Your Saturday, My Friday
Ah, the last day of the work week for me so it's my Friday night. Probably the most annoying thing that happened at work today was the fact that my task "inbox" held more tasks than any one person, including superman, could possibly have done in one day. In fact, it was more than I could have done over three consecutive slow days (and Saturday is not a slow day.) There's no way they can hold me accountable for the 72 tasks left in my box at the end of the day so it's not that I'm worried about getting in trouble, I just find it annoying. Those 72 other things actually needed to get done and no one bothered to find additional resources to make it possible. Ah well, I'm not a manager anymore so I can just let it go without another thought.

Tonight I hooked up the old laptop (no longer used for work) to the stereo so we can play our vast music collection from our various hard drives rather than digging through stacks of CDs looking for that one song that we just have to hear NOW. It's a bit hard to find a specific CD when we have what must be over 1000 CDs by now - not sure how many we actually have since we stopped counting years ago when we hit 800. It didn't turn out to be as easy a task as I anticipated since the versions of i-tunes on the laptop and my desktop weren't compatible. Not a huge problem, just needed to update, but then the update wouldn't install. I eventually got it sorted out, but after spending all day helping people with their recalcitrant computers, I really didn't need to experience an evening of my dealing with my own. But once it was all up and running, much fun was had. Unfortunately not all our music has been ripped to a hard drive yet so it's not quite just a few clicks to hear the exact song what we want, but eventually...

IRELAND

There's this wetback at work that wears a t shirt that says Ireland on it with a shamrock below.He got it at target (I know this because I have the exact same shirt,bought at Target and it came with a ball cap that also says Ireland with a shamrock).
He wears this shirt at least 3 times a week which tells me he is either woefully short of work clothes or he thinks he's fuckin' Irish.Or,probably more to the point,he has no idea the insult he's broadcasting by wearing the damn thing.
He was on the elevator from hell in that shirt the other day with a bunch of us english speaking people and I commented on his choice of apparel in a less than flattering way.
Disgust really,and suggested that I was going to buy one of those "100% Honduran vato" shirt the next time I was at the wetback,I mean flea market just to see how they like it when a white guy subsidizes their cultural iconography.He might pretend that he doesn't understand english,but by the look on his face he knew exactly what I was talking about.
I'm not Irish,but my mom was north country english near Scotland,which is kinda close to Ireland,which,historically makes us all Celtic I think.Or at the very least Teutonic. (HA!My mother was so ironic...).
I love Irish folklore and this wetback has no clue about Ireland and it's history,he just got a deal on a work shirt at fucking target.
So,that's the plan...next time I'm at the market I'm buying the most obnoxious wetback pride shirt I can find and I'm wearing it to work.
Fuck those guys.

Food
I came home at lunch which usually means I have about 20 minutes to fix something and eat. Today, however, I couldn't just let the dogs out back to do their thing while I fixed lunch because of the snake. Instead, I spent a good chunk of time taking them out front on the leash which wouldn't have taken so long if they hadn't thought they were going for a walk. They were a bit confused as to why we were just standing in the yard, but they did eventually figure it out. This left me just enough time to stuff some cheese in a pita pocket and wolf it down. I had skipped breakfast earlier so by the time I got home I was starving. Not much in the house to eat, but there was a raw potato. I sliced it thin and pan-fried it in some butter for a snack before I went to the grocery store. Money is tight and I need to keep a good hold on the purse strings so going to the store on an empty stomach is not the way to go. Tonight's shopping trip was all about finding cheap meals. The problem I always run into with cheap is that the cheapest stuff tends to be processed foods such as canned goods, soups, sausage, hot dogs, etc. and they all have way more salt than my body can handle. Not to mention they are usually pretty unhealthy in other ways (too much fat, MSG, and mystery additives.) Fresh meat and veggies are ridiculously expensive in comparison, but I did luck out and find some ground pork and some pork loin strips for $1.99/pound. We'll be eating a lot of eggs since that's another cheap source of protein. I splurged on some fresh carrots to make my carrot/cheese soup. I bought the inevitable jars of peanut butter and jelly along with a cheap loaf of bread for inexpensive sammies. And of course, cheese. As far as I'm concerned, if there's cheese in the house, then I have the makings for a meal since cheese plus most anything (bread, veggies, eggs, leftover meat) makes a meal. Heck, I've been known to make a meal out of just cheese. In fact, that's what I had for lunch on several days of my vacation, but I admit it was expensive Gouda cheese that I bought with the money my parents give me for my birthday. The cheese I bought today was cheap cheese and not so good just by itself. But it would do in a pinch. I bought some other assorted odds and ends, but 1/4 of the $40 I spent went towards a big bag of dry dogfood. And while it might be a bit of a boring diet for the dogs, they'll probably end up with a better balance of nutrition than us humans will. There's bound to be a way to eat cheap *and* healthy - hopefully that's something Rob and I will figure out over these next few months of lean times.

Back to the Grind

I've had two days back at work and this morning I'll be heading that way for day number three. Since coming back, I've been chastised for my performance which is annoying when you consider I had been off the phones for well over a year and never was trained on any of the calls I take now. Ah well, it's par for the course at that company. There are a lot of reasons to not like this job, but I think the biggest one is that I'm very isolated. I talk to customers once, maybe twice if I have to call them back with additional information and then move on to the next stranger. There's no interaction with co-workers, very little interaction with management (and that's usually negative) and no teamwork. I suppose it's not that much different than being a manager, but at least I interacted with my employees and had the opportunity to talk to other managers. I would be much happier working at Jack-in-the-Box, but can't afford the pay cut right now. And so I will slog back into work. I'm so excited... NOT.

COTTON MOUTH!

No...not the end result of smoking pot,but the snake, native to Texas,common around this part of Texas.I have dealt with them many times over the years,but this is kind of creepy.
When I got home from work today my neighbor approached me before I could get out of my truck and told me they had seen a moccasin between our houses,a big fat one,and before he could retrieve his pellet gun and shoot it,it slithered into our back yard.
Great...
I'm sure they are migrating up from the creek behind our houses(which are dry)in search of water and food...and our back yard is a gold mine.Heavy trees and vegetation,an old turtle pond that still has water in it and a shitload of hoppy toads to feast on.Not to mention my remaining turtles water bowls in the green house.
I loaded up the shotgun with #8 shot and did a reconnoiter of the back yard,I made it to the corner of the greenhouse and considered the considerable canopy that lay before me.I turned around and went back in the house.I don't relish the thought of a "big fat" moccasin dropping out of a tree and biting me on the head.Delivering a serious hemotoxic surprise.
I'm fast,but I'm not that fast...not to mention the whole discharging a fire arm in city limits thing.
I'm pretty sure it is in the old black river turtle pond in the far corner of the yard,nearest my neighbors back yard...ground level water supply near the sub floor of the shed (hoppy toad heaven).
One things for sure,Theo is shitting out front until I figure out how to remove this threat.
Dammit!

F TROOP

No,not the stupid calvary show from the 60's starring Larry Storch,we started an F unit this morning.One bedroom,somewhat bigger than the J unit we finished yesterday but with a more linear design.Less twists and turns.
We had our boxes lined out and mounted and were pulling in mc (wire) in under 2 hours.
By the end of the day we were 60% done.With any luck,we'll be as done as we can be by the end of the day tomorrow.
I'm sure there are many factors contributing to this amazing speed.
1.The basic circuitry is the same for all units,do it a few times and it becomes almost second nature.
2.Problems that present themselves are less confounding because we have trouble shot similar ones in different units,trouble shooting is less time consuming as a result.
3.I am for some reason,thinking more clearly these days and moving faster. (?!:))I am also much more comfortable in giving my crew (down to one) direction.
4.My crew(down to one)has gained confidence,and being 19,has a lot of energy.Did I mention his name is Kyle?Every time I call him by name I think of my son.he's a good kid and has started calling me "boss",which is a good thing.I try to share my knowledge with him and when he makes a mistake I redirect him in an encouraging way and not make him feel like a dumbass.
The other 2 members of my crew were summoned to the hall late last week to swear in.
After all was said and done the local "ambushed" them with a drug screening.They failed and were suspended for 90 days when they can come back and re-test and get re-instated.
I say "ambush" because they weren't told up front about the screening,which I think is kinda shitty/sneaky.
On the other hand,I agree that non-hackers should be weeded out (no pun intended).But these guys were not strung out fuck ups.One was a young kid who still lived at home and was struggling with learning a good work ethic,but in my estimation clearly making progress with common issues of showing up on time and communicating with the foreman when he was going to miss work.He has a bit of an attitude,but nothing gross.
The other is a 30 something guy with a better than decent work ethic.When the younger one was fired first,he told me he had never been fired in his life and resigned before it happened to avoid a blemish on his record.
I knew these guys from work,so I'm not privy to how they live away from the job but based on how they performed on the job,I didn't see a "substance abuse problem".
Admittedly,I still have a very social work approach to issues about job/life and drugs.You addressed it when it became "an issue" on the job and provided treatment and more times than not,they retained employment.
But this is decidedly different.We electricians face the possibility of serious injury and death every day by virtue of what we work with.I agree that the line has to be clearer and more absolute but haven't come to a conclusion to where that line should be.
But door knobbing a screen on new members after they were sworn in strikes me as kind of shitty.

