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CBLindsay's brain droppings

Well, all evidence of Christmas has been removed from the Lindsay home and all eyes are focused squarely on the New Year. My wife and daughter have been working hard to get ready for our planned Hawaii Cruise...which lead to a deep cleaning of my daughter's room/closet. Much to my chagrin, they found that my daughter has nothing to wear. Well, to be more accurate, nothing she WANTS to wear. The dresses and such that we had bought for cruises planned in 2020 and 2021 have become much smaller/shorter but I think I have convinced my daughter that they are still quite fashionable. Last night, shortly after realizing I have nothing to wear (read, "nothing that fits my new found robustness) I panicked a bit. There is literally NOTHING in the world I dislike more than the packing phase of a trip. Inevitably, my wife will pack every last piece of clothing that has never fit me, saying "all your other stuff has stains or holes in them". My response is always "that is because I can ACTUALLY fit in my other stuff". Then there is a back and forth flurry of "try this on". Then, because they are not too small and not stained or holy (yes, holy...to me) she will pack my "fat-boy" clothes, clothes that I detest wearing because they are too BIG and fall off while I am walking. Fortunately, my wife has found that there is a laundry on board so I think I can get away with a pair of Wranglers, a couple shirts and the pack of underwear and socks I got for Christmas. I did, however, ask her to add a pair Wranglers one size larger than my typical size to the Amazon order...just so I have something to wear after I have eaten my way to Hawaii. I think I can find a nice moo-moo in Hawaii too, that should take care of the fancy dinners.

At this point I should probably acknowledge (for the record and for posterity sake) that the CDC has JUST declared cruising a class 4 felony, too dangerous for any human being to attempt. With just better than a week before sailing, I suspect this cruise will face the same fate as the ones that were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. My wife will cry, but I have something to wear to her pity party so at least I wont have to shop for clothes.

On a slightly different note...
A month or so ago I decided to follow @CVargo's Pandemic Lockdown lead and install a Bidet unit on my toilet. The installation did not go as easily as I had hoped but the water damage was minimal and the job was completed in one day. In hopes of making the idea more appealing to my wife, I got the unit that has multiple jets and a paddle style throttle to control the speed and angle of attack. Alas, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to not even TOUCH the thing. OH sure, if you don't feather the throttle just right the 80psi stream of ice water can be quite shocking (and painful) but that's no reason to not even try it.

But TODAY we had a breakthrough of sorts. I just got a text from my wife telling me she inadvertently knocked the jar of custom CBL shaving cream off the top rail of the shower and it fell to the floor. Not to worry, it didn't break or spill out all over the floor, she was able to open the shower door slightly and grab it. So her shower shave was not ruined. Only AFTER the shower did she find that on the way to the floor from the shower rail, the container of custom CBL soap managed to knock the paddle throttle of the "butt washer", shifting it in 4 low unleashing a stream of pressurized water that managed to make it all the way to wall on the other side of the bathroom. The result was a fully flooded bathroom. ...at least now she sees what it is capable of AND knows how to turn it off.
 
Great Update!

Fingers crossed that the cruise will be able to go on - even if you have to wear “husky (my grandma’s word)” attire - and my some miracle - we as a species get this virus under control.

All I can say about the bidet is:

1640902705835.gif
 
The Most Excellent Journey continues.

Since the New Year's beard removal I have remained properly shaven. I've mainly used a combination of Mythus Razor, CBL BEE spoke and one of 2 brushes, but I have included a shave or 2 using the Gillett Fat Boy (set to 4 I think).

On the home front: We have had clear evidence of a water leak under the sink for a while now. I think I noticed the wet wood before Christmas but who knows exactly how long the wood had been accumulating water. I really didnt want to deal with a leak so I half heartedly poked around under the sink looking for an obvious drip or spray but found none. I really WAS going to ignore it until we returned from our cruise, but last night I thought it looked worse and even with the constant rushing/ringing in my ears I was able to detect a "spray" sound emanating from what was probably under the Dish Washer. The ringing and rushing in my ears has been a constant companion since I was very young (it's pretty bad...but I suppose it would need to be pretty "loud" to drown out the various voices seeking to grab my attention) but this "spraying" sound was definitely new. Armed with this new found information I figured I would turn off the water supply to the dishwasher and address the issue when I returned. I cleared a path to the valve and gave it a mighty twist...only to find the handle broken off in my hand. My heart sank because I knew I would have to go find a replacement valve, even if I didnt want to do anything more than turning off the water supply to the actual leak. A quick trip to the new Ace Hardware and a half hour of grunting (the old valve was really tightly attached to the pipe coming out of the wall) I had the new valve installed and the offending leak located. I had to order a part for the dishwasher to complete the job so I will address the issue further when I return.

