Plans change

 Well, I promised new music stuff on the last post, but I have kind of been on the DL for the past 2 weeks. It all started on the 8th. Actually, let's go back to the day before, a Friday. I had it all planned out...

I had just purchased a dual stand for my keyboards and had planned on setting it up Friday after I got home from work. I was working Saturday -Monday and then had 2 days off without our son on Tuesday and Wednesday where I planned to work on getting some songs either transferred to a player I could put on the blog or put up on YouTube somehow. 

That is how the stand looks right now. Unfortunately, before I got it set up all nice, I was trying to move a keyboard from the desk in front of it and grab wires off of the floor at the same time. While trying to hold the keyboard up, it ended up falling off of the desk, and hit my left pinky finger. If you are squeamish, scroll past the next 2 pictures. 

That’s what it looked like shortly after it happened. I managed to stop the bleeding with cotton and a band aid, and my wife gave me instructions on how to care for it. Lucky for me, it cracked and most of the blood came out from behind the nail so it doesn’t really hurt, but I haven’t tried to play since it happened. 

That’s how it looked a few days after. I think it’s slowly healing. 

So after that happened Friday, Im at work, and get a text from my wife that she tested positive for Covid. Me and her got our boosters back in September, so they probably aren’t as strong as they were when we first got them, but the short of that is that I tested positive on Monday, but both are seemingly at the end of it and made it through ok, and so far Kyler hasn’t got it. 

It also threw a loop into my plans for any music recording as all 3 of us have been home the past week. I took another test yesterday, and it still came back positive, and that combined with still being stuffy and having a little cough led my work to keep me out another 5 days, so with my off days for this week being Tuesday and Wednesday, that will have me going back to work on Thursday. We have a number of people who have stepped up with people being gone for Covid and stuff, and I’m truly appreciative for people covering for me while I’ve been out. While I’ve never been a fan of going to work, I do miss the routine, and I’m thankful for having a full time job with benefits. With that being said, I have a feeling I will thriving when I am able to retire. It has been a great thing for me to be able to sleep in to 9 or 10 (or 1) instead of having to get up at 3:45 in the morning, and my wife and I have just been having a blast being able to hop into the bed around 9 or 10 and not having to rush to get to bed. We have been turning the TV on, talking some, playing games together on the phone, and just having a ton of fun hanging out with each other before bed. My job schedule just doesn’t allow for it, so this has been good for me, and I hope to go back to work a little refreshed. 

The whole staying inside thing has been a bummer. The Sunday after Karen tested positive, we had planned on going out to dinner, as we hadn’t had a date night in like 2 months, and I was really looking forward to that. We’ve needed groceries a few times since being quarantined, but Karens mom has been nice enough to bring stuff by a few times. It still stinks being locked in the house and not being able to do the normal stuff like going out. 

I kind of wish I would’ve just stayed home today, though. Karen was cleared to go back to work, so she went in, but forgot her laptop. I probably won’t go back outside until I test negative or at least until I work Thursday, but she needed her laptop, so I drove out to her work and she just got it out of my car and then I drove home. 

At least that was the plan. I was about 3 minutes from home with some asshole in front of me going 20 in a 35 zone. There was a stoplight coming up and I knew I could cut over into the va parking lot on the right, cross the street, and pass the idiot while he was at the red light by cutting into the gas station parking lot and turning right. I pulled the move off great, even managed to shoot them the bird, but as I was making that final right turn to get back on the road, I must’ve clipped the curb, and sure enough, my damn tire blew. So I’m currently sitting in my car waiting 120-135 minutes for the tow truck to get here typing this post. I hope that asshole that can’t go the speed limit has a crappy day and loses their wallet or something. I’ve cut that corner at the gas station so many times coming from the intersecting road in order to not get caught at the red light and it’s been fine every time, with some spinning out being the worst thing that’s happened. I’m still mad about it. I have a headache, I was 3 minutes away from home, was going to hang out with Kyler for a few hours before Karen got home, but now my day is shot and I’m probably out a few hundred just because some jackass can’t drive fast enough and I clipped the curb on a move I’ve pulled out expertly 10 times before. I probably should’ve been more careful in doing it, and I’ll take responsibility for that, and you can bet if the situation arises again that I will do the same thing again and just pay more attention to the curb. People say I like to make excuses a lot, and I’m ok with that. I just know that had I not had to bring that laptop to Karens work I wouldn’t have been on the road, and had that jackass went even 10 miles faster, I would be home right now and it pisses me off when someone else’s actions cause me crap when I’m just sitting at home minding my own business. I really hope that slow driver gets what’s coming to them. It just sucks that I won’t be there to see it. 