TREE OF LIFE



Our new window covers...soothing to look at and full of meaning for us both.
This will be the cover of the next wolves CD,and it's title.
Interconnected and all that.

We've got another hour or so to complete the "j" unit at the job...it's the first one I've taken from zero to 100% as far as rough in...me and my crew in my estimation have done a good job.
Something to be proud of...whatever idiot spends 240,000 dollars on this shitbox,they can be sure if it burns down, the electricians had nothing to do with it.
Th'Rev and his crew wired your condo,person with more money than sense,and you can be assured we wired it right...now step out on your balcony and breath in the smell of homeless urine and grease traps lining the alleys of your downtown experience...you paid for it,ENJOY.
Idiots.

ITS ALWAYS BEEN RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE

Ann and I are like hermits sometimes,just hanging out together at the house with the dogs and approximating social shut ins,which is cool with us.For a time we had the neighborly thing going on,hanging out on the porch regularly with Jen,but she has a boyfriend now so we don't see her so much.
Now that I've shined on the fair weather friends,I mean really,enough is enough.Our social vistas shrunk even more,not that Ann was a big fan to begin with...when we first hooked up with them we had money,the band was going full tilt and we threw parties all the time,generous to a fault on that level...not extravagant (unless cases of orange jubilee count, but somehow I don't think so)we provided the place and the food and beverage and the entertainment.
But when times got hard and we couldn't afford to do that kind of stuff anymore the contact dwindled.To my estimation,and for lack of a better descriptor,we weren't "cool" anymore.
The fact of the matter is we haven't been "cool" for 15 or 20 years (at least)our money and our generosity made it so.
But to the small circle of friends we've had since we were very young,none of that matters.
Sure,they were there for the parties and the jams and the good times.But they were also the ones that hung around to help clean up and put away the ton of gear,and sit around in the living room afterward and visit after everybody else went home.
So...were out in dripping yesterday,hanging out with Bill and Mick and their kids and dogs,and I'm looking at this guy with the gray 'fro and (small for 51) pot belly listening to him tell stories and I'm telling stories while he's looking at my potbellied graying self and it occurs to me the magnitude of what we have been through...a fucking life time of memories that don't always line up the same way,but that's what happens with the passage of time ("Ah,yes,I remember it well").
And I remember thinking this is where I should have been the whole time,and while I was kinda...I know where I want to be from here on out.
To quote a great philosopher..."Blah-blah-blah".

Hodgepodge
An assortment of things:

THE BEST SORT OF GARDEN SUCCESS
Last fall Rob threw some honeydew melon seeds in a pot. It was a store bought melon from who knows where, but he thought "what the hell." It was fall so I expected nothing to come of this. But it grew a bit, then winter came and since we had a really mild winter it stuck around. Then in February it started growing again and continued growing all through the weird, very wet summer we had here. We gave it absolutely no attention - no watering, no fertilizer, no pest control, no tending at all. And lo and behold the other day I spotted a softball sized melon. The powers of nature are just amazing - to think that we can throw some seeds in a pot, ignore them for a year and end up with a melon...

BIRTHDAY BLUES
Yesterday was my birthday. It's the first one where I've ever felt *old*. And for reasons I still haven't figured out entirely, I was sad. I know some of it had to do with my work situation - something I hadn't thought about all week, but was on my mind when I woke up yesterday morning. I'm sure there was more to it than that, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was bothering me. Either way, the mood has passed and I'm not going to waste time figuring out what it was all about unless it returns. Maybe one just has to get the blues once in a while, no specific reason needed.

CHILLIN' IN DRIPPIN'
We spent the afternoon today out at Bill's place near Dripping Springs. The weather was perfect, the company fabulous (always a treat to hang out with Micki and Bill) and I felt much more birthday-ish than yesterday. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than hanging out with people you love in an idyllic setting.

THE END IS NEAR
My vacation is quickly coming to a close, but it's not entirely over so I was a bit annoyed when work contacted me this morning to see if I would come in today because no one else was scheduled. Jeez, it's not like I needed a reminder of just how utterly clueless this company is. And I'm going back to this place? Well, I suppose it is better than nothing. But just barely. Pizza delivery is staring to look more attractive and I've long suspected I might have a career in dry-cleaning since there's an old radio commercial for a dry cleaners that has been stuck in my head since the 60's. "One hour Martinizing, the world's most popular dry-cleaning..."
Them: "Why are you applying for this job?"
Me: "Because your jingle has been running through my head for 40 years!"

THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF REASON

A hackneyed line from platoon,I know,but watching him dig that hole and wonder about his circumstance has always been a metaphor for me...
People should sometimes evaluate why they are here,and for most of my adult life I always thought I was here to help others,and I did.But somewhere along the line it got fuzzy...why was this helping thing making me so angry and resentful?
I know I've been over this ground before,but bear with me.As I get older the plot thickens,I see things in different lights.
I've been sick recently...nothing major (I hope) just a consequence of the dust and heat and nastiness in the tower of evil,when I first started there I couldn't wait to leave...a couple of days has turned into months,and you know what?If my foreman told me I was being sent to another job I would protest and decline.As bad as it is,we are on a mission.Anyway,my illness has cut into my drinking significantly...to the point of where sobers not so bad.
You know it's been a long road since I started this electrician thing,somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 years.I embraced the culture as I experienced it...a bunch of drunken yahoos,bent on electrical work and self destruction.I was good at it.Mostly because I had that self destruct gene already,and it was easy to fall into a cycle of work/fucked up.I'm not so fucked up anymore.Recent events have helped me to see that I was on a self destruct path,and while it made for some amusing pictures...that ain't me,despite my attempts to make it so.
I'm bitter,I'm angry,I'm cynical,but I'm not a fool.

Domestic Day
I spent the last four days doing nothing. Well, I suppose you could count playing Sim City 4, listening to Pandora radio and taking naps as doing something, but those are all pretty passive activities. Most people that know me would expect I'd play World of Warcraft or The Sims on my vacation, but those games required more thought and strategy than I was willing to invest. I was more interested in turning my brain off for a while and Sim City 4, when played a certain way, is quite effective in that regard. I also didn't study for my ham radio exam so I won't be taking the test tomorrow. I just wasn't in the mood to study and it didn't make sense to do something I didn't want to do on my vacation. So after four days of downtime, I realized this morning I just how much stress had peeled away when I discovered that I wanted to clean the kitchen. Folks, it's been years since I've wanted to do any sort of housework. So today I cleaned the kitchen, swept the hall, did laundry, cooked dinner and baked bread. Unlike my mother, I have no great passion for housework and I definitely didn't achieve a state of bliss, but it wasn't the chore that it usually seems to be. I have a theory that housework wasn't such a big deal back when my life was more in balance as opposed to the last couple of years when I'd rather be shot than clean the kitchen. I suspect that theory might just have been proven today.

Hmmm...

Nicked from Rob below who nicked it from Blue Witch

You scored as Existentialism, Your life is guided by the concept of Existentialism: You choose the meaning and purpose of your life. “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” “It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.” --Jean-Paul Sartre “It is man's natural sickness to believe that he possesses the Truth.” --Blaise Pascal More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Existentialism 95% Utilitarianism 90% Hedonism 80% Kantianism 55% Justice (Fairness) 45% Strong Egoism 35% Apathy 10% Nihilism 0% Divine Command 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

Interesting. I've done a fair amount of reading in my life, but I was never able to slog through Nietzsche or Sartre.

PHILOSOPHY AND KITCHEN INGENUITY

I got this from blue witch...

You scored as Justice (Fairness), Your life is guided by the concept of Fair Justice: Everyone, yourself included, should be rewarded and punished according to the help or harm they cause. "He who does not punish evil commands it to be done." --Leonardo da Vinci “Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.” --Dwight D. Eisenhower More info at Arocoun's Wikipedia User Page... Justice (Fairness) 100% Hedonism 90% Existentialism 75% Utilitarianism 65% Strong Egoism 35% Divine Command 25% Kantianism 25% Nihilism 15% Apathy 0% What philosophy do you follow? (v1.03) created with QuizFarm.com

Go figure...

The last time I had quevos ranchero's at the house I used a green chile enchilada sauce and thought this would make an awesome soup.
So I tried it tonight,with mixed results.It a bit too salty.Next time I'll get low sodium chicken broth and that should take care of the problem.Otherwise,it was pretty damn tasty.

