Haven't had the coffee yet

But I've had my smoothie. 

I started adding Organic Pomegranate Juice Powder from the Micro Ingredients brand to my smoothie. It oddly comes with a shrink wrapped scoop inside the bag, which is fine, but I've not come across that before. 

Of all the powders I've used, with all the scoopers buried inside, no scoop comes shrink wrapped. This was a first. So I had to semi dig it out and cut it open, wash both my hands and the scoop (because I think somehow heat or humidity got to the bag and warmed up some of the powder, causing it to stick together. Man, is it sticky). Then I was able to use it the next day in my morning drink. 

It's kind of still sticky, over a week later, but I think that also has to do with me doing so many things in the kitchen while I'm trying to make my liquid breakfast. Once added to the blender, I have to be careful because it doesn't all blend evenly. Due to it becoming clumpy in liquid, it does stick to the sides of the blender sometimes, so I have to spoon that bit out. I don't mind that it does that, it's still drinkable. 

As a whole, depending on what else is in my drink, there is a sweetness factor now to the smoothie. Not the stevia / fake sweetness everyone is used to from the protein powders, but a fruit sweetness you can't put your finger on. Like a natural sweet. I'm not looking for fillings in my teeth, but I'm looking for something "healthy" to help me with some challenges. And stay not sick.

Which brings me to why I said I haven't had my coffee yet.

It's 49° out right now. It was colder over night. 

So cold, I had condensation on the inside of my bedroom window this morning.

No, I didn't take a picture because my dumb ass wiped the water droplets off and then thought to provide proof we got a little chilly here. 

I've got to be the 30 watt bulb among the hundred watt case some times...

There goes "proof or it didn't happen"! Maybe the next time I'll start my morning routine first (smoothie, coffee) and then take blog pictures because it doesn't work the other way around, apparently. 

Even though I saw it, I don't believe it was warm enough in my room overnight (with the heat off), that condensation arrived on my window. I am not a scientist nor do I play one on TV, so it still is something weirdly odd. 

I think I want to jump in the shower now, as it's 9:53am, I've finished my liquid breakfast, and I'm sitting in front of an open window hoping not to get sick.....

Until I learn a lesson in change....

Cheers

What's the deal with..

... doctors and co-pays?

Okay, we're gonna get a little off track for the new year here... but what else is new... when I get side tracked?

So what's the deal with doctors and co-pays?

More specifically, what's the deal with going to a wellness visit and ending up having to shell out money?

Okay, let me explain...

I was talking to some people at home and away, and they all say the same thing: Why, when you go to your doctor (any doctor) for a wellness visit (physical). it's free. Yet, if you bring up any problem(s), it becomes an actual doctor's visit and you have to pay for the appointment?

Break it down a little more...

You go for your yearly physical with your general practitioner (internist, whatever). It's the kind of appointment where they height and weight you. Already had you do blood work, so they're going to go over it with you. Perhaps tell you about medications for whatever is found in the work up or the fact you've got to do something with your weight. 

However...

The second you bring up something regarding medication or an ailment that's been bothering you, this freebie visit not turns in to a paid visit, as you're bringing up health challenges that is not normal to the visit you're in. 

I know someone who brought up a change in his (basic) allergy medication. He was at his physical and asked about using some over the counter meds as what he was being prescribed wasn't really working for him. He did some research on what seasonal allergy medications are more readily available, and wanted to know if that would conflict with any thing else he's taking. 

Well.. the doctor explained some things about the uses of the store bought meds versus what the guy is already taking, and wouldn't you know it, he walked out having to pay his co-pay. All because he raised questions about seasonal allergy medications. The doctor didn't bring it up, the guy did. Had he not asked, he wouldn't have been charged the visit.

I know someone else, who went to have their yearly, and brought up the fact they had some sporadic pain in an area. It wasn't every day, but it wasn't rare either. It came and went, and they don't know why. Doctor did another one over, asked pertinent questions, sent the person on their way out and the person paid their co-pay. I don't remember the answer to the pain questions, so I'm not going to go there. 

But... 

If you're going to go have a doctor's appointment and it's supposed to be a yearly exam where you go over anything or everything, why do you have to pay for it, if you end up asking questions relating to your health? The whole basis of the visit is a health visit. Why can't everything be (literally) put on the table and talked about, and still be covered? 

