Sunday Stealing #4

Favorite novel and author?   I don't know about novel, I read a ton so I have a bunch but author is Stephen King
Favorite perfume/scent?  Cookies baking, can't stand perfume or cologne
Coffee or tea?  Tea, can't stand the smell or taste of coffee
Are you a cat or dog person?  We have both but I'm a cat person, they aren't so damn needy all the time.
Which mythical creature would you transform into if you could?  No idea
Favorite time period?  Current one I guess
Name 3 films that have changed your life and have shaped you into the person you are today.  I have no idea
Diamonds or pearls?  Do baseball diamonds count?
What’s your biggest dream?  It was to own a home that my kids could call a place home for the rest of their lives but we got it a few years ago, don't really have another one that I can think of. Travel to all the MLB stadiums, maybe?
Dream destination?  Not much of a traveler, I'd love to see some of the pics of New Zealand or Ireland, maybe Alaska. Some place green with mountains.
Favorite fictional character?  Rachel Morgan
Share a quote or passage that means something to you.  The level of my sarcasm depends on your level of stupidity.
What’s your favorite plant/flower?  None
Do you prefer the forest or the ocean? why?  Forest, Ocean scares the crap out of me.
What do you value most in people?  Honesty, I hate being lied to. I don't care if the truth hurts, it hurts more to be lied to.

Spotify Wrapped

I got an email from Spotify that gave me a link and they give me a rundown of my music that I've listened to this year. You know I'm a stats guy so I loved it and I figured I'd share some.

I loved it as soon as I opened the email and was confronted with this.

That's awesome, now my playlist has 3,308 songs on it so that shows that I check out the new releases as well. Do you think I would have listened to that many different songs if I listened to the radio? Hell no, maybe if you included the commercials on the list.

There are 10 pages on the website that the email directs you to, I'm not going to show you all of them, a couple are links to playlists of my top 100 playlist that they made from my years listening and also a playlist of songs I may like, because they are always trying to get you to expand your playlists. I like these, however, I wish they would limit the songs to stuff not already on my playlists. Just because it's from a different album, doesn't mean it's a different song that I already have.

One of the pages has you guess how many minutes you've listened to Spotify this year.

That's over 882 hours of music listening, over 36 days straight. I would guess at least 3/4 of that time is in the car considering I get about an hour and a half a day traveling back and forth to work.

They had a chart page which was kind of cool. Although the colors of it sucked and makes it hard to read.

My top artists is a little misleading, not saying that it's wrong but the top 3 artists are probably there because I have a ton of their songs on my playlists. DC Talk (51), Petra (42), Michael W. Smith (36).

The top songs don't really mean much other than they are all on multiple playlists. I have a Traveling, a Country, and a Jams playlist. The Traveling and Country are the ones I listen to with my wife in the car because she doesn't like a lot of my music (mainly the rock) and I do occasionally put the Jams one on in my car, with the windows down, on my way home from work.

As far as the genres go, Rock is definitely number 1 and in my eyes, Metal is considered a sub genre of Rock. The Country I can see as well, but the Indie and Pop I don't see being in the top 5. I wonder if the Pop is from the 80's and 90's pop because I know I don't have much newer Pop on there. One of the other pages even lists my favorite sub genre as Post Grunge, which again, is of Rock.

Another page had my oldest song on it, which technically isn't true but we'll say it is.

The reason I say it isn't is because I have classical music mixed in on the playlist and that's stuff was wrote ages ago (1800's even) but the actual song was probably off a current classical album.

At the very end, the 10th and last page, is a share page which along with the usual Facebook, Twitter, ect. they give you the option of Billboard. Which I signed up for, it gives them permission to use your stats along with the photo of your choosing to pop up on their billboard in Times Square. Now I just wonder if they will tell me if they use it, a photo would be nice.

If you'd like to know more about my music, check out my blog Last Song of the Day. I post the last song that I listened to that day and there are links to my Spotify account on it as well. I believe all my lists are public.

My week in bullet points #3

All I've been posting are these but it's all I got right now so there you go. Again, I was supposed to post this yesterday and forgot. Maybe I should just plan on posting these on Sunday, I'd probably forget then and start posting them on Mondays.

