Nipples in the media

Before I get into this quick post, let me say that home ownership is going much better (for now) and things are in good shape. It looks like I may not have a lawn to speak of this year, but still better than the house falling apart.

So, after more than 2 months without a post, it's time for something random: nipples on TV.

The commercial posted here (until the link goes missing) is from T-Mobile and shows a man without a shirt, and the ad plays off of the adage "gave the shirt off my back." Anyway, the very apparent and well defined (CGI? makeup?) nipples on this guy got me to thinking. Men can be pictured unrestricted in US media completely topless, but women cannot. The limit for females seems to be nipples, at least that's what I've noticed in print media. I'm not going to get into specific laws and regulations here, especially since it gets a little complicated between laws (over-the-air broadcast vs. cable/satellite) and network expectations relative to advertisers. Regardless of the specifics, I think it is interesting that male nipples can be seen shown freely while female nipples are restricted. Should we cover or blur men's nipples, too? Should we say that women's breasts should be completely obscured? Can a flat-chested women be shown topless, or should a large-breasted man have his man-boobs covered?

My opinion...I'm generally liberal when it comes to this stuff, so I don't see why women's breasts should be covered at all. If we are going to obscure them, though, it seems like the nipple is not the starting point. Heck, if male nipples can be shown, perhaps female breasts should be covered but their nipples could be exposed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not really attempting a political statement or encouraging action here. I just find the whole thing odd, and seeing this guy's nipples on TV every day just brought it all to the forefront for me.

Until next time...

Homeowner: Day 20

With my own house, I can laugh as loud as I want whenever I want. Thanks to Everybody Loves Raymond for helping me realize this fact!

I also want to put in a plug for Lowe's Home Improvement. I'm sure not all stores are the same, but I have received amazing service and advice since buying my house. I simply walk in, start asking questions, and they quickly figure out my deep level of ignorance and talk me through it--including walking all over the store picking up parts and showing me how stuff works.

I don't think there's much to report tonight. So far, I put a 7" section of foam insulation around one very small pipe that froze and re-constructed my "fort" around the water pump to be safe. I also bought some insulating material for the garage door and will install that sometime soon. Tonight's plan is to get non-garage stuff out of the garage, move tools/workbench stuff into one spot, and clear a spot for the washer and dryer (although the washer might stay in the house until spring--undecided). This will also include getting books placed (but not ordered) on the bookshelves.

Burgers are thawing for dinner. Not to crossover blog topics, but I purchased 4.5 lbs of 90% lean ground beef at Sam's last week. I made 8 1/4-lb burgers to freeze, and froze the rest in 1/2-lb blocks. We'll see how it works out--I was very surprised to find myself buying bulk meat at Sam's.

Now that I think about it, today was a busy homeowner day on the phone. I contacted a local trash hauler and setup garbage pickup (yes, I live in a township)--that's about $18/month. I also scheduled the delivery of the guest bed (purchased through Sam's). At some point over the weekend, I cleared out the guest room for the bed, so that is a good thing. The big puzzle piece, however, is that I received quotes from the contractor for both the kitchen floor (to be paid by Lowe's insurance) and to fix the foundation/footer problem. I'm not going to speak of finances on this one right now--suffice it to say that it is an expensive fix, but it is less than I was fearing.

Well, I should get back to work. I logged in thinking I would just post the laughing observation, but here we are. Back to work...

Home ownership: 2 weeks

I will be very honest here--I'm sure I would have cried by now if I thought it would do any good. It won't, however, so I'm pretty sure that's why I have not.

I did have hot water when I moved into the house on Dec. 30. That was very nice. However, I was greeted by a giant crack in the living room wall which I basically had to ignore for a bit.

Master Bed--the room is no longer, and never will be, this clean

The movers arrived and unloaded the truck. I was overwhelmed to say the least. I've admitted before that I own too much stuff, but this is when it kicks in. I was staring down boxes with very little wiggle room. Even the garage had more boxes than anticipated. The major accomplishment for night one was getting the master bedroom ready for sleeping.

On Dec. 31, I struggled against spotty cell phone service and made some calls regarding the wall, at this point still hoping it was just a really poor drywall issue. The calls yielded very little. Beyond that, I spent Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 getting the kitchen unpacked and organized so that I would have at least one room available. I had overnight guests scheduled to arrive in the evening on Jan. 1. On Dec. 31, my refrigerator arrived from Lowe's. Unfortunately, they damaged the kitchen flooring (vinyl) in the process, and the refrigerator was left setting about a foot from the back wall. Lowe's next move would be to send someone to take insurance pictures.

Kitchen, including "island" table

Otherwise, things went pretty well. Although the place was certainly cluttered with boxes, I was generally ready for my guests when they arrived. We went out to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise which was wonderful! That was pretty much the night--I slept on the couch so they could have my bed.

