Category: personal

Slightly warmer forecast for today. Yesterday was another beautiful day. Clear and cool, with a breeze. Today should be mostly the same.

I did get a bunch of auction stuff done yesterday, and took a load to my auctioneer. He ran a report and printed me all my lots and sale prices for the last few weeks. I’ll be looking through those today and the rest of the week. I want to spot anything that sells well consistently that I might not realize. It’s always a crap shoot, sometimes one thing sells well, the next time it doesn’t. I’m trying to maximize return though, so I should look.

Today I’ve got a couple of pickups, household stuff mostly, that I didn’t do yesterday. And I need to hit Costco for candy, and the local grocery for milk and cream, and any meat that might be on sale. I’ve also got a follow up appointment with one of the specialist doctors, who will be reviewing the PET scan results with me. Hopefully I’ll get an all clear, at least until the colonoscopy.

It will be a busy day, when all that can’t even start happening until after 10am. But that’s life. I take it as it comes, and do what I can with it.

And I’m always stacking or thinking about stacking…

nick

Cool, clear, and dry. That would be great. Yesterday was like that and it was glorious. Of course, if you were in the sun, and the breeze wasn’t blowing, it was still pretty hot. I’ve got stuff to do in the yard, and I need some clear weather to do it.

Did my pickups and even a small drop off yesterday. Got a load of patio furniture for the BOL in the back of my truck, for now. I’ve got to off load it so I can use my truck this week. Auctioneer said I could bring a couple of bigger things, along with the flip top bins and black bins, so I need the truck.

Met with my non-prepping hobby friends too. Another small meeting. Of course the day was beautiful, and the eclipse might have kept some people at home. The eclipse was pretty cool. It didn’t get as dark as I expected, but the quality of the light changed dramatically. Spent some time in the street chatting with a couple of the neighbors while we watched. Nice to connect with them.

I missed having the city pick up my tree debris apparently. That was one of the things I learned from the neighbors. City came by, but my pickup was too close to the pile for their comfort. Dang. Now I’ll probably have the pile sitting there on Halloween. Do not want.

Speaking of, I really would like to get the first layer of decor out today. Not the new special yearly display, but the old favs, gravestones, busts on busted columns, skulls and bones… maybe some lighted inflatables…

Wife should be back from her trip later today. I always feel better when the pack is all together. This is an especially worrisome time though, so I am anxious for her return.

I’m still stacking. Part of what I picked up was several shelves of stuff from a garage cabinet. One way to get stuff cheap, buy a box of fluids at a garage or estate sale. It’s mostly car care, plumbing supplies, and garden chemicals. Pennies on the dollar.

Money is tight and getting tighter. Every penny needs to count, especially if you are getting a late start prepping and you still need a bunch of stuff. You can do it, and you should.

Keep stacking my friends,

nick

Cool and clear, but still damp. Achingly damp. There were scattered rain showers in various parts of town yesterday. I could see them when I was driving around, but nothing that affected me. Today could be the same… or it could pour on me no matter where I am, but the money is on “same.”

I got my pickups done. Didn’t do a drop off. Chatted with one of the staff guys at one auctioneer. He’d been gone for a while with health issues. A sinus infection turned into a tooth problem turned into life threatening sepsis. Many people tied from abscesses in their mouths. Many people died from simple infections. Anesthetics and antibiotics have made all the surgical interventions modern medicine is so fond of possible. And the antibiotics have made interventions unnecessary in many cases. We live in an age of miracles and don’t even realize it.

There were an awful lot of people sneezing and sniffling when I was out and about, myself included. I actually handed out some tissues. I am a bit fatigued and might just go back to bed for a while today. I have stuff to do, but rest and fluids sounds better right now. I’d like to kick this thing in the @ss and move on, especially with my other testing and appointments.

So I’m going to just play today by ear. Might do stuff, might not. Wife is traveling on the day of Jihad, so that’s fun. I think I’ll stay close to home.

And stack. Or re-arrange stacks. Or maybe clean and double check some needful things. the smell of Hoppes is like aromatherapy…

nick

Cool and clear after yesterday’s misty drizzle. I stood with D2 under an umbrella waiting for the bus in the morning, but had to shade my eyes from the sun when I drove home from my appointment in the evening. It would be nice to have a sunny but cool day.

Did my pickups yesterday. Mostly health and beauty stuff for the teen, and a few items for the BOL. I’ve got a couple of pickups today too.

Did my imaging appointment yesterday, but won’t hear anything until a week from now. It was interesting to have a scan I’ve never had before, but I’d really just as soon not needed it. It’s amazing what we can do with tech. Western civilization has been very good to a huge number of people.

Today I’ll be doing auction stuff, and hopefully dropping some stuff off for sale.

I’ll also try to get to Costco for Halloween candy, and whatever else I can get.

I didn’t lose a whole day, but I lost a part of it, and I couldn’t spend it on the stuff I thought I would. I have to make up some of that time.

And time feels very short. Get your preps stacked, you might need them sooner than you think.

nick

Cooler this morning, but maybe not actually raining. Yesterday started out misty and got to drizzle, with scattered downpour around town. I was driving on the ring road in heavy downpour, but to my left, and 1000 feet away it was sunny and blue sky, for miles. Houston. Even if you think you know the weather, it’s only YOUR weather. Today could be much the same.

I spent too much time messing around yesterday, and not enough time driving. It was messing around that needed to be done, certainly, but still it took up more of the day than it should have. I ended up doing my farthest pickup, after bypassing two other stops thinking I’d get them on my way back. Nope, the rain had traffic messed up and I ran out of time. I was able to get to my doctor appointment on time, but skipped the pickups.

So today I am driving in opposite directions to get my stuff done, and starting earlier in the day than I normally would. That’s the plan anyway. Something is sure to interfere or cause me to be “flexible.”

On a related note, as I’ve been driving around I’ve had a few things catch my eye. I’m seeing more burned out buildings that ever before. I think I’ve commented on this recently, but it struck me again. And I’m seeing more closed businesses, and ones you don’t often see, like national brand fast food. Normally when they close, they remove all the identifying marks from the building. Not Church’s Chicken, not in Houston anyway. I have seen a half dozen closed stores now, and in all different parts of town. I’ve seen Jack in the Box stores closed too. Closed gas stations. Sit down, “fast casual” restaurants. Retail storefronts. BIG retail stores sitting vacant. And Houston’s economy is booming. They are redeveloping one of the failed malls on the north side of town (Greenspoint area- or “guns-point” as it’s known…) into new multi-story multi-family residential. I have a feeling it will be an insta-slum within 3 years. Only out of towners would move to that area, no matter how nice the building, or the amenities, and I can’t see them staying once they find out what the area is like.

The only language I heard spoken at the grocery store yesterday was spanish, other than the checkers, who spoke to me in english, and one black lady speaking english. I might have been the only white person in the store. That is a BIG change from when we moved to this neighborhood in 2008. The increase in blacks as a percentage is massive too. A huge demographic shift has taken place and continues to take place here. People are on the move. Globally and locally.

Jack needs to be nimble and Jack needs to be quick. Keep your eyes and options open, and stack something.

nick

added- the emergency broadcast test will be ringing everyone’s phones today, take the helpful and friendly advice on the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. And pay no attention to any black helos that might be zipping around.