New Neighbors Forthcoming

This marks the 3rd month we’ve put off an intended visit to the Shedd Aquarium. Back in March we planned to go during their Illinois Discount Days until I learned it would be cheaper to go the first weekend of the month through Bank of America’s Museums on Us program instead. In April we decided not to go because the date we had chosen fell on the same day as a big race that included shutting down streets around the museum campus where the aquarium is located. Today the reason for postponing our visit was that I woke up a few times during the night and when the alarm went off at 6:30 am was not feeling up to going into the city. Plus my back was hurting after playing tennis and frisbee with Joe and Brother # 2 yesterday. So our new plan is to go in June which may work out best in the end because by then their new sting-ray touch exhibit will be open and there will be something different to see (which I’m sure will cost extra, but hopefully not too much since even with the free general admission it’s still $6.95 per person to add on Oceanarium access and another $3 to see the Jellyfish so that’s $20 for the two of us plus parking. Even free days aren’t so free if you want to see the good stuff.)

The weather has been really nice this weekend and we’ve currently got the windows open to get some nice fresh air. We have to enjoy it while we can. Our neighbors (the annoying ones who were outside smoking every half hour) were foreclosed on a few months back and moved out leaving their place a mess. The bank recently sent someone in to clean it up and there have been multiple showings the last few days. They really lowered the asking price of the unit so I doubt the place will remain empty much longer. Unfortunately, we do not seem to luck out when it comes to neighbors so the thought of new ones is stressing me out. Is it too much to ask that they be non-smokers who don’t own any dogs (or at least any that bark) and aren’t loud or cook stinky food? I’m afraid that would just be too good to be true (even though that description applies to us, so it is possible). It’s tough sharing walls with people when most of them seem to lack consideration for the people around them. Please cross your fingers that someone good moves in because with the market the way it is, coupled with me not working, it’s not like we can afford to move elsewhere.

In other news, we rented Silver Linings Playbook last night and hated it. I honestly don’t understand all the good reviews. The characters were so odd and under-developed that I couldn’t care less what happened to any of them, not to mention that the ending was predictable from the very beginning. What a disappointment. It made me feel like people only liked the movie because of the actors who starred in it and less about the plot, which I thought was boring and choppy. I don’t know why but it really irks me how much it sucked; I’m just glad we didn’t end up seeing it at the theatre as it was barely worth the $1 rental fee as it was.

Crazy Rain

Immediately after a day of non-stop rain.

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A few hours later.

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Lots of rain hit the area yesterday causing much flooding and destruction. I feel bad for people whose homes flooded. The above photos taken of the courtyard behind our townhome was the worst of it in our immediate area.

Help Thy Neighbor

The weekend before last we spotted a loose pitbull mix running around the neighborhood. Joe tried to temp her with some dog treats so he could get a look at her collar but she wouldn’t come close enough. About ten minutes later a guy drove past looking for the dog and we learned her name was Peyton. We pointed the guy in the direction we had last seen her and he took off while we started on our evening walk.

We hadn’t gotten far when we spotted her out back near our own patio. That’s when it occurred to us that we could use my sister in law’s dog, Bella, as bait. It worked pretty good except Peyton was so full of energy and bouncing around that Joe still couldn’t get a grip on her collar. Then my SIL had an idea and brought out a bowl of water. The dog couldn’t resist and while she was furiously lapping up every drop my SIL casually grabbed her collar and then we clipped Bella’s leash on it.

Surprisingly, once Peyton had been “captured” she calmed down considerably and we were able to start walking her to her owner’s house (luckily I had the foresight to ask him where he lived). We hadn’t gotten far, however, when he slowly came driving by still looking for his dog. When he spotted us with her he was so happy and thankful. It felt good to help him out. Shortly thereafter the guy’s wife pulled up while we were further along on our walk and thanked us for finding her dog.

This past Thursday I was walking Bella after work when a lady in multiple braces (on her legs and forearms) was slowly making her way down her driveway. When she spotted me she asked if I could go down to the mailbox and retrieve her mail for her since she had just gotten home from the hospital after having surgery and was having difficulty walking. I was happy to help her out and she was incredibly grateful.

I guess it was just one of those good deed weeks. I hope Karma is keeping track because I really would like to win the lottery so I can quit working and start volunteering instead. Yes, I realize I can do both but I don’t have the energy thanks to how stressful my day job has become. Plus I’d rather not have to worry about money and just do what I want every day. Doesn’t everyone?

Storms & Air Conditioning

The above photo explains the last day and a half after a pretty brutal storm ripped through the area. While we were lucky to not have lost our power we were without cable, (home) phone service, and internet from Monday morning until yesterday around 5 pm. It was brutal. ;)

Tree Branch Falls During Storm

We fared better than our neighbor, however. This looks worse than it really was as I do not think their car suffered more than some scratches, but the gutters over their garage were dented. We also just learned their house is up for short sale which terrifies me as who knows what kind of people will move in next. We could get lucky and they’ll be quieter, pet-free, and non-smokers, or they could be the complete opposite and make us miss our current neighbors. I wish we could afford to buy the place ourselves and rent it out so we could control who we end up living next to since we’re going to be here for at least a few more years until the home prices recover.

Speaking of being without things, our air conditioning died on June 10th. Due to the high volume of requests we couldn’t get anyone to even look at it until June 20th because we had decided to bite the bullet and have the entire system, including the furnace, replaced. We knew there was a freon leak in the air conditioner which we had paid to be refilled at least twice (once each season if my memory serves me correctly) so we knew it was time to do something more permanent since the furnace was getting old as well.

New Air Conditioner

At a coworker’s suggestion we went with ABT Electronics. Joe took the day off on Friday the the 22nd for them to do the install. When I got home from work I noticed it was running pretty loudly – a very noticeable and annoying humming was coming from the furnace. In addition to that the air stopped working shortly after it shut off and then was turned back on. We were not pleased. After many phone calls and being talked down to we finally got someone out on that Saturday to take a look and they found the cause of the air ceasing to work was a loosely connected wire in the outside unit. Fixing the noise wasn’t so easy. Try as he might, including using metal tape to seal all the joints in the ducts, he could not make the noise go away (although he did quiet it somewhat). As he was an installer we had an actual technician come out later that night and right away he knew the issue was the motor. He said he had seen the same issue in a few other units. Apparently there’s a fault in them and he said he’d have to order the parts from the manufacturer. Therefore we have to deal with the noise for a few more weeks but at least there’s some relief in sight, or so I hope. I’m starting to get a bit used to the noise but will still be happier once it’s been eradicated.

I fought the law…

…and I won!

We got a parking ticket while at a 4th of July party not too far from home. I wrote the below dispute and a week later they waived the ticket! Yes, I’m very proud of myself.

(I meant to write about this sooner but forgot).