I go in and out of sleep last night watching some Japanese gore films (via Netflix: 'vampire girl vs Frankenstein girl' and 'Tokyo gore police' or the like. I can't remember the exact titles) .  man, when an appendage gets cut off, there seems to be a huge amount of high pressure blood spray (gallons and gallons at 3000 psi).  I guess they want to emulate the comic that the movie was based on.  they also seem to all be 'cutters' (those peeps that cut their arms to manifest the pain they feel inside).  both bad Japanese movies emphasized both these things very heavily, not to mention the silly sailor moon outfits, and other anime stereotypes.  low budget entertainment at it's Japanese best!

up around 3pm tonight, usually I sleep in 'til around 4:30, but had a bit of a headache.  no. not too many beerses, I only had 2 last night, it's prob'ly all the howard hughes paranoia over the petrochemical vapor from my bedbug/flea prevention/eradication.  I give another dose to the couch, my bed, the kitchen island stools, under the sink, etc.. they're not getting in here.  maybe some tin foil on the windows....?.  burn some coffee, get my lunch ready (leftover lasagna, and a piece of pecan pie...mmmmmmms!), then relax a bit before getting ready for the stalag. 

man, it's a cooker outside! 91 degrees!! we take an extra small barefoot pooperdog walk tonight, then run back into the comfort of 70 degree AC.  here's hopin' they have mercy on us tonight at work, and maybe let us go home early again *crosses fingers*

had a couple 3 beerses last night, catching up on my world news and 'the daily show with Jon Stewart'.  crash out 'round 9, but when the alarm went off this morning I felt it to be one of those days that I just need to sleep in a bit longer (you've had those days).   I try and call into work, but when I don't use my tracfone for a month, it wants to act all kooky.  first, I'd dial works number and get an "for emergencies only" message...then, of course the word "roam" comes on the display, prob'ly charging me a bunch more for each time I try and call work, then, once I call work, all I get is a dial tone forever.  finally I toss the fone, and remember that a couple peeps from my team have their fone number on their facebook page.  Ross got my message, but he didn't make it to work either. Jess doesn't have her number displayed on FB, but maybe I can write her via email, and it would show up on her fone at work...turns out she didn't check her mail (much like I rarely check my fone).  anyway, after a good hours try, I get the attendance line, leave my message, then fall back asleep.  I get there 'round 10:45am and we work 'til 3.  I prob'ly would have been better off if I took the whole day off, but that's ok. 4 hours of work is better than none.  here's hopin' Sunday and Monday nights are just as slack filled. 

came home today and my lawn was cut (Brian maybe?).

for whatever reason, I can't make any transfers in my online banking (transfers from checking, say, to savings and/or solid gold gem studded brake job account).  I write my bank using their online "contact us" page.  that was a couple days ago.  I got no response back.  what's the deal?  have I lost those privileges? or is the banking website acting glitchy?  I try again today, and get the same thing.  I may have to go to the bank in order to do my transfers (that'd suck!). 

anyway, it's nice outside, and Rosie has those "take me for a walk" eyes goin' on

      early in the morning, before it gets too hot, the pooperdog and I take us a barefoot walk.  I talk with two separate dog walking passerby's, and if I sounded all Howard Hughes in an earlier entry about sterilizing the place for bugs, I'm doubly glad of my bedbug/flea eradication purchase after both peeps were telling me that they've got fleas real bad (they tell me this as Rosie's interacting with their fleabag mutts).  as soon as I get home I start moving furniture in the living room and spend some time vacuuming and spraying down the perimeter with some quick acting pesticide (as the video shows me), then I spend a good amount of time on the sofa bed (the one the Kid and his friend used for crashin' in), spraying it with the blue label bottle (again as the video says).  once all that's done, I use the duster, dusting what needs dusted with yet another product that's more of a long term killer (the one I mention earlier, that's more of an organic powder that slowly dehydrates whatever critter walks over it).  then, I tear apart my bedroom.  it's amazing the shit one finds while delousing ones own bedroom.  I wondered where that trumpet stand went months ago.  I found it!  I wondered where my HDMI cable went?  found it!  along with a couple 3 other finds.  anyway. I strip the bedroom down to nothing, vacuum the hell out of it, and repeat the steps I took in the living room, along with covering both mattress and bed-spring with bedbug proof zippered covers.  I wash all the bedding in hot water...I spend a good 3/4's of a day on this project, so if I get fleas (or bedbugs) I'll be mad (and will have to start the procedure all over again.  we'll see).   it's not a biggy, but If I start putting tin foil over the windows and only eat bananas, then I may give Howard Hughes anonymous a call

it's a beautiful day...maybe I'll mow da lawn.  ready, GO!

....I do me a big slab of pecan pie and continue drinkin' coldy's, then relax out on the lawn chair to get that sunburn I should have gotten back in June.  while doing that, Ron (aka Chas Manson) comes over and hands me a folded magazine (if you read far enough back into last summer, he pulls this same routine.  seems while he's dumpster diving for empty pop bottles, he finds the raunchiest of porn and feels the need to share it, when he's done with it, with the next single neighbor guy).  I throw it in the trash after he walks away,  then wonder if he's ever been online?  it's prob'ly 98% porn without all that silly page turning hassle.  then snap back into reality when I realize it's Ron. he's kind of stone age. he prob'ly still marvels at his transistor radio and hasn't made that leap to color TV yet...it'll be another 30 years before he discovers the convenience of the microwave oven.  anyway.  he stops me again as we do our barefoot pooperdog walk and hands me another folded magazine.  I play along and promptly throw it in the trash when I get home.  don't get me wrong.  I'm not against porn, but this stuff he's giving me is completely classless.  only stuff one might find while dumpster diving at the gas station...

later, Rosie and I make some hamboogers on the grill.

anyway, I'm currently awake due to a silly dog having to pee.  it's nice outside.  a cool 65 degrees.  the stars would be cool to gaze at if not for the overly light polluting orange glow of the street lamps (don't get me started...).  oh well.  I try anyway.  if you stare in an area of space long enough you see what looks like a star, but it's moving.  is that the ISS?  then another.  how big does a satellite have to be in order to see it from the ground?  I'm kind of surprised there isn't thousands of moving dots in the sky, being how much space junk (weather, communication, navigation, space exploring, reconnaissance, etc., etc.) satellites  circumnavigating this planet.  we'll prob'ly see that in the next 30 years, meanwhile, Ron will be enjoying his first microwave burrito that he had dumpster dove for the day before...

so normally, when I order something online, I enjoy (for no good reason at all) hitting the UPS tracking site and usually see the item head south first, then north to the MItten (as was the case for both my work pants order, and my guitars).  but this can't be the case with the bedbug order, being it's shipped from Florida.  I can't imagine they'd fly it to Cuba first (for example).  I look at the order online and assume it'll all come in one package being the package weight says 9 lbs.  nope. the UPS guy brings two boxes today.  I open both.  one box for the mattress cover, one for the box spring cover...where's the third box with pesticides and what-not?  I look on both boxes (and the labels) for "1 of 3", "2 of 3", thinking maybe that 3rd box is still on his truck.  by this time he's long gone. anyway...I ordered all the items at one time, they're shipping parts of the order separately?!  good gawd, that's gotta cost 'em a bunch (free shipping for me).  if I don't see the 3rd box today, I'll give their 800 number a call and see what's up. 

...back to sleep for a bit

minutes later: I'm curious about that tracking thing again, so I hit the tracking link from an email they sent, and it shows the product still in Toledo as of 7pm last night.  that must be the 3rd box. I look a bit more and see another email with a tracking link. even though I ordered everything from the same company, all at once, it looks like today's packages came from Indiana (via Georgia...? nah, just kiddin').  ok, now I got a clue.  sleep. I need sleep.

up 'round 9:30, burn some coffee, barefoot pooperdog walk, then hit autozone to return my old starter for a core exchange ($25 return), do some McD's for breakfast, and hit the local hardware store for snake repellent (if there's such a thing?).  they got nothin', and suggested to maybe get a bigger snake.  I'll look online for [real] suggestions.  once home, I pull the truck over by the shed to caulk the windshield with some rope caulk that I bought (at said hardware store),  then, looking at the clock, I noticed it was beer o'clock, so the old dog and I sit out here on the front porch in the coolish 70 degree breeze snarfing a coldy and relaxin'.

yesterday, while at the store, I buy me some compressed air to blow out the dust and mammal hair from both my laptop and my desktop. the difference is huge!  my desktop (which was completely chalked with crud runs a bunch quieter and faster.  I guess I gotta be more routine with that kind of cleaning so as I don't fry something prematurely.  

anyway, it's a nice day.  I should think about what to do for lunch before I open another coldy....

#ffffff;">a pretty big storm hits  Hollander town yesterday (about a half an hour after I crashed). Rosie's in panic mode, panting twice her normal pant, and needing to continually be petted until the thunder subsides.  meanwhile, I'm trying to get some sleep so as I'm not dog tired [pun?!] when I get to the stalag that evening.   the weather calms down enough to where Rosie looks as if maybe she'll survive, and I get some rest.   I take the direct route thru the city to get to the stalag, and I'm amazed at amount of giant trees that the storm had toppled and/or snapped.  then, as I pull into the stalag, I notice a good sized semi trailer with side roll doors open exposing good sized generators, parked next to the smokers picnic table.  I go inside to no lights,  no nothing (this is looking good for maybe having the night off).  then a good 10 minutes later I hear them firing up said generators making lights, clocks, refrigerators, etc come alive in the break room (dammit!!).   as it was, we almost made a  10 hour day out of it, but most of that time was spent cleaning, and building parts on sub stations because the main line itself was down for a good 4 hours while maintenance worked diligently to try and find out what was wrong.  turns out there was a broken wire around the station I was working on.  I was waiting for someone to accuse me.  that seems to be the common thing around there.  if you're the closest to the problem you will get written up, even if you didn't do it.  nope.  I would have fought that one to the end.  I've been accused of crazy things, but a saboteur I'm not...if, by chance, my boss has  a write-up for me to sign when I get back Friday, I'll bring the whole thing to HR.  I mean, the last time I got a verbal warning, I had an excused absence for that day,  if that isn't bullshit enough.  anyway.  I don't wanna get all bitter over the politics of the stalag.  I won't let it ruin my mid-week weekend.  in fact I'll drop it right now.  [clunk!]

#ffffff;">a good chunk of coin is spent online on bedbug proof mattress and box spring covers and 2 rooms worth of pesticides/ organic residuals (a fine course lime stone like powder that's applied with a duster around the cracks, seams, etc of the room, that when the bug crawls over, the coarseness of it is supposed to breach the exoskeleton and dehydrate the bug to death)  and what-not (I decided, I'll get it, after reading that the products help kill ticks, fleas, spiders and ants as well...and is pet safe). I'm prob'ly pulling an overkill (so to speak), because once again, the idea of bedbugs makes my skin crawl...I should prob'ly find me a used bed frame as well to get that box spring off the carpet.  I'll hit Craigslist later and see what I can find.

#ffffff;">it wasn't too long ago, during that last big rain, that I mention my truck door being somewhat out of alignment, hence it taking on a huge amount of water, soaking the carpet and so on, well. I bought me some gasket material thinking that'd solve the problem.  last night, as I'm getting out of my truck, I reach down on the passenger floor to pick up an empty McDonald's bag to throw away, and notice once again that there's water underneath my floor mat.  seems that storm was big enough to find its way into my double gasket-ed doors.  Now I'm thinkin' maybe it's the roof seam itself that's damaged.  I'll have to maybe take the interior head liner off and see what I can fix, then maybe take a rubber hammer to the two good sized dents in the roof (after wet vac-ing the thing out of course), then replace the headliner.  It's supposed to be a nice day today.  maybe I'll work on that...

#ffffff;">sleep...I need to sleep.