Hopefully I’ll get this car stuff fixed today, and I’ll have another day like this tomorrow (without the car crap).  Kyler is off school Monday (seems like he hasn’t been to school in a month), and as long as he tests negative, I’ll have those 2 off days on Tuesday and Wednesday. Maybe I’ll have a song or 2 up by then as well. 

While I’m not coming back to card collecting completely, I have kind of gotten an itch to get the 2021 Topps set, and I’m kind of looking forward to 2022 products. I remembered that John from Johnnys Trading Spot had gotten a few of the 2021 Topps sets and I reached out to him, and he is kindly sending one my way. I purchased an Update set on eBay, and I’ll probably just sort them and put them in their team binders. As for 2022, I’ll probably get a few packs of Topps and Donruss (yes, they are putting out a set this year) and call it good. Any other packs that Karen gets while at Target will probably go to Kyler, and I’ll just oversee in case he pulls a Trout autograph or something that doesn’t deserve to get macaroni and cheese on it. Then at the end of the year, I’ll probably get the set. 

I think I’m also going to try to get the 4 Brody Koerner minor league cards I am missing and at least some base copies of any Topps/Donruss/Bowman if he can get on some this year. The perfect scenario for me will be if he gets a card in Series 1, if they make a combo of him and the other 2 guys who made their MLB/Yankee debut in the same game, and if he somehow gets a Donruss card. Yeah there is a chance since he is a rookie and Topps is all about the rookies, but he’s never had a Topps card (or Topps contract, perhaps), he only appeared in 2 games and it was mainly because of Covid, but it could still happen. Whatever cards he does get on, I would try to get a few copies of and then bring those to that wedding in March that I am probably going to be roped into going to, and hopefully Brody will be able to make it. I figure between the 10 or so cards I have of him now that the number will be closer to 20 should he get a Topps issue, and I’ll just feel him out on how many he would be ok with signing for me. Maybe have a few extra copies to pass out to his parents/siblings/relatives too. The lockout and him being a free agent kind of makes things weird. Should the strike be over with before March, there is a chance he could sign with a team that trains in Arizona, and he could be a no show at the wedding. There is a chance of that if he signs with a Florida training team, too. I almost feel that having a lockout go through early March is my best bet at him showing up. I might have to get my wife to send a text to the bride (their mutual cousin) and see if he’s returned his rsvp or not. 

We’ll end on a good note with the music. I just wanted to note that with some of my songs (even with the first few paragraphs of this post), that I come off as really negative and angry, and to be honest, it’s easy for me to get there. Then on other songs, I talk about God and some of them almost sound like they have been from personal experience. Well, they are. I don’t confess to know everything. I’m not the perfect example on how to live life. I’m still looking for answers. I have songs saying ‘God will be your peace’, and then ones that express wanting to get revenge on ‘the man’ for oppressing the poor. Then others that ask ‘why do I do the things that I do?’  It’s a constant struggle and some days I’m up and feel like I’m doing what God wants me to do, but then a minute later I’m doing exactly what I don’t want to do, and not caring about it. I’m not the perfect guy, and I just ask that if you are questioning if God is real or needs to be a part of your life that you don’t hold me to a super high standard because I’m not going to be able to achieve it, unfortunately. I just ask that you be open to me, and I will try to be open and honest with these songs and that somehow we will find the truth together and be better and make others better for it. It might take some time, but I will get some songs up soon. 

The tow truck is here. Off to make the rest of this day go a little better. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post. 

-Jeremy