My Life That Happened In #17
Episode #16
… February 2025
Saturday 1st
I bought something for the missus and when I received it it was torn. I wasn’t happy with the way it was torn. This was something that couldn’t have happened in transport. And the item description said it was in “very good” condition. So I sent a few words.
Their response I think the term is gaslighting.
Of course, I was a little miffed and couldn’t keep my fingers away from the keyboard, And so…
The only problem is now I have this running around my head until it isn’t. Thanks a lot.
The part I ordered for the toilet didn’t show. Great day.
Sunday 2nd
I tore my windscreen cover. it is still functional but I still tore it.
I received my parcel. It was left in the letterbox. I didn’t get around to checking it until after work.
PSA. Whenever purchasing something online please read what you believe you are buying before purchasing anything. Do not just look at the picture and hope for the best. It will save you a lot of time and money when you receive said item and it turns out to not be, said item.
I spent more time searching for what I needed. Only to then find out that the part had been discontinued. So I ended up buying the new version. I just hope it fits.
Monday 3rd
Karma seems to be after me for some reason.
After another long day at work, my water bottle goes missing. I don’t know if I have misplaced it, I don’t believe I did. But I am not 100% sure. Or someone nicked it. So I did the only thing I could do, let everyone know and get their help to keep an eye out.
Coming home I had to sort out my latest video upload to find an email asking if I could wait a couple of days as the part for my toilet was not in stock and it would take a couple of days to restock it. I replied stating I would wait.
Tuesday 4th
I woke up just before midnight and relaxed for a while before, I commenced, some online shopping. It took a while as I am a bit fussy. And if I can save a penny or two, I will.
I found and bought a new, much larger windscreen cover, a new water bottle and a bag to put it in. The amount I spent at Aliexpress would have cost the same as one windscreen cover on eBay. Fair enough, I probably wouldn’t have to wait longer, but savings are savings.
Today we were visiting the dentist for our overdue check-up. It went as well as it could be and I managed to snag a few free tubes of toothpaste.
Next stop: a visit to Costco.
We needed to get our cards printed with our faces. So that is what we did. After, we tried to enter the store but were turned away because our membership wasn’t a tradesperson. we had to return at 11 am.
So we popped to Maccy D’s for some breakfast. That Grimace milkshake though, jeez!
Is It Worth It?
The real true answer: Costco isn’t worth it. You pay an annual fee. You go shopping, Ooohing and Ahhhhing, and then you think. Yes. Some things are good here. I understand why it is helpful to the tradies. But when you look at the prices. I realise some of the things I am looking at are cheaper elsewhere. And then you think some of these products, are excellent prices. They don’t tell you that that isn’t the actual final price. Because it is an American company, they add the tax afterwards so my total suddenly added a tenner to the final price. So that value goes out of the window.
After all these years of wanting a Costco card… I really don’t know why.
Wednesday 5th
The wife was called in to work early today. So to help and be a great husband I took her in.
Yesterday I set up a return for that toilet part I ordered. Today, the postman collected it.
New rule: I will have less food to take to work as I seem to be overindulging. Before work, I will have breakfast, and then one of the two breaks will have food. The rest will be cups of tea or other drinks. But then, if I get hungry again, I will bring a small selection of snacks or wait until I get home.
I will also be using my spare water bottle until my new one arrives. It is a little smaller, but it will have to do for now.
Thursday 6th
Guess what this numb nuts found at work? At the end of the aisle, he was working on a few days ago. That’s right! My bloody water bottle. It had just been sitting there for two days, waiting for me to come and collect it.
My coworkers thought I was at work.
On another note, I finally received my forklift licence from work. I don’t like it. They squashed my head in the photo. It’s just terrible. So I will make my own and see what they think.
Saturday 8th
Yesterday, I realised that I will have to change my eating habits at work again and go back to not eating canteen food. So from now on I will have my prepared breakfast before work. During my first break, I will be having tea and biscuits. At the moment, it’s shortbread and a meal for the main break.
Sunday 9th
Youtube sent me a video that could be a game changer with my snoring. An NHS ENT surgeon named Vik Veer talked about wearing a neck brace to help those, as I do, with jaw opening while sleeping. And also to help the airways open properly.
The only problem with Vik is that he doesn’t always have all the information so I normally have to search the rest myself. His videos are generally his opinion on what he thinks about certain things; for the most part, he is right. But I searched anyway. He isn’t convinced it will work perfectly, but it’s worth a go.
So. I had a look around, and now I am waiting for some neck braces to try out and see if it can help.
Monday 10th
I thought it was time to fix the toilet. After dropping the wife at work and relaxing for a while I thought what the hell and went for it. I was actually doing really well when I snapped the float pipe connected to the overflow pipe. So now I have a small piece of piping, screwed in, that I cannot remove. So I may decide to call someone to finish it off.
Tuesday 11th
The first night back at work, within the first hour. My belt buckle snapped on me, leaving me to use my belt as a rope and tie it together. It being a stretchy belt it helped until I was able to get home.
I must make sure to look in my food bag and remember to remove and clean the used cutlery. A few times, I have ended up with a few days worth in my bag. Don’t worry each knife and fork, after use, is wrapped in a tissue.
My bag and new bottle have arrived and my new Garfield plushie keyring.