GREEN CHILE SOUP WITH CHICKEN AND CORN

1 can hatch green chile enchilada sauce (medium heat)
1 can chicken broth (low sodium)
1 small can corn (no sodium)
1/2 package of diced chicken breast (about 6-8 oz.)
-a can opener-
Open and combine ingredients in a 2 qt. sauce pan
Bring to a boil
Simmer for 20 minutes

And that's it...very simple.

VALUE MEALS

Catty corner to the job site is the downtown Omni hotel,They have a breakfast buffet and sell it to go by the pound.I've been going there on morning break and the value is amazing.
Today I got half a mini quiche,2 eggs scrambled w/ cheese and 4 slices of bacon for $3.72.Yesterday I got half a breakfast quesadilla,4 slices of bacon and a link of sausage for $2.17.
The weather has been kind to us this week...mid 80's for the highs which makes the tower of evil more like the tower of mischief,I mean,the elevators still suck and all the other elements of suckery are still in place,but we aren't sweating like rats fucking in a wool sock in july.The moss fell off my back this afternoon!I was giddy!
Season finale' of Rescue Me on in less than an hour!
HOO WHEE!

HEB-NOW OFFICIALLY HELL ON EARTH

My local HEB has the features of most grocery stores and practices diverse hiring practices,there are people of all creeds and colors,lots of tattooed men and women,goths,punks,disabled people and deaf people.
One of the cooler aspects of the deaf employees is that they work the registers,which to me is a refreshing sign of a truly equal opportunity employer.
What makes my HEB hell on earth are the customers,"guest workers" wives with their impossibly large gangs of progeny running around and screaming and crying like a whirlwind around moms cart while mom is totally acting like it's normal and socially acceptable...multiply this by 50 and you'll get an idea.Then there are the half way house/retard streamlined crowd...I got out of social work for a reason,and the last thing I want do is run into one of my old patients who lives nearby in a county subsidized apartment and wants to talk about the old days like we went to fucking college together or something.This happens...more than I like.
And then there are the crazy old ladies who, once it's time for them to check out at the register,frequently check out for real and don't recognize items in their carts,deny placing items in the cart or suddenly can't remember if they wanted 5 bananas or just three.
Speaking of the registers,like all groceries,they have regular checkout,express 10 items or less (by the way "guest worker wives" can't count,and after years of putting up with this shit,I too have conveniently forgotten how to count to TEN).I do it with impunity.
I'd like to make a suggestion to my local HEB after tonights crazy old lady episode.
Have regular checkout,eliminate 10 items or less and replace it with 10 to 35 items or less and introduce retard check out and crazy old lady check out.But,NEVER,EVER let your deaf cashiers work the retard/crazy old lady registers.
It's a miracle that poor cashiers head didn't explode as crazy old lady ran her back and forth to the rolling tobacco display no less than SIX times (which also means six ring ups and overrides....you have to get a manager to do the overrides) Drum in a can...NO WAIT!2 drum in pouches!NO WAIT!Kite in a can!NO WAIT!2 Bugler in pouches!Hey!Where's my chicken?I KNOW I HAD SOME CHICKEN!NO...That AIN'T MY CHICKEN!
And so it went.
I felt sorry for them both,but mostly I wanted to check the fuck out and go home.
When it was finally my turn,I handed the cashier my empty pack and signaled "2"...which got me a warm smile.

VACATION!
I clocked out at work today at 5:00 PM CST and won't be clocking back in until 8:00 AM September 19th. Because I worked weekends and had a rotating schedule as a manager, I always got screwed on the vacation time and never had the two "weekend days" plus the "five days vacation pay" followed by two more "weekend days" that most people get. My schedule isn't much different with this new position except that now I'm allowed to take the full shebang when it comes to a week's vacation. It's ironic because this position doesn't come anywhere close to the amount of stress and hours of the other one, yet provides better vacation opportunities. Go figure.

I didn't make a whole lot of plans for this week off since part of the appeal is to get up when ever I want and do whatever I want without any structure. I do plan to head down to one of the farmer's markets on Wednesday morning to pick up some real food for a few good home cooked meals. Beyond that, I suspect there will be some bread baking, some video game playing and maybe some green bean planting. And I *might* sew myself a few skirts, though I'd have to drag my sewing machine out of the back storage room and clean it up first (not to mention finding a place to put it.) That might be a bit more "work" than I want to do on my vacation. So tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up and decide what I want to do at that point and go from there. And I may find that I decide to do nothing at all which is quite okay with me.

Oh by the way, I fixed the rear window on my car - not sure exactly how I managed to coax that motor to start working again, but now that the window is back up I just need to be careful not to accidentally hit the switch and roll it down again. And I suppose I should probably put the door panel back on at some point lest I drive it for years that way like my friend LT did with his Chevy Beretta.

Car Repair 101 - Know Your Limitations
Tonight the driver's side rear window on my car decided to not roll up anymore. The car has power windows (not my choice, it came that way) and the driver's side front window had already given up the ghost by refusing to roll down. Now I prefer windows that don't roll down even if it means sweltering in a car without air conditioning and was willing to leave the front window well enough alone until such time as I could afford to get it fixed professionally (appears to need a new regulator/motor assembly.) But a window that doesn't roll up leaves my back seat open to the elements and my car open to theft of contents. That was enough to get me to take off the door panel tonight and see if I could figure out some way to get the window back up. Well, no insights were forthcoming from peering into the openings on the door frame and I ran out of daylight before I could run some jumper wires to the motor to confirm my initial diagnosis that that the motor is fried. Now in my younger days, I would have probably drug out the worklight (oops, don't have one anymore) and started disassembling various components to try and get the damn window up. Most likely I would have stayed up most of the night and accomplished nothing. But I'm older now and a bit wiser and I'd rather throw some plastic over the opening and get a good nights sleep before I go to work tomorrow. And if I have to drive it with plastic on the window and stop using it as an auxiliary storage closet until I can pay to get it fixed, so be it. Although I do think I'll take a spin by the library next week to see if they have a repair manual that could give me a clue on how to get that motor out of there to replace it.

P.S. I just realized we had failed to link to this post by Blue Witch. If you are thinking about buying a MESH computer, read this first.

KITCHEN INGENUITY

When I was young,my family hit hard times every once in...fuck it,a lot.My mom had to be creative when it came to meals during those times and she was a master at doing magical things with seemingly unrelated left overs.
My mom also insisted that I learn to cook (among other "wifely" things,because I may not have a wife to "do it for me"...how provincial:)).Anyway...neither of us could be bothered with a trip to the grocery for dinner,so I improvised with what we had around the house.
I will call this "white trash goulash" regardless of how it turns out.

Ingredients:
2 grilled chicken thighs...skinned and cubed
1 1/2 country style grilled pork ribs cubed
1 southside market garlic sausage link thin sliced
1/2 can spiced diced tomato
1 can ranch style beans

2 cups egg noodles

Combine meat,saute.Which is french for reheat.
Add diced tomato...bring to boil then simmer till the Beverly Hillbilly's is over.
Add ranch style beans and bring to a boil again,then half way through The Dukes of Hazard or after Green Acres(depending on which TV land feed you have),simmer..."fer a bit".
At some point boil up some egg noodles...drain them.
Spoon meat sauce stuff over noodles,crack a cheap beer and click over to the NASCAR channel.
Saltines are optional.
Bon appetite'!

SHORT WEEK,BUT LONG...

We got a day and a half off for labor day so this was a 4 day week...payday comes earlier,the weekend comes earlier and these kinds of weeks generally pass by in the blink of an eye.
Not so this one.It was like 6 days crammed into 4.In addition to the unrelenting pace,the heat,the broken ice machine(= no cold water),the elevators from hell,and the incessant chatter and general feral behavior of our "guest workers",I'll remind you that I cut myself several times,tried to drill a hole in my hand and projectile vomited tuna salad in front of my coworkers...all in 4 days.
To say that 3:30pm friday couldn't get here fast enough is a gross understatement.
Up until today,the big push was to get the bathroom ceilings ready for inspection by today,this involved some can lights(easy),an exhaust fan(also easy) and a disconnect for the air conditioner(a gigantic pain in the ass).This disconnect has to be above the ceiling yet accessible for service through the scuttle (or access) hole.The problem was the units are so small That the ceilings are cram packed with the AC unit and ducts,the sprinkler pipes,and fire alarm shit,leaving precious little room for the disconnect.Being that I am the most experienced person on the crew,it fell on me to suss it out.I took the stance that if I were a service guy,where would I want the disconnect to be located in the less likely place to A:cause you to cut yourself on the razor sharp studs,B:you would be able to fit the needed tools to provide the service,and C:wouldn't cause you to cuss like a salty old sailor the whole time you were doing said service.I've done a dozen or so of these devices,but for this particular unit there were only 4 floors.The first took an hour and a half and by the time the race was done on thursday afternoon,the last one took me less than 45 minutes.The good news this morning was we passed inspection!Hooray me and my crew!!!
Today was spent making up panels in other units,a welcome change from the bathroom ceiling marathon...making up panels gives me the chance to ply my craft,to bend wires artistically,symmetrically and sensibly.So when someone comes along a year or so down the road,they can open up the panel and know without question what's happening and have a clear path to work with.Panels are a matter of pride really...the goal being to have future electricians who have to service them think "whoever terminated this panel had their shit together" rather than "what monkey tried to fuck this football???DAMMIT!"
And with that I bid you good night.