Sunday

• Woke up to a couple of inches of snow. I was hoping for Samantha to get more drive time in before it started snowing but it was gone by the afternoon so it wasn't to bad. She had a meeting at work in the morning so she made it there and back ok.
• Apparently the temps never got turned down on the tanks at work and over half of 2 of the tanks dissipated so I had to give instructions on what and how much chemicals to add so they could use the tanks. I really should have gone in but it's a 45 minute drive, one way, and that's not paid. I'm not spending an hour and a half in the car for 20 minutes of pay. Not to mention, I don't get paid for that anyways, they are lucky I even answer my phone when I'm not at work.
• Had Turkey Roll Ups, Chips and Dip and a Mountain Dew for lunch and a frozen pizza for supper.
• Watched 17 shows and a Michigan basketball game.
• Listened to 20 songs.

Monday

• Had a 5 hour meeting today about setting goals for my department at work. It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be since I had to sit with my boss and another group lead so we discussed our department. Plus they brought in some McDonalds to start the meeting. Considering I wasn't supposed to work at all this week, I'll take the 8 1/2 hours I got today and I'm coming back tomorrow.
• Had McDonalds (3 breakfast burritos) for breakfast. Had 2 Cheese and 1 Chicken Quesadilla's and a Coke for supper.
• Watched 9 shows today.
• Listened to 41 songs today.

Tuesday

• Ended up only working until around 11 and have the rest of the week off. I am grateful for the 2 1/2 days that I'll get paid considering originally I was only getting 1. I'm also happy to have the time off work, even if it isn't paid.
• Came home to Cheri in the driveway getting ready to go to her sisters. I decided to tag along because I hadn't seen their new house since it was completed. I ended up being tired and out of it most of the time I was there so I was really fun to hang out with I'm sure.
• Had Sausage, Peppers and Rice for supper.
• Watched 11 shows.
• Listened to 57 songs.

Wednesday

• Since I had the day off, I finally got around to replacing Samantha's headlight. It was a pain in the ass to get it out, as anything is when I have to deal with a car. I also took her down to a local gas station to show her how to check the air in her tires and to put some in. I could tell when I was working on her car that her tires were low.
• Watched 24 shows.

Thursday

• Woke up to my wife tapping me on the shoulder and saying we had a problem. Apparently our furnace stopped working. It was still 65 degrees in the house so it's not like we were freezing. Cheri called my stepdad to see if he could look at it. Since he was cooking our Thanksgiving lunch, I told him he could come over after the party, which he did. Only to find out it was working now so I have no idea what went wrong.
• Had Thanksgiving at my mom's like we do every year. It was good but I got annoyed at being accused of being antisocial. Which I more or less am, but I'm not with the family. My response was I haven't turned down any invitations to do things. Just because I don't leave the house much doesn't mean I'm ignoring everybody around me.
• Samantha went to her girlfriends in Goshen after she left her grandmother's house. When she had to come home, she had to use her GPS and it was dark out so she was freaking out. I told her to try to make the drive, if you get to stressed out, I'll come get you. She eventually made it home without a problem. I think she was just freaking herself out.
• Had a ton of food for lunch. Had a Turkey Roll Up and Cheeto's for supper.
• Watched 14 shows.
• Listened to 25 songs.

Friday

• Didn't do anything all day, never even left the house. Pretty much spent most of the day on my laptop.
• Had 2 Egg Salad sandwiches for lunch. Had Bruno's pizza for supper.
• Watched 15 shows, including the whole season of the Good Cop. Also watched an old Michigan football game as well as a replay of the season opener of the White Sox. Also watched a live Michigan basketball game.

Saturday

• Got up early to go to my grandmother's house and move her in to a senior living place. Once the moving is all done, she will enjoy it. She gets lonely at home by herself and will love all the people around her. She's fighting it but if she gives herself a chance, it'll be good for her.
• Cheri ordered groceries to be picked up at Walmart and she wasn't up to going by the time it rolled around so I ran out and picked it up.
• Watched 1 show, a Michigan football game and we watched movie on Netflix.
• Listened to 23 songs.

Walking update

I'm currently in Victor, Idaho. With all the time off this week, haven't really gone very far but I do believe I was still in Wyoming at this time last week so I did go to another state. I go back to work tomorrow so I'll start picking up some mileage again.

