Living the Easy Life

Days fly by rapidly - one after another - on repeat.  I rarely feel bored but sometimes I do.  Remind myself there's always plenty to do.  Add some additional self care stuff - exercise, walk, read.  Retirement has provided the gift of time - so now my morning routine includes skin care that I never made time for while working.  Not sure it's helping much but I feel like it is so....I don't think I look like I'm 59.75 but I am.

We finally settled on a front door color - it will be a pop of color in an otherwise earth toned color palette for the outside of the house.  We stopped by yesterday after going to the paint store for color swatches and the heaters were running - that's a pre-step to the drywall taping and mudding that will happen soon.  J. noticed the heat vent in his bathroom had no heated air blowing from it so he sent a message to the foreman.  (I'm sure the foreman wishes we'd never met him and gotten his contact info at times - but we're glad to be able to check and question things as we see them.  He is a very nice guy and always politely replies 'I'll check on that'.  He thinks it's a bad baffle).  (Heat systems here have baffles that allow the system to direct air more specifically than just 'on or off').  Baffles close off sections of the house so you're heating occupied areas vs. everywhere.

Baffles are baffling.  Really.  All the zones create so much complexity - but we'll get the hang of it eventually.

H.'s car was finished in record time so yay for that - he's glad to have wheels again.  He phoned last night to mention that he talked to a guy who works for a mortgage company and the guy told H. to give him a call - they are hiring.  H. wanted to know what I thought - I Googled the company and it's legit (and fairly large).  I found the guy's name on the staff list - he's a loan officer - so I let H. know that he may or may not be the person who makes hiring decisions - but couldn't hurt to try.  Fingers crossed - maybe he'll get his foot in the door of something he enjoys doing.  Gas station work is not going to work long term.

B. is already preparing for his next thing - he's been asked by 'Big Army' to do a recruiting stint - it's pretty much required of anyone wanting to further advance their career.  B. is getting super excited about it because he's hoping he can return to California or come to Nevada to recruit - they often try to send you back to where you grew up or close to it.  He starts recruitment training in mid-October and will likely have the entire month of December off - and a week in October as well.  We're hoping we can wedge in a family trip to Disneyland - hopefully, with H. too!  October is a great time to go before the holiday crowds start.

I'm heading to Atlantis tomorrow for a couple nights - joined by J. on Saturday most likely - I haven't spent the night there in a while and I enjoy the feeling of a 'get away'.   The play has been bad there the past week or so - everyone's talking about it (who plays there regularly).  They are clearly altering the 'looser slots' because they've removed any reference to that from their promotional signage and ads.  They've even reduced the amount of paper towels that come out of the bathroom dispensers...so now, instead of  one or two towels doing the trick, you have to request three to four - silly.  They're not going to save any paper and they're pissing off their guests.

Gambling is a strange hobby and my mind is shifting away from making it a regular thing.  Oh, I'll still drive to Reno weekly for free play - I'm in for that.  But I plan to turn it into whatever real cash I can and then save that up to add to other budget - and then play monthly or so with wild abandon.  Maybe.  I've witnessed things as a 'player' that give me pause and it has me regrouping a bit.  Spouses being abusive towards each other over who has what money and who's winning vs. losing.  (Not my spouse!  In case you wondered).  Casino hosts or staff rushing to get a players card for a player who may have some cognitive issues that inhibit their ability to understand what they're doing and the consequences of  putting more money in .  Then seeing the person who accompanied the new player into the casino give them grief for getting a card - I almost interjected 'he really didn't want one but they kept insisting so....'.  Poor guy.

I know gambling is what funds the state - and we've noticed Nevada has way more police presence than California.  Lots of community events.  Great facilities all around.  I'll continue to do my part to 'pay our state taxes' [via a slot machine] but living here has put a different spin on the play - and I'm working through that a bit these days.

I'm heading out to run some errands.  J. is playing golf for the 2nd time this week.  He's enjoying the golf club he joined and the discounts they get for rounds of golf can't be beat!  He's playing the course we'll be living on in a few months - I can't wait to wave at him when he's on the 9th from our back yard.  Soon - very soon!