OUCH

I was driving a self tapping screw into a metal stud this morning with a drill when the screw shot off north and the drill shot off south,still spinning,right into the web between my thumb and index finger.I was pushing hard so the phillips tip in the drill went all the way into my hand (1/4 inch maybe).It hurt like a mofo.Being a magnetic tip it had little bits of metal it deposited into the hole it made.Thankfully my tetanus is current.The contractor has not replenished the first aid kits on the individual floors like it said it was going to do 2 weeks ago,so I had to descend in the elevator from hell to our staging area to deal with it.
I dug the metal bits out and cleaned it and bandaged it and went back to work.
Thank goodness for nursing school.On my ride back up in the E.F.H I ruminated on how my life would be now had I actually graduated from nursing school and become an RN.And I concluded that I would be in the ER of the city hospital picking metal bits out of some pussies hand that couldn't deal with it himself.
I had a bit of a chuckle on that thought.

SUBHUMANS AT EMO'S SEPTEMBER 11

They are back again,and the timing is interesting to me because back in 2004 the same guy ghosted me at their show that ghosted me for the Slayer show this past weekend,only this time he didn't drink up 20 dollars of my money,got a free ticket,and took my money down the road to buy pizza and after I tracked him down had the audacity to insult me and my kindness.
My only regret is that I didn't have the opportunity to hit him with something more substantial than a poster.
And that is the troubling difference between 2004 and the present.I've been thinking about this for a while,and while all people grow and change through experience,I'm not pleased with the emotional changes I've gone through since my induction into the world of construction.
Had the subhumans thing happened in 06 or 07,I would have been more inclined to shank his ass,or at the very least kicked him out of his chair with a few more for good measure.
And I don't know if that's a sign of regression or an acceptance of reality,the line is so blurred for me at this point that I can't tell you honestly if I'm finally adjusted to the world we live in,or relegated to the base instincts of a populace that has been debased and shit on enough that they are want to rise up and strike out.(you know...the myth of the middle class in america).It's not just about concerts and asshole friends...it's about asshole employers and the world politic and the insanity unfolding around us that contributes to my distress...it's a breakdown of the basic structure.
In 04 I was able to let it go and amble on as if,but not so much now in 07.
I have no tolerance anymore as far as my personal life is concerned.
The WORLD is in turmoil...and here I am,still dealing with this monkey shit.It's confounding to me and to quote the horse man from Ren and Stimpy,"No sir...I don't like it".
I don't like it at all.

LONG NIGHT-LONG DAY

I was just uncomfortable enough to have a hard time going to sleep and woke up about every hour through the night.Ann's picked up my "summer cold" and as a result is doing the benedryl shuffle and snoring like a freight train,between that and Theo chewing on himself almost every time I stirred,it made for a miserable night.
But I $oldiered on into the T.O.E this morning because we need the money.Upon reflection,I should have stayed home.Upon further reflection,I'm glad I didn't.Another crew was trimming out (installing plugs and switches) a condo I had wired over a month ago with a green helper and mistakes were made by us both.Nothing major or glaring,just our thinking about wiring sequence at the time confounded the other crew and we were put on the spot to remember why we did what we did a 1000 miles of wire and plugs ago.
I take mistakes very much to heart,and plus not feeling 100% led to a stress headache and some unneeded embarrassment.In the end,we straightened it out in about an hour and it was all good,but I was glad to get home.
What bothers me about this episode the most though is I have been placed in a position of quasi authority over helpers with a year or less experience.I'm not a journeyman yet and the situation calls for me to make decisions and give direction that weigh heavy on me.I take pride in my work and value my coworkers respect of the same.To look like a dumbass (my perception)in front of them is hard.
But,on the other hand,it's valuable experience and I have learned a great deal since wiring that condo.The concept is clearer to me now.
Rescue Me in an hour!Another great show.

Hot Potato
There was a call I took yesterday that took the hot potato method of customer service to the extreme. This call was transferred to me from the billing department. We had placed a repair ticket for the customer earlier that day, but the customer received a phone call that he didn't have service and "had not been paying for it" so the repair ticket was canceled. The customer was rather upset at being told this when he had, in fact, been paying for the service since 2002 and so he called the billing department who confirmed that he did have service and then transferred the customer to me. Unfortunately, the customer needed to go to the Line Repair department that had canceled the ticket and I suppose I could have transferred him there and been done with the call. However, these sort of calls usually take about 30 to 45 minutes to straighten things out and this customer was definitely ready to cancel service so I decided to make the call myself and call the customer back with the results. It took me TWO HOURS on the phone before I had a new repair ticket issued. The initial call to Line Repair resulted in an emphatic "there is no service on this line and so there will be no ticket" and a transfer back to billing. Billing insisted there was service on the line and transferred me back to Line Repair. Line Repair said billing needed to do something and transferred me back to billing. Billing said they couldn't do anything and Line Repair needed to do something and transferred me back to Line Repair. Line Repair repeated that billing had to do something and transferred me back to billing. Billing this time agreed with Line Repair and suddenly the customer didn't have service. When I point out that billing reps A & B had found service on the line, billing rep C talked to billing rep A and decided that yes, he did have service, but there was still nothing they could do and transferred me back to Line Repair. This Line Repair rep was quite possibly the rudest rep I have ever dealt with and flat out refused to get me to a supervisor stating no supervisors were available. I explained to her that I didn't need a supervisor to make a complaint, but simply needed someone higher up that could take a deeper look at the database to see why the records between the two departments did not agree and perhaps do manual ticket or flag the account or otherwise figure out how to get a repair tech out to the customer's location. Eventually I got a supervisor who did figure out how to place a ticket for a customer that simultaneously had service, but did not have service. I don't know what she did, but I hope it worked. And quite frankly, if I had been a customer, I'm pretty sure I would have canceled service somewhere around the second transfer to billing and not put up with any of it.

HIGH VELOCITY LUNCH

I went to subway and got lunch today.Initially,I was going for the special,a cold cut combo,but the customer in front of me ordered a tuna salad with provolone and that sounded good to me,so I followed his lead and ordered one as well.
About 45 minutes after lunch I started to feel quite ill,clammy and sweaty.It wasn't the usual blast furnace heat of the T.O.E because it was rainy and didn't break 85 today.
Right around 2 this afternoon I was walking from the living room to the bathroom to finish an installation of a disconnect switch when...BLAMMO!My lunch flew out of my mouth with a ferocity that makes Linda Blair's little exorcist thing pale in comparison.I took three more steps into the bathroom and BLAMMO!It happened again.Much to the grossing out of my co workers.
As much as the general labor force annoy me,I couldn't just leave not one but two puddles of emesis for them to clean up,so I diluted it with water and covered it with this material they use to sweep that holds down dust.
I haven't felt right since and am going to bed to watch damages...a really good show,BTW...

'Cane Watch
A little short on sleep today because I stayed up late watching Hurricane Felix. Of course, I wasn't watching it in person, but thanks to the internet I had all sorts of satellite pictures and charts of T#s and other statistics to view along with interesting commentary from hobbyists and professional meteorologists on assorted blogs and forums. It was almost as fun as the hurricane watches I used to do with my dad, back before the days of computers when we would hand track the path on a paper chart by listening to reports on the ham radio. I say almost as fun because even though there is more information on the internet and the satellite pictures were amazing to see (right as it was happening instead of in grainy black and white photographs days later), it just wasn't the same. Sentences typed in a blog, forum or chat don't carry quit the thrill of hearing the actual voices and personalities of the commentators crackling over the radio and searching for a blog of someone who might live in the affected area that might happen to be writing at the time wasn't near as much fun as figuring out how to make radio contact to that part of the world. But what was missing most of all was the sharing of it in person with a fellow enthusiast, one who was excited as I was about every new update or report from the hurricane hunter aircraft. Ah Dad, you probably have no idea how much fun I had or that I even remember those times so fondly. I'll have to mention it next time we talk.