We all slept in on Sunday, and my guests left around 12:30. I got back into the mess, hoping to get something accomplished before going to work on Monday. That accomplishment was getting my desk put together and my office partly organized. This was strategic since internet was being installed on Monday morning. As for the installation, that went fine.

Office

Overall, unpacking and organizing has gone well over the past week. However, the house has presented its fair share of problems. Most significantly, after inviting a contractor over for an estimate, I learned that my wall problem (as feared) is actually from the house shifting. At some point after the flooding, someone had the brilliant idea to shim the house at the support beam using plywood--yes, it snapped. The solution is to jack up the house, do some digging, and pour some concrete. I don't yet have the photos or estimate, so more later.

"The Wall": living room, above laundry closet

I've also struggled since Dec. 31 with some leaking under the kitchen sink associated with the dishwasher line. Over the course of this week, I tried fixing the leak. At one point, the leak appeared fixed, but then a different leak appeared. The second leak required me to shut off the hot water supply. After a trip to Lowe's yesterday and some diligent efforts, I discovered that ALL of my water was gone--I lost pressure from the well tank. Thanks to some hammer tapping, I managed to get the water working on Saturday night. However, I woke up around 4:30 this morning and discovered it was off again. I was in the garage until 5:30am or 6:00am (back and forth to my computer) learning how a pressure switch works. Mine appeared to be stuck. I learned how to manually get it running, but the gauge was also bad, so I had no idea how much pressure was in the tank. I got the water running, killed the pump switch, and went back to bed. After a few trips to Lowe's and some more online research, I discovered that the switch was OK, but the water supply feeding the switch was frozen. So, I took care of that problem and the water supply is fine for the moment. I also gave in and put in new hardware under the sink. As of this moment, the dishwasher finished a full cycle and no leaks.

What else...the infamous washer/dryer closet in my living room. After MUCH effort, I've concluded that my particular machines are not going to fit in the closet. This means they are going to the garage hookups. Overall, I'm OK with this situation. However, it does not make me happy given the recent water line freeze. More planning.

Living Room on Dec. 31 (from the couch)

The living room is pretty tight, but it's coming together. My entertainment center will not fit with speakers, so I've got the above setup for now. The plan is to buy a flat-screen TV, including a TV stand that will accommodate my A/V items. That plan is on hold, however, until the other house issues are resolved. 6 months? A year?

So, that's the story 19 days after closing and 11 days after fully moving in. More to come.

Homeowner: Day 2

Day 2 was a decent day. I slept in late on the air mattress, mostly because I did not sleep well (probably a combination of new place and air mattress).

Still no hot water, so no showering. I got dressed, organized a list for the day, and headed out. First it was off to Lowe's to return the garage door opener remote and to purchase a few small items (door stops, screwdriver, and hammer). Then it was off to Sam's to look at beds and research delivery options. Lunch was at White Castle--yum! I then visited several offices in town in order to file a mortgage exemption for my property taxes--this went very smoothly and probably deserves its own entry later.

The selling real estate agent met me to look at the water heater--no luck. I've been promised that I will have a working water heater by the time I return from vacation.

After a quick trip to the bank, I installed the door stops on all doors in preparation for move-in day when I return. Then I packed up and hit the road for Ohio. Another long night drive, but good to be home for the holidays.

That's it for now. More to come after the holidays.

Homeowner: Day 1

I took possession of my house today--yay! Although I am officially "living" in the house, I won't actually be "moved into" the house until Dec. 30 when I come back from Ohio with movers and a giant truck. Yes, all of my stuff is still in storage. So, tonight includes an air mattress, camping chair, and iPod.

I've retreated to IHOP for dinner and internet access.

I attempted to be at work today, but was derailed more than anticipated. I moved out of my apartment Tuesday morning and spent Tuesday night in a hotel with my car COMPLETELY packed (the only place for my laptop was under my legs in front of the driver's seat). As such, I desperately needed to unload the car. I did that around 11am immediately after closing. At the very least, I wanted to get the water turned on and the water lines cleared. In retrospect, I should have better checked for hot water.

When I unpacked the car, it marked the first time having my car empty since July! Life on the road is over!

First hiccup--smoke detectors beeping. They are wired into the house, but the backup batteries were dead. So, it was off to Lowe's for batteries, a shovel, and salt for the driveway. I went to Lowe's because I also wanted to schedule delivery for my refrigerator (Dec. 31). I also purchased a programmable remote for my garage door opener.  I really should have bought a step ladder, but I refuse since I already own two (in storage, in Ohio).

Back home, I used a cooler as a step stool and replaced the detector batteries: FIXED. I shoveled the driveway a bit and put down some salt. I attempted to program the garage remote, but no luck. Then it was off to work, but I stopped for lunch on the way (I had not eaten all day, and it was about 2pm).

