the good news is I see tons of DIY websites on how to fix broken guitar necks (the head stock in some cases completely broken off) using wood glue and clamps (I figured once cracked the guitar was doomed...not always the case). now the crack on my bass neck is pretty minor, so I think I'll hang onto it, it being a bang around guitar anyway.  I went back to musiansfriend.com and noticed another Tbird Pro IV category 3 mildly used guitar, and they wanted another $100 on top of what I paid (I don't wanna spend another hundred for the sake of an uncracked neck. I'm not a studio musician, it's not a collectible guitar)  the whole deal would be fine if it had a bolt on style neck (for replacement sake), but this particular model has the through body neck which makes it impossible to replace (it'd cost more than the guitars price tag itself to replace it). anyway, I'm figuring I got a steal on the Strat, and the price was right even on this cracked neck bass, so I'll drop the whole issue and smile.  it's a bit like buying a used car, it could last forever or blow up the next day, 'cept you can't fix a car with wood glue.  now the issue of whether the website posted the pics of the neck or not, I guess I'll never know, being they took the page down directly after I bought it.  I'll assume it was my oversight, being I had me some brewage before ordering. I've bought many things in the past thru Musician's friend, with zero problems...again, issue dropped, smiles.  so why am I still typing about it?  let's shift focus on enjoying it...I'd also like to eventually get me a bang around cornet/trumpet again (for those bad horn days).  just for funnzies! that'll be down the road, after I finish paying for these guitar toys

well, the bass guitar that arrived today, may have to go back (they have a 45 day return policy).  as cool as it is, and as cool as it sounds, the neck has some pretty good damage (that, of which, they didn't picture on the website...they only included the two pics of the dings on the body).  their rating of 3 (on a scale of one/perfect to 5/parts guitar), which states the instrument has damage beyond 1 ding, but said ding doesn't affect it's playability, seems kinda wrong.  now either the guitar got damaged during shipping or they just simply omitted the fact that it had a cracked neck.  either way, I'm givin' 'em a call and maybe askin' if they have something similar in their "scratch and dent" dept, that they'd like to exchange.  it's almost not even an issue.  maybe I'll hang onto it.  other than the cracked enamel feeling rough while one slides a hand over it, it does still play nicely, so I'm torn.   I did get a good deal on it, yet I don't want the neck to crack off after 45 days.  having said all that it's a good 29 lb guitar.  she's pretty rugged.  it just bothers me that they didn't include a picture of said fracture...maybe it did get squacked during shipping, although the box looked undamaged. hmmmm. I got 44 days to decide...if I do decide to keep it I'll take some fine sand paper over the neck fracture to make it less abrasive [news at 11].

she turns her head sideways to bite at the grass that's almost long enough for her to eat, looking like a shrimpy bovine, grazing away.  our walks are about twice as lengthy because she's in search of the taller blades.  there.  there's the opening line in Rosie's unofficial biography.  looks like another beautiful day [shweet!]. I never did get my haircut yesterday (maybe today...), nor did I buy me a guitar cable, but I did find one whilst rummaging thru the computer desk looking for the power cord (chord?) for the bass preamp.  I plug the guitar into my preamp to make sure the electronics work.  yep!  sounds good! UPS tracker shows that my bass will be here by the end of today [cool!].  meanwhile, I've been learning the chords to an old Men At Work song called....wait, I don't know the title?  "ghosts appear and fade away" song (you know the one.  the vid's on my facebook page under "Colin hey Scrubs").  it's a relatively easy song to learn.  so why did I even start a post today?  so far it's been small talk about a dog, a guitar, and a song.  wait, that's usually what most all of my posts are about.  simple nothings. k, well.  there it is.  nothing more.  bye.

[...]alright, something more.  it was driving me nuts not knowing the title to that song, so I looked it up. it's called "overkill". there. now back to cleaning this place...it's a damn mess!  wait, I should clean on a rainy day (tomorrow), maybe I'll bring me guitar out on the porch and continue to learn that song (what's it called again?)

new guitar arrives at 2pm today (and yes, I was sleeping on the couch by the front door in case UPS needed a signature....they didn't), it's even prettier than what was pictured!  one of the scratches they shown on the website was easily buffed off with a sock, the dent is pretty minor and easily hidden by ones own strumming arm.  otherwise she's a beaut!  no visible damage to the neck (that's always good), pretty 'midnight wine' color, the pick guard still has the original Mylar on it,  it came with a groovy fender gig bag (they didn't mention that), and a couple of bumper stickers.  very nice!  I was wondering if they'd throw in the whammy bar ('cause badly played surf muzak requires a whammy)?  yep!  cools! here I dusted off the preamp, and totally forgot that I might need a 1/4 inch cable to plug into it.  oh well, they're cheap enough, I'll grab one at the local whatsit store.  I gotta run and get me hair cut, then maybe pick me up a beer or two, and do some front porch sittin' with an old dog!

high of 58 degrees (low of 36) and sunny!   supposed to be nice again tomorrow, then four days of rain according to my desktop's weather thingey...

alright, it took me a minute to figure out, but I think I got it now.  I bought both guitars online within an hour (+/-) apart, but because one was bought just before midnight on Friday, and one was bought after midnight, one got shipped Friday night, and one on Monday, but the puzzling part is I thought I bought the bass guitar first, and that's the one that got shipped later...I don't know, I'll look it up.  I had some hieniken's that night, and I am prone to dyslexia on occasion.  no worries.   one gets delivered today, the other maybe tomorrow or the next day.  it's all groovy

so Sunday,  whilst sleeping during the day, the power drops off.  I prob'ly wouldn't have noticed, but  the lack of my fan creating white noise along with the pop of the computers speakers (from the hard shut-down) woke me up.  this was about 1pm (5 hours into my 8 hour sleep time).  I get up and set the alarm for 4:30pm on my cell phone, then fall back asleep.   it's hard for me to crash out with dead silence, but I knew if I didn't, I'd have a zombie like night at the stalag.  I slept good! my cell phone alarm (as wimpy as it is) worked well.  I really ought to buy me a battery back up version of an alarm clock.  this one I have is pretty stone age.  *adds 'alarm clock' to shopping list*

last nights stint at the stalag went long, of course the last day always seems to drag on forever.  12 hours feels like a 100~! I get home this morning and let the pooperdog out for a walk (3 bagger!).  looks like it'll be a nice day.  I best break out the lawn chair if it gets too nice out! I'm thinkin' the pooperdog and I will snarf out on some bacon unt franch toast to start off our mid-week weekend *plan*.  ready, go!

so after dusting off my pre-amps (as I had mentioned in an earlier entry), I notice I'm missing one of the detachable wall plug wires for my Zoom (dammit!!  not cool!)  the good news is, it also runs off from a DC 9V battery (if need be), and it has info on the back as to what type o' adapter is needed (what does '300 mA +/-' mean? I'll have to hit the local computer store, with Zoom in hand, and find out).  anyway...

it was a long day at work (as per normal).  the last hour and a half I had to work with a guy on the line (I prob'ly mentioned him before...very aggressive and rascist in every thing he says) .  he was fine while he discussed DC comic book characters with Omar, but when asked about his childhood (not remembering the specific question), he went on a good 45 minute rant about who's ass he kicked and how he didn't care.  broken bones, bleeding ears, kick boxing/ military training, popping the principal in the face, etc, and so on.  by the end of the night, I wanted to fuckin' swing at someone.  nah.  it was just overtly annoying.  he wouldn't shut up about it.  I tried steering the subject to something else, to no avail. I also mentioned that I was officially scared, even though these stories had nothing to do with me....he didn't take the hint, he plowed into more tortures, threats, unbelievable garbage that I guess only the south side of Chicago can dish out.   his girlfriend was there to hear it all (she's prob'ly heard it all 50 or more times by now).  I had already mentioned to her earlier on how uncomfortable I was with my first (and second) impression of this guys violent rants.  she didn't try and stop him.  it was most awkward...luckily, he's not on our shift (he's just pullin' some OT, talkin' some major smack!), so this won't be the daily grind (good thing!)...anyway, I came home so wired, I broke the dogs arm and busted the cats jaw (heh. nah, just the opposite, I needed hugs to sooth my high blood pressure). it was nuts!

stopped off at the gas station (not for gas, are you crazy...? at $3.88 a gallon and rising), to pick up a sixer of Shiner Bock (which figures to be about $20/gallon, but you won't see me complaining because it's beer),  came home, fed the mammals, took a shower, and headed over to Jays (I seen 'em sittin' 'round a campfire, so I thought I'd bug 'em for a spell).  I bring my dog  knowing her and Jay's girlfriends dog have already met and seemed like good friends at one point.  nope. not this time.  Mickey (little ratty poodlish type) was on the war path, so they put her in the house. I felt bad.  I just did a quick beer and split, they were ready to cook steaks over the grill and I didn't wanna get in the way.  btw, this campfire was built right up against his trailer and toward the back instead of in the driveway like he'd had it last year.  seems just last week, a nosey neighbor turned him in for building one on the drive (within his little enclosed portable metal fire pit thinger), and he got the lecture from the parks supervisor, so tonight, as I'm walking up, I pretend like I'm talking to the super on the fone about some hooligans building a fire...."not funny!" he says.

