Mikey D

I know these updates will not be the most exciting of reads, but it's part of my completion process. Going through the stuff I did yesterday I feel like I made good headway on the list, despite only earning one check mark.

8/19/09
As soon as Grace came home I rushed to show her my To-Do list that is now hanging proudly on our refrigerator. And of course within seconds she was able to find the item ‘Take Grace shopping because she truly enjoys it.’ Now she is trying to set-up shopping dates for us to go on, which is good because this is one of the items on the list I would have little desire to do on my own.

I also relayed the information about the ‘24’ premiere on January 17th, 2010, therefore giving me my first check mark. Grace also wondered why the day was starting at 4pm, because usually the days start sometime in the morning. I tried to think back to a season that started in the afternoon…there had to be one. I wanted to say season two or three, where there were two sisters, one was Jack’s love interest (who disappeared after the season was over), and the other turned out to be a terrorist. I thought that one started in the afternoon, but I’m not sure. Anyway, one down.

Item:'Look into how much money is in your pension plan because it’s something you should know'. In organizing some paperwork, I came across a paper sent to me last year by the State of Maryland that had some of my retirement information. I was hoping that there would be some web address I could go to that would detail all the money I have put towards retirement and the such thus far (an online account of sorts), but it appears the State of Maryland is a little behind the times on that. I feel like an idiot for not realizing how much money I’ve been putting towards my retirement (it comes out of each paycheck!), but there is a number to call to get your “updated account balance”. Perfect! After calling I found out I have $4,000 stashed away…somewhere. But I still don’t understand how the State of Maryland retirement system even works, so I am amending my item on my To-Do list. Not only do I need to figure out how much I’ve contributed, I need to figure out the system. I’ll ask Grace sometime about it, because she’s good at understanding that sort of stuff.

Item: 'Get rid of old computer tower'. I thought about taking my old computer tower to the local dump to get rid of it but I came across some recycling options for old computers. Dell (the maker of my computer) apparently will recycle your old computer for free and allowed me to print off a shipping label right there on the spot. All I needed to do was throw it in a box and send it away. Now, however, I’m a little hesitant. Just recently my computer died on me…and when I say died I mean I got the blue screen of death (again), couldn’t get into safe mode (after numerous attempts), and tried reinstalling the operating system only to get the blue screen of death again at the “27 minutes left” mark in the installation (I tried 5 times!). After 5 years of service I think my computer was done. But I am worried about sending it to some place with all my information still on there. I suppose its part paranoia with identity theft all the rage lately, but if some computer expert is able to get my computer working again, well, they’d have access to all my documents, contact information, etc. I mean, I don’t have passwords and such on there, but just the thought of someone else reviving my computer and having access to MY stuff just makes me uneasy. So that’s where I am, with a printing label on my desk, waiting to pull the trigger.

Item: 'Put WD40 on hinges in master bedroom'. Grace has informed me the WD40 can we have in the basement workroom has a broken nozzle. I don’t believe her, mainly because I don’t want to go buy another can. One way or another, I will get that can to spray. That’s the stubborn male spirit!

Item: 'Keep up with current events better by reading news websites more frequently'. I spent some time perusing news websites and discovered our current mortgage company, Taylor Bean and Whitaker (TBW), just recently had their license removed by the FHA. Apparently our mortgage company is full of sleaze-balls, and has a laundry list of violations, complaints, and charges against them. While the downside of this whole ordeal is that we’ve essentially lost our lender, the upside is Bank of America will be taking over our loan and the only thing we have to change is who we send our payment to. I’m glad all this is coming out now and not a few months ago when we were trying to secure a loan for our home…

Item: 'Get lighting mess sorted out'. Our lighting mess. We have an older townhome, equipped with many older townhome features (for example, a closet that is yellow, straight from the 70’s, in our basement). One of those older features is that there is no overhead lighting in the living room and dining room. While the living room is fine because we have floor lamps and table lamps and a large window (more than enough light), the dining room is very dark. The previous owners used floor lamps in the dining room, which I think is weird and do not want to do. So we have to go with some sort of overhead lighting. Recessed lighting is the big fad now, and I think it looks great, but the cost is a little high- to the tune of $130 a light. To light the dining room completely we’d need, at minimum, four lights, or over $500. Definitely more than I’d like to spend to light just one room…But since this is our starter home and heavy investments are not necessary, we decided to go with a simple overhead lighting option instead.

So Friday we will have an electrician come and install our yet-to-be purchased overhead lighting. Grace and I spent a good two hours last night at Home Depot and Lowes going over every type of lighting option. And when I say everything, I mean it. Think of a lighting option right now. Yup, we thought of that one. Our end result from our trip was confusion, so we will go again today to decide on something to put up. Nothing really tickled our fancy, but then again we are both picky and indecisive, which was probably the major contributor in us not purchasing anything last night.

And after the dining room we will focus on the kitchen and upstairs bedroom…stupid lighting. I wish I had cat eyes so I could just see in the dark.

~Mikey D