Friday Randomness
A Mystery Solved
Birchie and I had some delicious ice cream after our evening snack last week, at Salt and Straw. Birchie had the Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons (I’m 80% sure), and I had the Coffee and Love Nuts (coffee ice cream with chocolate covered pecans – delicious!) I paid using the credit card I always use for restaurants, because it gives me 3 points per dollar spent. I requested a paper receipt, as I generally do, because I don’t want to sign up for more emails, but I do want a receipt in case something goes wrong. When I got home and checked my email, I saw that I had gotten an email from Salt and Straw welcoming me and offering a 10% discount if I wanted to order some ice cream to be shipped to me. What the hellyonce*?? How the heck did they get my email address? I’ll admit that I was a little freaked out. I stewed on it, and decided that my bank had sold me out and given my email address to the restaurant, which pissed me off.
*I know it’s hellyante, but hellyonce (rhymes with Beyoncé) is better.
I checked my privacy settings, and they were as strict as possible. So I called the bank, and they assured me that they didn’t give out email addresses. Hmm. Next I emailed Salt and Straw, explaining what had happened and how upsetting it was to me. Within a couple of hours, I received an email telling me that they partner with an app, Thanx. Years ago, my friend Neva and I used to go to a local restaurant that had a loyalty program, where you would get discounts after you spent x amount. That loyalty program switched over to Thanx, and I signed up and added my restaurant Visa. Every time we went to that restaurant and I used the card, I automatically got points. I saved a decent amount of money and was happy about it, but they stopped partnering, and also we started going to another restaurant. So because S&S partners with Thanx, and I used that credit card, they added me to their loyalty program, and I got the email. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to learn that my bank had not sold my email address! WHEW.
Real Estate
We really liked LA, but of course it’s unaffordable. At the same time, so is our neighborhood, and we are lucky that we bought our place when we did. This is what (almost) a million dollars will buy you here. Obviously the price is the land, not the house. The upsetting part of the map above is that it is an average, which means that it includes homes in both expensive places like LA and San Francisco, and also less expensive cities like Modesto or Chico.
I had dinner one night this week with a woman with whom I serve on the board of the Road Back Foundation, and she told me that her daughter and her son in law have a little place, not big, not fancy, in Mountain View, and that they pay $20,000 a month for their mortgage. WHAT.THE.EVEN.HECK.
Democracy is Expensive
Saturday I was back at it for the #TeslaTakedown protest, and I lost the ticket for the parking garage. It’s free for 3 hours, $7 for 4 hours, and $25 for 5 or more, and of course the lost ticket fee is $25. BAH! The turnout was decent for a holiday weekend, and the speakers included our federal Representative and the vice mayor of one of our neighboring towns. The vice mayor urged folks to help stop the recall of our (progressive) county District Attorney. The group behind the recall effort were collecting signatures at a local kids festival, so a few of us went to be out front and hand out flyers telling folks what her record is and urging them not to sign the petition. So I drove up, paid $10 to park, stayed for about 15 minutes, and then the staff asked us to leave, you’re not allowed to hand out flyers or petitions out front. The coordinator said she would try to get a booth inside the event (like the recall folks had), but for then we were done. Between the lost ticket and this, I’m out $35. Boo.
A Sad Anniversary
Last Monday (the 19th) was 2 years since we lost our darling boy, Mulder. We were thinking of him all day, happy memories tinged with longing. When I was packing for our jaunt to LA, I found his pill caddy. It still had his Saturday pills, because he died on a Friday. Then a few days later I received an email from the county that his license registration was due. All of these little reminders hurt, though of course it’s not like I wasn’t thinking about him anyway, wasn’t hurting anyway. It reminded me of when my mom died. She was an organ donor, and the organization kept sending me things in the mail about what a gift that was, thanking me, honoring her. I had to phone them and leave a voicemail asking them to stop, which could not have been an easy message to listen to because I was sobbing. I didn’t want to be reminded every time I checked the mail that my mother was dead. Anyway, Mulder was the best boy, and we miss him every single day (every minute of every day).