#ffffff; color: #ff0000;">later: I mentioned in an earlier post that I create 3/4's of my own misery, but asked where the other 1/4 came from....today gave me some answers.  As I'm doing our normal barefoot pooperdog walk, a neighbor stops me and asked who that guy is who's 1/2 covered in tatoos "that's my neighbor (almost roommate) Brian.  he takes her for a walk when I'm at work".  she tells me that he's very short tempered with her (she can be a fickle bitch), and just about rips her head off when she doesn't cooperate.   now Rosie has an neck made of Iron,  it's been proven many times by her going full blast toward a squirrel (for example) and coming to an abrupt halt when the lead ends,  but he doesn't have to crash test her himself.  I guess I'll have to leave a note reminding him that she is almost a 100 years old (in pooch years), and though she's not made of glass by any means, let her walk you.  don't pull her for a walk. be gentle and she'll cooperate a bunch better (I've been thru a milder version of this learning curve as well).  also, today as I'm just getting done shopping, I load the groceries in the truck, then try and start it only to get a clicking sound.  I know the battery's ok.  I just replaced that a month (or so) ago.  so what's next?  maybe the starter?  I lift the hood.  locate the starter, then remember what I used to do on an old wreck (one of many) that I once had when the starter went bad on that...hit it with a hammer!  no hammer in the truck but there's a piece of 2x4 in the back.  I give it a couple whacks and she fires right up (shweet!).  now, off to the autozone I go making sure not to turn the truck off once I get there.  I give the man my make, model, model year, engine size towards a starter thinking it'd be maybe $80 tops.  fuck no!  $153!  Jesus! it has been awhile...now I can bring the old one back for a core exchange to get $25 back (that's a good thang).  I head home.  put away the groceries, open the hood, jack the front passenger tire up, and let the vehicle cool off while I drink a couple 3 beers out on the lawn chair.  when I believe the engine is cooled down enough (and I've started my mechanics buzz), I open the shed doors to get my tools only to find a couple good sized snakes laying in the door opening.  JESUS CHRYSLER...I HATE SNAKES!!! i'm throwing rocks at 'em to get them to move on.  they do so, but I haven't had enough beers to enter without wondering how many more snakes are hiding behind the toolbox...a couple more coldeys gets my bravery up.  I don't see any while grabbing for my tools (damn good thing!).  the 20 minutes it should have taken to replace said starter takes a bit longer with 1/2 drunken wrenches and what-not.  I disconnect the battery, disconnect the starter, through in the new one, reconnect the battery, and she fires right up a good each 3 to 4 tries (cool!).  confident that I did ok, I challenge snake haven once again in order to put my tools away.  so I'm thinking the dog walking neighbor, my snake infested shed, and my truck eating more of my money to stay afloat consists of the other 1/4 of my misery

#ffffff; color: #ff0000;">even later:   wait, what?!  instead of showing the different color text, it gives the HTML code [#ffff...].  weird!~!  anyway.  one more thing.  I investigate the leaky truck deeper (water leak, that is, not the power steering leak, and what ever else that seems to be leaking), and find it not to be the roof seam at all, but the windshields rubber gasket isn't doing its job.  now I can prob'ly bring it back to the detail-er and let them know, or I can buy some tub and tile caulk and try to remedy the flaw myself.  being that the cab itself was torqued a bit out of shape during my crash, I can't hardly blame the windshield installer, so caulk it is.  I'll wait 'til tomorrow to apply it.  if anything, it ought to at least slow the leak down somewhat drastically (i hope).  we'll see...

so, the truck fender I was going to purchase from LKQ (that I wrote about earlier, but they took too long), I find the same thing at JC whitney's website for $40 CHEAPER!! I got 'til tomorrow midnight to get it shipped for free.

I'm just now ready to jump in the shower and realize there's no hot water.  the damn thing's been good so far this year.  this is prob'ly only about the 4th time I've had to relight it (last year seemed like every other day)...I'll let it heat up for 15 minutes and still have time to make it to the stalag.

I find myself surfing the bed bug websites still having the fact that the Kid and his friends motel may have had them, and they stayed here directly afterward.  I don't know if the place has 'em (yet) or not, but I'd sure like to do some preventative maintenance (the mere suggestion of bed bugs makes my skin crawl). I find myself vacuuming and washing items in hot water like a damn fiend, looking up ways to prevent and or extinguish such an event...if they're anything like lice or fleas, I don't want anything to do with 'em (who does? right?).  I gotta see what might work (as far as pesticides go) and not harm Squabber and Rosie to boot [news at 11]

anyway, the water's prob'ly hot enough for a quick shower...then it's off to the stalag in this 90 degree heat

damn, I guess that was a bad idea watching "Tetsuo the Iron man" just before going to bed last night...it's a damn intense freak fest of a movie.  again, like the other 'Tetsuo' movie.  it was good, but what kind of ending is that?!  there's a huge amount of screaming, mutations, and angst in both movies.  I had some strange dreams due to their strange strangeness.  good stuff, though.  sort of artsy meets twisted, if you know what I mean...

so I add yet another $93's worth of debt to my 'solid gold and gem studded brake job account', because Rosie was due for her DHLPP shot, plus I had to get two months more worth of flea dip, and heart worm (ummm) thingers.  So far, I've spent a bunch more on this dog than I ever have on Squabber McCheese.  I don't dare tell them that I have a cat, or they'll put him on an expensive regimen too. 

after seeing the vet, the dog and I take a long "sunday drive", then when we get home she helps me grill up some hot Italian brats, I drink a couple coldeys and play some 'one ball' on Tiger Woods '10 PS2 game.  damn, that games fun!   I know, it's nice outside, but PS 2 golf on the big screen (Brian's TV) is rather addicting.  also, I'm likin' the fact that my 'puter is working better!  I should use that wet vac more often to suck out the dust and animal hair.  I was about to toss the damn 'puter in the trash.  I'm glad I had a little patience left for the simple fix, plus I saved myself a 1/4 million dollars by not buying that new gaming rig...ok, it wasn't a 1/4 million, but close enough.

time for another barefoot pooperdog walk, I'm thinkin'...ready? GO!

to look busy today, Ron (aka Chas Manson) grinds off one of his cars fenders (why?...who cares), and tears up more of his motor.  as the pooperdog and I walk by he comments on how much work he got done today (he's never had a real job for as long as I've known him, so tearing apart your only mode of transportation, must be considered "work" to him).  I drove him to the store the other day.  he goes on about how a lot of peeps wanna buy that old '70's (something) Dodge Charger of his, but he says he'll never sell it out of spite to the park owners.  so I guess I was right, the car will forever be a rusting monument in his driveway...the thing is so badly in need of repair, it'd cost a mint just to get it running again, yet he thinks it's worth a ton of money in its current state.  he says it's a rare model due to the fact that they wrecked so many "General Lee" copies during the filming of the Dukes of Hazard.  I think he's out of his tree. I have a feeling he doesn't wanna sell it because no one will make him an offer anywhere close to what he wants, and he's so damn poor that he can't even keep his '80's something oldsmobile in runnin'. instead, he finds it productive to dismantle it...

I smerf the web to try and find out why my 'puter keeps zappin' out.  turns out that it's common for Toshiba satellites to overheat, but it was happening way too frequently, so I hit youtube for suggestions on how to resolve said problem.  one suggestion was to use a wet/dry vac to clean the heatsink and fans (without tearing apart the 'puter itself). I try this.  it works good!  I also watch vids on how to tear it all apart and mod the heatsink using copper.  looks like fun, but I'll maybe only do that if and when the vacuum suggestion goes south.

I only drink one beer tonight, due to the fact that I had a weeks worth last night.  I spend time today powernapping in my own private ICU to quell the over hanging hangover.  a little food shoppin' and a trip to 'Kozak's for a gyro and a rootbeer for supper (mmmmmms!).  while turning into the store parking lot I see a wallet in the middle of the road.  it's rush hour at this point and it's the main drag thru town, so I'm not gonna risk my neck fetching it.  I wonder if the person who owns it is even aware it's missing. I imagine it was maybe on his dash board and went flying unnoticed out the window when he made the turn into the same store that i was turning into.  oh well. someone will grab it, steal the cash, and turn it in

seen a pretty good movie (with a bad ending) today on Netflix.  it was called "Tetsuo; the gunman" (or some such title). pretty freaky flick! I see other "tetsuo" movies. I'll peruse those to see if they're just as good.  Pandora radio currently set on 'Laika and the cosmonauts'.  good stuff!

damn, the skeeters are hellacious out here on the porch.  best head inside before they chew me a new one

sounds of what I'd imagine the Viet Nam war echo off in the distance.  it's 10 (something) pm, and the 3rd of July is prob'ly as full of fireworks as what tomorrow may bring.  the dog doesn't like it, but she'll get over it.  i just sat down with the cool hippy lady neighbor (Brian's mom) and had a couple beers out on my porch.  we talked about everything under the sun (moon), including her losing her current job (that sucks!).  she then is blinded by the orange phosphorescent light that streams in just under the roof of the porch from the street lamp across the street.  I tell her that I've put up with that damn thing since I've moved in. I should shimmy up it and spray paint it black, to tone it down some.  they may as well put sand and rocks, with maybe a lunar lander of some sort around to simulate Mars because that's what it feels like.  she shares a story about a place she had been sans any light pollution and seeing the edge of the Milky way.  I share recollections of that as well when I was a kid laying on the trampoline [...] Jesus!!!  there goes a local illegal fireworks extravaganza of some sort...scared the bejesus out of me!  now the smell of spent gun powder overwhelms...  Happy 4th y'all. 

today was somewhat groovy, in that I was able to spend some time gettin' a beer buzz, and layin' out on the lawn chair gettin' a half of a sunburn.  I make some chicken on the grill (with some Monterrey chicken seasoning and some Chipotle sauce along with some stuffing...mmmmms!!).  

as I'm takin' Rosie for her pooperdog walk, I pass Chas Manson's house.  he's been workin' on something for months on that cars trunk.  today he has the hood open.  it's obvious as we walk past that he's been cannibalizing the engine.  the rocker arms are exposed to the open air, and wires are cut...I ask what's up.  he says he's been taking parts off that he can salvage for money.  good gawd!  he's completely lost it, I'm thinking, at this point, but then again, it was un-drivable anyway...the poor guy will prob'ly start salvaging his trailer next, then push a shopping cart around collecting beer cans and what-not (bowling ball emoticon used for no good reason at all).  anyway. the skeeters are gettin' bad.  I should prob'ly sign off and drink another coldey before hittin' the sack...

leftover black beans and rice (Zater-whats-it) for supper last night along with a barrage of beer (or beerage, if you will). I know, I said spaghetti, but the black beans and rice was one day older.  spaghetti will be on tonight's menu , if that hasn't already been horked by the Kids or if I don't grill up that chicken first...I wake up 'round 7am, burn some coffee, trying to work with ninja stealthiness, so as not to  wake up the dead body in the living room (the Kid has already left for work at this point, so it's just his friend).  later on, I wander over and get my haircut, and fill the tank on the shrimpy truck as well as the small gas can for the mower.  as I'm coming home, I spot a smokin' hot girl in an army green tank top and blue jeans, wearing a half helmet, with a long ass pony tail flyin' in the breeze, riding on a chopped out Harley by herself, like a lone wolf.  I'm thinkin' summertime is finally here daddy-0!!  beautiful day!, and I'm inside typing nothings in my blahg.  the neighbor (next to the cutey neighbors house on the west side of the woodpanel submarine) has a huge outdoor party last night, and  as I'm talkin' with Jay, a huge waft of smoke pours over that trailer towards us.  I wouldn't much mind if it was marijuana smoke, or campfire smoke, but it smelt like burning tires *gack*  I was waiting to see flames shoot out of the trailer itself.  it didn't smell natural at all. I didn't hear any screaming, so I just assumed things were kosher. 

[...]