My week in bullet points

Last week in bullet points. I was supposed to post this yesterday. I'm a slacker, what can I say.

Sunday

• Finished the Haunting of Hill House, it was really good. Which means they will probably make a second season, and it will probably suck. That's what happened with American Horror Story, great first season, very weird every season after.
• I went in to work tonight at 10pm. We put in a new seal tank and I wanted to be there if something went wrong. That's better than getting a phone call at 1 in the morning and waking me up. Although it ended up being fine but I had a half day vacation day for Monday so I knocked out 3 of the 4 hours I was going to make up through the week that night.
• Had String Cheese for breakfast. Had an Egg Sandwich for lunch and had Sloppy Joe for supper.
• Watched 9 shows.
• Listened to 24 songs.

Monday

• Had the day off work because I had to go to court. The Ex got arrested for not paying support almost a year and a half ago and we're still going to court. It was another freaking continuance. It's getting real old.
• After court we hit Aldi's for some groceries and then I talked Cheri into going out for some late breakfast. It was good, I always going out with Cheri which she rarely does anymore so I always enjoy the time when we do.
• Had a Greek Skillet and a Mountain Dew for breakfast. Had 4 Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas for supper with a Coke.
• Watched 9 shows and the Michigan/Holy Cross men's basketball game.
• Listened to 9 songs today.

Tuesday

• Worked and hit Walgreens on the way home to pick up some of Cheri's meds.
• Had Yogurt and OJ for breakfast. Had leftovers for lunch. Had Cheese Quesadilla's and a Coke for supper.
• Watched 10 shows.
• Listened to 45 songs.

Wednesday

• They finally got the yellow press going at work, it's only been 2 months. It makes a huge difference in us getting caught up.
• Came home and finally remembered (thanks to Cheri) to unhook the hoses outside and took down our canopy.
• Had Yogurt and OJ for breakfast. Had a salad and a Mountain Dew for lunch. Had Jimmy Johns and a Coke for supper.
• Watched 3 shows and the Michigan/Villanova men's basketball game.
• Listened to 51 songs.

Thursday

• Had 3 meetings today at work so didn't get a lot done.
• Snowed most of the day but the roads stayed fairly clear.
• Had Yogurt and OJ for breakfast. Had a salad and a Mountain Dew for lunch. Had Fish and Green Beans with a Coke for supper.
• Watched 9 shows.
• Listened to 40 songs.

Friday

• Stressed out most of the day on this WIG meeting I have on Monday. Come to found out, I did the paperwork just fine.
• Met the Ex and handed off Trevor. I'll be glad when Samantha can make this drive and I won't have to.
• Had Cottage Cheese and OJ for breakfast. Had McDonalds (McRib, Fries and a Coke) for lunch. Had Chick-Fil-A (Nuggets, Fries and a Coke) for supper.
• Watched 10 shows.
• Listened to 66 songs.

Saturday

• Had to drive Samantha's girlfriend to work because her parents and stepmother are useless. Samantha and I dropped her off and then got groceries for the week before picking her up. Picked up a headlight for Samantha, she has one out but haven't put it in year.
• Had McDonalds (Sausage, Egg and Cheese McMuffin, Hash Brown and a Coke) for breakfast. Had Turkey Roll Ups and Chips and Dips with a Coke for supper.
• Watched 10 shows and the Michigan/Indiana football game.
• Listened to 31 songs today.

My life in bullet points

A bullet point of my life the previous week.

Sunday

• Did our grocery shopping. That was a mess. We realized now why we don't usually go on Sundays. It was fine at Walmart because we use the pick-up and never get out of the car. At Aldi's at Martin's, where we mainly get vegetables and meat, there were all kinds of people.
• Watched 20 shows.
• Listened to 13 songs.

Monday

• Worked. Finished Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King at my lunch break. I don't know how he comes up with his stories but it amazes me how he comes up with things nobody else has, or at least that I know of.
• Watched 10 shows on TV.
• Listened to 41 songs.

Tuesday

• Worked and took Samantha to work that evening. She closed so I didn't have to pick her up, I'm in bed by then.
• Watched 7 shows and a Michigan/Norfolk State basketball game.
• Listened to 40 songs.

