What would be the best way to spend a sick day?

[Ecky]

Toilets sweat. They've done that since the beginning of time, haven't they?

~

Lots of sickness going around here. I came down with something, so I took today off. Laid down last night with a sore throat and body aches, and didn't sleep very much. This morning I was pretty weak. I expect I'll be sick for a week or more but can't reasonable take more than a day off of work.

I started off with a cup of really nice decaf and some oats, fed and took out the animals, then settled in for about half a day of video games - something I probably haven't done in a year or more. Had a few cups of herbal tea, some chips and salsa and a bowl of leftover vegetable soup late morning.

Around noon I decided to be useful. Did all of the dishes, vacuumed the carpeted rooms in the house, and patched a wall closed I had ripped out a few days back to put in new plumbing. I then went out to the garage in my slippers and started carrying my new unassembled cabinets inside. I got two small boxes inside before my body told me that was enough. Took another 30 minute break with a game, then started cooking dinner for my wife - kimchi fried rice, though the kimchi wasn't quite ready yet.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Toilets sweat. They've done that since the beginning of time, haven't they?

How old do you think I am?!

Are you feeling better?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Xist

How old do you think I am?!

Are you feeling better?

Just agreeing that your mom's expectation is pretty strange.

Not feeling anything better, no, but looks like I'm going back to work anyway.

[freebeard]

Mom also wants them to make our toilet tank stop sweating. For some reason, humid air condenses on cold porcelain. What is a plumber going to do about that?

Spray it with Plastidip.

Given all that turmoil, I'm amazed that you have time to document all of it here.

[Xist]

I am confident that Great Stuff would make a greater difference, especially in the volume and frequency of complaints from Mom.

The two plumbers charged $284 for half an hour of work that I could have done if Mom waited until Thursday or Friday. They replaced the seal between the tank and the bowl, which had nothing to do with the condensation. They replaced the toilet supply valve without explaining why. The one clearly useful thing they did was replace the popup assembly. I had a $10 kit in my hand last night at Walmart, but all of the parts that I saw were plastic. Ace has a chrome kit for $22 (fake chrome is $10).

However, they seemed to replace the assembly because the seal was bad.

The seal that I had tried to find, so I could replace it myself.

I had bought the stopper control arm kit to replace the clevis clip, but allegedly they sold that separately.

$5 wasted!

I would accomplish more if I documented faster.

More concisely?

[Xist]

I have had strep, an ear infection, now pinkeye, and other infections. The SLPA that works with my brother [when she isn't busy talking to us] says that she has every student use hand sanitizer and then she sprays her work area with Lysol multiple times a day.

I am going to start some of that, but I had four infections last winter and I was not working at a school. I see two little kids at home that climb on me. I should sanitize them, too.

My plans for Saturday were:

1. Change the oil in my Accord and Mom's car.
2. Remove all of the metal shavings that I can see from the Civic head.
3. Put a drain pan under the Civic and pour the used motor oil on the head.
4. Close the QuickValve.
5. Reinstall the valve cover using the torque wrench.
6. Fill the Civic with oil.
7. Reinstall the battery [that has been charging in the garage].
8. Say a very sincere prayer and crank her up!

Right. Oil change. How could that possibly go wrong?

Do you know who I am?!

1. The Accord oil change was quick and easy. I hardly got my disposable gloves dirty and only a couple of drops of oil fell on the big metal drain pan under the plastic one.
2. The problem was when I poured oil from there into a 5-gallon jug. I made a stack of cinder blocks, but had difficulty removing the drain pan cap--it cracked.
3. I drained the oil into the jug perfectly until I needed to lift the drain pan. Even though the jug was half full, it tipped over, completely missed the metal pan, and spilled all over the garage floor.
4. The jug filled up before the pan was empty, so I had a funnel full of dirty oil that I needed to put back in the pan. A mess ensued, but a contained mess.
5. I used up the rest of my shop towels.
6. It was raining, so I bought an awning to keep water out of my engine. Harbor Freight showed a 10x20 canopy for $100, but they only had a 10x10 one--for the same price.
7. I need long cotton swabs to reach the metal shavings in the oil passages. Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and Safeway only had the normal ones, so I ordered from Amazon, and they arrived yesterday. I took my brother and he bought something from every store.

I wanted to do what I could this morning after making my brother's breakfast and before working both jobs, but:

1. I felt something in my eye and wiped away gunk. The Internet said that I had pink eye.
2. I have an appointment at the VA on Thursday. I called their helpline and a nurse said that since I have not seen my doctor yet, all that I could do was pay out-of-pocket or drive 3.5 hours each way to the Phoenix VA.
3. Banner bought out the local urgent cares and more than doubled the charge, so I honestly looked into driving to Phoenix, but not only did I have a better use of seven hours, I did not feel like risking hitting another elk.
4. "Yup, that is pink eye, here is a prescription [written on a paper towel], good luck!"
5. My supervisor drove up to supervise me, but I am prohibited from working, so she only gets to supervise me tomorrow.
6. I am out about $175 and a long day's work.

I am all caught up on notes, so I get to focus on projects!

It looks like Home Depot has the best price for shop towels. Who price-checks shop towels?

My brother is home from his day program with a stye, but I am not taking him anywhere because he is also contagious, but at least I am home to help him.

[Xist]

I only got through #4 on Saturday's to-do list today and I did the first half-step [changing my oil] on Saturday. I probably could have done all seven had I not obsessed over that Tough Shed at Home Depot. I also spent a long time cleaning. I have two plastic and one big metal drain pan. All three dripped dirty oil and, while my funnel fit perfectly in my Accord, it tipped over right before I finished filling up Mom's car. Hopefully I got the oil off of her serpentine belt. I scrubbed it with hot soap and water and then rinsed thoroughly.

Also, the VA called to set up an eye appointment, called back to give me the information, and it took a while to look up my appointment at the VA. It just so happens that my eye appointment is at 8:15 on the way to the VA, I just need to fill out the VA paperwork before my 09 appointment, even though I should be in their system already.

Men have a reputation for saying "I will be fine" and not being fine. As soon as I suspected that I had pink eye I looked into my options, went to urgent care, and waited at the pharmacy until my prescription was ready. Well, Mom said that my brother would be fine, but took him to urgent care today, and when I came in from working on my car at 1930 she asked me to get his medication.

They said they put a rush on it, but it will not be ready until 09 tomorrow.

I called my sister that is a nurse practitioner and had her call in a prescription at Walgreens, which was ready when I got there. I got home and plugged in my phone, but nothing happened. I tried three chargers and then set up Samsung Galaxy S6 #3.

Huh. I just plugged #2 into my desktop to copy the files and it is charging, but says that the device malfunctioned.

Well, as long as it charges, I can take care of it later.

Have a great night!