I gotta go to sleep and get ready for another graveyard stint at the stalag.

 burn some coffee, do some early morning pre-stalag online banking.  since rent and bills were paid last week, I wasn't able to put 20% of that check into savings. I take 20% of that amount, plus 20% of this weeks check, and what the hell, an extra $100, plowing a total of $255 into savings, leaving me with just over a $100 (in checking) for the week for food and gas. I also zero out my Master Card balance (sans the guitar purchases) from my savings account.  why hang onto looming debt when I have extry money to kill it off?  I see the order I placed on one guitar had already been shipped from Kentucky (oddly enough it was my second order placed).  the first order hadn't been picked yet (I hope they're open on Saturday).  being I pick the free 5 day shipping, I'm hoping they arrive by my next "weekend"...I may sleep on the couch, by the front door come Monday and Tuesday (graveyard shift days) in case they arrive during those days (I don't know if they need a signature in order for UPS to drop 'em off or not, in any case, I'll be home).  the anticipation is high.  I'm like a little kid at the candy store! it's fun!  meanwhile, I prob'ly ought to dust off these old preamps, and see if they still light up...

again, just like my work pants order, I notice the UPS tracking goes from Kentucky to Missouri...isn't Missouri south of Kentucky? that guitar's gotta go north fellas.  the MIttens way up here near the canuck border.  follow the plaid flannel highway north, then turn left at Grand Rabbits.  I once again, can only assume it's going from the store to a major UPS hub of some sort, who knows?  it don't matter none, as long as it tracks north eventually....

check my online banking to make sure my paycheck was deposited...yep. now last week, I had an excused day off without pay to fix my water heater.  seems 36 hours (hired in)  totals only $18 cheaper (take home) than if I had worked the whole 48 hours through my old temp service pay.  I wish I could work 36 hours every week (being the slack dog that I am)!.  getting ready for another fine weekend at the stalag.  ready, go!

alright, here's the deal, I came this close to almost buying a $12,000 car (am I out of my damn dutch mind?!).  it prob'ly would have been a sell if not for the low ground clearance of this sports coupe, I can only imagine the shitty winter driving in such a bobsled.  it's strictly a nice climate car, so I'll stick with my ratty little truck for awhile.

a friend (Burn) posts a 10 year old basement band vid on my facebook page (that's me on the left, stumbling on the bass).  we sound pretty bad, but it always gave us a good reason to drink beers.  suddenly I miss my G&L L2000 bass, so I smurf musiciansfriend.com and find me a used scratch and dent T-bird bass for $300 ($500 new).  why not? maybe (just maybe) I'll get back into creating bad songs again.  the good thing too, is I already have a preamp (Zoom 506 bass preamp), and can combine that with my M-audio USB fast track pro (external sound "card") to get the sound I need thru my Studiophile monitors, recording tracks via Sony Acid 4.0 software (just like old times, 'cept back then it was a flaming Aardvark sound card...yep, hence the Xanga profile name).  I also have my old Johnson J-station guitar preamp for when I get me a used 'lectric guilar.  which, you guessed it, I found a good deal, once again, thru musiciansfriend.com,  on a dinged midnight wine Fender Standard Stratocaster (yeah, no cheeseball Squire shite, like I had back when...wait, I liked that guitar. never mind).  between the two guitars, I saved a good $400 ($200 per dent).  so for about the price of your average good guitar, I got 2 good ones with dings (pictures to follow).  they should arrive (free shipping and no sales tax) by next Monday-ish. Happy birthday to me...I know, I never go all crazy on toys, what happened?! call me impulsive, or blame it on the Heineken's.  you only live twice, right? what? at least I didn't spend 12 grand! I AM a dumbass, but I continue to save, and pay down my debt, so let the fun begin!

pooperdog and I go for a walk this morning, burn some coffee, honey bunches of sand burs, do some dishes, clean the cat box, take a good shower and shave, 'aphex twin' on Pandora, and life is good.

here's some (undinged versions) pics snagged from the introweb of the make, model and color schemes of said guitarage:

we got a guy at work whose conservative religious ways are always right, the rest of the world's view is hugely skewed (in his eyes).  he's one of these people that take the bible literally (I think they call 'em fundamentalists).  anyway, I like debating religion, but this seemed more "in my face" when he was sarcastically ranting about a national geographic special he saw on the TV about the "truths" of the big bang theory (he knows I'm one of those secular humanist atheistic evolutionist big bang 'gonna burn in the lake of fire' kinda guys).  come to find out, he doesn't believe in global warming, the Ice age (of which there were many), the existence of dinosaurs, nothing unless "it has been written"...I'm floored at this! I ask "what about the hard evidence of skeletal remains of the 100's of 1000's of dinosaurs that have been found?", to which he responds "God put them there, to try and 'throw us off' "  [WHAT?!].   most days, he uses the phrase "it is what it is" alot, so I ask him "what does 'it is what it is' mean (thinking he'd respond with a deep fundamentalist come back)?  he answers the question with the same phrase.   [I honestly forgot where I was going with this story...i need more coffee.  I guess I can end it by saying he thinks I'm 'shallow minded' for not thinking and believing that there's a God".  yeah, I'm shallow minded.  and real evidence of giant reptiles means they didn't exist...]

so, Rosie and I take a long walk around the park yesterday, being nice weather, and all (while dropping off the rent check at the office, and checking the mail box). we're about to the house when a lady pulls up next to us in a car.  she asks me if I'm single, then goes on to tell me that she's Jays NIECE (an after comment correction) and if I wanna go out sometime, to give him a call for her number.  it was the weirdest drive by date invitation ever.

the neighbor dude has an '05 Chrysler crossfire for sale...it's a cool car! I like its bat-mobile styling.  he wants 12k for it...

looks like rainy weather for my weekend.  no worries, my front porch has a roof

so my phantom room mate (phantom, in that, he was supposed to be all moved in by January of this year) comes around yesterday and moves more stuff in (cool). he still seems to complain about the ultra cheap rent I'm giving him (which he's lucky I haven't started charging him since January).  he goes on to say he's got $200 payment a week for child support (which in 3 years will be gone), and this and that, while he's hauling in $1000s worth of snow board equipment.  I'm only charging the guy HALF of what I paid to rent out the small bedroom. I guess I should consider that times were better overall (economically) 5,6 years ago, but still... now I can sympathize with the whole child support thing, I did it for 15 years at $100/week ($5200/year x 15=78 grand!).  it was rough (the Kid, of course, is worth it). and I've been deep in debt with credit cards.  that was another $460/month for 5 years = 27 grand! (...wait, I've lost my point, oh yeah, I was busy sympathizing with his scenario), but don't try and haggle a lower rent after you've already got your stuff moved in.  that's like re-negotiating the price of a new car after you've driven it for half a year.  our agreement was $150 month ($35 a week.  cheap right?!) and you pay for cable TV (which I  won't install until I get some money from him up front). I don't mean to be a stickler, but come on! you get free roam of the place, you can use my washer and dryer,  dishwasher, furniture, forks, knives, pots, pans, etc. those things cost money. I'm already saving him $80 month for a storage space that he no longer has to use, maybe I should charge him for that since January for having his stuff stored here.  anyway. I'm gettin' all Dutch.  I guess if we get a price we can both comfortably agree upon, where I'm not paying out of my pocket for his child support dilemma, and he's willing to pay for cable, I'll be good with that. (see, already, I'm caving in.  I wouldn't make a good car salesman either)

gotta get ready for the graveyard shift at the stalag...

k, never mind the camping scenario, I get somewhat lazy and use one (of 6 provided per year) of my "sick days" so as I can get this broken water pipe fixed.  I'm sure it'll involve some time unwrapping the heat tape and soggy insulation from the pipes underneath the trailer, running out and buying what's needed (a new 1/2" pipe and a shutoff valve, insulation, new heat tape,  with some pipe dope, clamps, or compression fittings like I used for under the bathroom sink repair job) , then re-taping, re-rapping, etc.. so what's the first thing I do after calling in with a water problem?  use the bathroom and try flushing (again), turn on the kitchen faucet (which doesn't work) to fill the dog/cat water bowl, try using the faucet (again) to make coffee.  Jesus! it's just like flipping light switches while the electricity is down.  it's so second nature.  there's only a half gallon of water left (out of the two gallons I had stored in the fridge), and I've only been awake for an hour.  how much water does one guy (and two small mammals) use in a day?!  apparently a lot considering I haven't showered, brushed my teeth, and washed the dishes or did laundry yet.  we take utilities so for granted, only realizing the over consumption after that utility is missing. how long would I live in the dead of winter without, say, electricity? I could do candles for light (...and I'm not even gay), but the furnace blower motor would not have worked, so prob'ly 4 hours tops (unless I stoked that living room burn barrel with dead branches from the woods that swamp thing lives in).  the more I think of scenarios like living without the simple convenience of water or electricity, the more I consider buying a generator,  a 55 gallon drum of clean water, and a kerosene heater (for back up purposes).  we take more time to back up our computers than we do backing up our utilities.  which one is more essential for living? yep, the latter. yet how many peeps have small generators and back-up heaters to survive? only the smart few.  alright, I'm gettin' all "survivalist" on ya. next I'll be talking about backpacks full of dry goods, how to build a lean-too from willow branches, and having the correct pepper spray to repel swamp thing, etc. but having said all that, I wouldn't be surprised if (one day) we started trending back to the 'little house on the prairie' days due to an overuse, and/or exhaustion of clean water and fossil fuels (oh no, now I've turned from survivalist to Al Gore).  anyway.  gotta hit the hardware stores website to see when they open, then get busy while the daylight shines to undergo my water project...

as you can see, it's a little 1/2 line that provides water to the whole trailer. the shut-off valve's cheap plastic male fitting broke off inside said tube, so both will have to be replaced.  cheap crap.  meanwhile wet insulation, duct tape and a soggy rusty floor board add to the lovely cheap garbage-y look.  I got somewhat lucky that the break happened betwixt two shut-off valves, but in order to replace the shut-off valve shown, I'll have to drain the water heater bucket by bucket.  let the fun begin! [Jeez, I'd rather be stuck at the stalag...].  here's hopin' the project goes smoothly [like all the other water heater projects I've had...].

the 'after' shot.  initially, I was just going to replace the shut-off valve, but decided (after closer inspection) that I should prob'ly replace it all right up to the water heater itself, to save myself more headaches down the road, so that's what I did .  I also eliminated the inside shut-off all together, being that there's one just underneath the floor. so, a good $47 in compression fittings, and I got me a new set-up that hopefully lasts for awhile. now to re-light the water heater to warm up enough  so I can shave and shower.

