The Computer Crash of 2020

I can’t remember the last time any of my computers crashed, but the one I had been using crashed a few weeks ago and it took two days to fix it. Oh BTW, I can't remember last time I blogged either 🤣.

It all started when I downloaded an alternative program to Microsoft Office called Libre Office. I’ve been using Microsoft Office 2007 and was no longer getting security updates for it. It still works well but I thought I’d try something else.

A couple of hours after installing Libre Office, my computer froze and I could not shut it down. Surprisingly, it wasn't the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). I did a hard shut down by pressing the power button but after turning it back on, I couldn’t even get to the Log In screen. I tried turning it off and on several times to no avail. Then I tried to press the F8 key repeatedly during boot up to get into Safe Mode. That didn’t work either. So I put the computer aside and used my older backup Core i3 computer (the one that crashed was a 15.6 inch Dell Inspiron laptop, Core i7 processor, with 12 gigabytes memory, and a 1 terabyte hard drive).

I turned on the crashed computer again and waited several hours hoping that the log in screen would finally show up. It didn’t so I tried again the next day to no avail. Oh by the way, did you know that the computer tries to heal itself by scanning the drives and checking for errors? Well supposedly, the computer found errors and fixed them but still won’t give me the log in screen. I finally tried the F8 technique once again and this time it gave me the Safe Mode screen which enabled me to restore the computer to the time before I installed the new software.

The computer started working again but time and again, it would notify me about hard drive errors. By this time, it was a few days past Black Friday to find a deal for a new computer, however it happened to be Cyber Monday. I found something that I wanted on the Best Buy website. It was an Asus Vivobook 17 inch laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 12 gigabytes memory, and 500 gigabyte SSD hard drive. It was 250 dollars off the regular price so I ordered it and it arrived more than a week later, and I’m typing this article on it right now on LibreOffice Writer. This time, when I installed the software, it didn’t make this computer crash. 

Why So Many Face Masks?

From left to right: cotton, buff, black aerosilver, polyester/cotton, cotton poplin, sports, white aerosilver, aerosilver with designs. 

Why so many face masks? When COVID-19 began appearing in the U.S. and my job didn’t have enough PPE’s, I ordered my first cloth facemask from all places, New York, when their infections, hospitalizations, & deaths were peaking.  The masks were OK and I used them at work, however when I took a deep breath, the cloth would get sucked into my nostrils. Thus began my quest for a better face mask that enabled me to breathe in more easily especially when I was doing my brisk walking exercise. Next I tried buffs. There were nice designs, quite breathable, but if I positioned the back part below my ears, the buff would eventually slide off. Then came the mask that a lady in her car gave me. It was called a “fashion mask” (not in photo) which was too thin and although very breathable, not protective enough, so I had to put a bandanna on top whenever I exercised. I found a company advertising on Instagram and they were selling what’s called an Aerosilver mask. The pic looked similar to the one the lady gave me so I thought they were the same and maybe I can wear 2 masks instead of the bandanna. I also found a company which sold the “fashion mask” and I ordered a pack of 10 (not included in photo). However, it was being shipped from China and didn’t arrive until  55 days later. Thankfully, the company gave me a refund but let me keep the masks for free.  When the Aerosilver masks arrived, they were thicker and more protective than the fashion mask but also breathable because of its 3D shape. However it only came in black. Searching for more colorful but breathable mask, a swimming company in Torrance looked promising so I ordered 2 of them: a bubbles design & a California republic design. I encountered the same problem as the cloth masks. The fabric would get sucked into my nostrils so it was hard to breath while exercising. Then I tried the reversible poplin cotton masks. Nice colors but same breathability problems.  Then came the black “sports mask”. Again, too thin, not enough protection and crushed my nose. On Ebay, I found white Aerosilver masks which feel cooler on warmer days. The final mask I bought (hopefully!), were also Aerosilver with the American flag, tie-dye, and camouflage designs. Gosh darn, I spent so much time & money searching for what works for me! Lately, when I go to a store, I’ve been doubling up on what I wear: an old N95 mask under a cloth mask and hoping it’s more protective when I’m exposed to more people. While these masks don’t guarantee that I don’t get infected with COVID-19, I’ll try my best not to.

I QUIT!

I didn't expect to update this blog. As you can see, I haven't written anything in a long time. But sometimes, one just has to unload what's in his mind and heart. This one is longer than usual so please don't get too bored reading it.

For the first time in my life, I resigned from a job without another job lined up beforehand. The abrupt nature of my decision was not exactly a good plan, but sometimes you just have to leave a work environment that’s not conducive to your mental well being. Most companies in the United States have an Employment At Will clause. This means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time with or without cause. The employee can also resign at any time with or without a reason. This means a two week notice is not required.

I’ve been laid off four times and got fired once for hiding admission chart packs which I made myself. After that, I learned my lesson and never did it again.

I’m at the point in my life where I’ve saved money for a rainy day before sunny weather in my job life appears again. For that, I can thank my father and mother for teaching me thrift and frugality.

How did I end up in this position where I had to quit my job so suddenly? During my interview with the owner of the hospice company, she asked me if I was planning on retiring soon because most of her employees had worked for her for number of years. I told her I didn’t want to retire too soon because I needed to keep my mind busy, because otherwise I would just be bored. That’s the reason why I accepted the job when it was offered to me.

In the ensuing months, I learned what I had to do as a medical records clerk for hospice care. Most of the workers were easy to get along with except for one – the office manager. She always communicated in a negative way unless she wanted something from you. I always felt stressed every time to had to talk to her. This is what I wrote about her in my resignation letter to the owner of the company, except I redacted the second part, because I knew that the office manager will eventually see that letter, maybe even before the owner sees it:

May 24, 2019

J…. J…., RN, DON

A…… Hospice Care

Dear Ms. J…..,

I resign from my position as Medical Records Clerk effective my clock out time today.

