I will absolutely return any merchandise I purchase that doesn’t deliver on its promises.
Whether is distasteful yogurt or a deceptively labeled floor mat. Back it goes. I’ll not spend a dime on dysfunctional product.
2. Not signaling lane changes.
It’s not difficult to flip a lever or hit a switch. A flick of the fingers signals to the world and me in particular that your planning on cutting me off.
That’s fine. I’ll yield, as I am legally bound to do so. But, if you don’t signal, I promise I’ll glower at your car for miles.
3.
Advertising on a paid service.
There shouldn’t be any ads on a subscription or paid service. That’s the whole reason we cut the cord in the first place. Now they’re bringing back advertising for paid services. It’s entirely infuriating.
When I realized I wouldn’t have to see anymore ads if I downloaded programs, I canceled my TV service.
Before streaming services came to be, we were downloading all our media, happily ad-free. Sure it was limited to certain types of content, but I was predominantly watching Japanese and Korean programs, and back then there were no streaming services for that content.
To be clear, I’m okay with watching an ad to access a free service. But not if I paid money upfront.
Fried chicken is a household staple for us. But chicken can get a little dull over time, so my mother has explored with several different recipes to spice things up, quite literally.
With my family’s adoption of the Korean Jesa ceremony several years ago we also started including healthy foods in out diet, like kimchi and pajeon. We have a local Korean grocer in Wake Forest (Han Ah Rum Mart) that we visit on occasion when we have the spare funds.
Another favorite for us is Tteok-bokki, rice cakes about the size of a French fry and consumed in a spicy sweet sauce accompanied by fish cake and sausages.
No meal is complete without dessert and we especially enjoy strawberries either with a nice dollop of Häagen-Dazs ice cream or some pudding or cake.
In the spring and summer my mother will craft homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors. We’ve had cranberry, mango, wolfberry, and orange ice cream.
Another Korean treat is the sweet red bean paste which can be found in Patbingsu (팥빙수) and Bungeoppang (팥빙수) the fish shaped pastry. We bought a shaved ice machine and waffle bowels to make a really nice treat.
My Spidey-sense hasn’t been the best gauge for decision making in the past. I’ve come to second guess my immediate feelings and mull things over before taking a plunge.
So, no, I’m not really that trusting of my instincts.
From bad timing in stock market to poor sourcing choices for products to sell, I’ve had my blunders. What instinctively felt to be a sure thing often turned out to be the height of the market right before a plunge.
I have bags on top of bags, filled with swimsuits filling my closet, apparel that will likely never sell.
I’ve also fallen for my share of crypto scams and ponzi schemes. Hard lessons that have shaped, in part, my present predicament.
My best advice, which I take myself, is to get a second opinion whenever and where ever possible.
I had submitted lost item reports to Delta Air Lines, RDU Airport, and Uber, yesterday. I got a response from the lost and found at the airport saying they didn’t have my watch.
I am still waiting on Uber and Delta to get back to me. I am disappointed but I can feel myself starting to move on from the loss.
It’s odd, I still have the tan lines on my wrist in the shape of a watch. I don’t think I will buy a replacement any time soon.
I’m going to start applying to jobs again soon. I don’t think the eBay sales are going to be enough to handle the car insurance payments I have to make.
Direct Auto is charging me $2440 a year as a new driver and I can’t really afford it. They had the best rates when I first checked last year. Progressive and Allstate both wanted double that.
On Thursday afternoon we ate lunch with my fathers downstairs neighbor, Eileen.
She prepared oven toasted slices of bread topped with our choice of cheese. I went with the pepper jack. I ate two slices and then a pear from the community garden was sliced open and shared.
Grilled Pepper Jack on Toast
To drink, we had a pot of lemon ginger tea. Very fragrant but light in color. It warmed the insides and went down easy.
Lovely teapotLemon Ginger Tea
It was explained to me that the members here take turns preparing meals each week. Each person has a particular day of the week they have to make lunch and dinner.
It’s a nice social custom and adds some structure to the retirement lifestyle.
The trailer on Hidden Trails Road had actually been our home prior to the construction on Eddy Street. So we really just moved back after a short sojourn.
It was on the old dirt road where we got our dog, he just wandered down our driveway one afternoon, no tags no collar. He was never properly trained and I liked to wrestle about with him.
Dogs need to be trained. We had been a cat family up until his arrival and I just assumed he would manage himself like the cat did.