Yes, visits and conversations are coded differently for insurance purposes. I understand that. I got caught up into quite the few coding problems in the past decade. So trust me... I'm well familiar with insurance challenges. 

But still. Insurance is allowing you one free visit a year. And it has to be a year and a day later (or longer) to qualify for that visit. So if you're going to it and you want to bring something up, it shouldn't cost you extra because you spoke about a health issue. 

I mean hell, I had an appointment once, and all the doctor did, was talk about comic books. I'm not a fanboy and into all the sub genres or anything relating to comics. Sure, I know some of the characters, I've seen a movie or two, but I'm not fawning over any of it. I can barely keep up the conversation with one of my friends who will randomly start a Loki conversation with me (she lubs him). So when my doctor started a 40 minute trope of a monologue about X-Men and Batman and all MCU and DC characters, I'm like "this dude's gonna make me pay for this shit". Lo and behold, I had to pay my co-pay and we only talked for 2 minutes about my blood work. I was mad as hell. 

To top it off, that was the first and last time I saw him. I had recently changed doctors (because the one prior left the practice) and this guy accepted me. Every year since, for both wellness and otherwise visits, I've seen the nurse practitioners. I've yet to see him again. 

With all the health problems in our world today, among other worldly challenges, I ask again: What's the deal with going to the doctor for a wellness visit, mentioning a problem that's out of the spectrum of the visit, and you have to pay for it? Literally and figuratively? AND... the "wellness visit" you were there for... gets put back on record as not having it. As you're now having a doctor's visit, your wellness / physical goes back on the books for you to come back and do over. 

Help me figure that one out...

Stay healthy

Cherers;

The job of the hunt...

... or the hunt of the job....
... or the finding of a job...

I'm looking for a vehicle | I'm looking for a ride | I'm looking for a party | I'm looking for a side

I'm looking for a job. I've made no hiding remarks about it. I'm at the point now, where I'm not looking to back track and do things I know I can do, but get less money for it. I want to move forward with my skills and I recognize there are some things that are beyond my scope of actually figuring out. Therefore, my limits are also refined. 

However, I did apply to Comcast in the end of March, given the challenges we've been having in my house regarding the advancement of the cable company's non-transparent business practices. I thought if I could get my foot in the door there, I'd be able to not only better figure out what they're doing to make their personnel not helpful, but maybe I could be one of those that could help. 

So I had a scheduled interview for 11am in the beginning of April. It was one of those automatically generated emails where you pick your time and they'll call you, although the confirmation stated it would be from 10-10:45 CST.... wherever they were calling from, it was the middle of the US. Ok, fine... even though it's a company all over the country, they can do what they want. 11am comes around. No call. 11:10 comes and passes. No call. 11:30 comes and passes and my phone was still dead silent. I sent a response to the email program that originally set the appointment up. I questioned the legitimacy of the interview, as no one has reached out to me and I don't have a number to dial in to. Almost immediately, I get a reply... the interview has been cancelled and I need to reschedule. 

Wait... what? 

I waited around for 30 minutes... shifted my day around...  to be told I've been cancelled on? What if I hadn't emailed them... would they have contacted me? Probably not.

I played the game and rescheduled for 3pm that afternoon. Time came and at 3:05, my phone rang. It was an Orlando number, not a Midwest number. The woman on the other end deeply apologized to me, saying she was supposed to call me this morning and got stuck in a meeting. She's sorry no one contacted me to reschedule, but is glad I was able to do it myself. She stated the phone call was being recorded and that I shouldn't worry if it sounds like she's hung up on me. She is making notes to be able to send to the hiring manager of the store I applied to. She's actually calling on behalf of Comcast... this was a recruiter calling me. 

Weird... first they thought I was contacted about rescheduling. Then I'm told I'm being recorded. Next they're a slow typer and are making their own notes to pass on... This is about to get interesting... 

She asks me if I'm aware of the job I applied to. I say kind of, yes. She goes on to explain that this particular job is the back of house position for one of the retail stores. It's a loss and prevention / stocker job, where I'd be rotating all the products off the shelves. I'd make sure all inventory is accounted for. I'd be helping the sales floor staff, but I'd not be making commission; I'd make an hourly wage (more than what I'm making at my current job) plus a 5% quarterly raise would be mixed into this. I wouldn't need to worry about a base salary plus sales salary as it's straight pay. It's also 40 hours a week with benefits.