alright, looking at the bright side, at least it ain't the dead of winter...let me 'splain.  I enjoy the day drinkin' a couple Dirty Bastards and cleaning my truck windows, followed by a good rain-x application.  afterward, I figure it's a good time to clean the grill and maybe make some chicken.  I take the grill pan out (that shield betwixt the burners and the meat that tends to get all gunked with baked on bar-b-q sauce) because it's gotten kind of nasty over the winters use.  I take it out back with my can of easy-off and clean the bejesus out of it.  now in order to clean it from there, I need to turn the water on to my outside faucet, so I can hose it off after said easy-off application.  while underneath the trailer (turning on said faucet), I notice there's running water dripping pretty heavily from under the water heater (shit!!!).  after hosing off the grill guard, I go into the master bedroom closet (where the water heater presides) with my maglight, and see what's up.  it seems the PVC pipe just below the cold water shut-off coupling has broken (how long has that been busted?).  I shut-off the shut-off coupling so as not to drain all the hot water from the water heater, then take off the hose clamp from the pipe just below said coupling from the cold water intake pipe.  I've had too many beers to run to the hardware store, so I'll prob'ly have to take some cold showers this weekend.  oh well, I'll pretend I'm camping.  I can either take a day off from work tomorrow (which I'd definitely do if I couldn't stop the water flow) or deal with it during my next mid-week weekend (let's try that, since I was able to stop the "bleeding").  good gawd!  it's always something with that damn thing.  these mobile homes have the cheapest plumbing! fortunately, this looks like a cheap and easy fix *knock wood*.  meanwhile that floor that the 'Squatch and I put underneath the water heater for reinforcement is saturated to the point where the water heater is once again leaning (like it was before we put the floor in).  I'll try and fix that as well, but again, that'll be a project for next week...I'm gonna forget about it for now, and cook me some chicken unt imbibe in more brewhah (this is my "Sunday", after all).

wow!    I just used the bathroom after typing this,  and tried flushing the toilet.  when it didn't flush I realize that it's not only the feed to the water heater, but to the whole trailer.  this will be a challenge. I have two milk jugs full of water in my fridge, maybe I can survive on that for the next 4 days.  if not, it won't be the end of the world to take a day off and fix it (now that I have "sick day" benefits), but I'd rather not...we'll see what happens from here.  stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel! *fart*

what? you lost another contact lens?  *snirt*

$112 to the vet, plus $10 to the county for tags gets me (ummm...Rosie) a rabies shot, an exam, four months worth of heart worm pills, and a shiny new dog tag (this time with her name and my fone # on it, which I always wondered why they didn't include before?  maybe they know how much I don't answer my fone).  Jay's girlfriend comes over 'round midnight and breezes thru a free tax website.  she hits print and splits within an hour (how come mine took so damn long....? maybe 'cause I'm a tax moron).  Jay comes over as well, half hammered, kissin' and huggin' on Rosie and completely harassing the Squab'(in a fun way). he's one of those hardened old hippies that turns into a big softy when it comes to pets. it's fun. Jay, btw, is quick to say "scented candle...and you're not even gay!" when he sees my 'woodland walk' soy candle in the kitchen.  he's a damn hoot!  anyway,  back to my hulu.com to watch another episode of 'LOST IN SPACE!' *fart*

8 am pooperdog walk, burn some coffee, hit McDonald's for a quick breakfast (and to test my brake job...yep, they work!), then headed to the oil change place (motor oil and rear diff oil to be changed), but they were too busy.  I'll hit 'em again when there isn't a line.  stopped off at my favorite beer store (did I mention they have the prettiest girls working there?  yep!), to buy a sixer of Land Sharks for later.  came home, go thru a stack of bills making sure my online bill pay is up to date (dollar and due date wise).  within the small pile of bills, I see a notice from the county (what's this?!). it's a reminder that I've got to update Rosie's dog tags before the end of the month (DOH! I got 2 days!) otherwise they'll charge me another $15 for being delinquent .  I quick set up an appointment for her Rabies shot (gotta have that done before updating dog tags) for 3:45 today.  she also says she's due for a heart worm exam come May.  let's do 'em both now, and get 'er done.  between the shots/exams and the new license it'll prob'ly cost me a good 100 bucks, but she's a good dog and more than worth it...now if she'll just hang around for another year or two I'd be more than happy.  she's gettin' a bit wobbly in her old age (with signs of puppy dog youth when she sees a squirrel that looks fun to chase).  after talking with the vet receptionist a bit longer I find out that I can update her license right there, simply by bringing the old dog tag and the county paperwork (along with a separate way to pay) in with me (shweet!).  killing two birds with one stone (as the old adage goes).

alright...either he [Rolph.  see the last couple entries] left me alone all night out of respect (he didn't seem pissy), or he was busy picking on someone else.  either way, it was a good night!  now whether he had that talk with the boss about me or not doesn't phase me none.  again, he'll kick his own ass one day by picking on the wrong guy, and since he left me alone, I won't be that guy (yet).  it was a good night.  it turned a bit zombie-ish toward the end, but that's typical for the last night on a long shift.  came home, walked the pooperdog, had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Sand Burrs, then crashed for a good four hours. I hit the store for a couple items (unt beerses), then cruised to Auto zone to buy some new brake pads.  it's nice enough weather to work on the truck (high 40's and sunny).  for some reason the brake job went all too smooth,  maybe it was the more expensive beer.  usually something goes a foul when doing that kind of work.  nope.  I borrow a C clamp from Chas Manson (to squish the brake plunger back in), and upon returning it, he had to know every detail of my work (being an x-auto worker, and all, he had to know whether the bolts that held the calipers were hex head, or star head, etc.).  it's the most I've talked with the guy since his run-in with the trailer parks supervisor.  he's still as kooky as he ever was. anyway.  the brake job's out of the way.  I hit the beers and smirf the web (facebook, youtube, etc).  one of my facebook friends posts a cool youtube vid (on facebook) with Slipknot doing a Justin Bieber song, being I never heard the original, I click on the JB version, just then 'across the way Jay' stops by and wonders what I'm listening to (DOH!).  I 'spain the whole thing feeling as though I just got busted listening to teeny bop music.  seems he came over to ask if his girlfriend can use my 'puter to do her taxes tomorrow night?  sure.  but just as he left, I'm thinkin' I just got roped into being a tax consultant.  maybe I'll throw a disclaimer her way saying I know nothing about taxes, but feel free to get frustrated on your own doing yours.  she prob'ly thinks it'll just take 10 minutes.  mine took me half a damn day.  she's a second shifter, so I'll expect to see her here 'round midnight.  oh well.  I'll do what I can to help...

Rolphy was on the war path last night (see entry marked 'Rolf!').  he was relentlessly on me about 5 times thru-out the night.  it was that fifth time that I blew up back in his face (I know.  I said I wouldn't give him that sort of reaction, but he continues to blame me for shit I can't control, like broken poke yokes, and hi-lo's that don't arrive on time, etc).  after telling him that I'm tired of his harassment, he goes a step further by saying he'll have to have a talk with my boss to let him know that I'm not working out on this line (for what? not playing along with your harassment like mind fuck?). "oh...so now you're threatening me...?! go for it! I'll have a talk with him too"  he keeps diggin' a hole for himself every time he continues speaking.  I tell him that I'm writing all this down, we got zero tolerance harassment policy here (my veiled threat).  he's often asking which job I hate the most, then threatens to have me run it all day. stupid shit like that.  it got kinda ugly, but I'm not gonna let him push me over the cliff (too late). he kind of laid off me the rest of the day.  we'll see what tomorrow holds.  if he plays the same game, I'm talkin' to my boss, maybe with the approach "I don't wanna name names, or get anybody in trouble, but my job has just been threatened, and I'm continually being harassed by a certain someone, most times for things I didn't do, or are out of my control, and it isn't cool!"  I honestly think the dudes bi-polar, or needs to use an industrial strength tube of Vagisil [news at 11]

gotta hit the rack...

that's so much better! did the Netflix thing last night, and put on a series (ep 1 season 1) of 'The Reaper', figuring this will cure my unsleepiness.  wrong.  I stayed awake 'till 4:30 am watching the first four episodes.  it's funny shnizz about a guy who's turning 21 and wonders why his parents are all nervously wishing him a happy birthday, and acting all weird.  come to find out the parents sold the first born's soul to the devil when he turns 21.  he finds out that he's gotta now work for the devil by returning lost souls from hell.  the comedy begins there.  it's modern day creativeness based on an ancient theme! they pull it off well. it reminds me of the series 'chuck', but better (imo).  it may be a current series on TV...I have no idea since I don't have cable.  anyway, back to the point of my first sentence, I slept like a rock from 4:30am to about 4pm!  nice!! I knew I'd play catch up soon enough

so we have 'till the 21st of April to set up our (work bennies) insurances and 401k, etc.. I take the time to review and set up via the company's website. I choose the highest cost (lowest deductible) health, dental, and vision.  it'll cost me $28 week, but it's what I believe I deserve after many many years of the lowest grade (or no) insurance.  the company pays for (pay attention Kid) a $20,000 policy should i kick the bucket, plus I add $25,000 more in case it costs more than their chunk to incinerate my carcass, and a little extra for the Kid to go to Cancun (er whatevers).  it's a little overkill (pun!), but that's the lowest amount offered.  it goes clean up to 300,000, but I ain't the king of Macatawa so 45 k outta be more than enough (...don't get too excited Kid, I don't plan on dieing tomorrow, but it's good to be covered, just in case). I also call Fidelity and 'opt out' of their 401k plan. I understand I lose 6% company matching, but I'm still a bit soured over the whole economic collapse being mostly wall street (and the big banks) fault.  why do I wanna jump back into something that will again back fire with huge penalties when I need the money? it's just another working poor tax (imo). plus my view on the upcoming economy is pretty grim, being the pessimist that I am, and all. I'll instead keep it liquid by throwing it into my emergency fund (which currently is $80 shy of the $2,000 mark...not bad for starting it in mid January!).