Wednesday 12th
I picked up the wife after I left work and we made our way to Lakeside Shopping Centre. She wasn’t okay and as she was going in way too early, I thought it might help if I got her something to eat. After we visited McDonalds I said she was going home. So as I drove she called into work and said she was about to have an attack. When we got home she finally went through her attack and then went to bed to rest. Her attack was a little different from normal and because of this, she didn’t realise she was going through one. I was able to tell by watching her symptoms.
While she slept, I continued shopping for a different belt, finally deciding, to buy the belts I am using now but not get a “chrome” buckle and stick to the black buckle instead. So I bought a black and brown belt from Amazon.
Thursday 13th
At work, I didn’t feel good. I was getting into my own head and I could feel an attack brewing. So, I went old school on myself. I pulled out my neck Bluetooth speaker and MP3 player and went into a rage music therapy session. My music for this setting is Slipknot and I allowed Cory Taylor to scream and roar for me after about an hour I finally was getting the effect I needed as It cleared and I was able to move on to different music. I continued for the rest of the night with it on and I felt a lot better it seems I will need to use this more often.
Friday 15th
I took the wife to work. I needed a couple of things so I walked with her through Lakeside. This is where I spotted one of my managers, with his family. I said hello and he said hello back and then congratulations. I was confused and said thanks. He then must have realised I didn’t know and went on to inform me that I had been accepted for the Mental Health First Aid course. I was a little surprised as I hadn’t been notified yet.
Or so I thought.
It also helped If I looked at the emails from work. But it was my day off so I don’t normally bother. After we continued on our way I stopped and looked at the email on my phone and there it was, the email, confirming what he had said.
Monday 17th
It finally arrived. My first edition signed copy of Neil Gaiman’s Norse mythology.
Thursday 20th
For over a week I have been receiving an email from work that they wanted me to sign. I had been ignoring it. Believing it to be a phishing email. I had screwed up on one a month or so earlier. And this looked the same. But it turns out it was a real email as I spoke to someone at work about it. So I signed it. It turns out it is a policy change so I can get the increased rate for passing my forklift course.
I can say that my purchase of the neck braces for snoring has led nowhere. I ended up snoring worse than before. So I have gone back to mouth guard and tape only. Although I will not throw them away as they have helped with my neck pain when I work in my “office”.
Friday 21st
For a couple of weeks, I have been interested in distraction-free technology. In this case a typewriter. I have been looking at various models, companies and DIY types of typewriters. There has been one that has stuck out. And it has been, bloody annoying because it’s a brilliant-looking piece of technology but the price is ridiculous.
I struggled with it and spoke to others for advice and so in the end, I ordered it. We will see if it will live up to the hype. If you would like to see for yourself check this link. I will write a little more about it when it arrives.
It was a day, or so early from the anniversary but we went to the crematorium to visit Mick. It had been nearly three years and the wife was far from over the pain of it all.
The place was a bit of a mess. Most of the mess had been caused by the weather.
We then took one of the roses and placed it by the tree near his last residence, overlooking the river Thames. The Thames was a little rough today.
We ended our time by going to a cash machine and the wife buying some booze from Tesco and then going to Mr Chippy, the chip shop we used to go to together.
Saturday 22nd
The wife has decided on a place to visit that will help with her hobby. It is a course on plant propagation. I am interested in learning some things as well. The only thing is it’s a three-hour journey, a Six-hour round trip. I know most people would be fine with this and I probably will be too. But I have never done this before so I am a little cautious, especially with my anxiety issues.
I took my creation of a new forklift license and showed it to the people I work with including management, It has had a positive result and one of my head managers has taken one to show his manager. Waiting to see what happens next.
Sunday 23rd
I have received a response to my card, and they want me to create one for everyone. I couldn’t be happier. The thing is, they want me to give them a list of the materials I need. It is a little daunting, and the responsibility is a little nerve-racking. I have some thinking to do. I have questions.
Tuesday 25th
I have sent an email to the manager who wants a list of materials with questions and options I could think of. My anxiety and maybe a bit of OCD will not allow it any other way. Confirmation is the key to settling my brain. We will see what happens.
I have also sent an email inviting people to journey with me on the 5th and 6th of March for my course in Croyden. I had to resend it as I didn’t reply to all just the last person who sent the previous email to the group.
Wednesday 26th
Day off today so I thought I could give another go at fixing some problems with Ne Ne. One of the items on the list I couldn’t do was sorting out the headlight. But it’s raining too much so I will leave that again for later. I did however manage to fix the licence plate lights. I realised I had spare LED lights from when I replaced the interior lights.
I didn’t know how fiddly they would be to change. In the end, I worked it out and fixed them. It turns out that the bulbs had blown but somehow It was still working. I also cleaned the outer casing and they look great now.
Thursday 27th
I had to go to Bexley today to visit a doctor with a claim I put in a couple of years ago due to an accident at work.
Before I went I took the wife to work and noticed that the warning light was on because of the new lights on the licence plate. It needs to be reset. My anxiety for going to new places was trying to kick in but, to a point, I was able to control it and get to my destination. I will have to learn to control my anxiety as I have a longer trip coming up in a few days.
The office, I went to, was in a small but tall Victorian building, wedged between a couple of shops on the high street. I appear to have been a tad early so I sat down and read my book. In the end, I was only with the Doctor for about five minutes and now I have to wait for the next part of the process from my lawyer.
Friday 28th
It’s the first day of two before some time off and it’s already started. “I can’t believe it’s gone so fast. It’s March already”. They are not wrong but still…
See ya next month!