KISSES FROM THEO

Very special things.You don't get them very often,but I have been the recipient of several recently and to that I owe the brush and the leash.I have been going out of my way to give him the life of riley in his twilight time and it's paying off for us both.Theo gets spoiled big time and I get to remember why I love him so much.
And kisses!Gentle caresses from a dog that hates face time as a rule makes me proud,that he loves me so much he would give me a kiss...if you don't get this or think it's weird,that's cool.
I was supposed to go see Slayer yesterday in San Antonio.I was out on my porch at the designated time and no friends...The next thing I know Ann is home from work wondering why I'm still here.I call my friend and they tell me they knocked on my door and called my cell and blah blah blah...they fucking blew me off.
I mean,I was the designated driver...so that means sober,and I was.
I don't know what happened,one minute I was on the porch waiting for them,the next I was saying hello to Ann.They said they called me several times,but my phone shows no record of this.My final words to them were "FUCK you guys!"
I was angry,my feelings were hurt,I wasn't sure what had happened,and I'm still not.
Marginal friends,though long term marginal friends,but after yesterday,friends no more.
Which brings me back to Theo,and Sully,and Beenz and Buddy and Cypress and Skeeter and Diamond and Sunday and Murphy and all the strays in between,my best friends have always been canine since I can remember.They would jump off a cliff for me and I for them.
Now that's pals.

A FUNNY STORY FROM THE T.O.E

As I was heading down for lunch today,my hands were especially dirty having spent the morning cutting away sheetrock placed over areas that I was:A)not done doing my electric work,but the sheetrockers think they are in a race,B)The plans changed...AGAIN
or...C)They like putting a fucking on me.
Anyway...I stopped by the bathroom on the second floor to wash my hands and 2 of my coworkers were there doing the same.One of them has a business on the side and regularly takes calls on his cell.It rang,he answered,having trouble hearing over the running water from the sinks,he stepped into a stall.Stalls that are equipped with motion sensing flushers.
My other co-worker started chuckling and said "you know what's gonna happen when he moves in there...that toilet gonna flush".
And he did,and it did and we lost it.
In an attempt to bow out gracefully,he said to the caller"Let me call you back in 5 minutes".This was cause for increased hilarity and loud guffaws from us.
And for the rest of the day every time we crossed paths in the satanic elevators one of us would say "***'* carpet cleaning....KA-FWOOOOOSH"!And fall out laughing.
Let me call you back in 5...man:)

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
Let me see if I can remember what has happened since Friday. Saturday was my day off and I spent it doing laundry and working on tickets from home unpaid (yes, for free) because I am an idiot and cared way too much about the customers' line repair tickets getting done in a timely manner. People at work consider me crazy and I can't blame them, but it wasn't just an effort to keep the company from getting into hot water when the work wasn't done on time. It was also because the customers were the ones that were going to suffer and have serious delays in getting their problem fixed if those tickets weren't done. Yeah, I'm stupid enough to care if Joe Blow in Podunk, NY gets his DSL service back in one day instead of three.

Sunday it was back to the office and the new position at the moment consists primarily of supervisor calls either transferred to me or callbacks that I have to do. I get to spend my day listening to people yell at me about the horrible service or the horrible tech or whatever it is that happens to be horrible for them because sometimes it's not even related to the product or the tech support.

A customer asked me today why I was able to solve her problem in 15 minutes when she had spent almost 2 hours on the phone with other technicians. I told her it was because this particular type of installation can be a bit tricky on some computers and I had years of experience dealing with the issue. The customer was left to assume it was tricky from a technical aspect, but the truth is that the tricky part is getting a frustrated, computer illiterate person to perform the necessary steps to get the damn thing working properly. That is something I that I DO have years of experience doing (in fact, more years than the age of some of our techs.)

Now while that particular call required a small bit of technical expertise, most of them don't involve anything more than calming the customer down and doing whatever I can to make them happy (within reason.) This quite frequently involves poking another department with a sharp stick and that is probably the most difficult part. You see, this requires calling a customer service rep in another department who usually doesn't give a shit about the customer or their problem. I then have to convince this rep that they do need to give a shit and go the extra mile for my poor beleaguered customer. It can be a daunting task. Some companies are more service oriented than others and have reps that really do care about getting the customer fixed up; those are the easy ones that leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Others leave me with a sense of despair that my best efforts accomplished nothing more than yet one more dissatisfied customer. And how I feel at the end of the day generally depends on what mix I ended up with. Yesterday I was a happy camper. Today I could easily declare that this job sucks.

Outside of work, I've been studying for my ham radio exam and learning what I need to know to help my friend with his studying for the CCNA exam. I also got up early on Tuesday to see the eclipse of the moon. Original plans were to watch the whole thing with coffee and donuts, but I've been really short on sleep the last week, so I watched the shadow take the first bite and then went back to bed and napped until the time of the full eclipse. It was pretty cool, but I didn't watch long since getting more sleep before I went to work seemed a more attractive option at the time. In retrospect, I wish I had stuck with the coffee and donuts plan, but it was probably a bit much to expect a sleep-deprived brain to make a logical decision in the wee hours of the morning. I'll have to plan better for the next one.

GUB'NER PERRY,THE E.U. AND THE DEVOE CASE

Recently the European union sent a plea to our gub'ner admonishing him to place a moratorium on the death penalty (cause,you know everything is bigger in Texas,and that includes the state sanctioned body count).Perry said,through a spokesman,to the E.U.-"fuck off,the death penalty is why we broke with you 238 years ago and came here,so we could execute tons of people.Some guilty,some decidedly not,but hey,our death penalty statutes are modeled after the charter of the lottery commission...sometimes you win,sometimes you lose".Or words to that effect.

Enter Paul Devoe...

The rampage began Friday in Llano County, where officials say Devoe held a woman at gunpoint and fired several shots in her home.

Police say he then drove the woman's pickup to Marble Falls, where he fatally shot bartender Michael Jay Allred, 41, at O'Neill's Sports Tavern on Main Street.

His next stop, officials said, was an ex-girlfriend's home in Jonestown, where police say Devoe killed four people. Among the dead were Devoe's former lover, Paula Marie Griffith, and her 15-year-old daughter, Haylie Marie Faulkner, a member of the victims' family said.

The other two victims were identified late Monday as 17-year-old Danielle Hensley and 48-year-old Jay Feltner, who was described in a police affidavit as Griffith's boyfriend.

Officials say the four were planning to go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio for the day Saturday. Hensley's father told police he had not heard from his daughter for an unusual amount of time and asked them to check on her. Travis County sheriff's deputies eventually discovered the four bodies in Griffith's home.

According to Devoe's arrest affidavit, the bullets discovered by medical examiners at Griffith's home were jacketed hollow-point bullets similar to the ones recovered after the Marble Falls incident.

Davoe told a Travis County sheriff's informant in a phone call Saturday, "I've killed six people and I'm getting the ... out of here," the affidavit said. It also says he told his mother over the phone that he had killed five people.

A carpenter and Harley-Davidson enthusiast with a criminal record, including jail time for drunken driving, Devoe moved to Austin two years ago from New York. Bearded and muscular with a thick Long Island accent, Devoe said in Web profiles that he was self-employed and looking for women.

As of Thursday, he was living outside Llano and doing carpentry work for Sharon Wilson, the woman he assaulted, according to Llano authorities.

Though people who knew him were aware of his criminal record, they said they were shocked by the vicious attacks police say they've connected him to in Llano, Burnet and Travis counties.

In what authorities believe was the first incident, Wilson called the sheriff's office at 7:50 p.m. Friday and reported that a distraught Devoe had held a gun to her head, threatened to shoot her and himself, and fired several shots at her home in the Wild Oak Acres subdivision.

She was able to escape unharmed and hide from Devoe, eventually calling 911 from a neighbor's house, sheriff's officials said. Devoe took off in Wilson's Dodge Dakota pickup, which was later identified at the murder scene in Jonestown, officials said

Twenty minutes later, authorities said, Devoe strode into O'Neill's in Marble Falls with a gun and in a feverish rage. They said he planned to kill a former girlfriend but instead shot bartender Allred in the chest after he intervened.

In online profiles, Devoe cultivated a ladies' man mystique while emphasizing his down-to-earth personality. He called himself "Wolf" and stressed the importance of just "being myself." On a dating Web site, Devoe wrote he was "looking to met a friend and what ever happens from there."Among his interests listed on that site were cuddling, dancing and "setting by the fire."

He also had a raunchier side. He called himself a swinger on one site, and his MySpace friends included several scantily clad women whose pages feature lewd photos and Playboy bunny icons. The youthful face of Haylie Marie, Griffith's daughter, stood out among the other women's. Her defiantly sexy pose couldn't hide her 15 years.

Griffith had dated Devoe for about three months two years ago, her ex-husband told police. Her son Jonathon said that he had warned her about Devoe but that she told him she was glad to have a boyfriend who treated Haylie well.

Eric Griffith, Paula Griffith's brother, said he thinks Devoe called on Paula for refuge after the Marble Falls killing. He thinks his sister refused and paid with her life.

Investigators say Devoe probably fled in Griffith's 2001 Saturn station wagon.

Jonathon Griffith, 29, of San Antonio, Paula's son and Haylie's brother, said the pair loved spending time at the lake and were "always kind to everybody."

Griffith and other relatives of the victims took solace in Devoe's capture.

"At least he's going to fry Texas style," said Danielle Hensley's father, Darryl Gribble.

