Hadn’t been on my treadmill in weeks because I was shedding weight just from working in this heat, but I’m in the middle of 5 consecutive days off, and the thought popped in my head.
I was a little ambivalent because I donated blood earlier today at around 12:45. eh, oh well, I survived. feel a little weak, but not overly dizzy or anything. only did 2 miles.
still fluctuating between 216 and 220ish
did you donate antibodies or plasma?
Covid-resistant Type O Negative
I should start my own transfusion bidness
but honestly… I donated blood… not just the plasma, the full unit. takes 8 weeks till they invite you back type deal
very nice!
i’m proud of you and wish you good health
u keeping busy with work?
miss poker and Stern nights and omgx3 with my ol’ buddy
but I’m not nostalgic, pining for the past. we may lose and we may win, but we will never mush here again
i’ve been full time playing this new game i got SATISFACTORY which is very addictive
Hey Riv, just checking in to say hello and tell you im really proud of how well you’re doing.
I’m having a good day 
It’s my day off, but I had needed to repair my folks water heater, so I got that done and I learned more about water heater repair than I had previously known, courtesy of this old codger and his supply house that has been around for 80 approximate years.
I had thought 1 component was responsible for the intermittent functionality of the heater, but it was a different module. It was this one orifice on the machine that had been partially blocked owing to some build-up, soot or flake ( some type of deposit) and the resultant flow of gas through the opening wasn’t adequate to produce the necessary force and scope of flame.
lol Plumbing
Did a pretty extensive job on Tuesday for this very appreciative 92-year-old woman. Her daughter was my contact and a bit of a strange bird. She told me she had mafia connections and during our haggling over price told me, “She’d make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Just earlier, I paid for the gal in front of me in line at The Dollar Store - her collection of items including Zebra Cakes!
Felt good, she was appreciative. The impulse struck me, for whatever combination of reasons, and I said, “Let me pay for that, do a good deed.”
Going to help a coworker here in a minute.
will have an update later this evening!
Weight is good. Got on the scale this morning after having a big bowl of pasta last night, and I was at 212/213. So holding steady. Had a few days recently that I basically ate what I needed to, to feel fit. Dropping all this weight has effected my strength a smidgen. Noticed difficulty in tasks at work that previously weren’t as challenging. But I will forge ahead.
Having a good time with work, apart from most time spent behind the wheel lol. That’s when I need to fight my demons the most, it seems. I chalk it up to societal conditioning, poor souls struggling to relax even on Sundays. I work the weekend and a ‘tweener’ shift from 11 am to 7:30 pm to avoid the worst of it.
Did the following job yesterday, and I was in a great headspace. My contact was this super relaxed maintenance cat at the facility named Chris. We had a blast. I was working in a bathroom, right off of the breakroom area at a warehouse that does packaging for dog food. 2 guys were seated in the anteroom off of the breakroom and the bathrooms when I had to go to Home Depot and 2 different plumbing supply houses to procure what I needed for the job. I got back, and they were still there. I said, “You guys are taking the extended lunch.” They got a kick out of that lol one said, “Don’t tell nobody.” lmao.
was a fun job, the type I enjoy for the irregularity of it, I guess lol. tough to know sometimes why I’m in a good mood. Decades old building with concrete cinder block walls… had to remove a section of the wall in order to effort removal of the 4 rods that support wall-mounted toilets, as they’d been compromised by moisture over time. The wider access was necessary, because I needed to get some leverage on the bolts with a 24" pipe wrench, then I smacked the wrench with a 3-pound sledge hammer to get them un-seized and was able to salvage the ‘carrier’ that receives them. One photo shows how a previous effort was unable to preserve the carrier, and they literally had to improvise and engineer a substitute with angle iron and wooden structure, through which the rods now pass.
Maintenance will have to improvise some patch to the wall, but they’ve done so previously in the adjacent restroom for other repairs.
nice new Bosch rotary hammer that I’d needed. Folded into the job cost 
Customer is happy to pay for it, and not have to do the far more involved alternative that I described above. 99th percentile outcome. It’s how we do.
Obliterated my previous best on the treadmill Monday… 4.40 Miles in 1 hour(actually 59:59 had a second to spare) All my prior efforts consisted of time running and walking, where I’d throttle up or down. This time, I started at the 4.2 mph setting, and never went below it. Entire shirt soaked with sweat.
And lastly, but most importantly, I rescued a kitten! There are some feral cats near my house. I had heard meowing in bushes at the front of my home and seen a clearly distended mother crossing the street. The mom had done her job, because after a couple days of hearing a kitten loudly meowing, I got it to a friend that works in animal rescue, and the appraisal of health is excellent!
check out this little booger!
the night I brought him in
in the care of my friend with animal rescue… these above 2 photos. I might try to adopt him I need love
OK. Gotta get to listening to my walrus category submissions. Do not want my reveal to be too much of a disaster lol
Walruser!!!
love love love this update Riv
You’re doin great man. So much progress!
Do let us know if you adopt the kitty. Hope you find some stuff you like in your Walrus category.
thx for the encouragement, buster 
Always happy to see you posting in such good spirits.
Take care.
My first job today, 3 generations of women were in the house. The 1st thing out my mouth upon entering the home was that I wanted to wrestle with their dog. Hearing that, the mom gave me some serious side-eye. But by the time I was done, they loved me.
2nd customer was this young dude in medical sales and with no clue. He took me around the house to about a half dozen things and asked incessant questions. I knew immediately that he was pained at the prospect of paying. Half a fucking moran. Wouldn’t pay 219.00$ for me to rebuild a faucet and was almost trying to wheedle a lesson. I told him, “I’m not gonna tell you how to do my job, and I doubt you have the necessary tools(aptitude) anyway.” lol
Last job was this total angel, elderly lady named Carol, who had a great sense of humor. She was asking me if there was anything I needed, I said, “I’m a one-man show.” I was walking out to grab my tools, and in front of 2 other members of the household, she said, “you want me to leave you alone,” like she understood that that’s what I needed from her, and I said, “yes, leave me alone,” and we all cracked up.
211 on the scale this morning, and have just been much better at limiting my portions. Previously I’d go nuts with a whole pizza, now it is 2 slices. Went to a Mexican place 2 days back and had an order of nachos, but resisted getting a burrito to-go for later. \o/
Goatvaldo I have questions!
1st, those chimes/bells accompanying the spoken-word intro, then returning for the 2nd riff may be Goat
shit is out af
Oh it’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it!
I’ll get you itemized answers soon