He ran off one day and was found a while later down in Port Hadlock missing a leg. It was a gruesome sight after the surgery, him hopping about. I recall thinking at the time that dogs were kind of stupid.
I still feel that way. I smile when I see them and I think they’re cute in their own way, but I wouldn’t want one. I prefer cats.
Back to the trailer now. There was a new family living in the studio across from us. It was my best friends elder sister I think. I may be mistaken on the time and dates. I did visit several years later and may be confusing the dates.
Before the new couple moved in, there was a family that lived there and the father had a flight simulator game on his computer that quite enjoyed playing.
I would sometimes play with the young boy, Forrest, much my junior. We both enjoyed Power Rangers I think. The daughter, Kali, had one of those old all-in-one Macintosh computers with the dual disk drives.
I recall our mothers were all friends and sort of networked out childcare. I can remember days and nights spent visiting many of the other children.
My junior year I mostly rode my bicycle to school. There was a school bus stop, but it was such a long walk to the street I could never make it on time to be picked up.
In a jewelry class at school I met up with a former friend, Jaime Freitas, who used to live down the street from a much earlier home. It turned out she was living down a private drive directly across from Hidden Trails.
If I had taken the bus to school during my junior year, I would have met her sooner. A later incident at school ended the friendship.
In my senior year, I started staying with my father in Darby’s boatyard. I lived in a camper and rode to school each day. It was much closer to school and easier to get around.
On Friday and Saturday nights, I worked a part-time job as the doorman at the Port Townsend Dance Collective which was hosted by Jeffrey at the masonic temple uptown.
Jeff got me involved with the Big Brothers and Sisters program as it was being implemented. I wasn’t entirely confident I could do a good job. But didn’t feel comfortable turning him down. I never liked disappointing people when I was younger. I rarely stood up for myself.
I think at some point the program merged with Island County and Jeff was no longer involved. I let them know I was only there as a favor to Jeff and didn’t wish to continue.
As you might imagine, that did not go over well with the staff. I believe I heard something along the lines of “think of the children.” It was very uncomfortable but I think I must have been firm about my decision because I don’t recall going back.
I’m off on a tangent here. Best stop before it becomes my life’s story.
I did have a dog for a while but he didn’t get trained properly and grew up to be something of an idiot.
You don’t have to train a cat. They work properly right out of the box. No assembly is required.
They have the decency to bury their poo and don’t leave it all over the lawn. Nor do cats treat a litter box as a smorgasbord.
Yes, my idiot dog had a s***-eating grin.
That’s not to say that cats are not without their own set of issues.
I recall being awoken one morning by a kitten going pee in my hair. I’ve cleaned and disposed of many household objects that got sprayed on. I have painful memories of scratches and bites come bath day.
But overall I still prefer a cat to a dog.
I believe a dog topic that has received little attention has been their historical uses regarding race-based violence and chattel slavery in the Americas.
Particular breeds were used to track and hunt down those escaping enslavement. Punishment, while often depicted in media as whipping, often did involve abuses by the master’s dogs.
Law enforcement’s use of police dogs to capture and subdue a fleeing individual is another example of canine violence.
Some of the more popular breeds today have a violent history which I feel deserves more attention.
That’s it for today. Thanks for taking the time to read this and have a great day.
Recently, I received a DM on Reddit asking about Swagbucks and how to get started with the service. As I was going through suggestions and advice I realized that others may benefit from what I had to say.
It looked quite long on a small screen but here it is nonetheless.
I’d be happy to offer some advice.
For a new person to Swagbucks, I would suggest strengthening your demographic profile.
The Swagbucks platform is wary of new accounts hitting big offers, cashing out, and then promptly disappearing.
You can show them that you are genuine in your intent to engage with the platform and its services by completing some Surveys. You can follow up with some of the smaller offers like Magic Receipts, or online shopping using the browser extension.
I’d also suggest bookmarking their Facebook page so you can collect the weekly codes. These are worth a few points but are especially useful when they run a Swago event (Bingo).
Game offers and Bank account bonuses have the best payouts. If you are looking at a bank bonus I would suggest comparing what Swagbucks is offering with the listings on “Doctor of Credit,” occasionally there is a better offer being made directly by the bank.
For cashing out, Amazon gift cards are a popular choice. PayPal is also a good option. If you are using PayPal, both your Swagbucks email address and the PayPal email address need to match. PayPal does allow you to list multiple email addresses on the same account. Just something to keep in mind. Also, once a month your first gift card redemption will be discounted.