Noel Delaspenas,

P.S. The long version:

When F... called Wednesday toward the end of the shift asking me to look for a phone call from Mercedes Benz that happened several weeks before, I asked her what I should priorize – what I was working on, or look for the message. I had already passed on this message to her on the day of that call and when I informed her of that call, she said “oh I’m already aware of that” and brushed me off (she does that a lot). She later asked for the phone number of that call while you were in her office and I gave it to her. The call was apparently regarding a last payment, which I know nothing about. When I received another call from Mercedes Benz on Wednesday morning (May 22), I passed on that message to F... as well. When F... called Wednesday afternoon, I was in the middle of auditing a chart which required about two years of corrections, several faxes from the pharmacy and Doctor L.. just came in, and J.. had just returned a medication list which I had to cross check with the Admission HIS (Hospice Item Set) worksheet you filled out. So yes, I was quite busy at that time and that’s the reason why I asked what I should prioritize. She got the impression that I was being sarcastic, so she went ballistic, rushing down to the Medical Records office to dress me down. She said nobody has ever talked to her like that before in that office. I did not engage her in her tirade, kept quiet, and went on doing my work (I faxed 4 pages of prescriptions back to Los Coyotes Drug after receiving the signed scripts from Dr. L.. just minutes before). It was after I faxed the scripts that I started digging into my notebook for the call from Mercedes Benz several weeks before. F... claims that she is always facing a deadline unlike the workers in Medical Records who don’t have a deadline like her, and that all we do is talk. I don’t dispute that she is busy and she has her priorities. I too, have been busy ever since I started working there and I have a different set of priorities. So I think my question was fair. Which should I prioritize at that moment?

(This is the part I redacted) I guess F... is not used to people not being subservient to her in an office setting and she doesn’t like being questioned. She responds to every question as if it’s a challenge to her authority. It gives the impression that she thinks she is always right. I usually just listen briefly until she finishes her sentence then walk away when she makes negative remarks every time I present her with something. She always needs to have the last word, and I’ve been trying to adjust to that in the past several months. If you can only hear her tone of voice when she addresses some of your employees. Unfortunately for her, if I feel that I’m doing the correct thing, I will speak up for myself, but for the most part, I have been holding my tongue because I’m aware that she is my superior. I also know that disagreeing with her is a no win situation for me. But I think asking her which task I should prioritize was a legitimate question.

I can deal with hard work, but it’s more difficult to deal with an overbearing office manager.

I am going to do her a favor and leave this job so she doesn’t have to deal with me anymore. I’ve always had a good work ethic and my job history over the decades reflect that. I have been well liked by my peers and superiors in past jobs because of that work ethic, and have always gotten along well with my coworkers. The difference now is that I’ve never worked for a manager or supervisor like F....

I don’t know how many people in this company have held their tongues when F... talks to them in a condescending manner (condescending with a fake or forced smile), but they need their jobs. I am not in the same position as them.

All the while, we have been working hard trying to catch up with the things your workers have put off for at least the past couple of years so that we can at least decrease whatever deficiencies the JCAHO surveyors may find. So for F... to say that all we do is talk in the Medical Records office is just plain wrong and she doesn’t seem to appreciate the work we do. We have been assigned to do illegal and unethical tasks, and work which are not within our scope of practice, and have had to turn a blind eye on them so that the work can be completed, even though having to do so goes against my moral compass.

If F... thinks I have a bad attitude, it’s only a reaction to her negative attitude. (The resignation letter ends here)

My plan for the job was to stay with them until the end of their JCAHO survey. At this point, I don’t see them being able to catch up on what they need to do. Not because I left them, but because they are so far behind even when they let unlicensed people log in under Registered Nurses names, to do Admission Assessments, Discharge summaries, and Bi-weekly RN notes (among other things that legally, only RN’s are supposed to do), as well as sign for the RN in the electronic medical records. This must have been going on for years and the employees must really owe the company huge favors for them to allow this to happen or accept it as a normal way of doing the job. We’re talking about office workers, a volunteer coordinator, and clerks who have been complicit. If anyone was to do an electronic forensics investigation of their electronic medical records, he or she may find that one RN is logged in at several different places at one time.

A few reasons why I didn’t think I was going to stay in that job very long:

·         The illegal and unethical practices.

·         Poor benefits such us medical insurance for me costing $400 a month out of my own pocket even though they were going to pay their own half of $400 also. They also didn’t have dental and vision insurance or a retirement plan.

·         Salary not commensurate to the amount of work and responsibility.

·         The negative attitude of the office manager

Well, the incident on May 22 just accelerated my decision. The office workers are mostly Filipinos. Just my opinion - I don’t think the office manager would dare to talk the way she does to Filipinos if the other person is of another race because she is probably aware that they will not put up with it. In a bigger company, this office manager would have already been reported to Human Resources. Well, our Human Resources person also works under the office manager and she gets her own share of being talked to in a condescending manner because she is Filipino.

Experimenting With Drugs

I’ve been experimenting with drugs for a few years now having been prescribed statins to control my cholesterol level since 2012. I’ve also had to stop or take breaks for several weeks because I experienced muscle pains when I take the medications. There are more and more reports of this happening to other people too.

