premium suite, but unfortunately, they gave our room away and we had to stay in one of their older rooms. It was very dated, but they were able to get us into the suite the next day, so it was fine to sleep in for one night.

On Friday, we just took it easy, slept in a little bit, had breakfast with my brother and his spouse, and just relaxed until we attended bachelor/bachelorette parties that night for a friend's wedding. The women learned how to pole and lap dance, and then went clubbing. The men partied, gambled, and did our own version of clubbing. It was a fun night, and I think everyone had a great time.

On Saturday, we hung out with my brother Dean for the day. We enjoyed a good breakfast, visited the strip and did some shopping. It was a very hot day, but the cool air in the malls and casinos felt very good. For dinner, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, then attended V the Ultimate Variety show. It was a great day and the show was awesome.

On Sunday, we again had a good breakfast, then did some more shopping, then attended the wedding of one of my coworkers. The wedding was at the Valley of Fire (60 miles northeast of Las Vegas on Lake Mead) at sunset. It was beautiful, then we partied at the VooDoo Lounge in Vegas on the 51st floor of the Rio Casino. It was a very unique, beautiful wedding and we're glad we attended.

Monday was our travel day home. It was uneventful, and we were glad to be back in Omaha safe and sound. Until I tried to load the luggage into our trunk that is. Upon lifting the second bag, my back snapped and it was Game Over. I was in extreme pain. By the time we drove home, picked up our dogs from the vet, and picked up our daughter from school, I could barely walk. Dammit!! I haven't had hardly any back trouble in over 2 years, and I fear this could be one of the worst.

Such a great weekend, but then to ruin it in the last home stretch. At least it happened at the end of our vacation and not at the beginning. Sigh.

What a Crazy Week

Well, after historic crashes on the market this past week, the market made everything back, and then some on Thursday and Friday. What a crazy, wildly swinging week. I did look at my 401k, and had last about $8000 value through Wednesday, but then gained that back, plus another $2000 by Friday. That's insane! I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say that I lost $8000 in three days, but then made made $10000 in two days. Of course, it's all just numbers, and I'll never see that for another 19 years (when I retire), but it's still kind of a weird feeling. Now I really wish I had put a large portion of my emergency fund in on Thursday after the nearly 1000 point loss, but didn't have the confidence that I wouldn't lose my shirt. But, perhaps that's why I live paycheck to paycheck as I'm not a risk taker when it comes to money unfortunately.

Big Money BullS%#t

Well, the stock market has shed almost 1000 points over the previous 3 days. Wow, that's great news. Actually, it almost makes me sick to think about how much I've lost out of my 401K. But, they always say, don't worry about it until you sell, and hey, I've got 18 more years before I have to retire. And, they also say you shouldn't look at how much it actually went down or it will really make you depressed. But, at the same time, it's hard not to look, and hard not to worry about you much you've lost over the previous couple of days, even if you don't retire for 18 more years. It all stems from the big money movers all Wall street who have either gone bankrupt over the previous 6 months, have been bought out for pennyies on the dollar, or have been bailed out by the feds. I think we've spent over 200 billion on these buyouts, while the CEOs and board members make hundreds of millions of dollars. It's all bullsh%#t if you ask me. I'm just a regular guy trying to support my family, but also save a little for the next rainy day, but at the same time, still have money to spend of some of the fun things in life so it's not so hum drum. We honestly live paycheck to paycheck sometimes. And yet, when I hear that the government just spent 80 billion to buy out the next big corporation who has continually stuck it to the little guy, it makes me angry. It all just sucks. And, to make matters worse, when our political candidates attend $30000 per plate luncheons and make millions in one sitting, I have to question the ethics of our possible leaders, again, especially when little guys like me struggle every day just to keep our heads afloat. It's no wonder I'm so turned off by big business and politics. It's all BS!

GeoCaching? Is It Worth It?

I've vaguely heard of Geocaching, but have never really looked into it. Essentially, it involves hiding some sort of package, then having others seek your hidden package. It typically involves the use of GPS, with several clues, hints, coordinates, etc to find the treasure. It's not important treasure, but moreso just the challenge. It might just be the experience that folks are looking for, etc, but mainly just a hobby to kill time.