Investigators said Devoe may have decided to return to familiar territory when he began driving to Long Island over the weekend. They said it appears he drove the Saturn as far as Greencastle, Pa., near the Maryland border. There he acquired another car, possibly after killing the owner, officials said.

He drove that vehicle to Shirley, where he has many family members, including his ex-wife, Charlene Purdoski, and their teenage son, also named Paul.

Neither was at home Monday, but a friend of the teen's, 16-year old Doug Jensen, said that the two knew Devoe was being sought in Texas and were afraid he was headed to their home to do them harm.

Devoe was captured at the home of a 61-year-old friend, Gerard Baldoni. U.S. marshals said a gun was found in the home, but they did not know if it was related to any crimes.

Devoe was charged with murder in the Marble Falls slaying and faces a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Hector Gomez said. Marshals said he was expected to be arraigned today in New York's Suffolk County.

For Doug Powell, an engineer who rented a West Austin house to Devoe from the fall of 2005 to October 2006, the violence was hard to fathom. He said Devoe was a courteous tenant who worked as a handyman and did renovations to the home on a wooded cul-de-sac near Barton Creek Elementary School. Powell's own house is on the same property.

Powell said he never saw the crowd of motorcyclists Devoe claimed on his MySpace page to have run with. He was aware of Devoe's criminal history but never saw any violent tendencies.

"I just could not believe he may have shot someone in a bar," Powell said. "But this other crime had so many other levels of terrible."

Powell was so spooked that he stayed up all night with a shotgun, he said.

District Attorney Sam Oatman, who serves both Llano and Burnet counties, said people in the area were very glad Devoe had been captured.

"This is a very dangerous person, and we are looking into other possible victims," Oatman said.

Oatman said he plans to file murder charges against Devoe in the Marble Falls killing and possibly assault or attempted murder charges because of threats made at the bar. He said he also plans to file aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or attempted murder charges for shooting at Wilson.

Devoe has two warrants out for his arrest in Suffolk County for a criminal contempt charge and a charge of disorderly conduct, according to District Court records. He also had three drunken driving convictions in New York state and served about five years for his third conviction in 1997. In 2003, he was convicted of aggravated harassment and criminal trespass, according to the records.

Having some ambivalence about the death penalty myself,especially here in the killingest state in the union(Texas accounts for a THIRD of executions nationwide since the death penalty was reactivated)I have some serious problems with this asshole.
I'm leaning strongly toward the "fry Texas style" solution.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy number two Sean!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahha!

I HAVE COME UNDONE

I know it happened before this came out...but god damn, Clutch just keeps getting better and better.And the robots walking out of the church clinched it for me...enjoy.

Some things are just WRONG
Why is beer that is imported from Munich, Germany cheaper than beer that is brewed just 80 miles away from my house? That's just not right.

OH HELL YEAH...



...But some day baby...you ain't worried 'bout life anymore...

Things that have happened
Still working at the old place in the demotion job and quite frankly I am bored out of my mind. This week I had my first tardy (car trouble) and absence (miserable due to allergies) in years which shouldn't surprise anyone that has a clue about human nature. Went on two job interviews last week (on my lunch hours), but turned down one and haven't heard on the other.

Went to the doctor today to get the dreaded prescription drugs for the allergies. Seems silly to have to take a drug for something that could be resolved with some rest and alternative treatments, but the 40 hour (or more) a week grind necessitates a quicker recovery than I can do on my own. I also had her take a look at a recurring rash I've had off and on for the last five years. The rash doesn't itch or otherwise give me any trouble other than being ugly. It goes away after 6 months or so and stays gone for a year or more, but this was it's third recurrence in the same spots so I figured I ought to have a doctor look at it. The doctor says that most likely it's something called Granuloma Annulare, but there is also a very slim chance that it's a fungal infection. Rather than going the scraping and lab testing route to determine fungal infection (costs money), I'm going to apply a very cheap, but strong prescription anti-fungal to the affected areas three times a day for two weeks and see what happens. If it doesn't clear up, then we'll take the even more expensive biopsy route to confirm Granuloma Annulare or other causes. And although the name sounds scary, Granuloma Annulare is nothing more than an ugly rash and causes no problems other than cosmetic concerns so a confirmed diagnosis isn't anything to worry about.

I also met a friend of mine for happy hour this afternoon. I haven't seen her in a very long time due to the crazy job (has it really been almost two years?) and we hadn't even kept up by email during this time. But we picked right up just as if time hadn't passed at all and that's something I've always found to be true with my good friends. One month, one year, two years - it doesn't matter. Somehow we are still on the same page even without any regular contact. Hopefully now that I'm getting back a life outside of work we can stay in touch on a more regular basis.

DINOSAUR JR. VS. THE CURE

Great song,great bands...you decide.




And the original...

I LIVE FOR THESE "SAFETY" MEETINGS

Every Thursday morning we start the day in the T.O.E with a safety meeting right out of the box.A supervisor for the general contractor usually presides with the safety guy I mentioned yesterday to act as translator for the roughly 85% of workers in attendance that don't speakee the englee.
This supervisor is an orator with mad skills and the issues covered carry some serious weight.
Some recent quotes:

"Now you try explaining to your family and loved ones why you got fired for using the wrong restroom,do yourself a favor and stay off of the forth floor".

"Now you try explaining to your family and loved ones why you got run off the job for using the wrong elevator".

"I was reading a recent OSHA report and wanted to share these highlights with you"...He then goes on to admonish us to try explaining to our families and loved ones how we got:Crushed by a snorkel lift,impaled on a giant spike in a ditch,and electrocuted by a faulty extension cord that was in a puddle of water.And more to the point:"why you got run off for not wearing your hard hat".

The bilingual safety guy translates between each threat to our livelihoods presumably verbatim,but since I don't understand a word he's saying beyond har' ha',he could be telling jokes or talking about what a dumb ass the supervisor is.
But the reason I like these meetings so much is the fact that work starts later,morning break comes faster and I've got fodder to make my equally hot and stressed coworkers laugh.

GANG BOX "SAFE CRACKER" UPDATE

The safety guy for the general contractor got my version of events this morning,his "eenvasteegayshawn" to quote him.Basically this guy walks around all day in his yellow hard hat (designates safety guy) making sure we are all safe.Which amounts to him saying "Yew muss ware yewr har' ha'".(hard hat,for the uninitiated).He's actually a very friendly personable fella,and I'd wager he's got a green card if not actual citizenship.
Then,all the beaners had a meeting to discuss (I'm guessing) why it's not a good idea to steal other peoples stuff,and then it was back to work.The little rat fuck still has a job is the long and short of it,and judging from the looks I got from him as we passed in the hallways today,he knows I ratted him out.I glared right back at him.I'll have to be a little more cautious in stairwells and leading edges from now on.So much for doing the right thing,eh?

Old hobbies never die
I come from a family of ham radio operators. As a kid, I fell asleep each night hearing Morse code or conversations with other operators from far off places drift into my room from the "ham shack" down the hall. My dad, my mom and my brother are all licensed. I too had a license, but when I moved in with Rob, the radio went in the closet and I let my license expire.

But a couple of days ago, I stumbled across the episodes of a TV show called Jericho which had a snippet of Morse code in each show and man, did that ever bring back the memories. It also got me to wondering if I could still pass the test and get a license again because even though my code is extremely rusty, I knew there had been a change and you could get a Technician's class license that didn't require the code. A little bit of research revealed that these days there is no longer a code element required for any license class.

Just for grins I took a few practice tests and although I have forgotten a great deal, I breezed through the Technician class test and discovered I could also pass the General class tests at about 80%. I need the General class license to get good use out of my old rig (if it even still works after sitting for all these years) since only it covers only a tiny bit of the bandwidth allowed for Technician's, but has tons of opportunities for a General class license holder. I've got some time to study up since the next exams are in September. It's on a Saturday when I'm scheduled to work, but I figure I'll either be gone from this job or will have figured out a way to get the time off. And to make things even better, exam day is also on my birthday so I'm bound to score well on the test, right?

TUMORS

Theo's got them,and they just keep popping up,little pea sized black tumors on his tail and his back.Now Theo,to quote Jon Stewart,is old as fuck.He's been and is an awesome dog...challenged from the beginning with the hip dysplasia common to large breeds,but in his case left him with a VERY narrow ass and problems with mobility early on.
But now he's got tumors.And we all know what that means.The end is near.
And I'm not ready for it to end.He's my boy...sleeping close to me every night for years now and the thought of him not being there reduces me to tears.
Like now.