Typos
I received a work email the other day that included the word ‘loose’ when it should have been ‘lose’, as in, ‘you need to update your password on your phone or you will loose access to your emails’. UGH. Periodically, my company sends out emails where they are trying to figure out whether we will fall for phishing attempts, and one of the tells is words that are spelled incorrectly, so I reported this one. Nope, it’s just a typo, and I didn’t want to be ‘that person’ who said, ‘Well idiot, learn to spell’ so I let it go and I know I can look forward to this email again next time my password expires.
My friend Cherry and I were texting back and forth once, and she meant to type ‘crap’, and accidentally typed ‘carp’, and that has stuck. Mainly only when texting with her, we will say ‘carp’ about whatever crappy situation comes up.
Maya used to work with a woman who consistently spelled ‘whoops’ as ‘whops’. So now when something happens where a mistake was made, we will say ‘whops’. That story would be funnier if I could remember the context of Maya’s latest ‘whops’, because it was pretty good, but I can’t. Carp.
Pete and Repeat Were In a Boat
Pete fell out, who’s left? Repeat. Last night I decided to make the cucumber and avocado salad again, and this time the avocados were more ripe, and I used more pepper flakes. Delicious.
Libby Owns Me
Like many of you, I get my audio books via my Libby app, and sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. Our library gives us 21 days to listen to a book, and we can renew it if no one is waiting for it, but not if they are. This is generally not a problem, if too many books come in at once, I just delay them and let the next person listen, which does not put be at the back of the queue. More recently, I’ve gotten more daring and actually checked out more than one book at a time. This bit me this week, when my loan of Dream Count was coming due and I had 11 hours left and only 2 days to finish. Also checked out was Go As A River. All of this while I was busy having fun driving to LA and seeing live music and having adventures with Birchie and San, so I got really behind. Which is dumb, because I spent a lot of time in the car alone during this period (not the LA drive, but driving to and from Sacramento, and then home from SFO) and I could have put a big dent in Dream Count. But I listened to music instead, because I wanted to be able to concentrate more on the book. The end of this boring long story is that I finished Dream Count with mere hours to spare. (Technically it was due at 6:30 am, but I was asleep for many of the hours prior, and also out to dinner, so I got it up to the wire.) Whew. Now I will listen to Go As A River, which is due in 7 days but is only 10 hours total, so I’m not worried about that.
Plant Updates
My avocado tree has grown through the top of the tomato cage/mesh setup I have to protect it from asshole squirrel George Bush. We had some hot weather a week or two ago, and you can see that some of the top leaves burned. Why does this always happen? The leaves on top of the burned ones have popped up since the burning happened, this plant is growing fast. We’re expecting a couple of hot days this weekend (reports differ, but definitely 90s) and I was worried about it, so I went out and bought some shade cover for it.
This is the current situation. I pulled the tomato cage up higher so it isn’t pushed as deeply into the soil. I nailed the shade to the fence and draped it over the top of the cage. I put up an umbrella. I gave it a good soak of water. I hope this works, and also I don’t know what I am going to do this summer as it grows above the fence line again, that was the problem last year. Pretty soon I will need to take the cage off, the branches are pushing against the netting…GB had better leave it alone! (Fat chance.)
Two other plants to suffer from my neglect are this hibiscus and my plumeria. I should have brought them both indoors for the winter, but I didn’t because really, do we want our house to be crowded with outdoor plants all winter? (The answer this past winter was no, but this coming winter may very well be yes.) The hibiscus lost a lot of leaves and I thought it was dead but it’s blooming so clearly it’s doing OK. I wonder if I cut it back this fall if it will grow in bushier? Or should I leave it be? The plumeria I’m not sure about. It lost all of its leaves and the top of it got all mushy and soft. I cut the top off, and now it is just…sitting there. It still feels strong and alive, so I’m leaving it alone, but I don’t know if it will bounce back or not.