 The first statin prescribed to me was Atorvastatin (Lipitor) 40 mg. daily. It worked very well because my total cholesterol level went from 229 to 139 in a couple of months.  I took it for a few more months then started to get thigh injuries when I went running. I thought it was because my thigh muscles were compensating for my ankle tendon injuries, but apparently I was mistaken. I reported this to my doctor who stopped the medications, but in a few months, my cholesterol level started to climb back up. Without notifying my doctor, I started splitting the pill in half (20 mg.) and took them every other day. This was enough to keep my cholesterol level in check but the muscle pain resumed. I further reduced the dose to 10 mg. three times a week which still controlled my cholesterol at about 179 and at the same time kept the muscle pains to a minimum as long as I didn’t push the pace when I was running. By this time, I already told my doctor what I was doing.

After changing jobs and medical insurance companies, I told my new doctor about the muscle pains, so she switched me to Pravastatin (Pravachol) 20 mg. daily. The pain intensified again so the doctor discontinued it. She prescribed fish oil instead: Omega 3-6-9 complex, 1 capsule twice a day. I took it for a year and when my cholesterol level was checked, it had risen to its highest level ever to 255. So the fish oil didn’t work and in addition, I was eating a lot of cheese and German sausages at that time.

The doctor then prescribed Rosuvastatin (Crestor) 20 mg. daily and my cholesterol level did a correction and went down to 179 after only 3 months. However, the muscle pains started again so the doctor discontinued the Crestor and said I can never take statins again because of the side effects.

I took a six week break from the Crestor and without notifying my doctor, I started splitting the 20 mg. pill and took 10 mg. three times a week. This seemed to keep the muscle pain under control so I kept on taking them. I still have a bunch of pills that are going to last me at least a year.

After my recent job loss, I had to buy my own insurance through Obamacare and found a new doctor. I told him what I did and he hasn’t changed anything so far. After having blood tests done, my cholesterol level has gone down to 156. Of course, not eating German sausages and drastic cut down on cheese helped. As long as the muscle pain stays at a minimum or non-existent, I think I shall continue with my self-prescribed treatment plan. I’ve also switched to brisk walking instead of running.

I know I’m only mentioning total cholesterol, but my HDL/LDL ratio has always been good regardless of what my total cholesterol is and my triglycerides has never been an issue.

Why Haven’t I Been Job Hunting Yet?

Well……a few reasons. For the past 8 months or so, we’ve been waiting for word when the hospital will close. Finally a couple of weeks ago we found out that our last day will be on July 3, 2018. A few of my coworkers have found new jobs, while some are still hunting. As for me, I applied for a position of records clerk earlier this year which I thought was in one of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center’s units, but which turned out to be the OB/GYN clinic! It was only when I set up an appointment for an interview when I found out about it. But I went to the interview anyway and despite communicating well with the Nurse Manager and a couple of the Medical Assistants, I didn’t get a call back. I guess I wasn’t a good fit for them. If I was hired, it would have meant getting up so early in the morning again and going to work 5 days a week. Somehow my body doesn’t function well during day shifts anymore after having worked nights for more than 30 years. So in a way, it’s good I wasn’t hired.

That was the only job I applied for and right now my strategy is to wait until the company kicks us out on July 3^rd, then look at my options. California now has a 4.2% unemployment rate which means there are a lot of jobs available. So why haven’t I applied for anything yet? If I applied now and got accepted by another company, they may require me to start as soon as possible. After all no company in their right mind would be so accommodating and wait till July 3^rd when they need someone who can start right away.

There are a few reasons and incentives for waiting to find another job. If I stay till July 3^rd, the hospital will pay us an extra 20% for all hours worked since last November, and we will get severance pay equal to one week’s pay for every year of employment in the hospital, which for me would be 3 years. Besides, I have also accumulated more than 330 hours of vacation time. With that, I should be able to survive for a couple of months.

My main concern is losing medical and dental insurance coverage which come with a full time job. When I got laid off 4 years ago, at least I qualified for Medicaid under the newly started Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), because I met the income guidelines. That meant that I didn’t earn more than $16,000 that year. This year the income guidelines say that I cannot earn more than $16,395 (which is 138% of the federal poverty level) so I can qualify for Medicaid. With all the incentives and vacation time I’m accruing from my current job, I don’t foresee myself qualifying for Medicaid.

So my only option is to buy my own medical and dental insurance from Covered California, which is the government entity administering Obamacare in California. I’ll have to do that while job hunting after July 3^rd. On July 3^rd, it would be 3 years and 11 months before I qualify for Medicare.

Another downside is that I can’t plan for any vacations this year and most likely, I’ll deal with that before applying for any job.

The main strategy now is not to get fired before the hospital closes. In the meantime, I’ve been practicing saying “Welcome to McDonald’s, may I take your order?”

A Short Stack That Didn't Involve Pancakes

Marcy Home Gym MKM-81030

          Last Christmas, I received a gift card for Dick’s Sporting Goods from my Uncle and Aunt, and since then, I’ve been checking the store’s website for any good deals. I first eyed a packable down jacket which was the exact amount on the gift card, but having so many jackets already, I didn’t order it.

          Lately, due to my age, I’ve been feeling that my free weights (barbells and dumbbells) are no longer safe if I were to try lifting the maximum weight I was capable of. So I checked out any weight machines on sale at Dick’s Sporting Goods and my first choice wasn’t available but my second choice pretty much included what I needed for a full body workout. Prior to this I had one machine left which I bought about 5 years ago for safety purposes but only had one function – the bench press, and it occupied a lot of space for just one function. It was called the Valor Fitness BF-47 Independent Bench Press. I had to disassemble this machine and left all the steel parts in the trash bin for the recyclers to go through and sell.