'across the way Jay' just knocked.  seems he already started drinkin' (it now being 11:15am) and needs a ride to the beer store.  sure.  it opens at noon. it's only right around the corner, and I haven't had any beerses yet, so cool. plus, I can say hi to their newest cute girl behind the counter.  she's like a normal cute girl but shrimped down to about 4 foot tall.  cute as a little bunny!  I best grab my wallet, and be on my way...

mission accomplished. I was aiming for an 8 hour day today, I got 10 in (even better!).  now it's no more work for 6 more days.  I give the dog a quick pooperdog walk, then drink me a St. Pauli Girl and take a shower while the Kid and his friend watch "Andromeda strain" (via Netflix...remember that classic?! it's a good one from what I remember).  I do a load of laundry, smirf the web, while I contemplate what's for dinner. the guys already did some leftover pizza that I bought for yesterday's supper.  maybe I'll have the leftover spaghetti I made for lunch *plan*.  I best do that straight away before I crack another beer...

again, we're sent home early for lack of work.  this time it was 3 1/2 hours into the day.  looks like we have both Sunday and Monday off for the 4th (Monday=holiday; Sunday with the option to use a vacation day to cover it, or just keep it a free day off. I opt for the latter.  if I can afford it without pay, it gives me that extra day off later, with pay.  and as most slackers will tell ya, more time off from work is more important than whether or not ya get paid), so if I can get at least 8 hours in tomorrow, that'd give me about 20 hours. 20 will do.  that's about $220 before taxes.  that's enough.  this weeks check (received this morning) will be enough for rent and a couple bills, so next weeks check won't have to be huge.  just enough for food and gas...

I try and take me a power-nap this afternoon, but a silly dog doesn't let me due to a huge thunderstorm currently going on.

the Kid and his friend move all their stuff back in for the long weekend, then I ask the Kid what's all the red marks on his arm (looks like chicken pox).  he said the motel they stayed at apparently had bed bugs.....  let's hope they didn't drag 'em over here!!  just the idea has me itchin'.  oh well. nothing 4 or 5 flea bombs won't take care of, but what a hassle.  news at 11.

up by 5:30. pooperdog walk required a sweatshirt due to it only being 57 degrees (it wasn't that long ago when 57 felt warm).  burn some coffee, but still get a bit of vinegar taste from cleaning the machine yesterday.  I thought I cycled enough water thru...I guess not.

out of sheer disgust of my laptop acting up, I order me a new 'puter yesterday (a big one! several giga-hamsters of power).  I'm tired of working with old junk. I don't need an upgrade, but I guess I want one bad enough to order one.  then I remember why Best Buy was on my shit list (see short term memory post below).  I can't access my online credit card account thru them.  I remember getting the run around because I don't physically have the card any longer, and have no idea what my card number is (yet their happy to set me up with an 18 month payment plan), but need that number in order to find out why my password doesn't work  so I can access the account to make payments toward said card ('round and 'round).  I remember getting so frustrated last time that I told 'em to close the account.  apparently they haven't.  this time I call their 800 number, get shuffled around 'til the right person can help me, then they patch me to the bank that issues the card, but the phone simply drops the call after going thru their 'press 1 for this, press 2 for that' routine.  I try the first number again, and the lady explains that their not open for another 40 minutes (she could've let me know that the first time around).  how do I get into these damn pickles?  all this after spending a good hour just looking for my phone.  I lose the damn thing more than I use it...I could call it, and listen for the ring, but then remembered that I uninstalled Skype due to not using it. I could reinstall Skype, but then I don't know if I still have the username and password for that ('round and 'round).  I'm sure I create 3/4's of my own misery, but where does that other 1/4 come from?  and why does my coffee taste like shit? oh yeah, vinegar.  [...] then it dawns on me.  I can simply go to 'my account' page at Best Buy, view 'my order', and see if I can get the card number from there.  nope. it's asterisked out, 'cept for the last four digits.  anyway, I've killed enough time drinking bad coffee, and writing my angst down for me to get the run around again with the 800 number.  wish me luck, I'm goin' in!

later:  after a good half an hour of 'press 1 for this, 2 for that', dropped calls, and horse shit, I finally get someone who seems to care, only to get told that I need to go into the store with a photo ID in order to get a new card, otherwise I'm skunked. I end up putting Best Buy back on my shit list and cancel the order...I know, their just trying to protect my account, and that's good, but I don't need to enhance my headache any further.  let's just let it go, and move on...now, to simply relax and make some franch toost unt bacon to go with my mocha vinaigrette

retarded laptop of mine wants to clunk out 3 times while attempting to watch 'Highlander' last night (I know...old movie, but I heard it was good, so I attempted to watch).  the problem is, the thing likes to overheat (it's a Toshiba. the guy at Office Depot guessed correctly as I was looking for yet another laptop cooler.  I had to laugh).  the laptop itself is pretty half killer when it comes to speed (i7 processor and what-not), but you can bake an egg on it when you try and watch a movie on it.  I got 3/4's of the way thru the movie, then restarted it only to look at what kind of laptop (Ibuypower.com) I could replace this one with...maybe I'll just deal with the inconvenience until after I win the lotto...the rig I want costs almost as much as a good used car, so never mind.

up at 7:00 this morning.  barefoot pooperdog walk, burn some coffee, clean the kitchen, vacuum the place, do some laundry, online banking, etc..  I throw a good $300 of my income toward my solid gold and gem studded brake job account which pretty much finishes off that wallet high jacking (I'll prob'ly still forever call my master card account "the solid gold and gem studded brake job account" just to be a smart ass). I guess if I've learned anything, it's stay clear of that one muffler/brake shop that is seemingly always empty.  there's a reason.  now I know....of course, they prob'ly rely on peeps short term memory to go south by the time they need brakes again.

looks like a nice day!  maybe I'll mow da lawn...ready? go!

we start Monday night's stalag gig with getting together with other lines.  do our stretches, have our before shift bs meeting, then the big guy says "we will not be running the Dodge Ram line at all tonight, so for those who want to stay, you'll be distributed where needed on other lines, those that want to go...go!"  I was almost gone before he finished that last sentence.  I stop off at a convenience store near work and picked up a 12'er of 'Mexican beers'.  looks like I'll be starting my weekend early.  I don't have to be back until Friday morning...SHWEET!!  4 day weekend, then next week, we'll prob'ly get the 4th of July off too.  man!  free time away from the stalag to slack is always a huge plus.  I drag the dog's pillow, her water bowl, some food, my laptop and a beer out on the porch to begin said relaxation.   ahhhhhh summertime!  and life is good!.

it's become rather sad, really.  my porch looks over toward the direction of Chas Manson's place.  his car is completely un-drive-able.  the back drivers tire is jacked off the ground with a jack stand, and the front and rear light assemblies have been completely removed (why?).  the trunk is always open, and he's constantly looking as if he's fixing something (this has been going on now for months!).  he's lookin' scrawnier than ever in his dirty grey coveralls and greasy baseball cap, half covering his long unwashed grey hair.  I think he's been beaten down and knows nothing else but to look busy (I've never seen him with a "real" job.  he used to fix mowers, but the parks manager put a stop to that).  once in awhile, I see an older lady in a nice blue Cadillac stop by and give him a ride (prob'ly to the store), but otherwise, he's always tinkering with something as if what he's doing will get that '84 Oldsmobile POS back on the road by working on something in the trunk.  weird guy~ did I mention 'sad'... 

across the way Jay stops by just before I headed out to work tonight.  his girlfriend is going to the unemployment office and he wonders if I could help her with the online set-up.  sure! I told him that chances are pretty good that I'd get out of work early, so I should be awake by noon tomorrow (I figured on getting out early-ish, but not 20 minutes into the shift). 

it looks like the Kid and his friend are stopping by for a week starting on the 1st.  cool!  anyway, I gotta grab another beer and maybe watch a bad movie on Netflix *plan*

the work week starts off with our shift leaving at 4:30 (two hours early) on Friday,  if not for being sent to another line, I would have been able to leave at 3 on Saturday with the rest of our crew, but the line I was volunteered for worked until 6:30, so I had to stay...and tonight (Sunday) we got to split at 2:30 (4 hours earlier than normal).  it's kinda hit or miss come July.  some lines have complete weeks off, some have to stay and clean, some have to work their full schedule, all depending on what needs to happen for that particular auto makers model year change over.  we do Dodge Ram truck seat frames. we haven't heard if we have any days off.  it may just be hit or miss like the week started.  it'd be nice to have a week off, but if it doesn't happen, oh well.  it's not a thing.  time off here and there is just as nice.  it's currently 3:30am.  the pooperdog and I just went for a walk under the stars.  it's  a pleasant night.  68 degrees cool.  I guess I'll stay awake 'til around 8:30am then crash for the day to get ready for tomorrow nights gig *plan*.  now, what to do in the middle of the night?  go shopping? I don't need any food. get something to eat?  I had me a big ol' slab of leftover lasagna about 3 hours ago.  I'm not hungry.  maybe I'll catch up on some Jon Stewart daily shows and ABC world news on hulu.com...

my cracked throat has been prohibiting me from being the booze hound that I aspire to be, as of late, but yesterday was an exception, since I started at 11am, waxing my truck betwixt raindrops...the beers never went down smoother.  I must have put away a 12'er of that "Mexican beer" thru out the day. I, of course, played hide the keys from myself...I also hid the phone after noticing Brian (neighbor/almost room mate) called.  I suspected he needed a ride somewhere, but that wasn't gonna happen.  he caught me today and flagged me down on the back road, and asked why I haven't answered my phone? wanting to tell him that I want my weekend to be mine and not having to set my watch to his schedule to be the chauffeur about town for him...instead, I just told him I lost it, like I always tell him.  he stops by later (during my power-nap naturally) and wants a ride to his car across town (man! this guy! he's some kinda meatball...I should charge him by the mile).  it's never a quick pick up the car and go either, he's gotta be on the phone to someone, while I sit and wait...and wait...and wait.

it rained amazingly hard for a couple bouts yesterday.  this morning, while trying to lure Rosie into the passenger side of my truck (she likes to go for a spin ever now and again) I noticed the carpet was wet.  I picked up the rubber floor mat, and the entire floor was soaked.  I throw the mat outside, grab the wet vac, and vacuum what I can out.  meanwhile, I assume all the water came from a bad seal on the passenger door.  the door itself got torqued out of shape somewhat during that roll over I had last winter in the ditch.  I head to the hardware store and buy some rubber gasket material that I stick to the door itself aligning it with the rubber seal on the door opening hoping that it'll be enough to keep the water out (we'll see).

let's see.  what else?  taco bell for lunch, a couple rainy pooperdog walks, playing some PS2 'BLACK' using Brian's 45 inch TV, drinkin' a couple Landshark Lagers,  and cooking some lasagna fills the rest of the day.

all right, up at 7:30am.  barefoot pooperdog walk before it gets too hot outside, then off to McDonalds for a no. 6 and a black coffee, then to the junkyard where they had ordered a new front quarter panel for my little truck last Wednesday (this was after much contemplation on whether I should even bother with a new panel).  last week Wednesday, they told me it would be ready for pick-up (pun?) on Thursday after 10am, Thursday (noon) they tell me it hadn't come in (ok, well...I'll wait), today (one week later), I stop in and it's the same routine, she shuffles thru an endless amount of orders on the table, but this time she calls (someone) and explains that it isn't in yet.  just then, I said "forget this!" and walked out...if they can't deliver something from Grand Rabbits to Holland (a half an hours drive away)within a week, they've done lost a customer. the place is called LKQ they're supposed to be a nationwide chain that deals in new, used, and after market discount car parts (if you want to boycott them with me).  they've made my shit list (which includes the likes of Sears, Best Buy, and Burger King...).  after that, I hit my local food store and pick up a steering wheel cover, and some car wax, but by the time I get home, it's pretty damn overcast.  ok. I'll drink a beer and contemplate whether I'll get caught in the rain waxing my truck or not.  I go for it.  I start on the drivers door, then move to the back drivers box panel.  that's when it started pouring like a mug.  the minute I get the wax off, fire up the 'puter, and start writing out here on the porch, the sun breaks out again.  let's see if I can get another panel done.  it looks like the rain is already dried from the sun...wish me luck!

some 20 minutes later: I get my hood waxed and quarter panel 1/2 done (yeah, the crunched one's gotta look shiny too!),  it went from clear blue sky back to  a mild rain...now as I type, the blue is coming back.  it's as if the god of rain is looking down and saying "let'er drop" just after a good wax haze has been applied.  I'll try again in a minute.  maybe I'll get this thing waxed completely?  no hurries.  I got plenty of beer and lots of patience...

later yet:  I'm able to finish the whole truck, but just as I'm backing it out of my lawn (I like to wash and wax my bomber in the yard), it starts pouring again.  goofy day!  it doesn't know what it wants to do...oh well.  my once a year wax job is done, maybe I'll clean the wood-panel submarine while it rains, or just hang out here on the porch, with an old dog, and a beer, and think about what else to type about the four days (or so) that it's been since I've written an entry.  'k. lemme think...