I mentioned recently that I had put some Meyer lemon seeds into a pot to see what would happen. I think I used the singular word ‘seed’ in that post, but clearly I put a few in there. Now I have multiples, and I’m not sure what to do. If I pull all but the biggest, will I somehow damage it? I don’t want to do that. My cruise to Mexico with my cousins is coming up, and one of them is my Master Gardner cousin, and I plan to ask her lots of questions about all of these situations. She is also incredibly talented in building and fixing things, like planing her own wood and building kitchen cabinets, so I’m sure she will have a good laugh at my shade solution for my avocado tree. (You know, maybe the answer is that I need to move it from the front yard…the back yard has a couple of spots that may be shadier…)
More Money Hacks
For those of you who are not interested in credit card points and such, please skip this portion, I don’t mean to give you a headache. One of the things that Birchie and I discussed when she was here is her fondness for checking account bonuses. I am considering giving this a try, and if I do, I will likely start with this offer from BMO. The deal is that you receive a $400 cash bonus if you make at least $4,000 in direct deposits within the first 90 days. In order to do this, I would need to open the account, and then set up direct deposit for $800 of my pay per pay period (I am paid 2x a month). Not my entire check, just $800 of it. And I would not need to leave the $800 there, there is no minimum balance, so I could put it there and then transfer it over to my regular checking or savings or whatever. After 3 months, when I’ve gotten my money, I would close the account. I haven’t decided yet whether this is something I want to try, but I don’t really see any reason NOT to, other than it’s kind of worky. Free $400 for my travel savings account. I’m trying to figure out if we can take a bigger vacation next year, so every bit would help.
In the same vein, I finally bit the bullet and closed the only credit card that I had with an annual fee. I kept it because it had 2x points per dollar spent, and zero foreign transaction fees. My annual fee was $59, which wasn’t bad, but if I can get 2x points per dollar spent and zero foreign transaction fees elsewhere, without an annual fee, it’s a waste of $59 to keep this one. So I cashed out my points, put the money in my vacation fund, and closed it. I checked my other cards, and a couple of them have zero foreign transaction fees, and I have 2 other cards that give me 2x points per dollar. So that’s a win, though it made me a little sad because I’m a very sentimental person, and my dad recommended that card to me a few months before he died, so it was kind of tied to him in my mind. But you know what? He wouldn’t want me to waste $59, and also, I can keep the physical card if I’m going to be ridiculous about it. (Also, it’s metal…how does one dispose of those? You can’t just cut them up.)
I was just wondering what other randomness I might tell you, and realized that this post is already ridiculously long, so I’m stopping. Tell me, what’s the worst money you spent this week? Mine was the $25 for the lost parking ticket.
24 Comments
nance
Oh, Mulder. In all his pictures he looks so Chipper and Ready For Anything.
Did you notice how cheap Ohio was in your map? It’s too bad that the low cost of living is about the only thing to recommend residency here anymore.
Besides a few people, that is.
You are my hero for reporting the typo, regardless (NOT IRREGARDLESS) of whether it was for an exercise or not. And I firmly believe it was NOT a typo, but someone who does not know the real spelling of lose. Thank you for being a Defender of the Language.
J
Nance, you are surely right, it was not a typo but a misspelling. Sigh. I have a good friend that spells it that way, and I have to LET IT GO. It’s hard.
I did notice Ohio on the map…especially since my job is portable and I could do it from anywhere…but…Ohio.
Lisa's Yarns
That ice cream looks delicious! Those loyalty programs are good at linking your email to a transaction. I am glad that you figured out why you got the email from the ice cream shop and confirmed it wasn’t your bank that shared your info!
I always check out 3 books at a time on Libby, but they are spread out a bit so I have plenty of time to finish each book. Sometimes I will check out a 4th if I’m almost done with my current read and the book that becomes availabile is something I REALLY want to read. I love the pause feature on Libby, though!
J
Thanks Lisa, yes, that email DROVE ME NUTS for 2 days. I wish they had mentioned that they were a partner with Thanx in their email, it would have made more sense. I’m just glad I didn’t go full Karen and go into the bank branch and yell at them.
