Author: Lee

Opportunity or Not?

While making dinner this evening, I received a phone call.  The phone was ringing like crazy today, but this one was way out of left field.

It was the Herald-Times, asking me if I was interested in becoming a paper carrier.  I had sent them my resume about a month ago when a carrier position opened up.  It just happens that the carrier for “my” area quit.

I’ve agreed to go on a “test” run tomorrow morning, bright and early at 4:15.

This is something that I would love to do, but a 7 day a week commitment is tough for a young individual like myself.  We occasionally spend the night at friends and family members homes.  I wouldn’t want to be grounded.

In other job seeking news, I had an interview at the VA clinic in town, and got another call for an interview with what seems to be a general contracting company in town.

The interview at the VA clinic went well.  It’s a position in their front office, I’m just worried that my lack of experience in a medical office setting puts me at a disadvantage.

It would definitely be exciting to work for a general contractor again, but my back isn’t what it used to be.

Due to these concerns, I’m giving this some serious consideration.

I don’t want to work for KFC again, anything but fast food.

Primarily Undecided

For the first time in my lifetime, the Indiana Primary has become an important step in the process of deciding who will become the next president of the United States.

The hardest part, for this household anyway is deciding on who to vote for.  We are not “hardline” party voters.  We instead vote for the issues that are more important to us, and try to make an effort to vote for a person who will do their job, and do it well.

Since G.W.’s administration has made everything under the sun a nightmare, we are voting Democratic this time.  One point I have been making since it has become a Obama vs. Clinton showdown is that history will be made no matter who wins the nomination.

Both canidates have made appearances in Bloomington.
Obama showed up for the Little 500, and was here last night.  He gave a speech at Assembly Hall with a crowd of 13,000 present.  I sat comfortably at home and watched it via a live feed on the Herald-Times website.
Hillary, Chelsea and Bill Clinton have all made appearances here.  While I have not gotten a chance to see any of them speak, I haven’t heard much buzz regarding those appearances either.

When all of this began I was leaning towards voting for Hillary, but I have changed my mind, I think.  The turning point for me was last night when Obama said that, his entire campaign was funded by the american people, one $25 check at a time.”

Last night, we went to my grandmothers for dinner.  We have to drive by the airport to get there, and saw a large plane.  It had an american flag and “The United States” printed on the sides of it.  We knew it was for Obama.  While there, we were watching the news and they had a live feed from Indianapolis.  He was there speaking.  About 11pm, long after his speech here was over, we felt that plane leave.  It was an experience unto itself.

This country needs a change, and while I see it happening with either canidate, I see it happening better with Obama behind the wheel.

Just Like New…I Think

I worked my last day of the semester at Kelley today, and after I left, I immediately went to pick up my mower.  It had been at John Deere since last Saturday being repaired.

I was in for a shocker at first, as I couldn’t get it started.  Once I got it started though, I was nothing but amazed.

One new but insignificant problem emerged, due to it running much better, there is much more vibration.  Because of this, the throttle will not stay at position while the engine is running.  As a quick, simple fix I jammed a wood shim underneath the throttle lever to keep it in place.  I will find a permanent fix later.

Since I bought it 2 years ago, it has been a good mower.  I have always worried about it’s lack of power, but I learned today that it was simply a carburetor problem.  It is much faster, and doesn’t bog down when going through think and tall grass.

It was definitely money well spent.

I spent the afternoon mowing our entire yard.  This task normally takes me 3 hours, I completed it in a mere 2 hours today.

She’s Being Hooded

Friday that is.

That’s right, this Friday my wife Rachel is going through that ritual of rituals, graduation.  This will be her third.

I’m so proud of her, as she has practically devoted the last 4 years of her life to this degree, the Higher Education & Student Affairs Masters program.

She has also devoted her career, and much of her life on education.  Which is very interesting because I’m almost the exact opposite.  I guess opposites really do attract.

The only question now is if she will someday take that next, final step and go for the doctorate degree?  We have been discussing it, and at the same rate she has taken the masters program, it would take her 10 years to accomplish the required credits needed for the doctorate.

Perhaps when she’s had a chance to breathe for a while.