Rolph gets in trouble (at the stalag)...someone finally turns his ass in for harassment.  he's a bit nervous on Saturday for pissin' off yet another.  he's sure he'll get another reprimand.  I haven't heard anything since, so I guess that person didn't squawk.  of course, he thinks anyone who turns him in is a big baby (one of many bully tactic responses).  I'm thinkin' it won't be long before he hangs himself.  so, as I'm talkin' to him the other day, I realize what really bothers me about him.  he doesn't blink.  I'll be talking to him for 10 minutes and not a single blink.  weird.  maybe he's an iguana? maybe it's the result of the narcotics he's taking for the gallbladder surgery pain?  whatever it is, it's weird.  anyway.  we had a lot of peeps missing this week,  but do ok on the skeleton crew we have.

whoa...battery's low.  hit save, and plug 'er back in...

...even later yet: I write a nasty e-mail to LKQ to let them know how pissed I am about waiting for a car part for a week, when it should have only been a day (at the most). I'm thinkin'  It'll prob'ly take them a week to respond. 

someone drops off a bag of kibbles and bits on my porch whilst I'm giving the dog a walk.   I fill her bowl with it, then minutes later, she whines as if something is horribly wrong.  I'm petting her, and reassuring her everything's ok.  she starts doing the dog vomit thing over her pillow, but instead belches loud about 3 times rather than vomiting.  I can only guess that she snarfed a bunch of air in while she was eating this new food.  she seemed fine after said belches.  I didn't know dogs could burp~!  funny shizz!!

'across the way Jay' stops by half loaded.  we catch up on some shit, then he splits once his arsenal of alcohol is gone (he brings 2 beers and a glass of something purple with him).  I offer him some Mexican beer (Miller Lite),  he says he'll be back....

here's the broken tail light.  not as damaged as the front turn signal lens.  I prob'ly could've used some red translucent tape, but didn't feel like fitting in with the rest of the trailer trash.  $25 for a new assembly from the junkyard ($44 at Autozone).  they didn't have my front quarter panel in yet, so I may either pick it up next Tuesday, or cancel on it all together. I'm thinkin' the caved in look isn't too distracting (at this time).  they make a $3 bumper sticker that looks like a band-aid, maybe I'll just stick one of those on it (for now), and reclaim the trailer trash status that I've been in denial over.  I'll feel more comfortable paying off that solid gold and diamond encrusted brake job first. oh yeah, and a quick pic of my fat beagle mutt doing the snoopy dance...

these past couple three days/nights have been cooler than usual (50's-60's), which is good, when it comes to the temp inside the stalag.  currently, it's sunny and 77.  I spend a bunch of time out in the sun trying to lose my winter whiteness, and do a spring cleaning on the shrimpy truck [affectionately named 'grubbertrucky' by an acidplanet friend, who calls herself 'psychomouse' online].  cleaning consists mostly of windexing all the glass, rain-xing the windshield, vacuuming the carpet, and armorall-inggg everything plastic and rubber (interior and exterior).  I brake off my radio antennae with my elbow while cleaning the windshield.  looks like that truck was destined not to have an antennae.  maybe I'll put a retractable one in, when I find the time (and money) to replace the banged up front quarter panel...I'd like to get the old bomb back to "normal" body wise.  maybe I'll go to the junk yard today, and [at least] find me some replacements for the passenger headlight/brake light lenses *plan*.  I mean, if I'm gonna spend a million on gold plated, diamond studded brakes, I may as well upgrade what I got to something that looks and rides well, right?  riiiiight!

later: I hit the junk yard and order up a rear lens, as well as a front turn signal assembly.  they'll be here tomorrow 'round 10am to pick up, then, just for fun, I go across the street to an Autozone, and see how much they want for new lenses...turns out, they want $7 less than the junkyard wants for a brand new front lens.  weirdly enough, the same lens (mirror image, for the driver side) goes for 20+ dollars more than the passenger side (it's the same damn thing, only mirrored) I buy that, revise the order at the junkyard (the junkyard still is about half price for the rear lens compared to Autozone, so that order stays), and while there, I price a front quarter panel (the passenger side front quarter is completely caved in from my wipe out).  they want $120 which is relatively cheap compared to stores I've perused online, so I order me one of those.  it's new and comes black primered, so once again, I hit the road to the auto detail shop that fixed my windows, remembering that he said he had a spray booth...he wants $250 per panel, then another $120 to install it.  nope, too much!  I'll look around, or simply color match with spray paint (yeahhhh, that'd prob'ly look crappy, never mind). I'm sure I can find a deal here in town, then maybe have that same person install that retractable antennae...I'll hit the yellow pages and get some quotes.  the lenses, antennae, and new quarter panel (once painted and installed) will make the truck look significantly nicer.  there are some dings and scratches on the roof and door from the crash, but there pretty minor.  then I'll have me a brand new used truck once again!

here's the original (out of focus) passenger front turn signal, replaced for $11 (dirt cheap!).  the first of many small steps to get my truck back to "normal-ish".  that's one less 'repair and report' the cops can stop me for

only 2 1/2 beers last night before crashin' out.  I stayed up 'til about ten pm, then slept 'til maybe 5:30am, did the dishes, cleaned up a bit then fell back asleep 3 hours later to try and get at least 7 hours of sleep in before hitting the stalag. Brian borrows my truck to help one of his friends move, then wanders over around 3:30pm tonight, rattling Rosie's collar and trying to coax her out of my room (she sleeps on a big pillow next to my bed) for a walk, while I pretend to sleep.  he's giving her three and four dog treats and tugging on the collar he quietly puts on, just then, I said "it's not working is it?"...he's seems mad that she won't cooperate.  I mention the fact that you use one of those treats to coax her outside, and one when she's done going potty, realizing right there and then, that it's been Rosie's training on me that gets her to cooperate so well.  the dog isn't content unless the handler follows her directions.  I remember back when I acquired her how stubborn she seemed (just like the way she treats Brian), now that I've been fully trained, she seems much happier.  good boy!  heh!  we humans are so easily trainable.

anyway.  gotta get ready for the Stalag (...yet another thing that I've been trained for; work, to provide food for the dog)

catch up on Fridays paycheck distribution via online banking (after a barefoot pooperdog walk following work today)...$100 toward my credit card (to pay for those gold plated brakes), $30 toward my overdraft protection (zeroing that out...for some reason I had me an overdraft. I best be more vigilant.  that $10 overdraft fee could have went toward more beerses).  $20 into savings (I'll pile 20% into savings, once again, after the brakes be paid in full),  leaving me with $180 to play with until next Friday (more than enough to survive!).  I filled up the shrimpy trucks gas tank ($55), and have plenty of food for the week, so all is well.  work was ok today, but around 3pm I started to get a killer sore throat.  it's still a bit ragged, but not as bad.  I still haven't looked into seeing a doctor (being a guy, and all, the man handbook says I gotta be 3/4's dead first).  I catch up on ABC world news (via hulu.com) and one of the stories is about the recent 50% increase in men having throat cancer from the HPV virus (yep, the same that women are concerned with for cervical cancer.  connect the dots, I guess...more peeps are having oral sex maybe?  what? they were the ones to point that out. seriously.).  the news doctor (Dr. Richard Besser?) says if you have a sore throat for over two weeks, to seek medical attention...how about 2 friggin' years? you s'pose that's enough time?.  jokes aside, I guess it's time. 

I take a break from writing to cut up some smoked sausage, and make some Zatter-what's-it gumbo.  mmmmmmmms! it stinks up the wood-panel submarine just fine while it cooks! ...with Pandora radio jammin' to Aphex Twin, and Heineken in hand,  life is good.  I don't have to go to work 'til tomorrow night, so maybe I'll do in that sixer, just to quell my throat pain, and cop a buzz (haven't heard that expression since the 80's)

got up real early this morning, with a couple bags of clothes to bring to the mission, a pup-head (doggy astro turf pee tray that was a complete failure) to return, and a brake job that was long needed to be had on the shrimpy truck...it was too early for any of that, so I made some scrambled eggs (from the x-wife's organic farm eggs that the Kid sent me), along with bacon, cheese, and English muffins to make an 'egg, cheese, and bacon McMuffin McCheese', and plenty of coffee.  once 9 o'clock rolled around, I was able to return that $70 piece of plastic with astro turf that Rosie was wondering why I wanted to make her pee on indoors.  the mission drop off wasn't open 'til 10, so I stop off at the local muffler/brake shop.   of course, they say my truck is within the worst case scenario, showing me the mangled mess and metal to metal shoe pads.   they show me the mess that once was my rear brakes, saying they assume they haven't been operational in years.  then the mechanic says that they may very well be the original brakes from 14 years ago, showing me the tabs that normally only come on the originals....  I have no idea if he's snowing me or not, but it costs an extra fuck load to get everything up to snuff.  I'm figuring about $150 to get them back to normal.  they quote $377!!!  I run with it because the truck is junk without back brakes and there is a huge difference when they are thru.  the mechanic yells "we'll see you in another 14 years for your next brake job", as I'm driving away. the brake job itself takes about half the day because the dude orders parts from Grand Rabbits for 10" cylinder (mine takes 9").  then a half an hour later when the wrong parts arrive, he calls for the right parts, but then puts the guy on hold, forgetting to pick the phone up again.  I hear him apologizing from the waiting room some 2 and a half hours later, releasing the correct parts, again from Grand Rabbits.  the mechanic on the floor says once the parts arrive in about 25 minutes, it'll take an hour to install said parts.  jesus!!  I ask if they'll knock off a grand for all my waiting.  instead, they give me a free oil change...ok.  that'll work.  once all of that is done, I come home, drink some beers and watch football highlights from the 2005 season (hulu.com), crash out on the lawn chair for a quick sunburn, and walk the dog a couple 3 times.  it's been a good day!  unlike yesterday, where I slept a lot, and babied a sore throat...

tomorrow is my 'Monday' as far as work goes.  I'll bring back that carpet cleaner that I borrowed.  I'm thinkin' I may buy the guy a $30 gift cert to 'Boston Market' (he's always got Boston Market going on for lunch at work)...he saved me a gob of money having it professionally cleaned, so why not, right?

Rolphy's back to work (see earlier entries on this ass munch).  seems he and the new supervisor aren't meshing well.  it's his first full day back, and he's already gotten a verbal warning about harassing someone on the crew (don't know any details, but find it good that he gets what's due...).  otherwise, the work weekend went ok. it was damn hot in there on Monday.  I'm sure it'll get 20-30 hotter as August rolls around.  it was 80 degrees this morning at 5:30am!  the pooperdog and I take a small barefoot walk, then hit the 70 degree AC and make some bacon, coffee, unt franch toost (mmmmmmmms!).