Wednesday

• We made the decision to switch our seal tanks on Friday. The new seal is harder on wastewater so it'll be more work for us. I was going to leave at 1 so I could go home and change before picking up Samantha but a salesman came in at 1 and I didn't get out till 1:30 so I went straight to the Career Center to pick her up.
• Took Samantha to the BMV to take her driver's test for the 2nd time. She went a little fast on the first test, which didn't surprise me as they went out on a 5 lane road but the speed limit is 35. She said she didn't see the speed limit sign and went with traffic, which was around 45. Oops. Apparently 2nd time is the charm.

• Hit the vet's office to pick up some meds for Milo and Dollar General on the way home. I needed new headphones for work. I wear them on my breaks so nobody talks to me. The ones I had before came with my phone and I've had them for a couple of years.
• Posted this to my Snapchat this evening.

• Watched 8 shows on TV.
• Listened to 48 songs.

Thursday

• My 1st shift employee had a vacation day so I used our backup. She did a good job but she has no self confidence so she questions everything she has to do. I told her I had a meeting at 9:30 and another at 10 and that I wouldn't be out of that one until between 10:30 and 11 and that we would take care of the press when I got out. I get out around 10:35 and she's waiting for me, all frantic because she freaked out and doesn't know what to do. I freaking told her we'd do the next step when I got out. 
• They made Friday voluntary so I'll be going in and switching the seal over. Since my 1st shift guy is taking the day off, I'll be doing it myself.
• I finished Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King at work today. It was good, but the story is so out there that I don't know where he comes up with it.
• Posted this to Snapchat. Milo was snoozing, hard.

• Watched 10 shows on TV.
• Listened to 36 songs.

Friday

• Got the seal tank all switched over so we should be good to go on Sunday night. I'll be going in for a few hours to make sure everything is good with the tank when they start it up. I ended up leaving just after 11 and hit McDonalds for a couple of McRib's on the way home. It's the only time of the year that I hit McDonald's for anything other than breakfast.
• Came home and didn't even make it to the shower, I crashed in my recliner for a couple of hours. Longer than I normally nap so I must have really needed it.
• Watched 13 shows on TV.
• Listened to 29 songs.

Saturday

• Typical Saturday, didn't really do anything. I only left the house to take Trevor to his friends house. He's going over for a birthday party but is going to stay the night so I didn't have to leave the house again.
• Watched 13 shows on TV. Also watched the Michigan/Rutgers football game. Not that it was much of a game.
• Listened to 17 songs.

Walking update

* I keep track of my steps and put them to a map as if I was walking across country.

I haven't posted in awhile about keeping track of my steps but I am still doing it. Last time I did post about it though, I had said it would be awhile before I did again because I was in the middle of the west where there isn't really anything to look at. Since I was cutting across the country, I decided to run by where I took a trip back in the 80's.

This is what it looks like to the East, it's really exciting stuff isn't it. Now you see why I haven't posted much. This is what it looks like facing West.

Those would be the Grand Tetons. I hiked to the top of those back when I was younger. They are in Wyoming. It was summer but there were spots of snow that we still had to hike across which should give you an idea just how big they are.

This is a more professional photo instead of the Google Map photo. I went with a group of about 12-15 kids, all my age at the time. Only 2 of us made it to the top, me being 1 of them. I wish I had all my photos and I'm pretty sure I had a journal of some type from the trip that I would love to go through again. It was an amazing trip. We spent a week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and did all kinds of things. White water rafting on the Snake River and hiked up the Grand Tetons just to name 2. I'm sure I had other kinds of memories but they have faded over the years, which is why I wish I still had the photos/journal.

Day 678 - Alta, WY (2213.61)

I have crossed the 1,000 miles for the year but I doubt I'm going to hit the 1,500 mile goal I had set at the beginning of the year. Let's see where we are.

Goal - 1500 miles (4.1 miles/day)

Currently - 1034.81 miles (3.32 miles/day)

I was at 3.36 miles a day so that has slipped but either way, it's still almost a mile less than what I needed for the goal. Now that I'm a supervisor at work, I get less steps because I have to sit through some meetings. Not a lot of them, but enough to make a difference. I rarely hit 10,000 in a day any more. I should go out an walk when I get home but I've found that it makes my tendonitis flare up when I do a bunch of steps at once so that's pretty much out.