Valor Fitness BF-47 Independent bench press

          The machine I found at Dick’s Sporting Goods was the Marcy 100 lb. Single Stack Home Gym MKM-81030. The price was affordable after the $50 reduction from the gift card. I ordered it online and opted for delivery to the room of my choice which included one flight of stairs, plus assembly by a technician. The machine had too many parts for me to assemble myself and I didn’t care to use my brain too much to figure out which part, screw, or pulley goes where. When I finally clicked on the checkout button, to my utter surprise, the cost of delivery and assembly was more than the machine itself! Well, I figured this was going to be my last major purchase before I get laid off from work and I might as well buy it while I was still earning a paycheck. Besides, I figured this was the last weight machine I’m ever going to buy and should last me into my old(er) age.

          So the delivery was scheduled and it actually arrived a couple of hours early (I was given a four hour window from noon to 4 p.m. but it was delivered by 11 a.m.). Next, I had to call the store to schedule the assembly. After a couple of calls, we were able to schedule it, however on the day the technician was supposed to show up, he ran into some delays and we had to reschedule for another day. That day came and the technician called me and said he had finished his previous assignment early and that he can come in early to assemble the machine. Unfortunately, I was in a training class at work at that time and I gave him my ETA for when I can get home. He arrived a few minutes after I got home and proceeded to unpack the machine and laid out all the parts on the floor. I left him to it, not wanting to interfere with things I didn’t know about.

Set up and assembly by technician

           It took him about 4 hours to finish which was longer than he expected because the pulley system was complicated. If I even tried to assemble the machine myself, I probably would have given up and called an expert anyway.

          The technician left and I tried out a few functions of the machine. Everything seemed to be in working order except the top weight on the weight stack was hanging about 5 inches from the rest of them. I didn’t pay too much attention to it thinking it was probably the way it should be.

          A couple of days later, I did a full body workout and tried to lift the maximum weight for every exercise. It was then while doing the latissimus pull down and I inserted the pin on the weight stack 2^nd to the last plate when I discovered that the middle bar where the pin was inserted didn’t go all the way down to the last 2 plates. If it were pancakes, it was a short stack. I looked the machine over and everything seemed to be okay other than one of the cables appeared to be about 5 inches short, the same distance the mentioned earlier about the top weight on the weight stack. Hmm, was this a factory defect, or did they pack the wrong size cable? It would have to wait until the next day because it was after hours for the company that manufactured the home gym.

Short cable for the weight stack?

          The next day, I called the toll free number for Impex Fitness, which manufactures a lot of exercise machines for different companies (the label may say Marcy or Gold's but it's made by Impex) and explained the situation, then asked the representative if this was a known issue with the machine. She said it wasn’t and asked me to email her a picture of the machine from the side. I had already previously taken pictures and sent them to her. A few minutes later, she sent me 3 pictures showing that the technician had assembled the machine incorrectly. I compared the pictures to the machine itself and it showed that one of the pulley attachments was facing backward instead of forward. I analyzed the set up to see if I can make the adjustment myself but decided I didn’t have the proper tools.

Pulley assembly should have been facing forward

          I called the company who assembled the machine and a couple of days later, the technician came by. It didn’t take him 10 minutes to make the adjustment and while he was still there, I tested the machine. Sure enough the weight plate that was hanging 5 inches was now flush against the rest of the weight plates. I was able to insert the pin on the weight stack all the way to the last plate. Not that I’ll be able to lift the whole thing, mind you.

          Next, I downloaded an exercise chart specifically for the machine from the internet (I was surprised that none came with the machine). So far the exercises I’ve been doing on the machine have been: chest press (straight and inclined), chest flies, lat pull down, biceps curls, seated military press (this one wasn’t on the chart so I made it up by sitting on the floor and using the low pulley, triceps push downs, upright rows, and leg extensions. There are a couple of other exercises available for the legs and hips but they require a strap to be attached to the ankle, which I don’t care to bother with.

Marcy Home Gym Exercise Chart

          So now I’m operating on a full stack. I have a whole bunch of weight plates for barbells which I will no longer be using. Would anybody care to buy them from me? I could use the money since I’m going to be unemployed soon.

Plumbing Problems Wasn’t My Fault But Paid For Repairs

New shower knobs

A few weeks ago, I noticed a piece of tile right outside my bathtub starting to peel off the wall. A few days later, I could feel some moisture on the wall but not knowing where the water was coming from, I finally called the plumber who’s been helping me for at least 15 years now. I was afraid that whatever leak was occurring may affect the neighbors on my right side and the two below me. Walter the plumber came and checked it out on a Thursday and said the water may be leaking from the corrosion around the shower knobs and getting into the wall. I was planning on having the washers replaced on those knobs anyway because the bottom faucet was dripping after the knob was tightened. We made arrangements for him to do the repairs the following Monday since our condominium association required us to give 24 to 48 notice to other residents whenever the water has to be turned off. In my case, the water didn’t have to be turned off to the whole complex, but just at the valve on the roof supplying mine and my three neighbors units. And we had to wait until Monday because we didn’t want to inconvenience everybody on a weekend when most people are at home and not at work.

I asked Walter later that since we are turning off the water anyway, if he can also replace the shut off valve to my toilet tank and replace my bathroom sink faucet due to corrosion. I left a note on the doors of my three neighbors to let them know about the water shut off and included my phone number in case they had any questions or concerns. I didn’t hear anything from them so come Monday, Walter came to replace the shower knobs, toilet tank shut off valve, and sink faucet. After a couple hours, he was done and I paid him $265. I brought an electric fan to the bathroom and aimed it towards the wall with moisture and ran the fan for several hours. The next day, the wall was dry and remained so after I took a shower. After subsequent showers, the wall remained dry so Walter’s diagnosis was confirmed and he took care of the problem.