I guess today's agenda will include taking back a jillion dollars worth of empties (my cat drinks a lot of beer!), hittin' the lawn chair with a coldey (gooky throat permitting), and maybe mowing the lawn, if I ever get my lawn mower back from Jay...I hope he didn't just leave it in his lawn by the edge of the road, anyone could mistake it for junk and grab it (that's how you get rid of anything 'round here. put it out by the road so other trailer trash dumpster divers can snake it.  that's how I acquired the mower in the first place).

I was supposed to hit the 'squatches tonight for tacos and do the rear brakes on my shrimpy truck, but still have that half bronchitis feel (gooky throat, etc), so I wrote 'em back for a rain check...

spend the rest of the day (yesterday) diggin' dirt from the woods out back and refilling the craters that the pooperdog dug.  it took several pales to get the ground level again.  she's a digger, sometimes using her paws, sometimes her nose (you heard right, she has a nose of steel...!).  after getting everything back to level (including under the neighbors hedge, where she would dig deep into the roots, then sit camouflaged underneath and watch the cars go by), I reseeded everything and shortened Rosie's lead line so she can't re-dig those areas.  I also took a minute and returned some used oil to autozone (they take your old oil away for free) and hit the pet store next door for 14 cents worth of plastic formed into a tray with 72 cents worth of astroturf on top, so they can turn around and sell it to me for $70.  yep, it's supposed to be a small patch of grass that your dog can pee on...she says if Rosie doesn't take to it within a month, I can return it for a full refund.  if it works, then the price is well worth it rather than replacing carpet for 100's more.  we'll see.  she's a kicker, not unlike most dogs, so if she poops on it, I'm thinkin' she'll punt it under the fridge where I'll never get at it.  anyway.  It just dawned on me.  I paid less for a trumpet and all its intricate brass fittings and workings than this piece of plastic/turf.  wow!  here's hopin' it does the trick [news at 11]

today I pull a 12'er at the stalag, with a smallish pooperdog/barefoot walk afterward.  leftover chicken helper and a strawberry pop-tart, for lunch, chicken and dumpling soup for dinner.

time to hit the rack.  4:30am rolls around much too quickly...

feeling better this morning (after many hours of sleepage).  hot coffee seems to sooth the pain. I threw a Netflix movie in last night, and slept thru half of it. it was a real dog!  "the Battle of Los Angeles".  good gawd!  you could tell it was a real stinker right from the get go, and it got worse as it went on.  the best part of the movie was me sleeping.

it's been awhile since I've changed up my music on my MP3 player, so this morning, I do just that.  after deleting what I'm getting tired of, I add some Ben Folds Five, Therapy?, They Might Be Giants, Man or Astroman?, Butthole Surfers, the Blue Hawaiians, some Bad Religion, and more.  now I got some new tunage to crank in the shrimpy truck.  

maybe I'll run out and get me some breakfast *plan*

oh yeah, just another note about the events that happened within the past week, I barrow a Bissel steam cleaner from a  guy at work to shampoo the carpet down the aisle, in front of the washer and dryer where the dog found it OK to pee while I was at work (what else was she to do? 13 hours is a long wait...).  it worked well!  it took  the mild smell away (you know how bad carpets can retain pee stink even after heavy doses of Resolve...that's pretty much gone!),  also, I buy me a pet gate that keeps her in the kitchen while I'm at work (it's tons easier to mop pee off linoleum than having to steam clean carpets, and what-not), so she can't re-pee on the carpeted area.  I let her free roam the wood-panel submarine while I'm here, but I still block the small section of aisle-way, once again, so she doesn't re-offend.  she's pretty good at holdin' it, but every now and then she'll do her thing whilst I'm away. Brian (neighbor/phantom room mate) is cool enough to stop by during the day shift and let her out.  now, if I could only find a night shift pooperdog sitter, things would be golden (pun?)....

nice strong southerly breeze, 71 degrees, and sunny!  nice day, and I burnt half of it away taking a nap.  yep, my 'throat crack' infection is back.  dammit!  it's sore like a mofo!  I'm hackin' goobers and blood...it's not pretty.  I gargle salt water to try and ease the pain.  it seems to work pretty good.  I'm able to sit down now and have me a beer without wincing. last night, I could only drink 2 before it was too sore to drink another, we'll see how tonight goes. I guess I'll have to look into which doctor is in my insurances "in-network" and give 'em a call before it turns into another yucky bout of bronchitis. this thing likes to come and go as it pleases, with long stints of it being gone all together, then, BAM! it's back...

let's see.  it's been awhile since I wrote last...work is the same old stalag.  we didn't know if we had the holiday off until about Saturday, so instead of working it, and getting paid double time and a half, we get paid 10 hours for being home (and life is good!).  this is the second holiday that I actually got paid for.  I missed out on too many of 'em while being a temp, but that complaint was prob'ly already written in previous bitch session entries. 

the Kid's friend Mark shows up on Saturday, just before I go to work, he's here for a couple days before finding a motel in Grand Rabbits. I write more about this in a 'private' entry, names have been changed to protect the innocent *cue Dragnet theme*.  nah, they did nothing wrong, let's just say they had a run-in with a nosy neighbor. 'nuff sed.  you jump to your own conclusions.  It's good to see the Kid (and Mark) again.

I buy me some motor oil, an oil filter, and a PCV valve for my old bomber, and changed 'em out today (pre-nappage).  meanwhile Brian (phantom room mate) JB welds my antennae back onto my truck.  I'll take the time tonight to quickly take off that rattly exhaust extension.  while workin' on the bomb, Sasquatch stops by.  we do lunch at the Chinese buffet (it's my turn to buy).  he wants me to come over next week and do meatloaf, and maybe quickly replace those back brakes that need replacing so bad.  sounds like a plan!  he tells me that he suffered from what he thought was a heart attack the other day, while driving his car.  he went and got it checked out.  they ran a series of stress tests showing that his heart and lungs are healthy.  may have been simply an anxiety attack.  he gets x-rays on his arm (that being a symptom of what he thought was said heart attack), and it seems he has arthritic bone spurs jabbing at tendons that have to be removed.  he's got a good extension on his unemployment, so it's good timing (if there's ever a "good" time for surgery, he found it).  over all, things seem to be going well for him and his wife.  it's good to catch up with him, as well. 

...and speaking of Brian (neighbor/phantom room mate), he gets a new hoopty.  it's a '95 Suburu SVK.  the thing looks like a damn UFO!  it's very much like what you'd imagine a prototype car to look like.  it's cool!  and, of course, he's gotta spend a gob of money on window tinting, stereo installation, car alarm and remote starter installation, so he has me drop him off and pick him up several times during my time off.   I gotta work my slack schedule around his BS, but I wasn't doin' nothin' anyway, and he's helped me more than once with stuff, so it's all groovy.

yet ANOTHER trailer goes up in smoke!  damn scary!  oh, and one more (taken earlier) of my new [used] horn posing with my mildly retarded dog.... "DAAAHH, nice horn dad!"

anyway, the dog's grawlin' at me for a walk, so I best grab the leash and get a barefoot walk in before the skeeters get too thick.

she pants double time and tries to crawl onto my bed every time the thunder rolls...it's that long rolling 'here comes the train' kind of thunder, not your typical short blasts.  she's not comfortable with either kind, neither is the cat (who currently resides under the room mates bed).  I can understand why Rosie is shaken by it, she was an outdoor dog for years, with only a smallish dog house (sans a door) to protect her from the elements, but why Squabber?  he's not an outdoor cat.  never has been, never will be. I guess maybe it's a natural animal instinct to be afraid of what we don't understand (thus, the birth of religion...as far as humans go, IMO), or it's just an unusual frequency for cats and dogs?  they do have better hearing than we do.  I guess there's nothing more ominous than rumblings from the sky, right?  so why should I even question there scaredness (word?).

mowed the lawn yesterday.  I gave the primer a couple pushes, and the first pull on the cord brings it to life.  black smoke belches out for a minute, but it runs great for an old (free) mower.  I'm sure I've written about it before.  it was a lawn mower that my neighbor had left at the edge of the road (some three or four years ago), with a "free" label on it. I drag it home, bondo the rusty shroud, and have been using it ever since.  one of the best 'free' items I've ever acquired (since that Plymouth...or was it a Chrysler[?], that my sis gave me some 20 plus years back)

I assume Brian is currently borrowing my truck.  it's not in the driveway. I let him know that he can use it as long as it's back before Friday morning (my Monday, at the stalag).  we did some runnin' around yesterday.  first, I pick him up from his surgery. he was awake and watched the whole thing, as they cut his arm and leg to extract the blotches of skin cancer.  he's got over 40 stitches in his arm alone.  then we drive him to his trashed car (see earlier entry) to meet the insurance claim dude. they total the wreck, but don't give him a dollar amount (on what he'll receive by check) just yet.  he ponders whether he should go the German car route again, or maybe buy himself a truck (that same 'sport/luxury vs practical' thing that I struggle with when I look at a replacement for my bomb) afterward, I stop off to my favorite beer store and pick me up a sixer of 'Dirty Bastard' (a Scotch/beer hybrid), and proceed to clean the wood-panel submarine, drinkin' said brew, and jammin' out to 'Venetian Snares' via Pandora radio...

I go thru some of Brian's reject shirts (he throws them my way as he sorts thru his old clothes stash...he's seen some of the salvation army rags that I currently wear to work).  so far, I only find a couple 3 that fit, but I haven't gone thru the whole pile yet.  once I determine what fits and what doesn't, I'll can go thru my dresser drawers and throw out the worst of the worst of my work shit, and start using the replacements.  then bag up what doesn't fit, and bring 'em to Goodwill (or the like).  I got time right now, come to think of it. 

[...]

just as I'm ready to split for work, Brian (neighbor/almost room mate) tells me his car got jacked up while it was parked at the fix-it shop.  seems whoever did it wanted to trash it good! he tells me that they etched things into the paint, used oranges spray paint, broke windows, cut up the leather interior, tore door panels off, stole the floor mats, broke headlights and tail lights, then to top it off they pissed in it.  Jesus!! here's hopin' maybe a security cam caught 'em in action.  he thinks the insurance company will prob'ly total it.  he said he cried when he saw what they did to the interior.  it's sad.  it was a nice car!

I check the forecast last night before heading off to work.  it looks as if no rain, so I open a couple three windows in the wood-panel submarine...once I get to work, there were the blackest of clouds rolling in (dammit!).  I call my neighbor and have him close everything up.  just another typical long night at the stalag.  one more to go and the mid-week weekend begins.  Brian said he may need a ride (being his ride got focked up) on Tuesday for his cancer surgery.  I can do that.

anyways...sleep!  4:30pm rolls around much too quickly *belch*

up by 10am, after staying up most of the night watching a couple Bruce Willis movies (why not, right?).  drop Brian off to pick up his car from the fix-it place, then head over and finally get that haircut that I needed ('bout damn time! I was feelin' like a hippy).  afterward, I hit Steak 'n' Shake for my favorite combo (some sort of patty melt with french dressing, some fries and a Roootbeer), then hit my favorite beer store on the way home for a sixer of oatmeal stout (mmmmms!). I was gonna go shoe hunting, but I gotta be in the right mood....maybe next weekend.    I guess I ran you thru my lame clothing inventory (yesterday's entry) mostly because I'm still amazed at the amount of clothes Brian owns.  3 dressers stuffed full, plus a 12 foot wide closet chocked full, on top of the clothes he keeps at his mom's.  damn!  who knows what else he's got in half those totes in the shed that he hasn't gone thru yet? (did I mention 'amazing'?!  pro'ly).

rainy and cool today (currently in the low 60's).  good time to drink some oatmeal stout and maybe catch another Bruce Willis flick...