I could bore ya some more with my finances, but gotta get ready for the graveyard stint at the stalag 2.0

jeez! no entry since Wednesday.  I'm slippin'.  Thursday was nice day off (even though the weather was a bit winter like).  beers and pooperdog walks (wait.  beers was Wednesday night, I let my liver cool down on Thursday).  Friday I worked during the day (more pooperdog walks, no beerses), Friday night, sleeping from 8pm to around midnight, I sprang awake and stayed awake until around 3:30am (biggest bout of insomnia in a long time!).  I finally slept for another hour before my alarm awoke me from a dead sleep.  I paid for that today at work.  I was the walking dead (among other walking dead-beats) by noon (with 6 1/2 hours to go).  I shuffled thru it, being beyond exhausted by the end of the day.  once I got home I zombie walked the dog around the park, so she could do her thing.  a lady we walked past asked what her name was?  it took everything I had to remember (yep...that zombified!).  "ummmm....I just got off from work.....oh yeah, Rosie" [laffs].  I hit the rack when the walk was done, almost expecting to wake up 16 hours later, ready for work, but no.  I crashed 'round 8pm, and woke up (sadly) an hour and a half later (wide awake again).  I don't get it!  oh well. I'm awake.  I clean the cat box, feed the critters, sweep the kitchen, do some dishes, make some corn chicken chowder (one of Rosie's faves), etc..  I'll simply throw in a movie from Netflix and I'll be out like a light once again *plan*.   this'll be the third night that I won't be drinking beerses (because beer would just add to my insomnious condition). I hope my liver doesn't fall off from non-sudsory filtration

do some online banking to make sure my paycheck came in Friday.  yep.  $561 take home for 56 hours (that beats the crap out of my old temp pay, by a good $140 +/-!! btw, 56 hours is my normal 48 plus the extra hours for orientation). I put in my usual 20% into savings, then go ahead and add another $200 on top of that being I have way too much money.  I also place $81 toward my master card pay-down, still leaving a lot of money for rent and bills (coming up)...and life is good. ohhh, my 'puter battery is dwindling. I best "save" and plug 'er back in....then do some Netflix to fall asleep too *fart*

that's a new one. yesterday, on the way home from work, I see a mobile home (just around the corner from my house) with a good sized truck marked "DLD chemical disposal unit" (or some such...) parked in front of it, and peeps in haz-mat space suits carrying buckets and plastic bags  (of what?) out into the lawn (from said mobile home).  I can only assume the place was used as a meth lab (here's hoping it's not anything contageous like the Andromeda strain), maybe it's just a movie set for the newest B movie zombie flick, but I didn't see any cameras or director chairs. hmmm.  one can only speculate...

oh yeah, and thanks Vonage for not refunding my $14.95, like you said you would...it's just one more reason why I won't come back...and speaking of 'back', my lower back still feels tweeky.  I've experienced this before. the doc explains that there are nerve bundles in your lower back that can be agitated by over twisting.  I've been shown the right way by Mr grumpy (see yesterday's entry) on how to load parts into the gons at the end of the line.  seems I've been doing it wrong trashing my back a bit (doing it the way my boss said).  they're pretty heavy car seat frames and Rolph was nice enough (that's a first!) to show me a ouch free way to pack 'em.  I get me some Beyer back and body pills when I went shopping yesterday.  those help some...time, (mild) stretching and ice packs will bring it back to golden in no time flat.  it's not a debilitating ouchiness, it's just there to remind me that I'm alive

dude, never skimp on the nutritional powder drink mix.  this last time I went grocery shopping, I noticed the shelf was bare of my favorite chocolate boost powder.  I went ahead and got the strawberry flavored store brand equivalent *GACK!* I may as well be chewing on wet drywall.  it's that bad!  wait, wet drywall prob'ly tastes better.  I'll stick with Boost (or nothing at all, if it isn't in stock).  it's a bit more expensive, but tastes as good as Nestle' quick.

alright, I'm looking to get a second vehicle.  initially I was looking into a Royal Enfield motorbike (85 mpg), but now I find a new bike that's completely electric called the ZERO DS (seems I talked about this bike in the past, but didn't take it serious) which is almost double the cost to buy out right, but runs about .48 cents to fully charge , and you can go a good 60 miles per charge (less than a penny a mile!).  then, I started looking at electric cars, and conversion kits for cars (did you know that Ford made an electric Ranger between 1998 and 2004?  I didn't either! dude!)  anyway...gas prices will prob'ly hit the 7 dollar a gallon mark (low estimate) this summer, what with the middle East collapsing and all, so maybe it's time to do some research...[disclaimer: I may or may not get a second vehicle right away, but it's fun to dream.  meanwhile, my '97 Ranger is making trade in noises]

ok, now that I've been around this new line (at the stalag), I guess I'm fitting in well enough so that the line support [let's call him Rolph] can be as big of an asshole to me as he is to everyone else   (I notice he's especially a shit to the girls on the line).  he's not the boss, although you'd think he is with his whip cracking ways and a drill sarge attitude, with never a pleasant thing to say. usually he'll holler at ya for something that's not your fault.  he's the grumpiest ol' guy I know! he's half funny, but pushes beyond, into the realm of harassment (much like that guy I had written about from the boat factory who felt better about himself bullying everyone else).  now instead of bitchin' back, I pretty much say something way off in randomville, like "I WANT ICE CREAM!" (because what's he gonna do, right? he's not my boss.  he's just another grunt like me), then tune out the rest because it's exactly "the rest" that he's trying to pull from you, getting satisfaction when he's made you react.  I'm not fallin' for the bully tactics from anyone.  I've had it up to here (points at buttocks) with bullies in the past.  they suck!  I wish I would have stood up more to the boat factory bully...oh well. anyway, I don't let him wreck my day. I carry on doing what I do, and try and fart often whenever he comes over to my work station.  that ought to teach him!  sometime he'll even holler at us when it's his own fault for not supplying us with parts on time (line support...dah! and he makes 50 cents more an hour for being grumpy and inefficient).  seems everyone has his number...he'll bury himself one day barking at the wrong person.

grocery shop, hit taco bell for a shrimp burrito combo and a raspberry ice tea, then come home to have me a slice of pecan pie and a St Pauli girl or two (...and life is good!!)

swing shift's got me staying up late after yesterday's day shift, so as I can get to sleep before the night shift turn around.  it's the weirdest part of my job to get used to, but completely do-able. it's simple time management (when should I sleep so I'm not awake for 8 hours before the next 12 hour gig?).  sounds simple, right?  it's not. I'm already tired when I get out of work, so to stay up 8 or 10 hours beyond that is tough, but the good news is (pending Rosie doesn't wake me), if anything, I get too much sleep (which is tons better than the complete opposite).  I have the same problem come Tuesday morning (after working all night).  should I sleep all day and continue the 3rd shift routine, just to switch back to days come Friday?  nah, I usually only sleep 4 hours right after work, then start as if I'm on a day shift routine.  it's all a bit funky, but again, it's do-able.  it beats the hell out of being on either days or nights for 5,6,7 twelvers in a row (don't get me started).  I'm talkin' to my friend Bob during the night shift break time, and he's lookin' mighty burnt out "...I'm on day 18 (18 days in a row doing 12'ers!)".  "dude! I got the rest of this shift, then a 3 day [mid week] weekend".  he gives me a half an evil look. he's prob'ly pullin' in a grand a week (or more, now that he's hired in), but meanwhile is turning into the walking dead that is common to see here at the stalag.

oh oh...thunder! I make a tent on the couch with my blanket, so the kitty can hide.  Rosie, yer on yer own...sorry. I won't be here tonight to pet the thunder away.  she gets all twitchy with storms. she'll prob'ly just crash on my bed (like what she commonly does when I'm home during a T storm).

my lower back has been tweekin' me lately. I take the time to stretch (yoga like), and do some exercises (crunches, sit ups, etc) to try and even front muscles with back.  my core has gotten a bit soft, not being on the welder any more...I gotta make exercise part of my routine again.  I've gotten away from that...ice packs, ibuprofen and stretching seem to quell my aches and pains.  part of it is work, the other part is I'm just gettin' old.

anyway, I gotta shower, shave, etc. for tonight's exciting stint at the stalag.......

so, the pooperdog and I enjoy sittin' out on the porch, drinkin' beers, reading a good book ('basic teachings of great philosophers' by a dude named T.S. Frost).  it being 60 something degrees and all. when it was time to wander in for another beer, Rosie gets half way up and comes to a jerking halt.  seems her little bone shaped doggy license dangled betwixt the slats of the porch and turned sideways, so when she tried getting up, said license acted as an anchor bolt.  prob'ly thinking she was in some sort of snare, wondering if she relaxed, she'd get pulled in, she was determined to tug of war her way free.  after I realized what was going on, I quickly grabbed her collar by the bottom and jerked the license and ring right off (I'll climb under the porch later to retrieve it).  I take a minute to make sure she's OK, reassuring her (with much petting) that the porch wasn't gonna eat her.  before all of this (pre-beerage), her and I take us a good 'Sunday drive'.  it's been forever since we've done that, being that I kind of freaked after my last accident, vowing that I'd never have her with me when the roads were snowy and icey, for fear of crashing again...it was nice to wander aimlessly (on the dry spring-like pavement), with no destination, although she'd sit up and look around every time I was to brake (being that my brakes squeak a bit when used).

I hit the store after our last day of orientation, last night, and buy about $90 in groceries, along with a sixer of Founder's beer, then wander over to "across the way Jay's" (after a smallish pooperdog walk).  I only drink the first three and I'm 3/4's hammered (while yackin' with Jay and his new girlfriend/room mate).  I come home and finish the other 3, remembering nothing but waking up in the morning on the floor by the duty free shop in LaGuardia airport wearing nothing but my spider man underoos.  that's some powerful brew!! (finding out later that it's a beer with a 6.2% alcohol level!).      alright, the whole airport part isn't true but it made for a good story, right?

online banking to make sure my paycheck was deposited (this will be the last of my temp paychecks.  next week I'll start seeing some big bucks!).  transfer $68  (20% net) toward savings, transfer another $100 toward my Master Card, and make sure the $33 automatic transfer went thru as well (cool!). *yawn* [next topic...]