What's the catch? I won't have a life. 

They require a literal on call type of guarantee from everyone. 

Meaning, you have to work weekends plus all holidays. They have a 2 week rotating schedule which means for one pay period, you could work Sunday to Thursday and then another pay period work Monday to Saturday. The work week starts on Sunday so you're at the whim of the scheduling needs of the store.

There's really no days off with this job, nor is there a straight 40 hour / Monday - Friday schedule. 

Which means I could work an entire month and not have a day off... which is something that happened when I was working for Kmart. During the height of season, I worked 30 days straight with no day off. I paid the price by getting sick - I had a nasty head cold at the end of that shift and couldn't shake it for over a week. I don't want to relive that. 

So after talking to this woman for 10 minutes (mind you, this was supposed to be a 45 minute phone call), I mentioned the whole schedule thing after she finished describing it to me. I said I was really looking for the full time aspect, the pay, the benefits, but I need Monday to Friday. She said she can't help me with that, that it happens to have been the reason for the cancellation that morning - her superiors said that if anyone this group talks to, mentions scheduling conflicts, the conversation is over. They can't go further with anyone if the perspective employee has any type of challenge with the hours described. 

I told her I'm more than willing to work the job... that it's really 7am to 9pm due to opening and closing routines... I will work any number of hours within that time frame, to make 40 hours, as long as it is Monday to Friday. 

Nope. I have to accept a flexible, fluctuating, rotating schedule. Since I won't, conversation has to be over. 

And so it was. 

Ten minutes.... it was all I got. Within 30 seconds, I got two emails in my inbox from Comcast... thanking me for applying for the position, but telling me I can't go any further with the position, due to my "no longer having any interest in the position".

Seriously.... they emailed me saying they don't want to go further with me because I said I'm no longer interested in the job. 

I never said I wasn't... I only made comments about the schedule. I was interested in working for Comcast, but not at the hours they wanted. 

Potato, potahtoe, I guess. *Shrug* 

Guess I've got to keep looking...

Last weekend I saw the movie Songbird. It's a December 2020 release that describes "a devastating pandemic ravages the world and the United States is in its fourth year of lockdown. Infected Americans are ripped from their homes and forced into quarantine camps known as Q-Zones, from which there is no escape, as a few brave souls fight back against the forces of oppression. Amid this dystopian landscape, a fearless courier, Nico (KJ Apa), who's immune to the deadly pathogen, finds hope and love with Sara (Sofia Carson), though her lockdown prohibits them from physical contact. When Sara is believed to have become infected, Nico races desperately across the barren streets of Los Angeles in search of the only thing that can save her from imprisonment ... or worse". 

It co-stars Craig Robinson, Bradley Whitford, Peter Stormare, Alexandra Daddario, Paul Walter Hauser, Demi Moore

The movie basically plays on what has been happening over the last year of the global life of humans. Visually, this movie is amazing. I did a little research and found out it was filmed on RED Komodo cameras (which cost thousands of dollars... and their accessories cost upwards of a grand). Whatever this camera does... it films amazingly. The scenery is crisp and clear, and I think you could actually see stubble on men if the camera panned close enough to the shave. Haha. 

I have a friend who likes The Walking Dead, as well as good photography and thrillers. So I told him that this movie has the back drop of an apocalypse (TWD) + aspects of The Purge (because it's a Michael Bay production) + a global pandemic + it's filmed beautifully. There's no problems in scene jumps or too many light flares (I hate these new movies that rely on trapping light in scenes. 

See Also

* The song lyrics in the beginning of this post ("I'm looking for a vehicle") belong to 1984 by db.

Half a month in...

 ... and the Orgain Organic Protein Powder, Vanilla Bean is still heavy in the cinnamon department. That's even without PBfit All-Natural Peanut Butter Powder (because I ran out 3 days ago). 

I wanted to do a quick update about this powder since talking about it at the end of March.