New sink faucet

Two days later, I received a text message from Vickey, a board member of the condominium association and who was also managing unit #73 downstairs from me. She was managing it for an out of state owner. The text message said “Good Morning Noel, my tenant in #73 below you, has water coming into her bathroom from the ceiling & behind the Toilet Wall. This needs attention immediately being that it is still dripping from the Bathroom Ceiling”. It included a photo of the letter I left with my neighbors and 4 photos of the water leaking downstairs with bubbling from the paint on the walls and ceiling. So I assumed that the water was caused by the leak I had from my shower.

I started looking for a contractor or handyman who knew how to fix water damage and I got suggestions from some of my neighbors and an internet buddy. I also researched on the internet what this kind of repair entailed. Last year, a handyman replaced my underpowered wall air conditioner and I kept his number. I called him and asked if he did this kind of repair and he said he did. We made an appointment for Friday but unfortunately he got held up at another job so he didn’t make it till Saturday morning. Of course we also had to make arrangements with the tenant in Unit 73 so someone can be present while the handyman was there. I also tried to get in touch with Unit 74 right below me to find out if he had any damage on his side, but I never got a response even after I contacted his landlady.

Wall bubbling

Water from ceiling vent

Luis the handyman assessed the situation on Saturday, told me what he was going to do and how long it would take and gave me a cost estimate. I told him please give me an estimate, not a heart attack, LOL! The cost was reasonable and asked him when he could do the job, he said he could do it right there and then. I notified the tenant and left Luis to do the work while I tried to get some sleep after having had to work the night before. But I was too anxious so I didn’t get any sleep. Incidentally during the time that Luis was doing his job, the owner and tenant of Unit 74 finally contacted me and we looked at their bathroom and it appeared not to have been affected.

Approximately four hours later, Luis called me and said everything was done. I went downstairs to look at his work and to my untrained eye it looked like a job well done. He told the tenant that it would take a couple of hours for the paint to dry. I paid Luis, notified the tenant and Vickey in a group text, and included photos of the finished product. I thought that was the end of it. I took responsibility for what I thought was water damage caused by the shower knob leak from my bathroom, and paid hard earned money for it.

Bubbling fixed, spackled, and repainted

But wait there’s more! A couple of hours later, I received a message from the tenant in Unit 73 in the group text saying that water was coming out of her bathroom vent and almost filled a trash container. I immediately went downstairs to look at it and indeed water was coming out of the vent, but not quite as much as the tenant said. This happened at 7:00 p.m. and I hadn’t used the shower since 2:00 p.m. so the water wasn’t coming from my bathroom. I went back upstairs and knocked on the door of Unit 107 to ask them if anybody just took a shower. Not surprisingly, somebody did and it was water from their side that was pouring downstairs to Unit 73. But hold on, the tenants in Unit 107 were gone for a few days so even after the plumber fixed my shower, no water was leaking downstairs. Right after the tenants in Unit 107 returned and took a shower, it started leaking downstairs again. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the water damage downstairs wasn’t caused by me after all. I offered the phone numbers of my plumber and handyman to the owner of Unit 107 in case she wanted to hire them, and I hope that’s the last I’m going to hear of that one. The next expense will be on them. I’ve done more than my part for something that was not my fault and it cost me $160!

Why Buy a Car Now When I Hardly Drive Anywhere?

2014 Ford Fiesta SE

I bought my 1998 Honda Civic brand new in April of that same year. It didn’t have air conditioning but it was such a bargain at $9995 that I figured I could live without the A/C since at that time, I was working 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and didn’t have to drive during the day in the heat of summer. All that changed about 10 or so years ago when I started working 12 hour shifts from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Not only that, I’m quite sure global warming is real despite its deniers who probably have always had A/C in their cars.

I called an auto shop about 3 years ago and asked if it’s possible to install air conditioning in my car. They checked around for parts and called me back saying parts and labor would cost about $3000. At that time, the resale value of my car didn’t even cost that much. So I suffered a few more years thinking the fan would be enough to make it comfortable, which of course it didn’t in mid-day heat. I was hoping to make the Honda last until I couldn’t drive anymore, since I never had a problem with it. The engine was so good that every time I went to a mechanic to have it checked out, they always offered to buy it. It helped that it only had 76,500 miles in it. The only parts I’ve had to replace were the tires, brakes and the windshield because one day on the freeway, a pebble kicked up by a truck created a crack on it. Everything else were original parts. The upholstery had nary a single tear on them. There were a couple of dents and scratches, one being a former coworker running late for work bumped the passenger side door and created a dent while she was trying to park beside my car. She promised to pay for the repairs but unfortunately she got fired a week later and I never heard from her again. Another dent was created when my neighbor’s motorcycle fell on the same door. He was jobless and didn’t have insurance, so what can I do?

1998 Honda Civic CX

The last three summers have been unbearable. I didn’t put on my scrubs until I got to work because it had been so hot. It was time to look around for an affordable car with A/C. One of my rationalizations was that since I decided not to buy a condo in the Philippines two years ago, maybe I could use the money to buy a car instead. I checked out prices in various dealerships for used cars because I knew that I couldn’t afford a new one due to the sales tax, license, registration, and insurance. The canvassing went on for about a month and the choices were: 2012 Kia Rio, 2014 Nissan Versa, and 2014 Ford Fiesta from Norm Reeves Cerritos, a Hyundai Accent from Hertz in Norwalk, and a Nissan Cube from Carson Nissan. The Kia had a 2 year gap in its Carfax, the Nissan Versa was ok but had 70k miles and very basic, the Hyundai used to be a rental although it only had 39k miles. I almost went to see the Nissan Cube until I saw the Carfax and the specs of the Ford Fiesta.