I help Brian (neighbor/almost room mate) unload the rest of his junk (including some pretty heavy dressers filled with clothes, and a washer and dryer....ooh, my back's not gonna like me for that!.  weirdly enough, it's almost therapeutic, as long as I lift with me legs.  maybe strength training is what my back needed all along? maybe it missed those rigorous 'Honda weld' work outs? anyway, it feels good at the moment...).  he goes thru a bunch of totes as he puts things in my shed.  he gives me a good chunk of his kitchenware (for keeps), including frying pans, pots, skillets, some decanter thingeys (for coffee, sugar, flour, etc.), a better silverware tray than the busted one I have in the drawer now, large soup bowls, plates, cups, coffee cups, spatulas.  just a ton of stuff that I was hurtin' for anyway, being the minimalist that I am, when it comes to essentials.  he also throws me a slick spring jacket, a $300 (he claims) winter jacket, and a bunch of shirts (that I can at least use for work, if they fit).  I felt like I won the damn lotto!   there's only a couple items left in his storage.  we'll grab it up tomorrow, then go pick up his car (it's always in the shop for one reason or another).  I didn't want to kill my whole weekend helpin' the guy, but as I say, it was most rewarding in kitchenware and clothes.  during one of our conversations, he shows me a good sized spot on his arm and leg that he calls 'cancerous' and needs to go in and have 'em removed next week (yikes!).  he calls it "too much sun warship".  damn!  I like to get sun-baked too.  maybe I better cool it (i'm thinking, as he goes on about the procedure where they'll cut a good sized trapezoid of flesh out around the cancer, then sew it all back together).  

I'm currently sittin' out on the porch, beer in hand, with a good ol' dog, 'round 1:30 in the morning (just after a huge rain storm).  I fell asleep earlier watching a PBS special about space (it was a good show, I guess the beers just made me sleepy).  it's a bit cool out so I grab me my fleece lined long sleeved shirt while grabbing another beer...

I guess I'll have to do some shoe shopping tomorrow.  I threw away one pair last week because they were hurting my toes.  leaving me with one sad pair of shoes.  I'm tellin' ya. not only am I a kitchenware minimalist, I usually only have one of a lot of other stuff most peeps have at least two of. most everything I own (clothes wise) fits nicely in one small dresser.  example; I only have one pair of jeans (that still fit), one leather belt, one winter coat (until today's haul), one pair of shoes (wait, I already mentioned that),  one fleece lined long sleeved shirt, one (maybe two) regular long sleeved shirts, one hooded sweatshirt, zero regular sweatshirts,  one tie (from 1980 something), one pair of sandals (cobbed from an earlier room mate), zero dress clothes or shoes, zero boots for the winter...the list goes on and on.  I put little importance into what I wear, I guess?  now on the flip side, I have too many white socks, and underwear (but that's a good thing). how'd I get on the clothes tip again?  oh yeah.  shoes.  I gotta look into a comfy pair for home, and maybe another for work.  that'll be tomorrows mission (after finishing up with Brian's stuff)...my laptop battery is gettin' low.  I best post what I got before it shuts off.  I'll spell check tomorrow. *belch!*

so, here's what's not cool...I take the day off (legitimately) from work Sunday (it's my birthday weekend, and all...I felt like playing hooky!)  and in turn get a verbal warning, along with the rest of the crew, for something the crew did while I wasn't there.  fair?  hell no!  I wasn't there!  it was maybe an hour later, that I accidentally grabbed and ran the wrong parts,  after running about 5 of 'em I realize my mistake.  I shut the line down, and expect to get hollered at for that.  nope.  the line support says "good job!  you caught the wrong parts early!".   here I make a legit mistake and I'm given an "attaboy", yet get a verbal warning for something I had nothing to do with, the day before....goofy fuckin' deal! is it backwards day today?  I thanked line support later telling her that there could have, and maybe should have been a real punishment handed out for what I did.    once again, she says "nope.  good catch!  good job!".  now maybe she's over playing the 'attaboy' card because she saw my HUGE discontent in the verbal write up for something that happened while I was gone.  either way.  what a goofy deal!  I guess the two sort of balance one another out.

still no Rolphy (the guy that's been out for a good couple weeks now for gallbladder surgery), and Kate is gone a huge amount as well (she's out with real bad asthma).   the Honda line has completely shut down for a good month and a half (due to the Tsunami in Japan, so rumor goes), leaving management scrambling to move a lot of peeps into other different departments (I guess I left Honda weld just in time).  let's see.  what else about the stalag...nothin' new really.  I get home this morning and crash a good 6 hours.  then while bringing a bunch of empties back to the store, my tail gate flys open.  luckily I was able to slow down to a stop without a single bottle hitting the road.  while at the store, I pick up some dog food, cat litter, and three pairs of shorts for the summertime weather (last years shorts are all stretched too big, being I was 30 lbs heavier...).  I drive past the haircut place but it was too busy.  I'll hit it at a slower hour.  on the way home I stop off at my favorite beer store for a sixer of oatmeal stout, and clean the shack up a bit (Pandora radio set at 'Reverend Horton Heat').

anyway.  it's too nice a day outside to sit in here and type.  best I go sit out on the porch with a beer and an ol' dog and slack for a spell.

I mean, other than the 12 sucky hours at the stalag, it's been a good birthday.  I was surprised with a sixer of Pandemonium Pale Ale by the ol' room mate ('Squatch).  he must still have a key to the joint, 'cause the beers were in my coolerator with a b-day card stuck betwixt the fridge door.  very cool!  I wind the day down with some awesome brew (just one, for 4:30am rolls around way too soon). 

the (sort of room mate) neighbor stops by yesterday to hook up his TV and surround sound.  he'll need help tomorrow night to get the rest of his stuff out of storage (cool!)  then who knows...maybe he'll actually move in, maybe not.  I'm not holding my breath....  anyway, gotta find something to eat, then crash so I'll be alive for tomorrows 12 hour day.  speakin' of which.  we had a meeting today.  seems there's a company that's working hand in hand with us to try and make the place more efficient.  there goal is to streamline things and get us down to a 40 hour week (shweet!). who knows how long that'll take or what sacrifices we'll have to make for it, but it sounds half promising.  more about that as it unravels...meanwhile, Rolphy wasn't in today, so I was able to have a stress free day, even though it felt like everything (on the line) went straight to hell.  lots of big wigs wandering about interjecting their 2 cents here and there (maintenance was working on the line more than we were...at least we doubled what the day shift did, but halved what we normally do).  so,  introduce big wigs and an efficiency company and make less parts (off to a great start).  maybe starting slow and getting maintenance involved is part of their plan (who knows??).  more on this too as we go...

...and there it is.  in all it's tarnished, scratched and dinged glory...my new "bad horn day" trumpet.  it came via FedEx about an hour ago.  the first time I try and play it, I realize the valves weren't in the correct order, and there was an air leak.  so, first things first, I put the valves where there supposed to be and look for the air leak.  seems the spit valve is broken off.  I plug it with my finger, and it plays really well! all the tuning slides work (that's a huge plus), so my $43 trumpet (which looks like it was salvaged from a house fire.  sort of has a blackened brass look.  is that from age? maybe it's a cajun horn.  it was made in France afterall) works good!  I'll maybe put a small screw where the spit valve used to be, give it a bath, clean an oil the valves, and re-vasoline al the slides, then she'll be good to go.  I have a trumpet stand around the house (somewhere? where'd I put that damn thing?  maybe it's in the shed), but for now I'll hang it from the end of the curtain rod across from where my bugle hangs...

alright, I'm done buying toys (for now), now let's make some dorky songs! Ready? GO!

how much more "scratch and dent" can they get?  let's pose them with a dog who's claws are tiger sharp and find out.   she's actually pretty bored with the whole foto shoot. gumby like pose-able and very careful not to scratch while belting out her favorite 'Bad Religion' tunes.  Squabber MC, on the other hand, would have nothing to do with posing.  he's as camera shy as I am...

good gawd, my eye sight is getting worse.  I'm useless without my reading glasses, while trying to read instructions on the back of, say, the hamburger helper box.  it used to be I could hold it at arms length (not long ago), now I'm lucky to guess which side of the box has the instructions.  damn these eyes!  oh well.  just part of gettin' old, I guess?

and just for fun, I've been bidding (low) on trumpets on Ebay.  I run into one that looks like it's seen better days (good shape overall, judging by the pics, but real old! but who knows how clunky the valves are? we'll see), and has 1 minute left, with a description that pretty much says "I have no idea about the condition, I'm not a trumpet player, ask Louis Armstrong".  with so little time left on the clock I bid a dollar more than the $42 current bid, and surprisingly I win.  it's on it's way here now (via Fedex).  I can't expect too much with the description that was given, and had no time to ask questions, so if it plays, I'll play it.  if not, it'll make a good wall mount out on the porch.  'bachelor dork decor', if you will.  either way, I'm looking forward to seein' it [news at 11]

it's been a good couple weeks (stress wise) at the stalag being that Rolph is still out with his gallbladder surgery recovery.  rumor has it that he'll be back this Friday.  I wonder how he and our new boss will get along...? maybe he'll be less of a dickweed now...yeah, prob'ly not.

I take a quick drive to the gas station last night to fill up my lawn mower gas can, and while there, replace my empty propane tank for the grill.  the bank is right next door, so I withdraw a $20, do some dollar menu grub at Wendy's (which is also next door), come home and share a burger with the ol' dog, etc..  meanwhile, throwing a ten spot to the viet nam vet neighbor who asked earlier if he could cut my lawn?  I agree to it, knowing this first cutting would be a bunch easier on his rider, than on my old beat up push mower (it's gotten real long after last weeks huge rainfall...this week looks just as rainy), plus his story on how he only makes $600/month disability helped him in the sell.  he pushes hard to make me have him do it every week, but I'm just dutch enough, and I enjoy mowing what little lawn I have...

 I don't know how involved I got in past entries about yet another couple of transactions that weren't made by me on one of my bank cards, but recently I got a note from the bank saying they'd need more time to investigate said transactions, and if I wanted to pursue investigating on my own, to send whatever I find out to a mailing address they provided, so I went ahead and called the '800' numbers provided with each transaction.  seems I can take care of both transactions using the first phone number provided.  the lady was beyond nice, and mentions a "D Chancellor" used my card to look up someones credit report (prob'ly his...not mine).  they're cool enough to refund the balance ($14.95 x2) after I mention that I know no one of that name. anyway.  long story short, I send a letter to the bank providing what I found out, and  I see that they (the credit report company) did indeed reimburse me, plus, it looks like the bank itself added a reimbursement as well (that's double what I should have gotten back.  Once again, I write my bank a note, letting them know that they can have their money back being I wasn't asking for double.  this was a couple days ago.  they still haven't made the correction, or bothered to write/call me back. blah, blah.

Squabber has been having some gross hairballs lately.  extra watery, and more 'explosive' (for lack of a better word).  it's gotten better since I've changed brands of food, and now filter his drinking water thru my PUR water filter pitcher (who knows what kind of bugs live in my tap water?). I do this for the dog as well, just in case.  my carpet thanks me

yesterday, after work, I get a good 8 hours sleep (normally doing about 4 hours), then have me some beers while watching a movie out on the porch (on my laptop, via netflix) with an old dog (and life is good!), followed by another good 8 hours of sleep (dang!  catch up sleep, I guess it's called).  I'm feeling well rested this morning, burning some coffee, and taking an early morning barefoot pooperdog walk, etc.  I gotta find me something to eat, then maybe practice MY favorite 'Bad Religion' tune, once Rosie is done practicing, on that badass piece of Thunderbird lumber...