I get a visit today from both Jay and Rich (old man Rich who lives next to Chas. Manson).  they both were just bored, I suppose...Jay tunes my guitar and busts into 'knockin' on heavens door' before leaving to take himself a nap. speakin' of which, my ol' dog is snoring like a mofo next to my computer desk, as I type....  also speaking of naps, a good power-nap sounds kinda goodly, at the moment!  *fart*

oh, and wouldn't ya know it, a couple 3 days after getting hired in at the stalag, I get a phone call from Sara Lee (a company I applied for months ago) offering me a job.  ...damn the luck!

alright, so we got this young guy (23-ish) on our line who asked me the other day, what was my favorite concert ever (him, being kind of a metal head, and likes to talk music)?  and because I've pondered this before, it was easy for me to say "FEAR...at Miller's Cave (small bar) in Grand Rabbits".  later, he asks me what was number 2? Jeez!.  I've been to a hundred (+/-) concerts over the years. the big venues normally turned me off (although, it was cool to see Genesis, the Police, ZZ top, etc).  it was usually Friday night at the local pub that was the coolest. the Intersection bar in East GR (now located on the north side of town) or 'the Reptile House' on Division was the tits for up and comers as far as alternative coolness goes.  Goober and the Peas (later, the drummer went his own way to create the now famous  'White Stripes') and/or the Descendants (who, later became the band ALL?)  preforming at the bowling alley bar on the north side of GR (Miracle Lanes) would be my number 2 and 3 slots (for lack of a better word)...it's fun to recollect.  there are so many cool bands that I've seen, it's hard to categorize (beyond third place)...if I go back even further, it's even harder to say what's the  best?  there was a club (so to speak)  in the late '80s/ early '90s called "the new beat club" who met every weekend in one of the polish halls on the west side of town that served dollar beers in Styrofoam cups and highlighted the newest punk band in the circuit.  it was blast to be a participant!  I wish I would have paid attention as to who was headlining...I did, for awhile there, buy T shirts (and cassettes) from these bands, getting them autographed, with the idea of hanging on to them for future sake, but would always destroy them by wearing them to work at the grease factory that I had always come to work for....   man, if I only had saved these memento's, I'd prob'ly...ummm.  not be rich money wise, but rich in the knowledge that I had the only signed shirt by, say, 'Bot fly', 'Nine Volt Tongue', 'Nice Lawn', 'the Phantom Surfers', 'Insect Surfers',  'Naked Ray gun', 'the Casualties' (and dozens and dozens of others...) who's members may or may not have gone onto "bigger and better" bands...

anyway.  I'm sittin' in day 2 (of my 3 day orientation at work), and I can easily pick out the one's (out of 30 new hires in the room) who will be gone within, say, 6 months (if not by the end of orientation).  there's a couple of young guys who continually amaze me (others seem to give them the blank stare as well).  neither one has done their drug screen yet (which was due before last Wednesday), and they (of course) are also the two that haven't the correct paperwork (license, birth cert, Social Security card, etc), they punch in late for orientation,  they missed the window of an hour and a half to get their picture taken for their new time card, using the lamest excuses and asking the most retarded questions that were just gone over by the HR rep, etc, and so on....I wonder, at this point, if they even know how to feed and care for themselves?  it's that bad.  seriously! and listen, I was young once too, but come on! you want to get hired in, right?!  (maybe not.  maybe they know something the rest of us don't). pay attention, get your shit together, be were ya gotta be, when ya gotta be there, with the things HR tells you to bring in.  is that so hard?! apparently. dumb asses! 

*fart*

I get a snail mail reminder that Rosie is due for her 3 year rabies vaccine. I gotta get her a summertime supply of heart worm pills and flea drops as well (flea drops for the Squab too). as I'm reading the reminder, I (once again) laff at the fact that my vet clinic  is located on Paw Paw drive *snirt*

the work week has ended, but orientation will eat up 9 more hours (5 hours tonight, 4 hours tomorrow night) from my slack time.  oh well. a necessary evil when starting a new job I guess, plus those extra nine hours count as overtime (16.24/hour. an extra $148 bucks just to sit around and listen to company policy/safety, fill out some forms and what-not on top of my 48 hours already in). today's orientation was mostly paperwork, and safety, and an explanation on the vacation/attendance policies.  tomorrow we get our pictures taken for our new time cards and go over health and life insurance, etc.. who knows what they'll talk about come Wednesday?  it's pretty dull stuff, but important none-the-less.  it feels good to have a job with benefits again!  I don't believe I'll play with my money in the stock market again (disgruntled from past experiences), but then again, if they match my contributions in my 401k, up to 6%, I'd be a fool not to play.  I'll decide one way or the next after they explain it all...

alright, Friday pretty much came and went without  a hitch.  work was cool.  for some reason I was down at unload (packing parts from the conveyor at the end into ship packs, scanning, master labeling, etc) for way too long.  seems peeps don't wanna do that job so much, so they find ways to rotate avoiding it like the plague.  maybe I'll play that game today, being I had a good fill of it yesterday.  pooperdog wakes me up in the middle of the night by sneezing in my face, so she can go outside and do her thing.  I'll check the porch in a minute and see if she's got her nose pressed against the door, wanting in...

my Fed income tax already gets direct deposited...that was fast! I put the whole $820 into my savings, instantly doubling what I have [$1640 in savings?! shweet!].  maybe if I make too much money, I can buy me one of those slick bikes (pictured in the last entry).

gotta check to see if Rosie wants in, then hit the rack again, for 4:30am comes around way too soon

as the pooperdog and I walk the park (45 degrees and dense fog), ol' man Rich (who lives just west of Chas. Manson) drives past and says "stop by for a beer".  "sounds good!" I ain't much the social butterfly type, but I think he said 'beer'.  we sit and yack for a bit on topics from his WW2 days in Burma (flame throwing tail gunner on a tank) to his etchings (using special black board, that when etched is silver underneath), and as we're talking (pooperdog roaming freely thru out the house along with Rich's dog Casey), I notice he puts salt in his beer. I question him on that one "...salt? in beer?", "yep, I've been doing it for 50 years...try it".  I pour a little beer in a glass, add some salt.  "it tastes like salty beer" [laffs]. I didn't much care for it.  it's equivalent to putting mustard on, say, waffles, in my opinion.   I prob'ly hung around for a good half hour, then the pooch and I come home and take a good power-nap (or 2), catch up on my Jon Stewart and ABC news (via hulu), then head out for something to eat (gettin' tired of leftover smoked sausage gumbo).  I try taco bells shrimp tacos (and a raspberry ice tea).  mmmmmmmmmms!  those are good! a bit on the expensive side, but worth it.  then I guess I felt like throwing money away as I stop off at my favorite beer store and buy me a 12'er of Heineken (no salt).  finish off the night watching a bad movie on Netflix, and drinkin' Hineys.  I'm disappointed in Netflix.  seems each movie I search for is unavailable until I upgrade. I don't wanna upgrade. I may drop them all together.  anyway. woke up this morning on the couch with the netflix que on the laptop. I guess I didn't stay awake for the whole movie. it must have been a winner, I couldn't even tell you the title at this point. burn some coffee, honey bunches of sand burrs,  feed the dog and cat, take us a pooperdog walk in more fog, then sat down and typed in my blandish blahg...

the "welcome aboard" folder sits on the computer desk, screaming for me to fill out its contents...orientation doesn't start until Monday, but I best get it done, knowing I'll be in less of a mood to do it this weekend when I gotta work. *ready, go!*

online banking.  paycheck's deposited.  $33 will automatically 'bill pay' toward my credit card (tomorrow), and I manually transfer $68 (20%) into my savings.  ya know, since I started this forced savings thing on January 18th of this year, I now have a balance of $820 (plus change), that I normally would not have saved!!  20% of my new hired-in pay rate will make it grow that much quicker-er.  I almost have the same amount that I owe on my credit card, in savings (but I don't wanna transfer it, because I still have a good 9 months before any interest payments start in on my CC. it being interest free for the first year, and all.   I'll transfer over the remaining balance, if there still is one, before the promotional period ends.  theoretically, the $33/week I'm putting toward my card now will zero it out before then...anywayz.  *yawn*.  sorry. I'm blathering about finances again.  I guess that's what I do best). 

again (as per last week), Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were pretty uneventful, work wise (other than the typical Sunday, I'm zombified by 3am, and the rest of the night drags ass).  I zoom straight home from work (as I always do) to let the pooperdog outside so as she doesn't explode from 13 hours of holding it...then, instead of going for a walk, and straight to sleep, I stay awake (after said walk) and want to get this stoopid (pre-hire) physical over with as soon as possible.  I'm dead tired, but I just have to get it done (fighting myself over the whole thing). I hit the med center. it takes a good hour and a half to complete (mostly sit and wait time), but it's done. then I bring my social security card, birth certificate, license and high school diploma to work to have HR make a copy of each to throw into my file.  there.  the two things that needed to get done by Wednesday are done!  I can have the rest of the mid-week weekend off.  I get home by about 10:30 am and take me a good 4 hour nap (why 4 hours?  I don't know?  seems I feel wide awake afterward, so why not get up, get some coffee made, grab the laptop, and head out on the porch with an old dog?).  once outside (Rosie being unchained), she sees the neighbor dog with that look like she wants to sprint across the street.  I grab her collar, but of course, she thinks I wanna play that game of her being one step ahead of me, looking back as she runs toward her target.  she's good with the neighbor dog, I follow her just in case. seems Jay's room mate is on her way to work, so we get out of the driveway (as Rosie and Mickey sniff arsses). meanwhile, Jay pokes his head out and says "come on in for a beer!".  "...oh dude, I hate beer!" [laughs] "yeah, shut the fuck up, and get in here" [more laughs].   she drives away for work, I wander over (after bringing Rosie back into the house and grabbing a couple beers, putting one in each cargo pocket of my pants).  3 beers later, he's told me all of the current events that I was dying to know.  It was about a week or two ago when he mentioned that it took him 5 hours (which should only have taken him about an hour) to get home from work one day. I've been wondering ever since about the details.  today, he fills me in.  seems he had a good sized melt down.  pulling off the road every so often and crying uncontrollably for seemingly no reason.  he spills the whole story out as if I'm the shrink himself.  it looks as if it's freeing, just airing it all out. then I ask about his new room mate (the chick that committed herself to the dust ward, who is now a current room mate/love interest of his).  he says things are better than good.  I guess they're a couple now.  cool!  over all, things are getting better, and he can't wait to get back to work [which sounds like may happen soon, after a couple more therapy sessions].  awesome neighbor.  way to get yourself fixed up, and jump back onto that saddle!

it's a bit depressing to have CNN blaring in the break-room at work.  it's either "uprising in the middle east" shit, or Charlie Sheen on Piers Morgan reruns.  either way. I'm wondering why they don't tune those hanging TV's to, say, cartoon network, or something more fun? and here's the thing.  it's almost as if CNN replays the same clips/shows, every time we have a break! to see those clips again and again gets old.  I wish they'd turn it off, and maybe pipe some elevator muzak in (or something...anything!), but then I'd prob'ly complain about that too.  all I'm trying to do is get me some nutrition out of this chicken fried pork TV dinner.  why do I gotta watch the world fall apart, over and over again, during every break.  and speaking of 'break', one gets tired of seeing the banner "breaking news" under the same old middle east protests day after day.  come on!  give me some 'Space Ghost, Coast to Coast'.  k, I said my piece. 

alright, so I started my mid-week weekend drinkin' a couple three beers on an empty stomach (DOH!).  I gotta make me some hambooger helper shite to balance the Universe *plan*, then maybe take another nap (for slack sake...).  ready. GO!