My basic preference for my next car was that it had A/C of course, automatic transmission, and had four doors (since all these years since 1981, I’ve only had two door coupes). The Ford Fiesta was advertised as an automatic but when the salesman showed me the car, I was disappointed to see that it had a manual transmission. Well, I guess I could live with that since all my previous cars (Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible, and Honda Civic CX) had manual transmission. Besides I didn’t have to alter my muscle memory on how not to use my left foot in a clutchless automatic transmission. For a three year old car, the Fiesta only had 17600 miles on it, and it originally came from Palm Springs. Maybe it was owned by an older person who found it too small, or maybe it was repossessed. But the Carfax said the previous owner followed the maintenance schedule very well.

So the salesman and I went for a test drive which consisted of all left turns (why do they have to make it so hard?). I liked the pick up and the peppiness of such a small car, although at first it felt a little snug, and whenever I shifted gears, I would bump my right elbow against a storage well right behind the stick shift. After the test drive, I asked the salesman to write up the sale. The sticker price was $8601, there was a special agreement with AAA which brought the price down to $8101, and for my car trade in, they only gave me $500, which I didn’t mind because the Kelly Blue Book value was only $800. This brought the price down to $7601. Since my credit cards gave a rebate of 1.5%, I wanted to purchase the car fully with my credit cards, however the dealership had a limit of only $5000. Still, that knocked off another $75 from the price. So the car “only” cost me $7526 plus tax, license, registration, and increased insurance coverage.

I didn’t get all I wanted because it was advertised as automatic transmission but was manual instead, but at least I got my other two choices: air conditioning and 4 doors, plus lots of bells and whistles included (see photo of the specs). And I’m able to pay it off in full right away. If this Ford Fiesta lasts me as long as the Honda Civic did (19.5 years), then I’m all set for life.

Well, there is another reason why I really needed a car with air conditioning other than for my own comfort. I started dating again after so many years and felt ashamed that my date would be sweltering, and I wanted her to be comfortable. So there!

Workouts I Did During My Vacation in Germany

Brezhnev/Honecker kiss mural - Berlin Wall

Let me see if I remember most of what happened last June. Packed luggage, exchanged dollars to euros, picked up by Shuttle2LAX, dropped at LAX, flew to Charles De Gaulle Airport, connected to Bremen, Germany, picked up by Emy at the airport, took the train to Bremen Central Train Station where Emy told me that if I had to remember anything, remember the Hauptbahnhof because the practically all look alike everywhere, then took another train to Bremerhaven. So far, so good.

Hannover Hauptbahnhof

Wait, I left something out. While at CDG, in order for me not to miss my daily workout, I walked for 30 minutes in a crowded terminal while pulling my carry on luggage. So how did I manage to do my requisite at least 30 minutes of exercise a day while I was on my German vacation? Actually it doesn’t take much provided you are able to make some adjustments like for example the aforementioned walk through the airport terminal.

Germany Workouts

June 22: 30 minute walk in Charles De Gaulle domestic terminal – Well this one didn’t elevate my heart rate much or at all because it was like an obstacle course in a terminal where people didn’t keep right in the hallway.

June 23: 30 minute jog in a farm town in the outskirts of Bremen – upon being woken up by horses neighing and cows mooing, I ventured out in a slight drizzle in my Northface jacket, found a loop and the main street and ran beside farm houses. It was a struggle finishing the 30 minutes probably due to jet lag. This was my only run in Germany. The moving van arrived, belongings were loaded, and my friend Emy moved to her new apartment in Hannover.

June 24: 30 minute walk from Emy's new apartment – Amid all the boxes in the living room, I woke up early and got ready to venture out for a walk in a strange neighborhood. Did I tell you that in the summer, it gets bright early at 4 p.m. then doesn’t get dark until past 10 p.m.? I walked several laps around a block until I finished 30 minutes.

June 25: 50 minute walk from Emy’s apartment. Instead of the loops, I found an out and back street course which took me over a bridge with a river which name I don’t know ran under.

June 26: 45 minute walk in Hannover from Michael’s (Emy’s son) apartment. After having dinner the previous night with family and friends of Emy, we stayed with Michael. This course involved a loop and going up and down side streets. Later in the day, Emy and I left for Berlin via train.

Berlin City Tour bus

June 27: 40 minute walk from B&B Tiergarten. This is a hotel right beside a lesser known gate in Berlin called the Charlottenburg Gate. I walked out and back on the main street for 20 minutes starting from the gate.

June 28: 30 minute walk in B&B Tiergarten river path. I found a paved and unpaved river path near the Charlottenburg Gate and walked out and back for 15 minutes, and saw a few runners and walkers. We left Berlin for Hamburg in the mid afternoon.

Right side of Charlottensburg Gate

June 29: 32 minute walk in Hamburg. We checked in at Hotel Condor yesterday which was very near the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof and I walked from there. I chose an out and back course along what looked like a main street, and on the way I found myself among shops and a business area. I saw some polizei removing some sheets from a naked statue. I guess someone dressed the statue during the night. I also walked by a huge building old building and on the way back, I asked some polizei who were standing nearby what building it was and they said it was the Town Hall. We went back to visit it later during our tour of the city. We left Hamburg and returned to Hannover later that day.

Hamburg Town Hall

June 30: 45 minute walk in Hannover from Emy’s apartment. This day, I found another out and back course on another street. So far I haven’t found any hills in this area and the terrain is very flat other than the bridge I mentioned earlier.

July 1: 60 minute walk in Hannover from Emy’s apartment. I walked towards the other side of yesterday’s street and found the end of the train line which traverses the area. I made a right turn and continued on until I reached 30 minutes, then turned back. Good thing I was able to do an hour this day because we had a heavy dinner and beers later at the Hannover location of Hofbrau Munchen.