Anyway you cut it, I’m very proud.  (It’s not easy with the distractions I seem to bring along)

It’s A Jungle Out There (In My Yard)

Since taking my mower to the shop to have it repaired, I have not been able to mow the lawn.

When I first mowed the lawn, I only mowed the front yard.  On top of that, I fertilized it as well.  Now the problem is that everyone is starting to mow their lawns on a regular basis.

I’m not as concerned with the back yard, as not many people see it, and it’s still a mess.  I’m hoping to at least get the hole from where our pool was filled in this year.  I have finally found someone selling dirt, it’s not that cheap at $25 a yard but they do offer delivery. 

I might have to wait until next year on re-grading of the back yard.  If anyone near me (Bloomington, IN) has a small tractor with a bucket and/or a yardbox reads this, leave a comment.  I need the use of you or your tractor, and I’m willing to pay for it.

It’s not a big job, but it’s a job that can’t really be done by hand.

The Heat is On

This is my last week at Technology Services until next semester, at the earliest.  The CSR is going to begin to slow down, but there might be a large study to do.  It’s just a waiting game until then.

I have been applying to positions at what seems like a crazy pace at times.  I’ve had several interviews, but nothing has panned out thus far.

Hopefully I can find something to do this summer, at least.

I’m beginning to wonder if my situation would be applicable for unemployment benefits.  I haven’t quit any jobs, there is just a “lack of work” situation.

Situations such as these always work themselves out in the end, so I am sure everything will be okay.

Oh The Insanity!

We were told by the USGS that there could be up to as many as 12 or so aftershocks for up to a week after the earthquake.  I was surprised to see this headline buried in the newspaper today, “4.5 magnitude earthquake this morning.”

The paper then goes on to say, Geologists say the temblor just before 12:40 a.m. Monday, registered at 4.5 magnitude at its epicenter about 5 miles northwest of Mount Carmel, Illinois. The location is in the same area as Friday’s early morning 5.2-magnitude earthquake. The Monday morning aftershock was at least the 15th since Friday’s quake.Check out this link, which shows all earthquakes and aftershocks we’ve had since the Friday morning one.

UPDATE:  The earthquake was downgraded to a 4.0

Changes

Our home has undergone some major changes since we purchased it in 2006.  I just thought I would hi-light those with some pictures, a little before and after.  There was a lot of work to do because of that awful wallpaper.

Before:

After: 

 

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

The Little Mower That Could (For A While Anyway)

When we bought our home there was a big argument regarding how we would care for the yard.  At .47 acres, it’s not small, but not large.  I wanted a riding mower, but Rachel wanted to push mow the lawn.

At the same time we were having this argument, mainly regarding cost, a co-worker of mine told me about a used John Deere riding mower she saw for sale a few miles down the road.  During my lunch I drove down and took a look at this mower, and fell in love with it.  The only mystery was the cost.

To make a long story short we bought that mower, and I still own it to this day.  It’s a John Deere STX38, and about as old as I am.  I believe it’s an early to mid 80’s model.

It’s much different than many riding mowers available today, even other John Deere models.  Many of the safety features are not there and the biggest difference is the lack of engine power.  This mower only has a 12.5 hp engine.  Many might be in disbelief, because the lowest hp ratings I’ve seen in a few years is 17, but you have to remember that this is around 25 years old.

Last weekend, with the help of my daughter, I performed the yearly maintenance on the mower.  This includes changing the oil and oil filter, replacing the spark plug and fuel filter and the air filters.  It’s a pretty straight foward process.

I noticed that the mower wasn’t it’s normal self and was very sluggish.  I thought I would just see if it got worse before taking action, and it got worse.

I believe it needs it’s carburetor rebuilt or cleaned or something else, as the smell of gas eminanates from it while running.  I took it to John Deere yesterday.

They told me that they were 3 days out and they would call me with an estimate on repairs.  I’m not too worried, I’d rather spend a little money to repair this one than spend almost 2k to get a model similar to it.

UPDATE:  John Deere called on Monday and said the “throttle arm” was broken and that it needed a new carb.  They said it’s going to run about $200 to repair it.  I think money well spent.   I also found out with some hard research, that this model was made from 1988 – 1997.  They even made a “racing” model.  The first few years had a yellow deck, so this mower is around 20 years old.