On the Cruise Front: It is official, Hawaii is allowing our ship to dock (they only approved the docking a day or two ago) and the cruise is a go. Carnival has made some changes to the testing and isolation protocols to further ensure a "safe" cruise, or at least a COVID free docking in Hawaii. We just completed the specimen collection for the required PCR test to be done "within but no more than 48 hours prior to the cruise". Although we have been assured that Quest will report results prior to the cruise, we have acquired a set of approved rapid at home tests (observed by an eMed guide) as a backup to ensure we are able to provide our "pre-cruise" testing. The new protocol requires us to have a negative "pre-cruise" test, AND to have a negative test immediately prior to embarking (after we have checked in and completed all other screening). Once on board we will ALL be tested again on day 2. After that point testing and isolation is done based on symptoms etc. Generally speaking, the whole protocol seems pretty solid.
If all goes as planned, we will be in Hawaii on the 14th.
 
So awesome! (The cruise part)

I hope to return to the islands again sometimes soon! Such a fantastic get-away!
 
"CBLindsay's most excellent journey" becomes "CBLindsay's brain droppings"

Clearly my ability (and desire) to keep a regular "shaving" journal has been proven poor at best. SO, from this day forth I have renamed my journal (using powers granted to me by virtue of being an OWNER of the forum) to reflect the type of content you are most likely to find in this thread. Please adjust your expectations accordingly.
 
Maybe it's my advanced age. Maybe it's the extremely course hair growing from my ears ...or maybe it's the hairs that sprout from my brain and protrude from my nostrils. Whatever the cause I have found myself becoming more anxious and aggravated by politicians, politics and most conversations/post on social media regardless of topic. Before the hair began to protrude from my nostrils and grow upon my ears, these things didn't bother me much...Now, such things fill me with dread and despair. I am willing to accept that my advanced age and hair growth of questionable origin (also known as HGQO) may not have as much to do with my new-found sense of dread and despair but I find it a might big coincidence that the more HGQO I experience the more my curmudgeoness emerges.

Thankfully The Shaving Cadre continues to be a refuge from these sources of dread and despair.

Ok, to be honest. I haven't been shaving as regularly as one might expect me to be shaving. In fact, I regularly skip days and often shave only 2 times a week...at night. When I DO shave I pretty much stick with the Tedalus razor I got earlier this year and a random sample of one of the CBL soaps I might be working on or have recently released. I can't complain about the quality or experience so other than laziness and fatigue I don't really have a reason to avoid shaving.
**HINT for my Rudolph buddy** I am thinking of getting a nice block of alum. I grow tired of using the broken shards of the hunk of alum that i dropped a couple years ago and am wondering if "real shaving alum" of some sort might be more beneficial and/or enjoyable.

Odds and ends

MY daughter had an interesting thing happen to her at university. She hasn't had to drive to school for two years so this current semester is her first in person attendance. On her 3rd day someone came running into her classroom yelling that there had been an explosion in the parking lot and cars were on fire. When she looked out she saw the fire AND her jeep, she of course thought her jeep was on fire or would be soon but campus police wouldn't let her get close until the fire department arrived. As it turned out someone drove their flaming car into the parking lot and decided that rather than stopping in the completely open drive way she would instead park behind my daughters jeep. The young ladies car ( a 2004 Jeta) proceeded to burn to the ground. Fortunately the police and fire department were able to keep the flames away from her jeep and cut out the melting rear window of her soft top to keep it from catching fire. My daughter was inconsolable as she watched the various Jurassic Park themed attachments melt away and her 'perfect' 1998 TJ take on a slightly BBQ'd appearance. The police and facilities manager stayed with her (and eventually my wife) as they waited for a flatbed to drag the melted mass from behind her so she could come home. Although one might assume this was an insurance slam dunk, the Jetta's owner had minimal insurance and that company is trying to say I need to find the cause of the fire and file my claim against the cause of the fire not them. Being an older jeep I had to find 'vintage' wheel parts, break light etc as well as a new soft top, and my son had to use his 3d printer to print a few parts but I was able to get it all fixed for about $550. I tried to impress upon the insurance company that it is in their best interest that they just pay me what I am asking for because if I have to proceed with a strong arm' apporach they will be forced to pay my body shop for all repairs and will be paying premium prices. One of the adjusters agreed with me but says the company is still investigating the potential for shifting blame to another source. My daughter wants to score a bigger $ amount so she can do more work on her Jurasic Park theme but I told her to remember SHE has had a much better outcome than the girl whose car is a lump of burnt metal ...and DAD is the one whose out the $550. On a 'positive' note, I am not 100% confident my daughter WON'T be able to handle a roadside emergency of ANY scale so I have made several members of one of our local volunteer off-road recovery group aware of her and asked that if they see her in any trouble to step up.

In other news.
As many of you are likely already aware, I recently moved the CBL soap labs/operation to a new location. This location was my old home office. This move seemed like a good idea at the time but NOW I find myself in a pickle. The lease on my current office space will end in December and I have been notified the building owner intends to occupy the building so my lease won't be renewed. This leaves me without a home office to return to and no location in January. I have begun the search for a new location and am finding very few viable options. Many locations are REALLY bad (location and/or state of repair) while others are far too large. I found one I REALLY like and played hell getting them to respond to me. I spoke to them yesterday and they told me they JUST accepted an application that will ultimately be accepted for the last available location. GRR. But they are considering breaking a larger unity that is coming available into several smaller spaces before year end YAY!. BUT they also have a ne tenant in the works who is ALSO in investment management. The building has no real walk up potential and I am fairly careful with who I bring in as clients so I have no objection to another investor being in the building BUT it turns out the other guy as actual from a company i worked with about 13 years ago so THEY may have an issue with ME being there. I like this place a lot but it certainly feels like I am being told NOT to relocate to there. Maybe I'll buy a storage container and convert it to a mancave-office.
 