Michael & I at Hannover Hofbrau Munchen

July 2: 30 minute walk in Hannover from Michael’s apartment. We stayed here overnight and I managed a 30 minute walk at 4 a.m. before we went back to Emy’s place. Later, Emy and her friend took me to the Hannover Hauptbahnhof for my trip to Kassel where I visited her sister Bernie and her husband. I was able to do an additional walk that afternoon when Bernie and her husband took me to a lake with some hilly trails. I didn’t even time that walk anymore, but it lasted more than an hour.

Lake near Kassel

July 3: 1 hour walk in Baunatal/Kassel from Bernie’s house. Bernie showed me a walking path near her house which had a fork in the end. I took the right side and walked by some wheat fields until I reached a street. I turned around and went back home. Another hour walk that helped because I went to lunch & dinner at Lisa (another of Emy’s sisters) and her husband’s house in Kassel, where I met up with their mother Becca and another sister, Irene and her husband. Later in the evening we went to another beer garden where I had a beer tasting consisting of 4 kinds of beer in 11 ounce glasses. Yikes!

The fork in the road

July 4: 1 hour walk in Baunatal from Bernie’s house. Today I took the left turn at the fork in the road and saw some small parks and dirt trails that veered off from the main path, but which I didn’t dare explore for fear of getting lost. At noontime, a cab took me to Kassel Bahnhof where I took the train to Bremen where I was going to fly from the next day, to go back home. And then this adventure happened: Last 2 days Germany adventure - part 1

July 5: 40 minute walk from and around Bremen Airport Holiday Inn Express. I found a park right across the airport, walked around it and along some adjoining streets. A couple of hours later, I walked from the hotel to the airport for my trip back home, and then this next adventure happened: Last 2 days in Germany - part 2 and Last 2 days in Germany - part 3.

So that one run and all the walking workouts I managed to do satisfied my need or maybe compulsion to exercise every day despite being in far flung places, and I’ve been doing a daily exercise for more than 30 years without skipping one.

Why a Vacation in Germany?

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

For someone who doesn’t go on vacations much and so far the only two countries I’ve been in are the Philippines and USA, other than layovers in South Korea, China, and Canada, how on earth did I end up taking a vacation in Germany? Well, that took more than a year in the making. Early in 2016, my friend Emy who lives in Germany was planning on having a grand 60^th birthday party, inviting friends near and far. The party’s theme was supposed to be the hippie culture of the 1960’s, so I started checking out costumes on the internet, you know: bell bottoms, flower power, long hair, LSD, and the like. Well, OK, not LSD. I also started looking into airline flights, but the websites were unable to show me anything more than a year in advance. When that cutoff time finally came, I immediately booked a flight on Air France from Los Angeles to Bremen (the closest airport to where Emy lives), with a connecting flight in Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Having had a bad experience with very long layovers during last year’s trip to the Philippines (8 hours in Guangzhou!), I found a flight with the least amount of layover time. Little did I know that it would end up biting me in the butt later. Another lesson learned with that one: book a flight with a layover time that accommodates for delays.

Well, about two months before my trip, and after the invitation arrived, Emy calls me tearfully saying that the birthday party is cancelled due to a drastic change in her life. She had to find a job, sell her house in the suburbs, separate from her husband, and find a new place to move in. Additionally, she had to sell her excess but valuable items and find storage space for all her possessions. Since I hadn’t seen her since 1992 when she stopped by briefly in my home, I told her that I wasn’t going to Germany for the party, but rather to visit her after all these years. Prior to 1992, the last time I saw her was in 1979 when we worked together as physical fitness instructors in a gym called The Sweat Shop in Makati, Philippines. I suggested that I could make other plans for my vacation, but she said it was ok for me to come to Germany anyway.

Luggage packing test before trip

As the day of my flight approached, I did several suitcase packing trials taking into account that the July weather in Germany was similar to winter weather in California. I tried packing 6 microfleece long sleeved shirts and 3 pairs of jeans along with my packable North Face jacket which I bought specifically for this trip. I ended up packing 3 microfleece shirts and a couple of thinner shirts and had to ditch the jeans for regular slacks because they wouldn’t fit in my carry on suitcase. Having done that, my other checked luggage was for presents. I also bought some Euro currency from Travelex and with that, I was good to go other than not knowing the language. So I downloaded a German/English translation app, as well as Google Translate, none of which I ended up using, or barely anyway.

The rest of the trip to follow.

Beers I've Tasted in Germany While on My Vacation There

Beers I've Tasted in Germany While on My Vacation There

Being just a domestic beer drinker and not a big one at that, the cheaper the beer, the better for my budget. How’s a 36 pack of Tecate, Budweiser, or Miller’s Genuine Draft for $19.99 sound? Well, that’s the kind of beer I drink in the U.S. So when I found the opportunity to visit friends in Germany which is known for its beers, I decided to try as many as I can while I was there and hoped my liver survived the taste tests.

First, let me tell you I don’t know from bad beer to good. Being originally from the Philippines, I’ve had San Miguel of course, and Red Horse which is more of a malt liquor. Years ago, the Philippines also imported Carslberg beer, so I’ve tried that too.

If I remember correctly, the first one I tried was in Hannover and it was a Czech beer – the original Budweiser Budvar, which my friend Emy’s son Michael offered me at his home. It was definitely a lot more full bodied than the U.S. Budweiser, and to my untrained taste, more hoppy. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of it.