It's so weird that I'm still heavily tasting cinnamon and apples, yet, this morning my mom says it "smells like cake". I said "it's vanilla bean flavor" and she said "it smells like vanilla cake". I don't know what to do or say... to me, even with vanilla yogurt and coconut water, I only taste cinnamon. 

I drink the smoothie mix before I drink my coffee, so it's not a crazy combination of the two mixing. While drinking my coffee, I taste coffee... because there's nothing mixed in it besides my creamer. 

I don't know how else to explain it... I don't have a spice allergy, otherwise I'd be having worse reactions plus it would happen every time I had cinnamon or anything else within this container. Maybe I'm just a little more sensitive to that ingredient without being allergic? Who knows. 

It's still not bad; I'm finding myself struggling some days to want to eat lunch (6 hours after I drink the powder) because it leaves me full enough in the morning, that by noon, I don't want to eat, but know I probably should. With all the fruits and veg in the product, I know that's the reason I'm not hungry all morning. But the problem is, if I eat lunch, I then struggle to eat dinner (5 hours later). That's even when I'm running around all day doing stuff at work, so I'm obviously maintaining some physical workload and working it off, but I'm not starving by meal times. Given that I've got a YETI Rambler 30 oz Tumbler filled with water in my office, I am using that through out the day to keep my hydrated.

Typically within the tumbler, I've got Emergen-C Vitamin C Powder with now a couple little slices of ginger root mixed in. I decided to mix it up a bit and buy a little bag of ginger root (because I like ginger and thought it would be interesting). Every night before I go to bed, I open the packet of the Emergen-C, put it in my Yeti. Add a little water to stir everything up. Cut up some ginger, put that in, then ice. Fill the tumbler with water. Put it in the fridge and by morning, things played well enough that I've got a wake up drink when I take a sip at work. 

I got a few free samples of various Liquid I.V products and the other day I had the ginger + Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier (Strawberry/16 Count). That was a surprise taste! I wasn't expecting the flavor profile, especially since I had made it the night before and didn't drink it until the afternoon. So it was sitting in the fridge over night and then an additional 7 hours outside "at room temp" until I took a sip. 

As I don't always carry the Yeti around, it sits on my desk all day. 

So the strawberry packet and the ginger surprised me because I didn't realize it was strawberry when I opened the packet (again, it was a free sample). It's not a horrible taste, but by itself, the strawberry is a little sweet. I'm glad I added the ginger to mix it up because I don't know if I would necessarily buy it alone. 

I've also tried the (again, free sample) of Liquid I.V. Energy Multiplier (Lemon Ginger) (14 Count). This is something I would buy, given the opportunity. I like lemon ginger stuff, and where this product "Utilizes breakthrough science of Cellular Transport Technology (CTT), a specific ratio of potassium, sodium, and glucose that is designed to enhance rapid absorption of water and key ingredients into the bloodstream", plus using a "revolutionary blend of Matcha, Guayusa and Ginger, powered by CTT for delicious, sustained energy throughout the day. While Energy Multiplier contains roughly 100 mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to 1-2 cups of coffee, it's actually a much better option!". I drink my normal cup of coffee in the morning, but find this particular powder to be refreshing in a cold kick way. Since I make it the night before, the fridge lets everything get nice and cool so when the tumbler sits on my desk all day, it stays cold. There are times I find myself actually wishing I had another packet with me because I've done so much work, that I've finished the water and want more. There's plenty of ice in the cup, but nothing to drink. I can get more water somewhere, but the powder is no more. Which is fine; I don't mind plain water. This just makes it better. 

Knock on wood, I haven't gotten sick this year, so maybe everything I'm doing is actually working??

That's about it for now... 

Cheers;

"There's a light...."

 ... not Over at the Frankenstein Place, but at the Thanksgiving Table in Sarasota.

I went to a cousin's house for Thanksgiving this year, much like we always try to do. It was low key enough that it was a dinner for 6 instead of 16. All because there's still the pandemic going on.  

Yes, the city / state /government said to be careful traveling this holiday season because that's when things could potentially spike even more, but the house I went to, we've all been careful as it is. My mother and I don't go running around and visiting a lot of places or people (we don't go out and act like everything is normal, pre-2020 by going to the movies or loads of restaurants), the people we visited do the same thing (much to the disagreement of one of the person's sibling), and the other couple were brave enough to come over and eat (they stay in as well). 