CBLindsay said:
Maybe it's my advanced age. Maybe it's the extremely course hair growing from my ears ...or maybe it's the hairs that sprout from my brain and protrude from my nostrils. Whatever the cause I have found myself becoming more anxious and aggravated by politicians, politics and most conversations/post on social media regardless of topic. Before the hair began to protrude from my nostrils and grow upon my ears, these things didn't bother me much...Now, such things fill me with dread and despair. I am willing to accept that my advanced age and hair growth of questionable origin (also known as HGQO) may not have as much to do with my new-found sense of dread and despair but I find it a might big coincidence that the more HGQO I experience the more my curmudgeoness emerges.

Thankfully The Shaving Cadre continues to be a refuge from these sources of dread and despair.

Ok, to be honest. I haven't been shaving as regularly as one might expect me to be shaving. In fact, I regularly skip days and often shave only 2 times a week...at night. When I DO shave I pretty much stick with the Tedalus razor I got earlier this year and a random sample of one of the CBL soaps I might be working on or have recently released. I can't complain about the quality or experience so other than laziness and fatigue I don't really have a reason to avoid shaving.
**HINT for my Rudolph buddy** I am thinking of getting a nice block of alum. I grow tired of using the broken shards of the hunk of alum that i dropped a couple years ago and am wondering if "real shaving alum" of some sort might be more beneficial and/or enjoyable.

Odds and ends

MY daughter had an interesting thing happen to her at university. She hasn't had to drive to school for two years so this current semester is her first in person attendance. On her 3rd day someone came running into her classroom yelling that there had been an explosion in the parking lot and cars were on fire. When she looked out she saw the fire AND her jeep, she of course thought her jeep was on fire or would be soon but campus police wouldn't let her get close until the fire department arrived. As it turned out someone drove their flaming car into the parking lot and decided that rather than stopping in the completely open drive way she would instead park behind my daughters jeep. The young ladies car ( a 2004 Jeta) proceeded to burn to the ground. Fortunately the police and fire department were able to keep the flames away from her jeep and cut out the melting rear window of her soft top to keep it from catching fire. My daughter was inconsolable as she watched the various Jurassic Park themed attachments melt away and her 'perfect' 1998 TJ take on a slightly BBQ'd appearance. The police and facilities manager stayed with her (and eventually my wife) as they waited for a flatbed to drag the melted mass from behind her so she could come home. Although one might assume this was an insurance slam dunk, the Jetta's owner had minimal insurance and that company is trying to say I need to find the cause of the fire and file my claim against the cause of the fire not them. Being an older jeep I had to find 'vintage' wheel parts, break light etc as well as a new soft top, and my son had to use his 3d printer to print a few parts but I was able to get it all fixed for about $550. I tried to impress upon the insurance company that it is in their best interest that they just pay me what I am asking for because if I have to proceed with a strong arm' apporach they will be forced to pay my body shop for all repairs and will be paying premium prices. One of the adjusters agreed with me but says the company is still investigating the potential for shifting blame to another source. My daughter wants to score a bigger $ amount so she can do more work on her Jurasic Park theme but I told her to remember SHE has had a much better outcome than the girl whose car is a lump of burnt metal ...and DAD is the one whose out the $550. On a 'positive' note, I am not 100% confident my daughter WON'T be able to handle a roadside emergency of ANY scale so I have made several members of one of our local volunteer off-road recovery group aware of her and asked that if they see her in any trouble to step up.

In other news.
As many of you are likely already aware, I recently moved the CBL soap labs/operation to a new location. This location was my old home office. This move seemed like a good idea at the time but NOW I find myself in a pickle. The lease on my current office space will end in December and I have been notified the building owner intends to occupy the building so my lease won't be renewed. This leaves me without a home office to return to and no location in January. I have begun the search for a new location and am finding very few viable options. Many locations are REALLY bad (location and/or state of repair) while others are far too large. I found one I REALLY like and played hell getting them to respond to me. I spoke to them yesterday and they told me they JUST accepted an application that will ultimately be accepted for the last available location. GRR. But they are considering breaking a larger unity that is coming available into several smaller spaces before year end YAY!. BUT they also have a ne tenant in the works who is ALSO in investment management. The building has no real walk up potential and I am fairly careful with who I bring in as clients so I have no objection to another investor being in the building BUT it turns out the other guy as actual from a company i worked with about 13 years ago so THEY may have an issue with ME being there. I like this place a lot but it certainly feels like I am being told NOT to relocate to there. Maybe I'll buy a storage container and convert it to a mancave-office.
Click to expand...
This is just like a shave journal without all that shaving nonsense.
 
Heckuv an update! I saw your first post and then was worried that even with the focus change, you’d forgotten to give an actual update 😂
 
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