Work was work--I was the only person on our floor, and I managed to finish a project.

Back home around 6pm. I christened the master bath, and quickly discovered that there was no hot water. In the morning, I *thought* I felt warm water as I was clearing the lines, but apparently not. I did everything I could to troubleshoot (which is not much with an electric heater), but no luck. Long story short, after a few phone calls, the selling agent agreed to come out tomorrow; I have an insurance policy for this problem, but they may not cover because one stipulation is that the item be in working order at the start of the policy--that is in question. So, no hot water tonight.

Amidst all of the evening phone calls, I discovered that my cell connection is *much* worse than I believed before. I suspect I will be highly reliant upon MagicJack for phone service at home.

I also continued efforts to program the garage remote. This involved phone calls to computers, and struggling with internet on my phone to get user manuals for my opener. It apparently is the wrong frequency--I just ordered a replacement online for almost the same price. Back to Lowe's for a return!

Oh, more story...during this process, a wire apparently came loose from the opener, so I could not open the garage door at all (and, yes, my car was in the garage). I quickly discovered the problem and used a knife from my golf bag to fix the problem. BROKEN and FIXED.

BTW, I'm very thankful for the golf-bag knife. My tools are in storage, and I did not buy any at Lowe's (yet).

That's probably enough excitement for one day. I'm going to finish my meal and head back home. I need to inflate my air mattress, put on some sheets, and then settle down for a long winters nap.

Tomorrow's excitement:

• hope that the water heater problem is resolved
• return the garage opener remote
• buy light bulbs
• attempt to resolve a property tax issue before leaving town
• buy a bed for the guest room?
• make a decision on whether or not to purchase cable tv along with my internet

Single at Sam's

For the first time in my life, I'm working a full-time job without a college meal plan. I've had plenty of experience shopping and cooking over breaks and summers, and also during my most recent unemployment Winter-Summer 2010. Still, mixing it together with the job is...well, it's adult.

Anyway, after years of tagging along with my parents at Sam's Club and piggy-backing on their membership, I decided to take the membership dive. So, now come the two questions: will I actually save money, and can I make it worth my while as a single consumer. Answering the first question involves a boring spreadsheet, but I did save over $11 in week one.

As for the second question, I'm thinking there might be some writing material regarding my creativity with bulk foods. Keep in mind that I am currently living in a small apartment with a limited number of dishes, spices, etc.

Week 1: Pot Roast (sorry, I can't find a pic of the actual product)
This puppy is pre-cooked and serves 8 people. The first night started out as straight-forward pot roast with pierogies (I love pierogies). The leftovers were too plentiful for a storage container, so they went into the fridge in a cooking pot (for easy re-heating, too). After a few little snack nibbles, the next roast meal was a breakfast--pot roast omelet. Although it turned out more like scrambled eggs, mmmmm tasty!  The third roast meal was burritos--correction, fried tacos. I used flat tortillas and fried them in a skillet to make two very meaty tacos. Three meals down, more meat to use. Tonight (meal four) was beef and pasta--a variation on beef tips and noodles but using shredded beef and rotini pasta. I'm not sure I would have made it quite this way for guests, but I was very pleased! There's going to be a meal five, but I mixed all of the meat in with pasta, so #5 will be leftovers of #4.

Not very glamorous, but 5 single-person meals (4 unique) out of one Sam's entree that cost less than $12. If only it had less sodium.

Fortunately, the meatballs I purchased were packaged in two separate sealed bags ;-)

Thanksgiving

I'm a day early for this post, but this is my available time. Part of me is sad this year because I'm remembering, and missing, the huge Thanksgiving meals we used to have at my grandparents' house. I miss Grandma and Grandpa, and I miss the family gathering.

On the other hand, there is so much for which to be thankful and celebrate this year. First off, I survived unemployment with money to spare, and I am somehow able to immediately purchase a house--THAT is HUGE! Of course, there's also the fact that I found a job that matches my interests extremely well without compromise, so that's a real blessing in such a crumby economy. For that matter, the job and the community are probably a better fit than I was aware or would have designed.

I certainly cannot forget my family. My parents, who continue to love and support me, and who gave me shelter [again] this summer as I transitioned--how wonderful! It's great that I'll be spending the holiday with them. Even though I won't be spending this holiday with other family, it is still a blessing to have such amazing love and support--looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas.

Of course, I must be thankful for my friends, too. One thing I realized this summer is just how many amazing friends I have all over the country. It's fantastic! I'm actually pretty surprised that I ended up moving someplace where I don't know anyone (although I do know people who used to live here).

I'm sure there is much more for which I should and will give thanks, but that should suffice for now. Since I'm thankful for a job, I should get to bed so I can go to work on time and rested in the morning.

Love, peace, and joy to all this holiday season!