Among the plethora of plated stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, poultry and desserts, there was a very interesting light on each table. We had sat outside on the back patio, so we all could social distance enough but still be together. 3 card tables separated by some sober feet, we ate til our bellies felt like they were going to need bigger pants. As the sun went down, the lanterns got brighter. 

These little lanterns are pretty neat - they are self contained in such a way, that they look science fiction. Gone are the days when a full scale model light is enshrouded by hard plastic. The plastic brightness is a little less than a foot in height and when you pull the bulb out (by the attached hanging handles), it's a little over a foot. The overall width is roughly the size of a can coozy. It's comfortable to grip to be able to pull the bulb up, but where it has 2 hooks on it, you don't have to worry about holding it all night - you can hang it on a pole or just have it sit on a table. 

I have to say, that when you're using them as the center piece on a card table, it can get pretty bright, as the LEDs over power the place the canister is sitting at. There was a point when I needed to push the bulb back into the holder because it was starting to bother me - I was having a little trouble focusing on the conversations at hand, as the light was too bright and the people were too spread out. You'll be able to see in the photos how bright the thing gets, and I had turned it on before the company came and while it was still light out. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of what the brightness looks like in full dark. 

Overall, I think these would be good for emergencies, camping or a party (put them in a corner and light up the area), but I wouldn't suggest using them to replace any light fixtures you already have. 

Stay safe, stay lit. 

Cheers;

"Somewhere.... out there..."

 I need to watch An American Tail (Fievel) movie one of these days because I haven't seen that movie in over a decade and the song "Somewhere Out There" has been in my head for two days. There have been times I've been singing "Never Say Never" but today I was in the car with my mother and she commented about a pen not writing. 

I keep 2 pens in my car - one writes, the other doesn't. Both have stylus' on the end. So her comment about the pen not writing, I said "one of them always writes, the other one always doesn't. Just like how one of them always tells the truth, and the other one always lies". She didn't get the reference. 

That just means someone's lacking in the movie watching. 

The other day I spent an hour and a half covering for someone at work. It was at the check-in point where employees and contractors must stop before entering the premises and get asked a couple Covid related questions, as well as submitting to a temperature check. Answer "no" to all questions, have a reasonable temperature, receive a wristband and be off, yo. 

A handy dandy digital thermometer was my friend for that duration of interrogation. It's pretty swanky. Something similar to this, however, it's currently under "see all buying options" mode. Other models are here and here. From the looks of it, most of them seem to be in stock right now. 

Sorry the pictures aren't that clear. I was trying to take the photos between a little bit of a rush in cars coming in. I also didn't realize they weren't as crisp until I put my name on them. #Oops. And they were taken on my fruit phone.

There was also a nice orange smelling bottle of hand sanitizer. It didn't leave my hands sticky or gross feeling, like some knockoffs / cheap gels do. This was smooth and nice smelling. Unfortunately, Amazon is selling a 1 gallon vat of it for $43.79 right now. Unless you're OCD and think you can use it as a refill somewhere, this would be a nice addition to the cache. Currently, there is nothing that says it's scented, there are no reviews and doesn't say anything about Prime shipping. I'm leery about wanting to say "go for it". Even the $173.79 four pack (one gallon) has no information. I wish I knew where the bottle I used came from (outside of the brand website).... 😞 

And by the price comparison, Amazon has the gallon jug cheaper than brand website by $1.20 before shipping / tax is filtered in. Although a local big box home improvement store has the gallon jug for $29 and change... Research counts!

Again, the photos were taken on my fruit phone, so apologies for not having clarity. 

On an unrelatedably related note, I started using Crystal Mineral Deodorant Stick, Unscented, today. We'll see how that goes! 

Until next time's check in...

✌☮

Cheers.

*Test* *Test*

I’m trying out the mouse and keyboard again because I’m watching some TV series on Netflix with my mom. She got a phone call, so we had to put the show on pause and I figured I’d make a "quick post".

With all the TV news watching I’ve been doing lately, I’ve noticed one thing stays the same: Everyone is reporting from their homes and they all have the little white headphones in their ears. You know it’s not some generic white earbud, but the kind that is synonymous with a specific fruit brand (my friend Tay calls this brand “fruit”... much like he calls my phone the “expensive fruit phone”).