Bitburger & Berliner from the hotel vending machine

The next couple of beers I tried came out of a hotel vending machine in Berlin, which was a total surprise for me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in the U.S., but then I don’t go out much. The first one was Bitburger which I brought up to my hotel room, but couldn’t open because I didn’t have a bottle opener. So I went back down to the lobby and asked the desk attendant where to find one. It turns out, it was attached to the vending machine with a string. I asked if it was okay to open the beer bottle in the lobby and the attendant said, it was no big deal because beer is just like water in Germany. I brought the beer back to my room and drank it while eating a piece of cake that I bought from the KaDeWe store earlier. Well, that Bitburger didn’t quite hit the spot so I went for a second bottle which was a Berliner. The vending machine had those two beer choices with alcohol and two which were alcohol free. My impression of the Bitburger and Berliner was that they had more taste than my cheap domestic beer.

Erdinger

While still in Berlin, we stopped by some kind of street fair where I tried Erdinger beer with my first bratwurst. I ordered the smallest possible glass which was 1/3 liter since I didn’t want to be walking around town in a tipsy state. While at the fair, we met a couple of young Mexicans (bf & gf) who were travelling all over Europe, and talked with them for more than two hours.

Weihenstephan

The next day, we had time to kill after visiting an Anne Frank exhibit and while waiting for our train to Hamburg, so we stopped by a beer house and I ordered Weihenstephan dark beer. Half a liter this time.

Tsingtao from a Chinese Restaurant

Becks (the only beer this hotel had)

In the hotel in Hamburg the next day, I didn’t see a vending machine, so I approached the desk clerk to ask if they sold beer. The only one they had was Becks, which the internet says is a beer from Bremen. My tongue can’t really detect the subtle differences been the beers I’ve tried so far, but I felt that each one had a different finish. Oh, I had forgotten that we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the hotel and I had Tsingtao beer. I don’t know if it was my tongue, but it tasted a little bland after all the German beers I had so far, even though Tsingtao was once considered one of the better beers in the world.

Paulaner - the taste changes from tongue to swallow

When we returned to Hannover, we stopped by a grocery store before going home and bought a bottle of Paulaner and Grevensteiner. The Paulaner really took me for a loop. When I took the first sip, it tasted like any other beer, but upon swallowing, the taste changed to somewhat sour/sweet. And this happened on every sip.

Grevensteiner

The next day, we tried the Grevensteiner and that was probably the most full bodied beer I tasted while I was there. Somewhat like San Miguel but without the pungent follow through. Emy said this was her favorite beer.

Hofbrau Munchen

After shopping for curtains and other fixtures for my friend’s new apartment the next day, we went to have dinner at Hofbrauhaus Munchen. Their main brewery and beer house was in Munich and we were at the Hannover branch. I tried a half pint of their dark house beer, while Michael had 2 (!) pints of the pilsner. Needless to say, he was quite tipsy but still with faculties intact by the time we left the Hofbrau. We ended up sleeping at his apartment since Emy had trouble driving in the dark and couldn’t make it back home.

Hutt Luxus Pilsner
I left for Kassel the next day and upon arriving, was taken by Bernadette and her husband Wolfgang to see the Hercules monument, after which we went to lunch. With the currywurst, I ordered the house and local beer called Hutt Luxus Pilsner, which didn’t come with Jabba. However, the heavy lunch made me feel like Jabba the Hutt afterwards.

Oettinger lime beer

Schofferhofer lemon beer

At dinnertime, Wolfgang brought out a couple of low alcohol citrus beers named Oettinger Radler and Shoefferhofer Zitrone. Very tasty, kinda like what my cousin used to mix back in my college days which she called shandygaff – half beer and half 7-Up.

Einbecher

I was picked up by Liza’s husband Sven the next day and was driven to his home. There Mama Becca was waiting and we had lunch. Along with lunch came yet another beer called Eibecher. I had two bottles which is normally my limit for a day. But, this was not an ordinary day.

Fritzlarer samplers

We hanged out in the backyard, then had early dinner, after which we went to visit a very old town, so old that the buildings were leaning against each other to maintain stability. After visiting the town, my hosts which now included Irene and her husband Matthias, decide to go to a local Hofbrauhaus. I finally found what I was hoping for: a sampler of 4 glasses of Fritzlarer with 11 ounces each of the house beer, a wheat beer, a dark beer, and a summer seasonal beer. I sipped slowly trying to detect the subtle differences. I finished half of each before going around again to finish the second half. By this time, I thought I’d be drunk as a skunk as I have exceeded my daily drink limit by at least 2. But surprisingly, I was still able to walk straight and touch my nose with each hand with my eyes closed. So, my companions didn’t have to carry me back home after all.

Veltins

I left Kassel the next day and headed by train to Bremen which airport I was supposed to depart from the following day. I checked into the Holiday Inn Express, walked to the airport to scout it so I would be familiar with it the next day, then found a Chinese restaurant across the airport where I had a light dinner with a half pint of Veltins.

Krombacher

I stopped by McDonalds and ordered an apple strudel to go which I took back to the hotel. I stopped by the bar and asked the bartender if they had any bottles of beer I can buy to take back to my room, and she said, I can take the mug that they had, and thus had my last beer in Germany, a half pint of Krombacher drank with apple strudel from McDonald’s.

I bought this from Trader Joe's after I got back to the U.S.

Having developed a taste for German beer, the American beer I drank upon returning back home tasted very bland, so I checked the internet and found that some of the beers I drank in Germany were sold at specialty wine/beer/liquor stores like Total Wine and BevMo. I did find a 6 pack of Henninger at Trader Joe for $5.99 so I bought it. The first can tasted bland but the second tasted more German, so I’d say it wasn’t bad. I also saw a 4 pack of Bitburger for $4.99, but I think I’ll go to Total Wine next time because they are selling a 4 pack sampler of Paulaner for about $10, you know, the one that changes taste from tip of the tongue to swallow.