Jenny
Wow, that housing graphic is interesting. We’re in a similar situation- if we were buying a house now, we couldn’t afford to live here. Obviously we need to sell our house and move to West Virginia! (Hmm, I’ll bet there’s a very good reason housing prices are low there…)
Sorry about the sadness of Mulder’s anniversary. I think finding the pill caddy with his Saturday pills would have killed me.
And- I also would have been very worried about how my email address got out to the ice cream company. I ge so many unwelcome emails- WHO is selling my address???
That salad looks delicious- I’m very into salads right now!
J
Yeah, the pill caddy was rough. I used it though. Reminds me that we have some of his medication here I should get rid of. Sigh.
The email…sometimes I can figure out why I got an email (like I bought something somewhere) and sometimes I cannot, but this was just TOO MUCH. I’m glad that they had such excellent customer service and were able to help me quickly. Now I want some of that ice cream.
AC
I can’t note everything, but I will note that I like your title pic.
J
Thanks John! I liked it too.
PocoBrat
(((((HUGS)))))
Anniversaries are tough. They do say one day we will remember with smiles rather than tears.
Those icecreams and that salad look delicious, your plants look glorious, and the typos becoming part of your sociolect is hilarious.
J
I have so many smiles when I remember my darling boy, but yeah, the tears are there too. I’ve said it before, if he had lived to old age I don’t think it would have been this hard.
Those ice creams WERE delicious and I’m 100% glad we got them. Ditto the salad, very tasty.
Suzanne
Okay, I just checked my Libby app and I currently have NINE BOOKS downloaded. Yikes. Two of them are books I got about halfway through, and then got bored… so I just need to let them go. Two of them are books I was listening to with my kid, and halfway through SHE got bored, so I should also let those go. Three of them are books I downloaded today. I may have a teeeny bit of a problem.
Mulder! Oh J, losing a beloved friend is so hard, and remains so hard for so long. What a great photo of him. He is glorious.
I cannot get enough of hearing about the money hacks. My problem is that I can’t do direct deposit because I don’t have A Real Job, and I think my husband would rather pay money to NOT email HR about changing his direct deposit, lol.
I’m excited to see what happens with your Meyer lemon babies!
J
I’m assuming I don’t need to email anyone, that I can do it through WorkDay (Our payroll system), but I suspect that would not change the calculus for your husband.
I hope my little lemon shoots turn into trees and give me some fruit someday, that would be really fun!
Rebecca Jo
All our info – its just out everywhere anymore… thats crazy though about your email – glad you checked on it though.
Tesla…. I’m so mad. My niece just bought one. … & She is part of the LGBTQ community – like COME ON – what are you thinking???? Young people – they just dont get it. Glad you went to the protest. I applaud EVERYONE getting out & protesting how/where they can
I am the QUEEN of typos …always in the most embarassing way
J
Regarding your niece and the Tesla, SIGH.
Regarding typos, I hate when I make them, especially in comments on other people’s blogs where I can’t’ fix them.
Nicole MacPherson
Lolololol the typos thing. Years ago (like 25) my coworker and I were going to go for a walk at lunch, and she sent me a message over our company system that said “I can’t go, I’m swampled.” Forever after, we talked about being swampled. I still say swampled sometimes even though I haven’t seen that woman for twenty years and no one knows what I mean. But now you know, so now you can be swampled. And I shall say whops.
Also, loose vs lose kills me, as do so many other things. I mean, I don’t want to be a see you next Tuesday, but there was one woman I used to follow whose writing was filled with things like that. Bazaar vs bizarre, walla vs voila, etc., and I never wanted to be the person to point it out, so I never did. But now I’m telling you! So I guess I am a see you next Tuesday.
So sorry about Mulder’s anniversary. That’s such a sad day, I know that pain well.
J
OMG, I had never heard the See You Next Tuesday. I just looked it up, LOL. Yeah, I don’t want to be that either, so I let the ‘loose’ thing go.