Now is the time for other brands to boost their game up for the wireless smart devices. Bose is awesome for smooth playing around the house while JBL is that thumper for the late night club stuff. Beats is becoming the runner up for the welcome mediator on combining clear sound with bass turns when you need it.

Name brands are name brands. Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, all slowly stepping away and no longer becoming “the big names” to compete with the aforementioned public radio inducing, wine drinking, stay at home and listen to hot jazz, Bose. Outside of that, there’s the “once under the radar, now becoming the new contender in headphones”..  Skull Candy .

I’m finding a lot of people mentioning this brand when they research headphones. I did too, when I was researching new in-ear cans. I saw some average reviews for the in-ears but the actual headband headphones were good. I didn’t get the clunky rock star monitor looking ones, as I’ve got a weird feeling about them. I’ve gotten used to the in-ear ones, once I switched from normal over the ear headphones. Doesn’t matter the brand - they look clunky - the wide kind that would go in your ear. I like the stream line look of the EarPods, but can’t afford the Apple price tag.

Even when I’ve tried several off market versions (less than $30), I broke one pair because the charging case was junky. Another pair had the little speaker fall off. All pairs sounded tinny, and when I made phone calls, people either said I had marbles in my mouth or they couldn’t hear me all together. The pair I have now (JBUDS) are good - they're holding up and riding steady. I've been using them for well over a month now and I've charged the case completely all of two times.. even though the past 2 weeks or so, I've not been using them as much as I intended when first purchased. I'll probably get more use out of them now that I'm away from a phone line and doing more all-campus work at my job. So for now, the $70 has been worth the price of admission. And that's also saying how people say they can hear me clearly when I speak. So the microphone pick up is pretty good and the hearing is quality as well. I've still got to figure out the tap situation on them - one on one side = one thing, 2 on the other is something else. It's confusing but I'll learn.

But yeah.. back to topic of discussion: Apple is getting big bucks, I reckon, for all these shows to be using their white EarPods even though you can't see the name on them. We all heard the news back in the day, when the iPhone was new, how people were getting jumped over the phone... all because the white cord was a giveaway for something expensive. Now I'm willing to bet anything these white, bluetooth, wireless, in ear cans, are someone's new cash cow. All the competitors should be learning from the talking pictures right now and step their game up... come up with amazing in ear headphones and make the fruit brand have a run for their money.

Until then.... enjoy the music.



Cheers;

"Just shoots and ladders and this is the kiss"

American anna fantasticalsation

From nowhere to nothing

And I go way back

David Bowie. If You Can See Me. The Next Day. 2013

I haven't posted any pictures in a while, and I thought I'd throw one on here today, even though it's not holiday related. Happy Easter, to those celebrating, by the way.

The picture always makes me chuckle a little bit because it's one of those tin foil American flag stickers that you get with some materialistically small yet big mailing from any "American Made" company. I've gotten so many of these stickers over the years, I can donate them to the Military. But someone in my community had the bright idea to slap it on the bank of mailboxes. And it happens to be the bank where my unit is.

Every time I see it shine, I laugh and I shake my head... these mailboxes were re-painted several years ago, and the board members made it a point to threaten people that we aren't allowed to tape things to the sides anymore, so the paint wouldn't get ruined. Well, it didn't even last a month, as the board was using all sorts of tape and posting agenda flyers everywhere. So paint got ripped off. People started putting other information on the boxes. Now we have an American Flag. Too bad it doesn't cover the whole box. Maybe they need a different decal?

I'm been trying different protein powders over the past couple years. I don't eat breakfast, per se, as I'm never hungry in the morning. I quite literally have to wake up feeling like I've not eaten in days- kind of starving, in order to eat any type of food. That's not to say I can't have my coffee or any other liquid. I'm just not ready to eat a meal.

So in place of that, I've tried the Protein Powder with Vitamin C by Nature's Bounty Optimal Solutions, which on Amazon right now is a damn good price at $8.49. I was originally buying it at "buy one, get one" in the local retailers for $17 and change. Then the price went up to $19.79 and I begrudgingly bought them at the BOGO rate. I stopped at one point because I felt like I needed a break. It was getting too much and I wasn't as active as I was when I started taking it.