So, after doing a little research, it does sound like something that might be fun to do, but I do question the end result. Really, is it worth it to go traipsing around the countryside (or cityscape) just for the privilege of saying, "I found your hidden treasure." I suppose it might be, but again, I think the end goal is to just get people outdoors, to get them moving, and if they can do it with friends or family, they can all share the experience. But, it also seems that many (vast majority) of the finds are meaningless, trivial experiences, just to increase your tallies. It also seems that I'm often quite busy, with work, my stupid rotating schedule, and often severe weather, that I'm hard pressed for time anyhow. It certainly could be a time sink if you let it.

So, is this something I might be interested in? Perhaps. But, I'd have to buy a new handheld GPS. I've been wanting to get one for my car (that was one of the concessions that I made when I bought it, to avoid buying the built-in-dash GPS). I believe if I do this right, I could get a GPS that could be used for both the car and for geocaching, but in the end, is it really worth it?

HD TV Repair

Well, the TV seems to be getting worse. A few days ago, it was going off every 5 minutes. So, I called and set up a service call with the warranty company. But, I vacuumed all the air vents, and that seems to have helped. I still maintain that it's a heat issue, and perhaps the vacuuming helped it a bit, but last night, after not faulting for a couple days, it tripped again. The repair shop says it could take a couple weeks from beginning to end to get this fixed, and they need to have it in their shop to do the diagnosis and repair. Ugh. This TV weighs a couple hundred pounds, so I wasn't looking forward to hauling it into the shop. Thankfully, our extended warranty allows for in-house pickup. They're coming tomorrow morning. The driveway joints may still be tacky by then, so they'll have to carry this beast while stepping over the fresh caulk. I'm guessing it's just a board or a power supply that needs to be replaced. The diagnostic light blinks 6 or 7 times when it does fail, and according to a brief web search, that hopefully will be an easy fix.

Driveway Cracks Sealed

We got our driveway cracks and joints sealed today. I also had the sidewalks done, our back patio, and also all joints against the house. I had mentioned this previously, but the job was completed today. It looks really great, and is definitely a professional job. They used Sonalastic NP1 joint compound. From what I can gather, it's a high-grade sealant that should stand up pretty well to the elements. It's the type of sealant that you see in commercial installations, so hopefully it was money well spent. It was a little expensive, and now that I've seen how they do it, I could definitely maintain it over the next few years. The most important thing is that it's done, and I feel so much better about the large cracks in our driveway that seemed to be getting worse over the last 5 years. I should have done this awhile ago, but sometimes, with house maintenance stuff like this, I tend to put it off. But, it's a done deal, no matter how expensive, and gives me some piece of mind.

Vegas in 1 Week!

Woohoo, can't wait for our Vegas vacation in just 1 more week. Looking forward to a little time away for some fun, although can't guarantee there will be any rest or relaxation. We've got a non-stop weekend planned with activities one right after the other. We're going to do the bachelorette/bachelor thing one night, which will be interesting. My wife is allergic (severely) to smoke, so we'll see how much she can take. She may end up bailing pretty early in the night and head back to the hotel for refuge. I plan to party awhile with the boys, but don't really want to stay out all night. I'm too old for that anymore, plus don't want to trash myself for the rest of the weekend. My brother and his spouse will be there too, so it will be fun to get together with them a few times for dinner and general sight seeing. We're also going to go to a show, V the Ultimate Variety Show. It's kind of like America's Got Talent, but it sounds really fun and should be an enjoyable time. Then we're also going to our friend's wedding, which will be at sunset at the Valley of Fire. That also sounds interesting and should be a good time. The only drawback, I'll miss a nighttime Nebraska football game, which will also be shown on network TV . Ugh. All in all, I'm sure it will be a very fun, but tiring (and borderline mega expensive), weekend, and now counting the days.

