It's the Little Things HNT

It's been one of those weeks. Nothing significant--just a lot of little things that pile up and get under your skin. Or my skin, at least. Why can't things just work the first time? Or in a logical manner?

• Digital cable box--With the fancy new TV, I figured it was about time to go digital, even though I don't watch much TV (though that could change). Plugged everything in, and it works perfectly, with the exception of NO AUDIO. Spent an hour and a half going through all the settings on the box and the TV to make sure there wasn't a weird setting. Yes, I check the 'mute' button. Finally broke down and spent half an hour with customer service, who were hit with an error message they'd never seen. Swap out the cable box for a replacement one, and everything will be peachy. Two cable boxes and two HDMI cables later, and 45 minutes with a nice man in India from the TV manufacturer, and I have to wait for up to two weeks for a service rep. The TV works fine with the cable plugged directly in, but not with the cable box.
• The less hours at work that I mentioned last month has been a little bit of a blessing, as I've had symphony stuff up the wazoo taking up that time. Unfortunately, the time spent at work has been non-stop work, and my usual routine of an occasional email, chat or blog surfing has been severely limited. Certain individuals are fully aware of that.
• Did I mention that someone dropped many thousands of dollars to buy the symphony new music stands and chairs? Someone (no names) has to find the time to assemble racks and stands... That's not so bad. We also got stand lights for those music stands. Whose brilliant idea was it to ship a majority of them in ONE box--totally unnecessary, and impossible to handle. Couldn't be split into TWO smaller boxes? And then to send the remainder from back order in another box?
• And those same stand lights--after unpacking them, I open one of the cartons and right there on the front of the box, "bulb not included". So now I have to find a cheap lot of specialty bulbs. Glad I checked ahead of time!
• I won't go into my continuing problems with the router at home.
• I switched to Progressive Insurance when I got the new car last summer. I got my renewal notice, and found that it rose almost $100. Then I realized that the coverages were different than I signed up for (that whole 'name your own price' thing). Why can't they just assume you're going to renew for the same coverage as before? Still, I really like Flo!
• iPhone or iPad? Don't know what to go for next. Though my current financial situation implies that it's not something I need to worry about any time soon...
• The dome light in my car. Won't turn off. Because there's a sensor that says a door is open. It's been like this for a week. Best advice I got from the dealership is to WD-40 the door latches, and hopefully the offending sensor will fix itself. Uh-huh. It's not so noticeable during the day, but it's sort of exposing while driving down the street at night.

In honor of the little things, I offer me and my dome light. At mid-afternoon...

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Miscommunication with this week's Mystery Guest, so we have none this week. Remember, if you're interested in being the MG, just email me for the 'complex' details! And if you've done it before, there's nothing that says you can't do it again!

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No problem in getting new pictures over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Stop by and see which of your fellow HNTers are over there! Leave lots of comments, too! NSFW, as usual. Ed. note: For reasons mentioned below, OHNT might be posted later than usual.

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Stop by and check out the latest adventure of the OsShirt. Legs, water, bocci balls, oh my!

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As mentioned above, time (or lack of it) has made me a bad blogger. Stuff that should have been written, but weren't include:

• NFL playoffs--The Patriots won't be in the Super Bowl. That grants the Jets my "favored" status going into Pittsburgh. Though I still dislike the Jets. Actually, none of the AFC teams do anything for me. On the NFC side, the Packers/Bears should be a great game. Too bad that can't be a Super Bowl game... Rooting for the Pack. My Super Bowl prediction: Packers 38 - Jets 21.
• A truly happy moment on Monday--I got a postcard from Hawaii! Shizzle is over there right now, and might very well never leave! What a convenient reason to visit!
• Another high point happens tonight. I won't be around because I have a dinner/beer date! With No One Special (you might need an invite to get on there)! She's #21 over there in my sidebar if you don't know what she looks like. She's in town for a couple of days, so we had to get together!