When I used it, I was mixing it with milk and ice in the blender. Sometimes coconut water. Other times I substituted frozen fruit for the ice. The vanilla is a lot less "in your face" taste of vanilla than the chocolate is. It's calm enough that you can mix it with the frozen fruit and recognize whatever fruit you put in. The chocolate was a little heavier and it made the fruit taste like you dipped it in the melted bits. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge chocolate fan to begin with, so I have a slight negative thought about it, but I even tried the more expensive (yet plant based, allegedly) decadent chocolate version, and felt the same way. It's just too much chocolate.

Soon after I stopped using this powder, I had printed a coupon for the Emergen-C Protein Powder Fuel & Superfoods mix. I had gotten the small bag at Walmart (because they made some contract with the brand to be the only carrier of the half pounder). It was pretty interesting. As the only flavor in stock was mixed berry, I thought I'd give it a shot... only because I'm using the Emergen-C vitamin C packets, so why not try something else they make? Maybe it will help keep the grossness / sickies away.

Mixed with coconut water, I found that there's a strong darker berry flavor to the Mixed Berry, and it's also a bit on the super tartly sweet side. I still made it through the bag and ended up getting another coupon. I tried the Pomegranate Mango.

The Pomegranate Mango seems to be a little thicker when blending. It's sweet tasting but doesn't feel as cavity inducing as the Mixed Berry. Again, I'm putting in coconut water.

I've also substituted the ice for Dole Fruit & Veggie Blend that is in the frozen aisle at the super market. There's something about those bags of blends, that throw off the superfood mix. I found that it tasted horrible and there was something conflicting. I couldn't wait to use up the blend bags and go back to ice.

Now I'm on Fit For Life Active Essentials Nutritional Powder because it was clearanced out at one of the big box stores I went to. I started it the other day and am finding that for a vanilla flavored powder, it's got an underlying medicinal taste to it. It tastes like a sterile vanilla. I can't wait to finish it... not throwing it out - going to bide my time with it and continue using it til its gone.

I changed job roles at work, so I'm starting to get out a little more during the day, so I figure "why not" start up these other powders again? Help get me motivated to continue to get out.*shrugs*

With all this blending stuff, I know some of the powders say you don't need to blend - just use a shaker... because they don't expect you to use ice, I guess. But I'm greedy and I want ice. So at first I was using a very outdated Black + Decker blender, of which you can't find at the moment. We have had this thing for ever. The problem with it, is it's just too damn big to leave on the counter every day. It's a work horse, but it's clunky.

Out comes the Bella mini blender. It's a single serve knock off of some of the big brand baby work horses. This thing works okay - it gets the job done, but I am finding it starts giving off a burning smell from the motor real quick, if you're trying to make sure all the ice is blended in. Plus, it can't be left unattended for more than 2 seconds - you have to hold it down and keep it held while blending. Otherwise it looses the cap and you get whatever is inside, leaking outwards. Again, it gets the job done, but it's not something where I'd be using it for every single cooking venture I need. It is small though... I give it that. In the end, it works.


I guess that's it for now. The tech I got in my last posts are still working and I'm happy about that. I've also entered myself into yet another contest. I'm signed up to win the grand prize of $250 at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Here's my referral link if anyone else is interested in trying their luck (and has a store near them).

Cheers;

There's a party goin' on right here...

...and it's a bird party line!


Went out to get the mail earlier and the birdies were causing a ruckus. The only one I could see was on the street lamp holding court. I ended up filming a minute of it, in portrait mode, rather than landscape, so I had to rotate it to be viewed correctly. Therefore the top and bottom isn't completely in the video.

But... if we are all supposed to stay in doors, is this the only way the animals will finally get to have conversations with each other and not get distracted over the humans??


Video taken on an iPhone 11, edited in Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 18.

See Also (aka the song in the post title)
Celebration by Kool and The Gang

"You know she said so..."

"... She's in love with me

and I feel fine"

The Beatles. I Feel Fine. 1964

I'm in love with no one but it's okay. I feel fine even though everyone is panicking over the current pandemic going on in this world (Up to date CDC coverage here). 