Thank you for swampled, I love that.
Stephany
Well, that map makes me feel better that I can’t afford to buy a home in Florida. I am definitely not making $125K a year. I wish! I saw another stat on a local news program that said that a single person living in the Tampa Bay area needs to make $105K to be middle class, which was really upsetting. COL is nuts these days.
The loose vs lose typo drives me CRAZY. I would have reported it as phishing, too!
I get my audiobooks from Libby, Hoopla, and Spotify. I have Spotify premium so I get 15 free listening hours per month, which is really nice when I want a super popular audiobook that would have a long wait on Libby/Hoopla. I very rarely have more than one audiobook checked out at a time, though, because listening time can be sparse! But I listen at 1.75x speed, so I can generally get through my audiobooks within a few hours at least.
Hugs to you! Those anniversaries are sneaky and terrible. <3
J
OMG, I should have listened to my book at a faster speed, that didn’t even occur to me!
Regarding the COL and how much it costs to buy a home, I don’t know how people do it. I don’t feel like we could afford our place now.
Birchie
20k for the mortgage????? OUCH!!!! I looked at the average home prices out of curiousity. The average home price in Sacramento is the same as my town, but Hubs bought in at 2009 prices so it would be a stretch for us to live in our town if we were buying today. The neighborhood that I stayed at in SF still has houses for less than 2M lol.
RIP dear Mulder. You may be gone, but your memory is still very much alive.
You know my advice on the BMO checking account….DO IT!!!!! TAKE THEIR MONEY!!!!!
J
Thank you for the encouragement regarding BMO, I’m going to do it. I want that money!
The 20k a month really took me aback, I was pretty horrified. I just went to a mortgage calculator, and put in $4M for a house, and yep, with an $800,000 down payment (!!), your payment would be $23k a month. I can’t even imagine. And she stressed that this is not a fancy house.
Mulder’s memory is so very dear to us. Sigh.
Margaret
$20,000 a MONTH? Yikes. How can anyone afford that? My older daughter and husband have a mortgage of $3000 a month and that’s steep. But I do love their Craftsman house and yard and it’s in a beautiful area with good schools. I keep getting “thinking of you” texts from the funeral home and like you, I don’t want to be reminded. I remember that my mom is dead! Worst money I spent recently was for a haircut where she left part of it too long and I had to try to trim it myself. (not a good idea)
J
Margaret, the couple with the huge mortgage both make good money, but yeah, that’s CRAZY money.
I know you understand about the constant reminders of your mom’s death. SO HARD. I’m sorry.
Sorry about your hair, my daughter has had that a couple of times with her bangs mostly.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
That would have been outrages if your bank selled your email adrress. I am also very impressed you followed up on it. I would have just assumed the worst, vented an unhealthy amount and then forget about it.
I may be a person misspelling loose and lose. I never know when to use which one but then its not my mother tongue.
I am slo very envious about your avocado and obviously green thumb since you reactivated the plant.
I tried to do everything by he book this season and cut down my rose bush and my herbs. Well, while the rosebush had like 15 blossoms last year at this time it has one. ONE. And its not looking great. And my herbs are slow. The mint is not shooting much and the sage is looking poorly.
J
Tobia, I was pretty proud of myself for following up, and I was glad to get an answer.
Regarding loose vs. lose, since so many native english speakers can’t seem to get it right, I think you get an absolute pass. It’s confusing because loose can mean different things, like ‘my pants are too loose’, or as a verb, ‘loose the dragons!’ (Which means to release the dragons, probably to destroy the town). Examples of lose are ‘I need to lose weight’ (This is where I see loose the most, which is incorrect) or ‘I don’t want to lose my shit next time I I see loose instead of lose’. HA.
Plants have a 50/50 chance around here. My avocado seems to be doing OK, but my plumeria is probably going to die. I’m sorry about your roses. Could it be the weather? Could it be aphids? Does it need fertilizer? I would not know what was wrong.