Rolling and Rolling

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' ... though the streams are swollen ... get those doggies rollin' ... RAWHIDE!!  It was running through my head all day long.  I just thought I would share!!

I finally broke down and took one Advil PM.  They seem to work pretty good.  Earplugs also work to keep out the barking dogs and the train.  Weird how I could sleep through a slow train 200 yards from my window in Arizona, but not here where the trains are three miles away and going 50 mph.  C'est la vie!!

I knew I would be running and rollin' all day long, so I went for some good and hardy tamales for breakfast.  

First stop ... AT&T.  Yup ... this is going to be a frustrating techy kind of day.  I acquired .99 worth of iCloud to switch phones, then they said I could go back to FREE.  Free is good, and I don't use the iCloud for anything.  Trouble is, it now won't let me delete it ... and it keeps charging my credit card.

There were two guys sitting with two customers.  I waited for ten minutes, then asked how long it would be.  At least another 30 minutes the guy said.  Wow ... that's service for you!!  Needless to say, I left.

Next up ... Verizon.  I really didn't expect much better.  At least there were no customers (which might be a bad sign) and only one guy to wait on me.  We talked all things MiFi since mine doesn't work well at all.  It's ancient he said ... ten years old.  

Okay, what about this other one given to me by friend Barbara.  Can I use that?  Yes, but it's only 4G and we have 5G everywhere now, so it will be slow.  Big sigh ... and I cannot just switch SIM cards. 

Next alternative ... the new EXPENSIVE MiFi that is both 4G and 5G.  You know my question ... are ALL your towers 5G now?  Oh yes ... ALL OF THEM.  

They lie ... they lie and they lie some more!!  I bought it, though I was very suspicious.  These have a range of 7 miles he said, and my Verizon tower is just two miles away.  It should work great.

NO IT DOESN'T.  It doesn't work any better than the old one.  I barely have one bar and it cuts out constantly.  I suppose if I go to downtown Sacramento where they REALLY have 5G, it might work.

On the other hand, Lowes knows service.  I took the commode guts back, reported it as defective with NO receipt in hand.  They credited my account immediately.  I found another one and a RED Jacket guy to help me pick out a new outdoor outlet.  He knew all about it and we actually talked about Old School service.  I walked out with a smile.

I installed it later in the day and it works just fine.  $16.00 is so much better than a $150 plumber.

Next up, I rolled on over to the Elks Lodge just to see how things were going.  I just love the looks on some people's faces when you are the last person they expect to see on a Monday.  I can read them like a book.  Though I was enticed by the Meatloaf Monday buffet with salad bar (some of the best I've ever eaten) for a mere $11.00, I passed it by.  

Next ... my wreath isn't exactly Christmasy.  When I pulled it off the door, half the ribbon disintegrated in my hands.  Another stop at Hobby Lobby for some pokey scratchy ribbon and I was headed home to see if I could fix it.  It's all stuck together with pipe cleaners.  I can DO THIS.  I didn't get far because the more I worked on it, the more mess on the floor I had to clean up.  I'll finish it up outside.

That's when I heard the big CLANK CLANK!!  Aha!!  Someone has driven over the steel posts I placed over the extension cord to my beautiful donated front lights.  My order is here!!  The guy apologized profusely.  He was really lucky he didn't hit the sharp angles on the bottom or he would have had a flat tire.  

Literally two hours later, I finally got my new Christmas lights together.  It sounded like a flock of baby chicks ... cheap cheap cheap!!!  No matter, I put them together and hauled them outside.  Apparently I'm not good at this sort of thing ... I had trouble with the second extension cord immediately.  It's plugged into a multi plug box, into a timer, into another multi plug box.  I persisted.

At 4:30 on the dot, the lights came on.  YAY!!!  They WORK!!  

Or NOT.  An hour later they all went out.  The blue light on the box says it has power, but the lights do not. I'm guessing it's maybe a fuse?    I'm thinking I'll just run an extension cord under my front door.  I just don't want to deal with it.  AND I have another three to put together on the OTHER side.   No wonder people don't want to put up Christmas lights!!!

After another couple hours of assembly, I'll be resting up ... because tonight .... TONIGHT I'll be rollin' right on down to BINGO!!!