As per the usual "SHTF" moments, everyone is emptying the shelves for toilet paper. Even Amazon is having a hard time keeping up. I'm seeing a lot of third party sellers right now (the price + $ shipping) on the website, when I searched "toilet paper". Or, the name brands are "currently unavailable (see here). Stores are selling out so quickly that they can't keep up. I was shopping in various grocery chains and the clerks say they got several pallets in that morning, and within 30 minutes the pallets were empty. Same goes with paper goods (towels, plates, etc). 

I do have to point out that it's 7:28pm on Friday March 20, 2020. This could change tomorrow... the stock situation.

Speaking of stock, the financial district took a dive too. I don't know squat about the market, so I am going to leave it at that. 

People are also hitting up cleaning items - bleach, disinfectant, etc. This disease that's hit us - the Coronavirus (aka novel coronavirus | COVID 19), is definitely putting people through a loop. No one knows what to do because it's world wide and is affecting people differently with symptoms, even though there is no space on Earth that this hasn't touched. It started in Wuhan, China and spread out to hit Italy pretty heavy, then it went to other countries, including the US (and they say the States are 10 days behind Italy. Places are in total quarantine because it's such a new virus, that doctors don't know how to contain it. It's spreadable (not like peanut butter) through humans, so now the warning is to "practice social distancing and stay 6 feet a part". As all symptoms are different, the main one is cough and fever. And it can be any time to hit you. 

I don't know a lot. It's all so confusing because reports are saying different things. With the lockdowns and quarantines, public places are closed or closing. Bars and restaurants are offering carry out or delivery only. Grocery stores are limiting quantities per person on items that are also food. 

Situations are happening where all those zombie| apocalypse movies have prepared us for. Ghost towns with people shuttering in doors. I'm so deep in my little bubble, I honestly don't know what to explain or how to explain. I'm really like "huh??". I know it's bad; the death toll everywhere is so high, that the numbers seem made up. Same goes with the people testing positive. How can 10k+ be healthy one day and the next (ok, within 14 days) feel like the flu is a walk in the park? This is beyond crazy.

Yet, I've gone shopping in the stores, as well as making enough purchases on Amazon over the last few days that I've actually started getting closer to $0.00 in my gift card balance. I've been saving up my cards for something major and big, like I did for my camera (remember that Canon T7i I got??). This time, I decided to not purchase "essentials" but stupid stuff that I've either been saying I wanted or just restocking my low pile. 

The other day I ordered:

Package / order #1

• Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac
• It arrived today.

Package / order #2

• Verbatim DVD+R 4.7GB 16X White Inkjet Printable - 100Pk Spindle
• It's projected to arrive Sunday.
• Smiling Case for Apple Watch 38mm with Buit in TPU Screen Protector All-Around Protective Case
• It's projected to arrive Sunday.

Package / order #3

• Logitech M535 Bluetooth Mouse
• It's projected to arrive April 2. But now that I see the page again and am linking to it, it's in stock again in May and will ship out May 7. Well.. shit. Amazon guarantee said April 2 when I purchased it. As well as saying it on my invoice. If I don't get it by then, they would refund me the price of the mouse. I hope I get it on the guarantee date!
• Apple Lightning to Digital AV Adapter
• It's projected to arrive Wednesday.

Guess my "priorities" are a little different than anyone else's? 

Although, I did have to go to Walgreens yesterday to pick up two bags of Emergen-C Protein Powder Fuel & Superfoods (16 Servings, 1lb bag). I've been using this every day for a few months (yes, I replenish my stock) and it's expensive as hell in the stores - $29.99 for the thing. Amazon had it for $26 last month, and now that they currently have it out of stock, it's listing as $23.13. Which is a good price, considering the smaller package (7 servings, 7.6oz bag) isn't available on this site, but I have found it in Walmart for $14.96. But... now that I searched Wally World, it's a "Walmart Exclusive" - the smaller bag. Duh. That's why it's not anywhere else. *facepalm,*

I'm ridiculous; I know. It has been one of those crazy-train, weird rides the last two weeks because of what's happening in the world, and I'm just trying to figure out my job situation because of it, and keep doing what I need to do, to maintain normalcy. 

I guess I should check in on here more???

Stay safe and healthy!!!!

Cheers;