Friday, without warning, we got a free lunch at the stalag (for something called "vision week"...no explanation or nothin', but who cares when it involves a free lunch, right?).  hotdogs, hamburgers, 'tator salad, chips/dip, macaroni salad, and a pop of your choice.  shweet!  I just kept the lunch that I brought in the fridge and feasted upon it the next day.   I get home and 'across the way Jay' asks if I'll be home for awhile (he was on his way to my favorite beer store).  seems he hasn't had to pay for his garbage bill (using my trash...I haven't charged him in a long time), so he decides to buy me a 30 pack of Busch beerses!  nice~!  "what, is it my birthday?" I ask, he says "no". I tell him that it actually will be my birthday next week "...well, there ya go then".  free lunch, free beer what next?  absolutely nothin' but relax.  I take an hour to scour ebay for a "bad horn day" trumpet.  I bid on one, but get outbid at the last minute.  I bid on another, but it has days to go.  I'm sure I've already  been out bid on that one as well...I'm trying to keep it under $100.  I may be bidding for a long time.  it's fun!  uneventful lonnng ass day at the stalag today (Saturday).  I come home, give the pooperdog a walk, crack a beer, do some laundry, jot down some nothingness...I gotta  get some food in me gullet before I have any more beers.  I'll search the pantry.  maybe chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sammich will fill the void.  *belch!*

so, just as I'm ready to bust out the vacuum and give the wood-panel submarine a good go around, the Kid shows up!  shweet!  haven't seen him since last year!  we hit the Chinese buffet for lunch, make the 'Best Buy' rounds,  catch 'The Green Hornet' on DVD, watch another movie on Netflix about the nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, take a smallish pooperdog walk,  potpies and pecan pie for dinner.  throw in a couple beers and generally catch up with what's new... it was a good day!  I was able to give him his Christmas/Birthday present that's been deteriorating in my wallet for 5 months...yep, it was a check for 1 million dollars.  *fart*

Monday, I spend a couple bucks gettin' me some guitar accessories.  a couple cheapo guitar straps, some locking whats-its that replace the guitar strap holders (what are they called again?), and a 1/4" cable (it won't be long now.  I'll be making bad muzak soon enough). UPS tracking shows they'll be here today (cool!)

wake up 'round 4am, burn some coffee and watch a weeks worth of 'the Daily Show with Jon Stewart', and catch up on some 'ABC  World News with Diane What's her face' via hulu.com.   gotta hit the shower, then maybe finally vacuum the dump (as well as clean the kitchen, do the dishes, clean the bathroom, etc...Ready? GO!)

...it just dawned on me, I don't think I threw pictures up of my babies (guitar toys) yet.  let me get this place half clean, then I'll take the time to do just that [...]

alright!  a shortened work day on our Friday is always good! we pull a 10 hour shift (instead of a 12'er) with the option to hang around and work on sub stations (you already know my answer: "BYE!!").  it's been another week without Rolphy around, being his dickish self.  he's been out on fmla due to having problems with gallbladder stones.  he went in last Wednesday and had his whole gallbladder removed.  again, it's been awesome without his shithead attitude floating about....seems (according to Mark) that his job may be on the line (too many peeps complained, maybe?).  maybe they'll replace him and he'll have to be on the line with the rest of us bums (shweet!).  better yet, maybe they'll can him all together (nah, I don't wanna wish him that much ill).   anyway.  the (midweek) weekend has begun!  gotta hit the shower, and take a nap (just got done walkin' the pooperdog so she could do her thang).  Ready, Go!

with half the work week over, I buy me a sixer of Sundogs for the goofy 24 hour transition betwixt day shift and night. I try and stay awake as long as possible watching some hulu/Netflix.  another episode of "lost in space" (tos), a movie with Jim Balushi (i already forgot the title), and an episode of 'NOVA science now' to name a few.  it's gettin' nicer outside. the ol' dog and I do some front porch sittin', drinkin' said Sundogs (and life is good!).  Rosie and I just got done with one of our barefoot walks (the tootsies are kind of tender.  gotta bake on a thick pad when the heat wave comes).  speakin' of feet, I watch a show about "super humans". it profiled about 5 peeps with extraordinary abilities.  one of them had the ability to run barefoot in shorts and no shirt thru subzero weather (due, he claims, to almost freezing to death as a child).  they show him as he progresses thru a half marathon.  he sets a Guinness world book record for finishing.  his toes were totally black.  the doctors say they may have to amputate.  surprisingly, he was able to bring them back to life using the same internal thermostat he uses to keep himself warm during his runs.  it was a cool show!  other "super humans" included syn-esthetes (the ability to associate color, and/or taste to music), a blind man from birth creating life like finger paintings of landscapes that he's never seen, a guy who can crunch impossible numbers faster than a calculator, etc.  (did I mention it was a cool show?).  anyway. it's gettin' close enough to the time when I should crash, being I gotta work in 10 hours...

g'night.

pee marks in the hall way, and hairballs in the livingroom.  just a few of the bad things that ya gotta take with the good when little mammals own you.  the good news is, at least Rosie isn't poopin' in the house.  I got enough oxi-pet resolve to take care of any accident, so all is good! I asked neighbor (kind of room mate) Brian to let her out today.  I see her leash was moved so I'm assuming.  I take her for a walk after work anyway, so she can do her thing.  afterward I clean up a couple 3 hairball spots on the carpet (he can't just do it in one pile, maybe on the linoleum...NOOOOOOOooo).  then I see Brian must have put one of his shirts over a Rosie pee spot (why did he do that?!).  I throw his shirt, the rag I cleaned things up with, and my work clothes all in one wash load, with an extra amount of detergent.  let's wash it in hot water as well, to get the pissy/barfy smells out of the fabric.   I think if I were to get another dog after Rosie (which I prob'ly won't), I'd have to rip up this hall way carpet and lay down some tile (or linoleum).  I may have to do that anyway...we'll see.  so far, things are still under control...

so, today, at the stalag, we have a chili dog/ chips and cheese/ sody pop lunch ($1 per item) with the proceeds going to some charity or another.  they make a HUGE amount of food (I guess they figured they'd feed an army. the weekend crew ain't that big).  needless to say, afterward, they just left the giant remainder of the food on the counter for anyone who wanted free food.  most of that food (that would still amount to feeding an army) was still there 6 hours later when the shift was done.  why no one refrigerated it all, with maybe a "free food" sign on it,  is beyond me.  I'm thinkin' they may have wasted more money then they gained looking at all the leftovers that'd gone to waste.  oh well.  come to think of it, I should find out what the charity was.  I'd have to laugh if it dealt with feeding the hungry...

off to bed.  4:30am comes 'round way to0 fast!

being it's almost me birfdee, I do the license tab update online ($55), adding another $10 to include state park fee (essentially, a parking permit for the beach, for me).  the past years it was a window sticker that'd cost ya $25. starting this year, it's simply included on your license tab (and on your registration) that you purchased a years entry into state parks (for $15 cheaper! gotta dig that!).

internet problems left and right.  I spend a good 3 hours this morning trying to figure out why my laptop (and soon to follow, my desktop 'puter) won't connect online.  it's one of those damn mysteries...finally, for no apparent reason at all, I get internet. is it the service itself intermittently goes goofball? maybe. both 'puters trouble shooters can't find anything wrong.  my LAN connection works betwixt computers.  it's frustrating!  maybe Squabber has half chewed one of the wires (there are seemingly thousands of wires behind my 'puter desk.  anyone of them can fall prey to a wire chewing cat).  anyway, it works now, so I best finish writing and post this before it goes down again

yesterday, I skip breakfast in anticipation of over-stuffing myself at the local Chinese buffet (mmmmmms! hey what? their prices went way up.  oh well. still worth it!). do a leftover hamburger for supper.  stop by my local car dealer to see what kind of deals they got on Ford Rangers (...still dreamin' at this point).  meanwhile, the radio antennae falls off my truck (I can't get my NPR fix no mo').  an oil change is due on the old bomb, but I don't dare to see what kind of price they'll charge me at the oil change place.  it's prob'ly gonna be over $50! I'll wait for a warmer day and change the oil and filter myself...

I fill the trucks tank with gas yesterday, and for whatever reason, the transaction isn't showing up on my online bank thinger, which is odd.  usually transactions show up in real time.  weird. maybe I got a free tank of gas?! or my bank is becoming sluggish in their postings.  we'll see.

a couple 3 things that reassure that I'm keeping that cracked bass: 1) I like it 2) the box got wet (you're supposed to return it in the same box) 3) I paint marked the big dings and glued the cracks.  they won't want it back now, and they're not gettin' it, even if they wanted it.  it's a fun guitar!

otherwise, nothing new under the sun (actually it's been gray, rainy and cold).  pooperdog walks, and front porch sittin' with laptop, beers, and an ol' dog (and life is good!)

that's 3 days in a row that we got to leave early from the stalag (a half an hour off each day)!  that, and the fact that Rolph wasn't there for those three days, on top of only working a half day for Easter, all made for a good short work week!.  I wish they were all like that

heineken and guitar playing (still learning some Matthew Sweet songs...I don't know what it is about that "Girlfriend" album of his.  it's got a couple 3 cool songs on it!) last night into the wee hours (why do they call it that?? wait, who cares).  alright, so this morning, whilst doing some online banking, I notice a couple transactions (once again) that weren't mine.  2 "freecreditreport.com" entries for 14.95 a piece.  I write, and call my bank about them. they close the card down (again), and reissue me a new one.  I go down and sign a paper saying I didn't make said transactions, etc.  meanwhile, she was such a good salesman about bank fraud, she got me convinced I needed to spend $7.50/month on a credit protection plan.  I guess it's somewhat of a piece of mind insurance against identity theft.  she gives me a brochure about what it covers and will get the complete lowdown on it in a couple days, 'splainin' what I get for me money, etc. with the reassurance that I can cancel at anytime, blah, blah...

more problems with my stoopid tracfone. my pin number didn't wanna work while trying to add minutes directly thru the fone.   having only 8 minutes left to make calls with, I had to burn those off calling tracfone themselves because I couldn't update my credit card info on their website.  I order 400 minutes prob'ly sounding kind of pushy because she wanted to take her time spelling my name "that's B, as in 'birthday'; R, as in Robin..." [come on, I only have a few minutes left! confirm my purchase already before the fone dies].  then, I notice the word 'ROAM' was tacked onto my display while on the fone with my Kid.  why? I'm sittin' at home.  roaming charges from home?!...stoopid fone!!.  you see why I never use the damn thing! it's more of an irritant, than anything else...

here's the scoop.  I got a desktop 'puter in my bedroom directly connected via Ethernet to the router.  it almost always works fine.  my laptop (located in the living room) seems to have always been a little ticky about staying connected (wirelessly).  today, I can't get it to connect at all!  I've tried every network troubleshooter available and get nothing!  usually it's just a matter of turning off both my router and modem, then turning them back on with a minute betwixt both. I'd like to watch a movie, but I can't get the damn thing to do nothing (connectivity wise).  oh well, I'll finish writing this, and watch a movie in my bedroom.  speaking of movies, I saw a couple good ones lately via Netflix.  Hot tub time machine, and SALT to name a couple.  both good flix!  anyway.  signing off, so I can slack and watch another B movie...

my search for a new used car gets even more practical and dutch like (...predictable).  for the same price they want for that shrimpy 2001 bat mobile (see earlier entry), I can get me a 2008 6 cylinder, 5 speed manual, Ford Ranger extend cab (I dig the one I got now, why not just replace it with one that's 11 years newer...?).  I'll narrow it down one day, and then prob'ly not commit (I've been changing my mind like the wind lately...oh well. no hurries, right? my truck still gets me around *knocks wood*)

once again, I zero out my Master Card debt ('lectric guitar debt) by transference from savings.  I don't like the big numbers looming there.  it's not interest that I'm saving on (one year interest free), it just feels better to zero things out (and why not?).  it'll prob'ly be easier to get a car loan with things reset to zero as well, if I ever decide and commit...

mopped the kitchen floor the other day (with my new mop/bucket).  it didn't look like it did a whole lot as far as cleaning goes, but when I dumped what was left from the bucket down the bathtub drain...*gack!*  that floor was dirty!  I'll have to make mopping  part of my routine.