Depending on the State/Region you reside in, you may have the option to purchase SB (points). Some US States do not allow this. The same can be true of receipt/shopping deals for Alcohol or offers for Gambling apps or services. If you see people talking about an offer like them, but you don’t see it, then, it is likely not allowed where you live.
Make sure you never connect to Swagbucks using a VPN. If you have one, make sure it is disabled when you are accessing the Swagbucks website. This is in their Terms of Service as a bannable offense. VPNs can be used to cheat the offers, so they are not allowed. Be especially careful if you decide to complete an offer that is selling a VPN service. Using said service to connect to Swagbucks can result in a ban. You can search the r/Swagbucks sub for examples of this happening to other users.
Searching the sub for the terms “ban” or “banned” may actually be a healthy decision. This can inform you as to the things you should avoid doing.
I should also mention that there are members of the sub that actively, and quite unashamedly, cheat the offers and abuse the system using various means. Unfortunately, their activities do harm the rest of the community. I do hope you keep clean and do not stray. Best of luck!
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?
I had the privilege of attending the Tongue Point Job Corps Center in Astoria, OR back in 2005-07.
During my time at the center I completed two basic vocational certificates in Landscaping and Facility Maintenance.
Bridge to Success, TPJCC
Having reached the highest rank, three times in a row, I received a monogram sweatshirt and a ring that I still wear 18 years later.
Ranking
The Center used a scoring system with ranks to determine the various privileges or limitations set to each student (Red, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum).
If you got in trouble (misconduct or rule breaking) you could get written up and possibly bumped down a grade.
But, if you performed well, either in your vocation or the dorms, then your average score could move you up in the rankings.
Everyone arriving at the Center would start at Silver and some might drop to Bronze after their first evaluation.
Some students struggled with conforming with the structure. I had an advantage in having been in Boy Scouts and possessing a “follower” mentality.
Limitations
I think Red was an average of 1.0 and you would be on the cusp of termination unless you improved by the next evaluation period.
If you were Red you were not allowed to go to town. I think Bronze could only leave on the weekends.
Silver could could go any day and was the standard that most students hovered around.
Privileges
If you managed to reach the high rank of Gold then you would get to stand at the front of the line for the bus to town.
You could even bump someone else off the bus if it was full and you arrived late. The “bumped” individual needed to be lower rank than you.
You had first dibs on events held by the recreation facility.
I remember going to my first (and last) Monster Truck rally, without ear plugs, thanks to my Gold status. I also attended some Ice Hockey matches in Portland at the Rose Bowl (Quarter).
Lastly, if you somehow reached Platinum, the first time you received some points that could be exchanged for items in a gift shop located in the main office.
Sometimes if a student did something really special they would be awarded points. I think we also received points each evaluation that resulted in Gold/Platinum status, but I could be mistaken. 18 years is a long time.
Another prize was getting a seat at the restaurant run by the culinary students for lunch. The Center’s Director would often buy a meal ticket and bring guests from the community to show off the students hard work.
Instructors were also able to nominate one of their students to have lunch at the restaurant. Other staff members would often buy a ticket to eat there.
Upon reaching Platinum a second time, students were eligible to redeem their points to get the monogram sweatshirt which has the school’s “Bridge to Success” motto on it.
Finally, we come to the third Platinum prize.
The coveted school ring with a blue stone for boys or a red for girls. You still needed to have enough points saved up to buy the ring, but I think it was worth it.
Achievements
After completing my trades I applied to and was accepted into the Centers college program which allowed me to attend Clatsop Community College for three semesters.
I successfully ran for student government and was the VP of Residence 3 for half a term before moving up to Dorm President.
I also had a stint as the floor leader and as a Student Ambassador.
I took part in a local radio program featuring student voices.
I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Washington DC with other student leaders.
I volunteered with fellow students in a restoration project for the Lewis and Clark trail and the construction of a playground in downtown Astoria.
I was the first student to request and complete an 8-week internship with the US Coast Guard at their Air Base and Family Housing.
I received a plaque for overcoming personal challenges at the 2006 Youth Recognition Awards Banquet in Clatsop County.
2006 Youth Recognition Awards Banquet
After TPJCC
After I left the center I went on the classic “European Trip.”
I got visit family in England, tour castles in France, and ride the trains in Spain.On
Upon my return state-side, I settled in North Carolina and I’ve been here ever since. I’ll probably stay another 7 years before moving back to the Pacific Northwest.
That’s all for now. Thanks for your time.
Questions and comments please put them below and have a great Father’s Day.
Fat Wallet Refugee 