It is what it is.

Sunday Stealing #3

I'm back. I haven't stopped doing these but I had a houseful for a weekend and then got sick for the week after so I didn't do much blogging.

1. What's the coldest temp you've experienced?     I don't know, I believe it's been below 0 here, I know with windchill it's been way below that.
2. What's for dinner tonight?     Let me ask the boss. She don't know yet.
3. Would you consider moving to Australia?     Hell no. I don't have a desire to visit any other countries let alone live in one.
4. What was your favorite subject in high school?     I guess gym. I was pretty much ignored in any class but gym. Gym was mine, nobody still knew who I was but I dominated in whatever we did.
5. How many hours a day is your tv on?     From when my wife gets up until she goes to bed. It's usually background noise if we aren't specifically watching it. She can't stand the silence.
6. Have you ever received an award?     Volunteer of the year at a nursing home when I was in High School is the only thing I can think of, other than sports trophies.
7. What's your mousepad look like?     I use a chromebook so no mousepad.
8. How many browser tabs do you have open right now?     7
9. If you are a parent, have you or did you ever put Vicks VapoRub on your children under the age of 2?     Not something we use at all.
10. As an adult, do you like the scent of Vicks VapoRub?     Couldn't tell you.
11. If you had to pick one insect to infest your house for 1 day and after that day they would just suddenly vanish, which insect infestation would you pick?     I guess ants because they don't do anything but be there.
12. What color is your underwear that you are wearing right at this moment?     Dark blue or black, can't tell over here, not much light and I have a cat sitting between my legs so I can't move much.

Wednesday Medley #2

1.  The Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Festival starts today.  All things pumpkin are everywhere. What is your one very favorite pumpkin flavored food or drink?  Do you wish it was available all year or do you only want it in the Fall?     Pumpkin Pie and that's about it, not a huge pumpkin fan.
2.  What product would you seriously stockpile if you found out they weren't going to sell it anymore?     I don't know, I'm not really obsessed with anything in particular. I have lots of things I really like but it's more cravings than anything. Once I satisfy the craving, I'm over it for awhile.
3.  What is the most interesting thing you have seen online this week?     Highlights from the Michigan game
4.  Is it better to be a "big fish in a small pond" or a "small fish in a big pond"?     Big fish in a small pond I guess, but I have no desire to be the big fish.
5.  My Joe has become obsessed with playing chess on the computer.  Do you play chess?  Are you good at it?     I play but I rarely play. I taught my kids to play and it was fun until they got bored with it.
6.  Tell us something random about your week.     My oldest son, girlfriend and 2 kids are staying with us from Thursday until Tuesday. Our nephew is getting married so Cheri's whole family will be together. If our oldest daughter can get up here this weekend, we are hoping to get a picture of our whole family together. I don't think all of us have been together in 8 years.

I'm finding that my life is so boring, that I even have trouble answering these basic questions.

Cell or not to cell

I was going to do the Sunday Stealing but it was about talking on the phone, which I hate and rarely do and pancakes, which I rarely eat so I didn't see a point in that.

I have a cellphone, I love my cellphone, I carry it everywhere. However, I don't use it all the time like a lot of people. I don't play a ton of games, I don't do a ton of social media (on my phone), I don't even really text a lot but yet, I don't go anywhere without it. So what do I do on it? Beats me, let's figure it out.

• I do use it a lot for music, I stream Spotify to my car anytime I'm in it. I also stream it on my breaks when I wear my headphones.
• I do check Snapchat occasionally and I send out one snap a day to the few people I have streaks with.
• If I get a notification from Facebook and it's something I want to see, I'll go check it but I really don't get that many notifications. I rarely get on Facebook just to see what's going on. I get on Facebook when I get home on my laptop.
• I'll occasionally Google some info if I need something.
• I usually text my wife on my breaks at work but not for long. I'll also text my brother and mom but not really that often.
• I do use it for work as well, there are no land lines at work and I do field calls and texts from some vendors, plus I check my work email and calendar. My employees will also occasionally text or call me.
• I do have a game or 2 that I play, but usually only when I'm in the bathroom and since I'm a guy, only when going number 2.
• On Fridays, I check my paystub to make sure my check isn't screwed up since it's paperless.
• Finally, as a phone. I can probably go back a month and I've only talked on the phone a few times (minus work calls). I might call my wife from the store or my mom will call me for a favor, other than that, I don't even use it as a phone.