Going Green

For the last few months, we've been trying to take "Going Green" to the next level. Our garbage company started a program called Recycle Bank. Essentially, we have a full-size garbage container now for all of our recyclables. They will take just about anything, all paper, all cardboard, styrofoam, etc. There are just a handful of things they won't take. We get a wait credit with a pickup every other week. There is a website that we can visit to see our bi-weekly point accumulations and can cash in points for gift cards, coupons, etc. It's not a lot of money, but $5 off here or there, 20% off entire orders, etc. It all helps. Anyhow, I would say our recycle stream now is about 60/40, or possibly even 70/30. In other words, we're now recycling "much" more than we did before, and it's a good feeling knowing we're doing what we can. It's ironic though, we recycle our goods, in turn to sell to China (and other foreign countries), who in turn remake the plastic goods, allowing us to in turn recycle it again. It's an interesting cycle, and apparently there is money to be made.

Lots To Catch Up On

Let's see, there's a ton of things to catch up on. I attended a professional conference last week in Hays, Kansas. Wish it was some place exotic, but at least it was close. It was a good conference and I had a great time. I drank way too much Wednesday night, but that's all part of the experience. I presented my research on Friday and think it went OK.

Then, I went to the Nebraska Football game Saturday morning. Woohoo! We played San Jose State. The huskers didn't play as well as we'd hoped, but they did eke out a win, so can't complain about that. The weather was perfect, cool, cloudy, and not much wind. There was some spotty drizzle just before half time, but it didn't last long. That may be the only game I get to go this year, so was thankful for the opportunity! Thanks Ron (father in law), I had a great time!

I got the yard mowed earlier this week before the rains came. I also started trimming down some of the perennial flowers in the flower beds. They're done for the year so no need to string them along. Fall is fast approaching, and honestly, I'm looking forward to the first frost. It will put an end to my allergies, although I haven't had hardly any trouble at all this year. While mowing the yard, they flared up a little, but nothing like previous years. It's been nice. The rain started this morning, and we've had well over an inch. The rain helps to wash out the pollen too, so it's all good.

We head to Vegas in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to the 4 day vacation! Yeah! Should be fun. My brother will be there, and we're also attending the wedding of one of my coworkers. We are doing a bachelor/bachelorette party Friday night, so that should be fun too, where we can actually put to use the classic phrase, "What happens in Vegas..." :O

Our HD TV is starting to go out. It's a Sony 34" tube TV, but now shuts itself down at random points. The diagnostic light blinks 6 times, which helps pinpoint the problem. Guess I need to call the TV repairman. I did buy an extended warranty with this TV, so will see if they're willing to repair it under the contract. Time will tell.

I also need to get the furnace serviced. It's time to renew my annual contract. I'm kind of anal about stuff like that. Preventative maintenance is key I think, although it sure gets pricey sometimes. I also am having our driveway professionally sealed in a couple of weeks. We've got a few cracks that need to be sealed, and all the joints need to be sealed too. It's a pretty big job, and I don't really want to mess with it. A neighbor down the street had a company come in and do it, so I got an estimate too. It will be a little pricey, but at least it'll be a professional job and will make any maintenance or repairs down the road much easier.

Oh yeah, we also need new cordless phones. I have 5 in the house, all the same model, all tied into a single base unit. They are as old as the house, now five years. They won't hold a charge anymore, so all need new batteries. Actually, we've lost one somewhere in the house, so we're down to 4. I could buy new batteries, but with phones as cheap as they are, I got another 5-unit system on sale this past weekend for what it would have cost to buy batteries. Plus, it's upgraded technology based on DECT6.0, so it's a different frequency that should have less interference.

Oh yeah, my wife bought a new dress and shoes for Vegas, and it's going to cost them $90 each to head out on the town, which doesn't include drinks, dinner, tip, or transportation. And I have no idea what we'll be spending at our clubs. So needless to say, the credit card is getting a workout.

Sigh, it's always something. I think it's a never ending cycle to spend more than we make. I should change my license plate to NDET4VR at this point. :)

There is a new hurricane brewing on the horizon, Hurricane Ike. It's headed directly for Houston and it may be pretty bad. Am praying for everyone's safety, but the track doesn't look good right now.