DUDE! so I take a minute to look at my "welcome aboard" paperwork, and realize it's the 13th (not the 18th) that I begin my "lifer" status at the stalag (shiggity shweet!).  that's 5 days worth of 'big money', that I didn't even realize...!  nice!

Pandora radio, once again, cranked on 'Otto Von Shirach'........good stuff! k.  one more beer *belch*

so Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I get no call from HR [I must still have a temp job, at least], now all I gotta do is downplay and avoid the HR lady where possible while at work today...4:30 rolls around and she comes up to me asking if someone could take my place on the assembly line. "we need to talk..." [shit.] she brings me into an empty conference room and has me sit down, then she plops a "welcome aboard" folder in front of me [Jesus! I thought she was still miffed at my phone confession].  I actually sighed, and asked what's this about.  she said "we'd like to hire you, do you accept?".  "YES!" she goes over a bunch of paperwork, has me fill out a form before I go back to work and tells me to fill out the rest and go get a physical/drug test sometime before next Wednesday.  cool. I stay on the same shift, working on the same line [even cooler!].  so starting March 18th I'll be making $10.95/hr (plus benefits, holiday pay, and vacation time) instead of $8.37 (with zero perks). I'll be doing overtime next week for orientation...what a gas!  I guess my call-in confession didn't back fire after all.

it's raining big time outside, but the pooperdog and I still hoof it around the block so she can do her thang.  we both get a bit drenched.  I towel dry the pooch, and throw my coat in the dryer (the rest of my clothes in the washer).

wake up 'round 9:30, burn some coffee, take a good pooperdog walk, take a shower, shave, and get that haircut that I said I was gonna get a couple days ago (but hadn't yet done due to my slackedness).  do some online banking to make sure my paycheck was direct deposited. yep. $68 to savings, $30 toward the credit card.  then I realize I can set up weekly online payments toward my card, as if I'm paying a bill online.  cool!  let's start on 3/10 for $33/week, clicking on "recurring no end" from checking.  set it and forget it (as the rotisserie machine infomercial says). 

let's see.  Tuesday night, I drunk me some beers and stayed up 'til about 3am, doin' the Netflix/youtube thing, then Wednesday, I slept in 'til about 2 in the afternoon.  that's a good 11 hours of catch up sleep! I split for the 'Squatches 'round 2:45 (after a shower, etc) to commence a good ass kickin' at Tiger Woods golf.  we were neck in neck 'til his wife called with bad news about her work (around the 15th hole), then he started bogie-ing and crappin' out.  she comes home crying (as she often did when she was a room-mate here at the wood-panel submarine.  she's a very overtly emotional person).  we were then all supposed to head over to the local restaurant for a "garbage omelet".  she wanted to stay home and have a good cry. I then asked the 'Squatch if this is a bad time? we can do this again some other time, but he's ready to eat!  once he and I head down, he says "oh, I forgot it was Wednesday! we get free entertainment!"  I look in the corner and see 3 old guys playin' a Pat Boone song.  "cool!".  the place was hoppin' with geriatric folks diggin' their renditions of old time music (from 'Okie from Muskogee' to instrumentals by Chet Atkins).  they were good! and I was starving, realizing this is the first thing I'll be eating all day (it now being 5:30pm).  their garbage omelet is to die for.  it's huge, filled with bacon, sausage, green peppers, floor sweepings of every kind, topped with cheese and pork gravy (mmmmmmmmms!!).  I cut our visit short so he can spend time with his wife....came home, took a pooperdog walk, caught up on Jon Stewart daily shows, blah blah..

JESUS CHRYSLER!! it took $51 to fill my shrimpy trucks gas tank yesterday! ...I gotta get me a motor bike

March 3rd already!!  the Kid's birthday is 3 days away! zowwie! happy birthday Kid! I'll prob'ly get him something boringly practical, like a gas card for a 100 bucks, or some such unexciting thing.  sorry Kid. it's survival mode these days. gotta keep it practical, and what not.  here's hopin' you understand...

once again, I take a minute to highlight my mid-week weekends within the new month...

the dog, cats and yarn (especially the yarn) have that content look of agreement in the calenders pic... (it goes without saying, but the blank dates are to be filled with 12'ers at the stalag...16 days of work; 15 days of slack. can't hardly beat that).

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday...pretty uneventful long-ass work days (nights).  all right, here's the thing that I've been agonizing over since my work interview last Wednesday. I'm talkin' with an employee about a certain guy (this weekend) who tried to get hired in, who had a criminal record as long as his arm, but because none of them were felonies, he prob'ly would have gotten hired in, had he not omitted some of them on his application...boink!  it dawns on me that I only wrote down one of my DUI's on mine.  good gawd! am I going to get denied because of what prob'ly looks like a blatant omission?!  will she (HR) look that far back in my history (the first happening some 26 years ago).  and here's the deal.  if they find a problem, you can no longer be employed even as a temp.  I let the mess swirl in brain over the weekend, and decided I best fess up knowing this could be my last day at the stalag. I called HR, and explained my dilemma, being as sincerely apologetic and knowing full well the consequences of my mistake.  she sounds stern in an angry way questioning how I'd miss something so big.  I didn't want to sound like it was unimportant or call it ancient history at this point because I knew that wouldn't fly, so I  decided to go with haste and maybe a touch of self sabotage with the lesson learned that I got to be a lot more careful about dates, times, events, etc...she pauses, then says "I wrote it down, anything else?" still sounding like a mom with a stern disappointment.  "nope, that's it. thank you for your time, and once again, I'm sorry...".  that was a hard call to make.  my voice was shaking.  I hope she could feel the sincerity.   afterword, I'm thinkin' I'll go to work and my punch-in card will be deactivated.  nope.  so far, so good.  I now gotta work twice as hard (I'm thinkin') to get hired in due to my dumbassedness, but meanwhile (for now) I still have a job. my fate at the stalag is in her hands....we'll see if she has mercy, meanwhile a certain weight has been lifted.  I can concentrate on my job instead of agonizing (I know, it's an $8.37/hour job, but it has become important, now that I'm diggin' the hours, and the work station).  stay tuned.

THE WEEKEND IS HERE!! burn some coffee.  crank Pandora radio (set to 'Mermen' radio) and clean the wood-panel submarine. starting from the kitchen and working toward the back.

so, I've hit my lower limit on the weight side (presently 165 lbs) and feel I need a boost, so while at the store last week, I pick up some protein shake powder.  it's called "boost".  perfect! and I shop for "real" lunch food for work (instead of Ramen noodles and feeling hungry way too much).  Marie Calender's TV dinners are on sale for 5 for $10. excellent. chicken fried pork and mashed tators with mixed veggies beats the crap out of 3 minute re-hydrated noodles with chicken powder flavoring. not only have both helped me gain a little weight, but I'm feeling less tired.  I got carried away with trying to save a dollar forfeiting my health and awakedness.  these changes must stay, regardless of the extra cost (stop bein' so damn dutch).   I even picked me up a pecan pie (mmmmmmmmmms!).  surprisingly, Rosie likes pecan pie as well. 

I gotta get my haircut today.  it's been over a month. I'm startin' to look like a damn hippie (bowling ball emoticon for 'damn hippies').

anyway.  back to more cleaning...

OK, I see this weeks paycheck has been deposited (online banking), so 20% ($68) goes into savings, and $70 goes toward my Credit Card still leaving enough cabbage for next months lot rent (due next Tuesday) and grub.  otherwise, nothing new under the sun (ummm...snow).  beers, pooperdog walks, and general slackage (with the occasional Pandora radio, Hulu.com and/or Netflix show) are the norm for this (and most all) mid-week  weekends...

alright, just had my interview (to officially be considered into the stalag, rather than just being a temp...).  I guess it went OK.  she tells me the starting pay (if I get the job) would be $10.40/hour plus 45 cents/hour premium for working the weekend crew.  that's $2.58 more an hour than I make now (about $135. more a week)!  damn!  crunching the numbers, I figure (if my math is worth a damn) it's almost about an extra $8 grand a year (based on a solid 48 hour week).  that would be nice!  $28,600/year sounds a bunch more significant than my current $21,800...she then tells me that they will be hiring at least 100 people within the next two months [cha-ching!].  let's hope I hear [good news] from her again soon.  now the not so good news.  seems the line I'm currently on is scheduled to be sent to Mexico within the next year.  damn it! I knew things were going too good.  I guess if I get hired in before the move, I'll just have to be reassigned somewhere else.  I don't mind change, and I've already proven that I can work any shift (crossing my fingers that i can stay on the 48 hour shift).  we'll cross that bridge when (if) I get to it.  here's hopin' she takes kindly to my interview...

so, Sunday night, I was feeling a bit tired (and I guess dehydrated) from drinking a couple 4 beers (and maybe some tainted  Top Ramen noodles) from the night before...last night, as the shift begins, I was gigantically stopped up  as if I'd swallowed 3 complete blocks of sharp cheddar cheese in one gulp.  I haven't been constipated in years!  I forgot how incurably uncomfortable it is. I spent my first break (a whole 15 minutes) pushing as if I were having a baby.  all right, let's skip past the rest of the details and just say, I think I saw God when it was over.  I spent the rest of the day smiling uncontrollably.  it was a "born again movement" moment.  unbelievable!  usually I have the complete opposite going on, but we'll skip those details as well [next topic]

after work today, the pooperdog and I take us a walk. I let her outside quickly so she can do her thing, then follow her down the road with her leash and collar in my hand.  she likes to stay a couple steps ahead of me while looking back, to see if I'm trying to catch her (I'm not, but pretend...it's a game we both like to play).  suddenly she looks forward and spots a cat about 4 trailers down. she stops,  squats in an old dog version of a prowl, then busts into full throttle toward the prey.  it's pretty much a forgone anticlimactic moment when the cat easily scoots away but then turns comical when dog tumbles into the snow covered yard to try and stop her momentum (I wish I had a video camera).  I then am able to hook her collar/leash back up while she catches her breath (old dogs can't sprint too far without gettin' winded...ask me, I know).  after the walk, I commence to cleanin' the wood-panel submarine with brief intermissions of 'Jon Stewart's Daily show' reruns, lots of coffee and a bowl of Honey bunches of Sand Burrs.  I gotta hit the store later because I'm about out of essentials (muzzle loader barrel cleaner solution,  ear wig traps, scented burlap bags, etc).  maybe I should get me hair chopped while I'm out.  why not? I gotta look pretty for my interview tomorrow...

anywayz.  stuff.

so my burnt out joke (at work, after working 3-12'ers) used to be "36 hours down, 36 more to go!".  of course, my new schedule is; 36 down, 12 to go (and I've already made it perfectly clear how huge this is, so I won't blather on about it again).