Rolph never showed up today.  the stress level went way down.  I was talking with others about him, and get the same story "he takes it too far", "he turns into a bipolar jackass!" (there's that word again. 'bipolar'), then Mark, the most mild mannered, soft spoken dude on the planet, says he got into a 45 minute shouting match with him once (I'm convinced everyone has had a tangle with him of one sort or another...it's not just me).  he tells me Rolph was 100 times more immature a year ago when he started, and is starting to get better (seriously?  he was worse than he is now??).  there were other comments made as well...I'm thinkin' no one missed him, yet there we were, talking about him.  we got out of the stalag a half an hour early due to running out of rails (shweet!).  we don't have to go back until midnight tomorrow for six hours (even shweeter!).  otherwise, nothing new under the sun.  laundry, dishes, beer, peanuts, hulu.com (Carl Sagan's Cosmos series). 

come to think of it, Rolph done lost his holiday pay (unless he got an approved vacation day earlier on, which by the sounds of my boss, he had called in as a no-show).  you're supposed to work a full day before a holiday (good Friday) and a full day after to acquire said holiday pay.  then our boss adds, if anyone decides to take the half day Sunday off, you'll lose your holiday pay (what?  where does it say anything like that in the hand book?  Easter isn't an official holiday for the stalag...oh well.  I'll be there anyway, just because.  he's prob'ly just blowin' smoke).  it's our bosses last week at the stalag before he moves on to the other plant.  we meet our new boss today.  he seems ok.  we'll see.

so, I notice my neighbors car tire is flat the other day, then on one of our pooperdog walks, I notice there are several cars in this trailer park with one (or more) tires flat.  either that's a sign of the current economic strife, or we have a chronic psychopathic tire popper (let's dub him/her the "Firestone serial killer") in the neighborhood?

shower, pooperdog walk, and more beers.  ready, GO!

there were a couple 3 miffed people today  (understandably so) that were minutes late to work because of that train (who's tracks cross the main drag to the stalag) that decided to stop and go in reverse, holding up traffic, and what-not (I've been caught by it myself on the way home)...punching in late on a holiday means you lose that holiday pay (ouch!). I hear from one person that I won't be getting holiday pay being I haven't passed my official 90 day probation (as a full timer), then I hear from about 3 others that that's not the case (we'll see. I'll assume I don't get it, then if it shows up it'll be that much more of a bonus).

man, had a giant thunderstorm happen last night!  Rosie is a big thunder chicken.  she crawls up on my bed and won't relax until the thunder is gone...after a good hour of trying to calm her down, so I can get the sleep I need for the stalag, I had to be that bad guy (again) and put her big pillow outside the bedroom door and close it.  she scratched on the door for a minute then seemed to calm down a bit. I know. mean right?   but I had to get my sleep, and she seemed to survive the night, so all is well.  I'll be less zombie fried today for it. 

gotta get ready for another day at the stalag...

ya ever have one of those cravings in the middle of the night?  I was watching me some "sons of Anarchy" [hulu.com], when ice cream suddenly sounded really good, so the pooperdog and I take a short walk, so she could do her thing, then I jump in the truck and head to the store to grab me some turtle sundae, some chocolate syrup, and some dry roasted nuts and head home to eat a big ol' bowl (mmmmmmmms!).  it's been too long since I've had ice cream.  while driving, I noticed I left my phone in the truck. I missed like 5 calls today (I generally don't even get 5 calls in a month).  anyway...then suddenly I see a gigantic glow, followed by a mushroom cloud behind me in my rear view mirror.  I step on the gas to try and outrun the blast radius cloud (what? I wanted to make the story exciting after realizing just how bland this entry was heading.  come to think of it, 'bland', and 'slack' are good, when it comes to days off).  did some food shopping earlier today as well. I  bought me a mop and bucket.  the kitchen linoleum has been swept a lot over the years, but I have never mopped it.  it's lookin' like it needs it. I'll get on it tomorrow. I also take the time to do some dishes, and clean the wood panel submarine a bit, then the blast radius hit, and knocked the trailer hard into the woods (what?!)

it was your typical cloudy, windy, high in the low 40's spring day (we've had a lot of those in a row lately).  the long term forecast shows 4 out of the next 5 days to be rainy (April showers...).  looks like the high temp might reach the 60's mark by next Tuesday. it's currently 37, and mostly dark. 

 I find myself, once again, looking at vehicles online.  my rattly ol' truck is gettin' tired.  of course, I look at only 2 seater coupe convertibles, heading toward (heading toward...who'm I kiddin'?, more like neck deep in) that middle age crazy spot, and find this shrimpy bat mobile.  it's pretty sharp, and all wheel drive! I know, I mentioned how insane I was about almost spending 12k on a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire, but hey, it's fun to look (and it's almost 1/2 as cheap as those 2002 Ford Thunderbird's I was eyeballin' last year).  the downside with this one is, it's prob'ly expensive as hell for simple maintenance work, being an import and all, and the car is already 10 years old (if I'm spending that kind of cabbage, it should be something a bit newer).  plus, how hard would they ding me for full coverage insurance with that DUI I had back in 2006 (2007?...I don't even know the year it happened. sad.)  the upside is it's a convertible, and it's a nerd-mobile (me likey!).  ROCKET!

here we go again!  you guessed it! ROLPH! I almost made it thru the whole weekend shift without a conflict, then right at the end of last nights shift, I'm struggling at the end of the line, trying to do function failures and keep up with unload (which is a most daunting task), then to make matters worse, we have a new guy on the hi-lo that only half understands what's going on, when Rolph comes over and starts giving me hell (jumping to the wrong conclusions, and yammering on until ya wanna punch him in the damn face).  he picked the wrong time to mess with me, and I told him.  instead of giving me a half assed apology, or even a smile, he glares straight at me with his bipolar steely eyes and says "I don't care if it's a good time or bad, that's the way I roll, fuckin' deal with it!". I confronted him again, about 10 minutes later, and said "I can't believe you just shit on me over there", his reply was exactly the same; "I don't care...fuckin' deal with it!"  it's almost unbelievable that he thinks he can get away with the harassment he doles out (not just to me, but to everyone).  the main reason I mention "bipolar" is every once in awhile, he'll ask me, with the most sincere look "why do are you such an asshole to me?" of which I reply "look at the pot calling the kettle black".  he almost has a look of shock and says "...I treat you good".  it's a little weird.  isn't he aware of his dark side?!  and what me and everyone else throws his way is a fraction as damning as his verbal sewage.  now don't get me wrong. everyone does the horseplay thing.  me too, but he tends to cross the line way too often without the slightest indication that he's joking.  I seen him the other day walk up to one of our pregnant employees and say "don't make me smack the bat shit out of you!" followed by a glare that was the farthest one could get from horseplay.  it's a little creepy! he's not the boss, but he acts like he owns the company, and he throws around threats as if he's colonel Ghadaffi himself.  I told him to stay away from me in front of the boss as I was leaving, so now he prob'ly wonders what's up.  I should prob'ly see about getting the bosses email address and fill him in.  I'm sure he's witnessed it first hand...who knows? anyway.  he's not gonna ruin my [mid-week] weekend.  I just wanted to vent by writing it down, then drop it for now, maybe  to be continued again on Friday.  seems Friday (btw) is Good Friday, and for some reason we get (rumors go from time and a half, to double time and a half) for pay.  we also work just the second half of the day (midnight to 6:30am on Monday) for Easter Sunday (shweet!!).

shower, eat, sleep...

let's leave off from last midnight's entry...after letting Rosie back inside, it must have taken me a good couple of hours to fall back asleep, just to get rudely awaken, once again, by another power outage (same thing happened last weekend!).  now the place is completely dark and silent.  I NEED MY WHITE NOISE TO FALL BACK ASLEEP TO.   all I hear is the dog panting frantically (she's also having a hard time sleeping on her pillow next to my bed). I must have stayed awake for another good hour and a half, just to, once again get awoke by my fone alarm clock.  I think all told, I got about 3 (+/-) hours of sleep all night.  I'm already draggin' ass just getting ready for work (not cool!).  it was a damn zombie land night mare to pull enough energy out of my ass to fill a 10 hour day (normally a 12 hour day, but I asked for a couple hours off at the end, so I could venture to Grand Rabbits for the Kid's play.  it never happened. I am a deadbeat dad!.  sorry Kid, hopefully someone got it on a vid to be "youtubed").  I was even too exhausted (not to mention my back still was chirpin') to drive home from work.  I let Rosie outside to do her thing, then slept, like I never slept before for a good 4 hours. I catch up on some Jon Stewart shows, some ABC world news, and a really bad movie on Netflix called "the day the Earth stopped" (I wanted to watch the remake of "the day the Earth stood still", but didn't have the upgraded plan.  every movie I search for is just out of reach of my plan.  seems I gotta settle for the B-movies.  oh well.  I do some dishes and try and stay awake so I can get my rest 8 hours before the swing shift, instead of now, and be wide awake 8 hours before working 12 (you get the drift).  scheduling anything within this quirky weekend shift is bad enough, but last nights lack of sleep made it horrendously tougher times a million! I'm currently playing my guitars a bit,  prob'ly do a witching hour pooperdog walk, and maybe find something to eat (hey yeah, I almost forgot about food....

seems there's a lot of changes going on at the stalag. the plant manager and assistant PM both got trucked to the Battle Creek plant, and now our line boss accepted a job there (I thought they were gonna close that plant down and keep ours open?  do they know something we don't? prob'ly).  now rumors are floating about that they may change their shift schedule to an 8 hour, 7 day a week scheme...I don't like this rumor. it has some teeth to it being their plant on the south side runs this way.  let's hope it doesn't fly...

while doing the dishes, I notice I have very little pressure at the kitchen faucet (dammit!  is that water heater acting up again?!), but upon an inspection of the water heater, I see no problems.  I guess I'll have to crawl under the trailer (on one of my days off), and maybe see if the line going from the main to the kitchen is broken, although weirdly enough the dishwasher still sounds like it's workin' fine and that's connected beyond the kitchen sink, T'd off from the same line.  anyway. I've replaced water heater plumbing, bathroom plumbing, now I guess it's time to sink money into the kitchen sink's plumbing.  I could do with a new faucet as well.  the one currently installed is pretty old and gettin' tired.  but those are projects for when I have a day off.

anyway Kid, if you still read this, I apologize hugely!! you poured your heart into this project and I couldn't even get my ass over there....  I'll have to give you a call soon, we'll hit Logan's or go bowling (wait, not bowling, just the idea hurts my back), or something just for fun

oh yeah, I remember this trend.  Rosie likes to wake me up more frequently when the weather gets nice.  usually she's good about sleepin' thru the night when it's 9 degrees out, or if she does have to go, she'll do her thing and be right back by the door, now she can lumber out at her own leisure (usually at my inconvenience), and just sit on the porch,  maybe pee, maybe not, take her damn time.  meanwhile, I gotta get back to sleep so as I'm not doing the zombie maneuver at the stalag....silly dog needs a doggy door, but with the trailer being 3 feet off the ground it may make for a painful exit (as well as an impossible entrance), plus if I did put the door, say, along the porch, who knows what forest creatures will wanna wander inside? I can't win.  anyway, she's out and about right now, so I thought I'd bitch about it on my xanga thinger....

[...]I just went and checked on her, she's still just sittin' on the porch.  I best get her leash and take her for a small walk around the yard.  she's usually good about peein' when I do that. ready, go!

so these past couple 3 days, my lower back feels like it's on fire. I've had this problem for a couple weeks now, but it's intensified 87.4% (...umm, that is, if I had some sort of meter that read pain percentages, but I don't, so never mind).  I ice it to death,  Ibuprofen it, and do some stretching routines,  but the pain is most uncomfortable.  I gotta look into seein' a chiropractor (seems I remember works insurance covering that.  something I gotta look up first).  I miss the Kid's opening day directorial  debut of a play they have running this weekend due to my ouchy  back.  I did ask my boss if I can slide a couple hours on Saturday to see the last showing. he gave me the time off.  damn the pain. I'm going, do or die!

alright, back to sleep, waking up to hit the stalag is right around the corner...where'd I put my ice bag?