TELL ME WHY...I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS

I got home Friday and the truck sat in the driveway all weekend.With a door ajar,effectively killing my battery.By the time I went to HEB and bought some cheap jumper cables and got it going I was 45 minutes late for work.
Whoever pulled the wire for 7 D,fucked up and pulled in the wrong wire from one box to another in the bedroom.What made this a big deal is the wall was no longer open.I had to remove 3 4x8 ft. sheets of drywall,move the insulation out of the way and pull in the correct wire.Major surgery.
I was installing the service disconnect for the water heater,there's a pass through in the wall where you can see into the other unit.One of our gang boxes was in plain view as was the fucking wetback who was dialing in different combinations on the lock,trying to get into our gang box.I watched him for a solid 5 minutes before I slammed the disconnect down hard on the pass through,scaring the shit out of him.I said"Why are you trying to open OUR gang box?"He of course gave me that deer in the headlights "no comprende" look,but I had a bilingual helper.I called him over and said "Tell this motherfucker in spanish to quit trying to break into our gang box".
He did,but judging from the look on his face beforehand,he understood motherfucker perfectly well.
Then,at the end of the day,this other wetback took my water bottle off our cart,filled it with water from our igloo and drank it and then left with my bottle.
I just threw my arms in the air at that point.
I ratted the would be thief out to my foreman...so at the very least,he'll be fired.
Tools are stolen on a regular basis,as is copper.I have been fortunate to not have any tools stolen so far,but a member of my crew had his entire tool bag stolen a while back.If you have the required tools according to union rules,it adds up to around a 1000 dollars.
Fuck those guys...and monday.

CORTEZ THE KILLER

A wonderful acoustic rendition of this Crazy Horse classic from the album Zuma.

MADE IT

Through another week in the tower of evil(T.O.E).Today and Thursday weren't so bad heat wise because of the rain.The elevators continue to malfunction which is unnerving and it seems the elevator defliction has spread to the parking garage.The dayshift security guard is a nazi and we have been relegated to a stinky alley to smoke,no longer allowed to gather on the street (because we are construction workers and therefore are a blight,while the other smoking occupants of the building are left alone to do as they please).
There are signs on the stairwell doors on every floor that say "this door to remain closed at all times" in english and...wait for this...fucking french because the building is literally crawling with undocumented french workers.
The stupidity of this is not lost on somebody,who has added the same in latin.
One of my old work buddies from UT has transferred to T.O.E and we've been working on the same crew this week.It's nice to have an old friend around.We both come from a social work background as well,so are perceptions are shared and frequently hilarious.To us anyway.
And I have learned some new things this week in regard to wiring and receptacles in series.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.

NEW BLOG !

Do you like cowboys and injuns?Sick humor?Well,if you do,then The adventures of Clem and Jane is just for you!
I was surprised that I had 25 episodes to transfer...and while they kinda follow a thread,albeit twisted and frayed,I hope you'll be exclaiming HOO WHEE or GOLL DANG IT as part of your daily interactions.

NOW THAT'S A GOOD WAY OF SPENDING TIME WITH YOUR KID

The guy that's been mowing our front yard for awhile now had a family emergency and had to go back to his home town.Which left me with a dilemma.While I'm not inclined to mow it myself after a week in the tower of evil,I needed to come up with a solution before our yard reverted back to it's Cambodia days.
Yesterday there was a knock at the door.I answered to find a man I had worked with at UT and his 12 year old son.It seems his son asked for and got a lawnmower for his birthday.Now it's not like he knew where I lived...this was door to door salesmanship.
We entered into the same agreement I had with my former guy and this evening he cut my lawn for the first time with Dad on hand to help out.
It looks great!They edged!They swept the sidewalk!
The kid learned the value of a dollar!Developed his work ethic!And started on the road of business.
I don't know about you,but I'm impressed.

MONKEY BUSINESS

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You can see the rest of this series and daily updates at FULL METAL JACKASS.

WELLY,WELLY,WELL,WELL MY DROOGIES...

As you well already know,Karl Rove tendered his resignation yesterday,effective 31 aug 07.Before you start jumping for joy (if you haven't already)let me say that after my third virtual jump I stopped short and realized that while he won't be the deputy chief of staff or policy czar or architect or whatever you prefer to call him (my fav is corrupt criminal asshat),he will still very much be at the beck and call of the giggling murder monkey hisself-King Bush.
While it does signal yet another downturn for this "administration" as it were and sharpens the focus on their ne'er do well ways,trust me...it ain't over yet.Far from it in fact.Bestowing more authority to that sham of an attorney general (like the authority to fast track the appeals process in regard to death row inmates and having the final say so in this whole FISA wiretapping fiasco)is just a glimmer of the horse shit to come rolling on down the pike.One can only hope that bushco implodes on itself before it causes whats left of our country to do the same.I'm not holding my breath.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?*

I've been catching these jeep commercials on TV corrupting a truly wonderful song from 1970 by Jonathan Edwards,but they cut out the best part of the song.
"He can't even run his own life,I'll be damned if he'll run mine".Funny,ironic even,that this song is used to sell something...running our lives in a sense.
I did a bit of searching and found this video of Jon performing his song at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels Texas,right down the road from Austin.
Enjoy the irony...

*The 2007 Jeep Wrangler costs $29,990.00...nicely equipped.

One foot in front of the other
These last two days were some of the longest in my life. It didn't help that I couldn't sleep Friday night despite the 12 pack of beer. Nor could I sleep last night despite the lack of sleep from the night before. I was on an emotional roller coaster yesterday and while there were errands that I needed to run, I just couldn't bring myself to set foot out of the house. I did apply online or by email for about 10 jobs and sent an email to my old neighbor to see if she still worked for the temp agency, but that was about all that got accomplished. However, today it was back to business as usual. I got the errands done and applied for about 5 more jobs. On two of these, I know someone who works for the company which might help my chances a bit. The rest pay so low that they'd be a fool not to hire me and get way more than what they're paying for. I don't want to be bored at a new job, but I don't want a challenge at this point either so low pay is okay as long as it's an easy job. Just give me something that's a 40 hour work week, 8am to 5pm, with weekends and holidays off. Benefits and a retirement plan would be a plus, but I don't even care about that. Rob's worried and depressed about the hit our finances are going to take, but there are plenty of ways I can save money to make up the difference. I've already cut our cell phone bill by $40/month and cut another $60 in other upcoming monthly expenses. I do regret losing the twice a month shipment of fabulous coffee, but at least I'll be healthier for the lack of it. Though that means I'll be drinking a lot more peppermint tea. Heck, I suppose I could grow a few peppermint plants and save that expense as well. I'd have to say that overall this day went pretty well even if it was a bit long. Tomorrow I go back to work and pretend everything is normal (except for the cleaning out my desk part - not sure how I'll explain that since no one is supposed to know yet) and then wait for Monday when I'll get some details on my future fate. But for now, I'm just going to try and forget all about that and go give myself a good soak in the tub with a cup of hot chamomile tea to get some of this tension out of my system before I head to bed. I suppose I'll throw some movies in the bedroom DVR player, perhaps with the Spanish or French soundtrack just to make things more interesting. And who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and actually fall asleep. See ya on the flip side....

THE PARTY NEVER STOPS IN THE TOWER OF EVIL

After the morning break the entire crew (12 today) got on the only working elevator and began our climb to various floors (I'm currently on 12),half way between 5 and 6 said elevator let out a groan,shuddered and stopped.We were trapped inside for about 10 minutes,not really a long time but when you factor in the elevator free fall from a couple months ago (involving electricians,a transformer and a trip to the ER)that 10 minutes was an eternity.When they finally pried the doors open I leapt out of that fucker as if I was leaping from the jaws of death his own self.This kind of shit seriously freaks me out.
I don't think OSHA would approve of it either.

Several beers later...
So I'm thinking all kinds of crazy things now like how I can now get those lime green streaks in my hair that I've always wanted. And hey, I could start smoking pot again (haven't done it since I was a teen) since I don't need my smarts anymore. Besides, rumor has it that smoking pot is a great sleep aide and stress reducer - that's something I could use these days, but it would be better if it had the side effect it had when I was in my teens which was I never wanted to eat and was skinny. I'll have all this extra time on my hands now so the possibilities are endless. I could sew my own clothes, weave those blankets I always wanted to make, take up pottery, go back to batiking and tie-dying clothing, practice my bass more, get those Cisco certifications, go back to school or... gasp, even clean the house once and awhile - WOOT! This change has the potential to be fun (well, maybe not the housework part) and I should definitely make the most of it.

SWIM THROUGH IT WITH MUSIC

As you've read,My Annabelle got "demoted" today.Something I see as a blessing in disguise.She's mourning the bruise to her ego and celebrating the reduction in stress all at once by having some beers and playing songs that mean something to her (and me in some cases)on her computer.It's fairly annoying,but hey...it's her moment and the rev abides.
It can be a very cleansing experience.Music has always been an integral part of our lives together and back when we weren't.
We have been semi stable for too many years financially,the impetus being that crown jewel of assholes andy hines.But we have managed to survive.
Juggle juggle juggle is the name of the game,juggle all the time.And I'm tired of keeping the balls in the air,something's gonna break soon.
Cue up the Nailbomb honey!
I got a plan and here it is:
Sell the house
Pay off our debt
Get the fuck out of Texas in a RV (or converted school bus) that we buy with the proceeds and I travel the books around Colorado and New Mexico.
This takes balls and a giant leap of faith,but I'm almost there.
I'm nearing the end of my rope,and I suspect Annabelle is as well.