Hey!  what happened to that short lived spring like weather.  this crappy snow ice mix shit can go away soon if it wants...no worries really.  spring is right around the corner, then I can bitch about how hot it is.

I buy me a smallish computer desk to replace the monster home made entertainment center that the 'Squatch left behind.  it's a bit more functional (and a lot less cumbersome) than the old.  the new desk looks like a fancy end table but has hinges on the top and a fold down drawer front to convert into a laptop desk.  I like it!  it's maybe the second piece of new furniture I ever bought.  I'll drag the old one out by the street when the weather gets better.  some trailer trash scavenger will make new use for it...

the first two days of work (this weekend) seemed to fly by (as I may have mentioned in an earlier post), but yesterday seemed to drag on forever, and I was tired like a mofo.  I remember this being the case last week too.  it's prob'ly because of the weird conversion of sleep/awake time from shifting betwixt days and nights.  tonight should be better, but I did kind of wake up early today.  maybe I'll try and get a couple more hours of shut-eye, so I don't experience another dragger.  meanwhile, it's almost the weekend, so I'm sure my power-nappage will more than make up for lost slack...

I change the clock alarm from 4:30am to 4:30pm for tomorrow's wake up.   work yesterday and today went by pretty fast, and there it is, the week's half over all ready!  2 more 12'ers and then the three day weekend begins! 

if you read far enough back in my blahg, I went onto the night shift (as suggested by my bosses boss) to potentially get hired in by the end of January.  January came and went with a batch of new hires that didn't include me.  yesterday they hired yet another batch of peeps that I also wasn't included in.  looks like I'll have to maybe wait 'til march(?).  the good news is I have my interview this Wednesday morning at 9am, so the ball is (ever so slowly) finally  rolling, as they say.  meanwhile, my friend Bob (who started as a temp 2 weeks after me) is now hired in.  congrats Bob, you bastard.   then I find out one of the guys from the line I'm currently on got hired in too.  he started working here as a temp 2 MONTHS after me.  what's up?! I'm startin' to feel left out?!  oh well.  maybe this is good news (some how), I'm not (yet) a lifer at the stalag.  meanwhile things are tons better in this dept and shift. it's like I'm working at a completely different place in comparison to the old everyday welding crap!  (don't get me started). 

once home (tonight) I take the pooperdog out for a walk, then we make us some clam chowder (the pooperdog LOVES her some clam chowder!).   a couple beers, some Pandora radio (set on 'Autechre'), along with doing a big load of laundry then I sit down to write about it all (way too much excitement for the average subhumanoid!). anyway, I'll prob'ly catch up on some news and Jon Stewart (as well as drink another coldey or 2, being I don't have to work again until tomorrow night)  before hittin' the rack...

damn, judging by this monster headache that I woke up with, must be I drunk a beer (or 9) last night.  it's been forever, it seems, since I put a good jag on (it's my weekend, so why not, right?).  I pretty much started my beer guzzle 'round noonish whilst cleaning the wood-panel submarine, and by 10pm I was hammered.  I didn't go anywhere (of course). I've stayed true to my "hide the truck keys before you start drinkin' " rule. my ass was parked (for the most part) on the couch watching Netflix, and catching up on 'ABC world news' and 'the daily show with Jon Stewart' episodes (via Hulu) that I'd recently missed.  otherwise, pooperdog walks (we walked the whole park yesterday, being that the temperature was 40 something degrees)!  it got up to 50 today!  good gawd! the snow mountains are disappearing fast!  I take a gigantic power-nap today to try and quell said hangover (it works).  hit Kozak's for a gyro and a rootbeer for lunch (mmmmmmmms!), then do some grocery shoppin'. more pooperdog walks to follow as the night goes on.  I gotta hit the rack 'round 8 tonight so as I can get my ass up 'round 4:30am and get ready for another stint at the stalag...

here's last months schedule (on the left) compared to this months (right), and although I had a couple one day weekends and a couple 2 day weekends off last month, from this month forward, I have 3 day weekends every week (ummm...Tue, Wed, Thur=my weekend. yep, those days marked "SLACK" are mine.  shweet)!  that's huge! I think I got out of the welding dept. just in time too. those rumors of working 12 hour days every day for 3 weeks straight appear to be true.  that would have definitely killed me (seriously!)

slept on the couch after a good 4 beers, while watching (or attempting to watch) a movie called 'into the void' (via Netflix; alla laptop). I remember 1/2 waking up every time someone was screaming or crying in the movie (which seemingly was often and a lot).  too sleepy to get up and turn it down (or off).  wake up this morning 'round 6. make some coffee, take a pooperdog walk, and do some online banking.  since it's payday today, I gotta force myself to transfer 20% to savings (pay yourself first, dummy!) as well as complete the balance owed of $100/month (I paid $70 the first week, this week I'll contribute $30. February payment complete.) toward paying down my credit card.  at this rate, the $900 (mostly truck fix money) on it will be gone by the end of 2011 (which is my goal, so I'm still on track).  these last two paychecks are for only two days work a piece (due to my bronchitis time off...$171 take home/week), so the budget tightens a bit until it can rebound with full 48 hour checks (starting next week).  I can not tell you enough how completely enjoyable this mid-week weekend is!  that A crew and B crew thing (65-80 hours a week) is for the goddamn birds! k, 'nuff sed.  I've blathered on enough about that (as I relax with my second cup of coffee, not even having to think about the stalag until Friday.  sheer bliss!)

did a tiny amount of rearranging furniture yesterday, then wander over to Jay's place with a couple 3  "Mexican beers".  he's all prescription drug loopy while he drinks his scotch (or what looks like scotch) from a Mickey Mouse glass. he tells me that he has a new room mate (a friends old girlfriend who apparently is the manic depressant suicidal type.  just what Jay needs as he goes thru his own  latest emotional garbage.  a day in the life on trailer trash island).  she checks herself into the dust ward again, so  when they deem her fit to leave is when she becomes his new room mate.  along with emotional baggage, she brings a dog  with her. he's not too cool with this, but says he can always close the door on his bedroom...(it's about here where I notice that he begins to drift off, as if the mixture of scotch and drugs finally kick in.  I tell him that I'll let him crash, then split...)

let's see.  nothing else new.  maybe I'll hit the shower and slack some more

the honeymoon's over!  this dept. can bite my shiny metal ass too!.  nah, just kiddin'. the supervisor everyone warns me of, has so far, been supportive, and not a once did he seem unfairly over wielding (yet?), and the hours...? I didn't once get demanded (nor even offered) to work overtime, but I already ranted on about that.  the more stations I learn, the tougher the challenge to work on speeding up on what I know, so as not to slow the assembly line (so far, so good).  it's actually been fun to figure this all out, the only real downer is a guy named Harv.  everyone has opinions here and there about unfairness which is fine, but this guy is a fountain of festering rage. there were a couple times that I worked across the line from him.  he seems to be the only one (so far) that  spews the same old  "this company is going to Hell, the supervisor is a jerk" rhetoric.  I try and listen (or pretend listen), but let him know that I can't really engage in this conversation because I gotta concentrate on the job at hand "...simple mind, that I have, and all".  he understands, then continues to blather on for what seems like hours about all the injustices in the work place,  the world, and the rest of the universe.  his skewed conjecture is like paint ball ammo against my Kevlar vest of polar negative resistance (I don't mean to sound Polly Anna-ish, but I'm not gonna fall into agreeing with and supporting this Darth Vader of discontent). don't get me wrong.  it's good to vent, but damn!  spew it, drop it, and move on to something more uplifting, or engaging.  (I save most of my bitchin' to be vented here on this bland blahg...where no one is forced to hear it.  instead, one has to choose to read it, or not) maybe someone just kicked his cat the wrong way that day.  who knows?

so, I bust open a Tupperware this morning (labeled "bacon") thinking I'll do me some eggs and bacon, but inside was leftover brats from a couple days back [oh yeah! I forgot about these]. I started out by thinking I can make me an omelet,  I thinly slice up the brats and throw them into the frying pan, then, for whatever reason, I decide I don't really wanna do a breakfasty thing, and look in the pantry for an alternative.  there it was. a jar of spaghetti sauce that was labeled "sweet Italian sausage with cheese".  excellent!   after browning the brats, I dump in the sauce and let it simmer, adding the rest of my small block of sharp cheddar cheese, (and some lemon pepper, just to pretend like I know how to cook) meanwhile I start boiling a big pot of water, but then got lazy, and decided I'll simply skip the noodles and dilute the sauce down to make it more of a tomato soup consistency.  I let it cook up, throw it (and some oyster crackers) in a bowl, grab me a spoon, and feast away (mmmmmmmmmmmms!). after eating, I take me a short nap, then call my temp HR to thank her for the reassignment (see above), then jump in my truck to grab some milk and beerses at my favorite local liquor store, stopping off at the car wash next door, to get 6 months worth of grunge off the ol' shrimpy truck.  currently contemplating doing some house cleaning and laundry (just for funnzies!)

oh, that's why they call it "black top"!  it's good to see the road again.  that was a particularly white winter.  it's good to see some contrast (eyes refocus from seasonal snow blindness).  there's everyone's favorite cop, sitting at the entrance way of the trailer park waiting for Mr Leadfoot to go over the 15 MPH speed limit.  why isn't he out there catchin' the crooks instead of harrassin' the trailer trash?  oh well.  he hasn't stopped me yet, so all is good.  Jay knows the guy by name, rank, and seriel number. he's got a ton of stories including having the same cop pull behind him as he was pulling into his own driveway and busting him for having an open bottle of (can't remember what) in his vehicle.  he hadn't been drinkin', but he got an open container (among many other stories).