That's really about it, I'm not sure why I always have to have it on me. Other than at home, because it usually sits on the table next to my chair. I have my laptop and phone connected so I don't even use my phone to text, I use my laptop (no, they are not Apple products, don't even get me started on that.)

Now that I've typed this out, I really do wonder why I have to have my phone.

Sunday Stealing #2

1. Have you ever tried to learn (or re-learn) a foreign language as an adult? Which one? What worked for you?     I took Spanish for a couple of years in high school but I really sucked at it. I can still do the numbers, and a few words but that's about it.

2. Do you donate blood? Do you know your blood type?     A+, I used to donate pretty consistently but with a change in job it makes it harder to get out there. To be honest, I could probably make the time and I don't, maybe I should change that.

3. Have you ever been in a play or musical?     Nope

4. Do you use certain text or ring tones for specific people? Who gets their own? Or do you just use the default on your phone?     I have a certain text ring tone for my wife, kids, mom and my brother. It's the same tone for each of them, those are the only people who text me consistently so I know not to ignore the text for too long. Ring tone is just the default for everyone. I rarely get phone calls.

5. When did you get your first digital camera? Do you still shoot on actual film, or all digital now?     Whenever they started putting cameras on cell phones so yes, I'm all digital now.

6. What do you think someone else would say the most daring thing you’ve done is?     I have no idea, most of anything I did daring was as a kid and most of who actually communicate with me now, didn't know me back then.

7. Do you talk with your hands?     Not a lot, but I do some.

8. Given the choice in a restaurant – would you go with a booth or table (or bar!!!) for seating?     Booth, usually more padding in them.

9. What kind of milk did you drink, growing up? And now?     2% growing up, skim now. I didn't even know there were other kinds when I was a kid. I can drink them all, doesn't make much difference to me.

10. How do you keep track of all your passwords? Do you make your passwords super complicated and change them often, or use the same ones over and over?     I have a few that I use so I keep trying them until one works. At work, I have to change it every 30 days so it's the same only I change the number on the end. I'm up to 15 now.

11. Are you a note taker?     Nope, I have a pretty good memory so I usually rely on that. Not that that always works, but for the most part, it doesn't fail me, yet.

12. Do you remember what your first social media posting (or status update) was on Facebook or Twitter – without looking it up? What was it?     They were probably both along the lines of - checking Twitter/Facebook to see what it's all about.

13. Do you have a “power” song?     Not one song, I have a playlist of power songs that I jam out to in my car occasionally.

14. Do you have an eclectic mug collection, or is your stuff all matchy matchy?     Have no use for any mugs.

15. Do you have a junk drawer in your house/garage/at work/wherever?     I don't think so, that wouldn't be up to the bosses (my wife) standard.

16. Do you ever get the urge to watch a favorite scene from a movie, and watch just that scene?     Nope, I rarely watch a movie twice. I don't like knowing what's going to happen.

17. Have you ever woken up and felt guilty from a dream you had, or, mad at someone else for something they did in the dream?     Guilty, yes. Until I realized it was a dream. No to being mad at someone else's dream, they can't control that, why would I be angry. I have had dreams where someone wronged me and it takes awhile to get over in real life.

18.  How old were you when you took your first commercial flight? To where did you fly?     8th grade, maybe a Freshman. Flew to California from Indiana via Ohio, if that makes sense.

19. Are you good at keeping track of your things – or do you easily misplace them? Do you ever leave anything behind when you travel?     Comes back to the memory thing, I do pretty good and remembering where I put things. I did leave my wallet and checkbook in Virginia once, had to have them mailed back to me.

20. Is there any place you go where time seems to stand still? What is it about that place that makes it that way?     Not that my can think of. Maybe my grandma's house because there isn't much for electronics. She still uses a flip phone but she does text with it.