PSYCHEDELIC HOPPY FROG CLAM BAKE EXTRAVAGANZA!

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Demoted
Yep, I'm not a manager anymore and will be moved back to being a tech. There are some real advantages to this. No more 60 hour work weeks and my work day will be over when I walk out the door. I can wear jeans and t-shirts and sandals to work again. I'll have a set schedule even though weekend work will still be required. The pay is so low for "upper level" techs (equivalent to starting pay at other call centers) that it won't take much for another job to look attractive enough to leave. And I can take my vacation time when I want to rather than when upper management sees fit. But even though there are advantages, there are plenty of disadvantages and I'm not happy with the situation. However, I'm not in a position to outright quit since the monthly bills exceed Rob's income and I'll just have to deal with it. I couldn't decide if I should buy beer or champagne on the way home since this actually could be a really good thing for me once the sting of failure wears off. But good or bad, you can bet I'm getting drunk tonight.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT MITT ROMNEY

This guy is poison for our country,what a pile of shit he is...and in this time of war he excuses his sons from not enlisting in the military by focusing on the voluntary enlistment and his sons choice to show their support by helping him with his campaign.
You can read the pathetic article here.
I don't support a draft,but one is probably coming and the one redeeming factor I can see in it is chickenhawk piles of shit like Romney will lose sons to an unjust war.
Let one of those little Romney pussy bastards get blown up and you'll see a flip flop like never before.
If this pile comes to Austin to spout his horse shit, you can be sure I'll be there.
Seriously...fuck that guy.And his chicken shit peckerwood sons.

CLEM AND JANE LIVE! ON DEPTHMARKER

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HOO WHEE!!!

NEW CLEM AND JANE

Seems they been in the hoosgow nigh on 4 months for cruelty to injuns.Did they change their injun rapin' killin' ways? Go find out here:
LESSONS LEARNED

HOO WHEE!!!

CAT AND MOUSE GAMES

As I was turning onto my street this afternoon,I came face to face with the police.They saw my expired inspection and registration stickers and immediately did a u turn.I managed to pull into my driveway and jump out of my truck just as he pulled in front of my house,rolled to an almost complete stop,glared at me and then drove away.
In dodging a bullet,I made a tactical error:Now he knows where I live and will lie in wait for me to leave again to give me the tickets.
Some background at this point.I have been horrible about keeping my registration and inspection current since I started driving 30 plus years ago. It's almost a hobby,fuck it...it is a hobby.Back in the 80's I once went 2 years before I got a ticket!Ha!Take that authority!
So,after about 3 hours I ventured out to the liquor store and took an alternate route to throw off the cops.I was 20 feet from the parking lot when POOF! there he was on a side street as I passed.I managed to get into the parking lot and out of the truck just as he was pulling in.He blocked me in and waited.
I pointed him out to the store owners and explained why he was out there (waiting for me)and they were having none of that.They made me wait him out and then watched to see which direction he turned.He went north so I went south and took another route back to the house.As soon as I turned on my street,there he was in my rear view mirror,2 cars behind me!I made it to my driveway again,just in the nick o' time.
He's out there circling...I can feel it in my bones.

PIERCINGS ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS

I've had my ears pierced for a long time.At one point,shortly after becoming an electrician,I decided I would let my 00 gauge holes close up so I would blend in better.
Well,guess what?They didn't.So after about a year I went back to wearing 8 gauge eyelets because it looked better than having cat buttholes on my earlobes.
Any of you who have larger piercings know that if you don't remove them,clean them and the holes on a regular basis you will begin to notice a smell.A distinctive odor.An odor that I like to call "skanky pussy" and I'm not talking about cats.
I was in line at the grocery the other day and this dude behind me said "Dude!Have you been eating skanky pussy?"I replied "No dude,it's my ears...sorry."And then I motioned to the q-tips and alcohol in my basket.He nodded in agreement then said something about his prince albert smelling the same way.Just kidding,but you get the point.
I have cleaned them not once,but twice and I'm still catching a fishy whiff.
This never happened when I had "regulation" piercings.
Life's just so unfair sometimes.

SILLY ME

I took a closer look at the headlines posted from CNN and realized it was Ving Rhames dogs that mauled that guy to death and not Ving.I'm sure he's capable of mauling someone to death,and I'm still glad I'm not him.
Or the guy that got mauled to death,for that matter.
What,exactly,does mauled mean anyway?A quick trip to m-w dot com gave me this:
Main Entry: maul
Function: transitive verb
1 : BEAT, BRUISE
2 : MANGLE 1
3 : to handle roughly
OK...I think in the case of 4 bull mastiffs,definition 2 fits the bill perfectly.
transitive verb indeed.
Here's a list of banned/restricted dog breeds from the responsible dog owners of the western states website:
Banned or restricted breeds )(link is working now,click on menu to left side of their page for the list)
While they don't explain why these breeds are banned and/or restricted,they appear to promote responsible ownership regardless of breed which I agree with completely.
For example,Irene is a people friendly social dog and is treated accordingly.She's not so good with other dogs and we have provisions for that.Theo,on the other hand,is a grumpy old bastard who loves me and Ann and Irene and is very protective otherwise.His social activity is far more limited and controlled as a result.
Mastiffs fall to #27 on this list,and one can infer from this (rather fuzzily)that they are not so prone to mauling as say the pit bull or the Akbash
So,anyway,my point (and question) is:
What would you do if you were a victim (directly or otherwise)of a dog attack?
Does breed even matter?
Discuss...

THE "MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS" DOES IT AGAIN...

* Mom makes underwater escape from car
* Passengers helpless as tragedy unfolded
* Dark, dangerous waters slow divers
* Marine sentenced in Iraqi's death
* Senate passes Bush terrorism spy bill
* CNNMoney: Fire fear forces huge Ford recall
* SI: No homer for Bonds
* Police: Muslim bakery tied to reporter's slaying
* Ticker: Tancredo: Hit Mecca if attacked
* Man mauled to death at Ving Rhames' home
* Pros recruit YouTube soccer phenom Video
* WISN: Police: 2-year-old eats mom's LSD candy
* Strange-looking sub spotted near luxury ship
* Couple welcome their 17th child
* Eddie Murphy concedes paternity

Now this is news...streamlined and edited,but the same old shit.Let me just say I'm a bit shocked that Eddie Murphy didn't cop to being scarey's baby daddy sooner...I bet she fucks like a snake!
I'm glad I'm not Ving Rhames.
We still prosecute soldiers as "war criminals" while the real perps get away with war crimes by invoking executive privelege.
Bridge collapse stories = "hey!look over there!!!" or..."What goldfish?"
Tancredo is an asshat.
Where can I get some candy?
Were they serving it on the luxury ship?
17 kids????god damn...it's a canyon at this point,now I think I know what J-Rod meant by "fucking a mud puddle"
Fuck Barry Bonds.
And that's the news sheeple...

THE ENDLESS INVOCATION

King Bush has really gone off the deep end with this executive privilege business.The latest being the Karl Rove invocation,which,if I am keeping an accurate count,brings it to 6 in the last month or so.
Nixon tried to pull this off (he lost),so did Clinton (he lost too).But I'm not so sure the idiot king will suffer the same result.
Why?
It's a combination of most of us not giving a shit anymore,because this democracy is doomed thanks to his royal highness and the medias ability to bullshit us,distract us and otherwise steer the spin.Rearranging the priorities to misdirect us from what's most important.
Here are the headlines from CNN today:

Latest News

* Bridges overused and under stress
* First rescuers felt bridge shift
* Survivor fell 30-ft into bridge wreckage
* Gas stop saved my life, I-Reporter says
* Bridge inspection warning goes nationwide
* Doomed bridge going under microscope
* MSP: State chose inspections over repairs
* Electrodes prod brain-injured man to speak, eat
* U.S. Marine ringleader convicted of murder
* Ticker: Obama draws fire from '08 Dems
* Cloning fraud produced real advance
* Hit man's bullet kills outspoken editor
* Rove snubs subpoena, aide skirts questions
* $100M robbery caught on camera Video
* WFTV: 'Porno' mannequins raise temperatures
Seven are about the bridge collapsing in Minnesota...Sure,it's a tragic event,but do we really need SEVEN reports about it?
Rove shining on his subpoena ranks 2 above some bullshit story about porno mannequins.Please.
What we really need to be focusing on is how this country is going to hell in a hand basket because our ruling administration is a den of corrupt lying piles of monkey shit...oh!wait!!A $100M robbery caught on video?!?!?I gotta go check that out...
Jeez,are we stupid or what?