I don't know if I had mentioned,  I threw down a good $90 and got me a new truck battery with the highest cold crankin' amps available (Duralast Gold). then, the next day it's 40 degrees out instead of the teens (like it recently had been). anyway, that baby turns over nicely now.  just for fun, I left my GPS and MP3 player plugged in over night.  that didn't even phase it. the old battery would have been deader than a door knob (wait, door nail?) X 1,000.  it's a good peace of mind thang.  now (of course) I notice a small scraping noise coming prob'ly from the front brakes (it's always something lately.  oh well. it's a damn good truck! let's wait 'til it gets a bit warmer and give her some new brake pads *plan*). 

oh yeah.  gotta clean the shack, then maybe relax with a beer, and watch a moobie on Netflix...

One more graveyard shift at the Stalag, then I got Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off to slack!  it's a nice schedule! I'm beyond happy that there isn't a stoopid bulletin board with mandatory overtime written on it...I'm free!  48 hours is more than enough work within a work week.  things are lookin' better, and on top of that, we have ourselves a couple of spring like days (!!)  temps in the 40's yesterday! high 30's today (come on spring!)  it's a huge boost to my psyche  to see more sunshine and watch the snow turn into slush.  it won't be long now, and I can bust out the lawn chair, or sit out on the porch with a coldey (and an old dog) smirfin' the web on me laptop, or readin' a book.  more Sunday drives with the pooperdog, and going to the beach to get a sunburn, etc..  I can't wait! come on warm weather!  I'm ready! (damn! I've never written an entry with so many explanation points).

the graveyard shift on a Sunday (last night) is pretty quiet.  not every dept has a C crew, and/or overtime Sunday work, so it was pretty mellow.  tonight will prob'ly be full steam ahead as any work week day feels.  after work this morning, I let the pooperdog outside to go for a walk so she can do her thang. I then take me a nap 'til around 3 this afternoon followed by another pooperdog walk, and 3 bowls of raisin bran crunch (I guess I was hungry).  Jay just stops by (a minute ago) to return my vacuum that he borrowed a couple 3 days back, then  borrows my phone so he can add minutes onto his.  anyway. I've run out of stuff to write about, but I got time before heading into the stalag, so maybe I'll clean the kitchen a bit....*plan*

oh yeah, one other thing, I sent both my State taxes and Federal tax return in via snail mail a  couple 3 days ago. Federal mentions it will take 6 to 8 weeks to process and forward the return to my checking (longer than that if they were to just cut me a check), meanwhile, State has already cashed the check that I sent them (that was fast! ). my point being, if you owe them (gov't ) money; they'll cash it in no time flat, they owe you; there'll be a month and a half wait.  typical beurocracy at its finest. k, 'nuff  bitchin' about the gov't. now to go clean that kitchen

with Friday and Saturday done, I now have 2 more days to complete the work week (good gawd! doesn't that sound refreshing!) I'm diggin' this C shift thang the most!   work is cool! I learn some new stations, and generally dig it a ton better than welding!  damn, I've gone from wanting to sack the place completely to being  contempt working some other dept on another shift (who'd a thunk?!).  Stalag 2.0 rawks! it's going to be a chore (as it has been on the other shifts/dept s. to remember names to faces again. and so far, I haven't run into any hard headed ass munch who likes to train wrong, and carries his own bottle of white out yet.  I get to finally meet the real boss tomorrow. we've had a squid, that no one seemingly likes for a fill-in boss, who likes to walk around with a stop watch and crack the damn whip.  he's a young guy with a military hair cut who likes to stand in parade rest when he's giving a talk to the team.  I haven't had any run-ins with him yet, but you sure hear a lot of grumbling from the ranks.  you can tell that there's pretty much zero respect from the workers (and vise versa), meanwhile, they're telling me the original boss is the coolest guy.  real laid back.   there was only one glitch for the day.  being the new guy, I pretty much get tagged for using the wrong parts. I was running b-pillers and needed some motors.  I remember the boss telling me that there are 2 different kind and have to pay close attention to which ones you grab.  I grab 2 boxes of parts (looking at part numbers, and comparing with one I had at the work station) and assemble til the end of the hour.  someone else assembles parts on the same machine after me. of course, somewhere between me and him and whoever else may have jumped on it randomly for half the day (being a secondary parts machine. not linked to the main assembly line), someone got the motors mixed.  I plead my case, but being the new guy, you know I already lost. it's best I eat this one, apologize, take note of the mistake, and make sure it doesn't happen again. not a biggey. it was caught early, but still. I was beyond careful!  sucks that I can't prove it...no use agonizing over it, it just makes me look like I'm guiltier...

  sleep.  I need sleep.

so I check my alarm to see if it's set for 4:30, not thinking am or pm.  turns out it was set for PM, but luck would have it, I woke up at 4:31am anyway, and wondered why my alarm didn't work ().  I reset it for 4:40 am, and take a tiny snooze. it worked.  I get up, shave, shower, etc. go for a quick pooperdog walk, have some cereal, pack a lunch, then it's off to the stalag 2.0.  Sally said she'd leave me a piece of paper on her desk with my new assignment. I see nothing, but remember her telling me the bosses name, so that was a big help.  the work station itself is pretty cool!  it's much like the beer/orgy dept., with some similarity to the "good job" dept., so it was easy to adapt...every hour I was pretty much learning something new.  the only heavy work is packing product at the end of the line, but again, you're only doing it for an hour (or two).  the peeps seem to be pretty nice.  overall, I think I dig this new gig! I run into some welding peeps coming on to do the night gig.  they figured I flew the coop. I kinda did...getting sick was prob'ly the best move I could have made (like I did that on purpose).  I go in tomorrow for another daytime 12'er, then it's no work until Sunday night.  that'll be a weird transition. I better have two alarm clocks.  one I can set for 4:30am and another for 4:30pm.  nah, that might get too confusing.  maybe I'll just pay closer attention next time...

across the way Jay just stops in, I give him a Mexican beer (for some reason, he considers Miller High Life "Mexican...". I have no idea why?, but I let him run with it.  he's been off from work forever now.  he finally gives me a small reason as to why. he's pretty vague with his current description, but then I hear something about a shrink.  I share my experiences with shrinks (in a good way).  he feels better because I can relate to shrinkage (wait, that's not...never mind). he opens up a bit more. seems things have been piling on top of things, and he's looking for help (but doesn't go into any more detail than that).  he also wants to borrow my vacuum because he says he's been ignoring clean up around the house.  fine.  he seems to be ok, after a good Mexican beer, and some talking. I hope I was of some sort of help (prob'ly not, but what are friends for?). 

after Jay splits, I make me some pan fried meatloaf.  it's 1 1/2 lb hamburger, with 2 eggs, leftover cooked bacon (sliced into bits), and oyster crackers all mixed together and formed into a giant flat burger the size of the pan.  cook one side for 10 minutes, flip, add ketchup, and cook for another 10 minutes.  it's what one does after a couple beers and a friend bends yer ear...I'm thinkin' it's time to hit the rack for another fun filled installment at the stalag.  g'night.

sign up for a free week on Hulu.com plus ($7.99/month for more TV shows, etc.), thinkin' they'll now let me go back and see more past episodes of "community" (they only offer the last 3 on regular hulu).  I'm already disappointed seeing that they still only offer 3!  I gotta week to cancel if I continue to be disappointed.  I'm into about the first 5 episodes of 'Andy Barker P.I.' (always was a big fan of Andy Richter!).  it's pretty silly-ass, and they do carry tons of past episodes of 'family guy' as well, so that's a good thing.  my disappointment slowly melts away...it's TV without the $35/month cable expense, and being a Dutch guy, I like that a lot!

upon a pooperdog walk last night, I see the park's manager has been on a rampage with his big ass yellow front end loader.  he seemingly doesn't give a damn about people's landscaping, shoving great mountains of snow betwixt trailers, with evidence of busted fences, landscaping bricks, and even a car towing trailer getting smashed into piles.  I guess it's his place to destroy, as long as he's not damaging cars or trailers (or car trailers).  I look outside my kitchen window now only to see a giant snow mountain instead of my neighbors house.  it's kind of freaky. good time to break out the ski's.

woke up this morning at 4:30am (practice for getting used to the day shift again).  coffee, bacon, frunch toost, and a pooperdog walk round off the morning.  pandora radio set on 'Bill Laswell'.  good stuff!

otherwise, I relax with some beers and order a pizza (ummm yesterday), knowing it won't be long and I'll be right back into that stalag mode.  it was a nice week off (despite the sicky thang.  my bronchitis, btw, 99% gone)!  I don't see last weeks paycheck in my bank yet, but won't panic, knowing it's supposed to be in by today (although most always it's in by Wednesday night).  it'll be a shrimpy check anyway, being that I only worked 2-12'ers before going into the doctor...a 24 hour check will prob'ly only amount to $160 take home (after taxes. if my math is correct).  I'll check my bank account again tonight.  come to think of it, my next weeks check will be for 24 hours as well (pending I work full 12's this Friday and Saturday.  work week starting Sunday, and all).  then I should be on track after that for full-on 48 hour checks (again, pending full 12 hour days, etc).   I can't tell you how much my new schedule beats the crap out of 6 or 7 days worth of 12'ers in a row/week (lather, rinse, repeat).  wait, I'm sure you got the idea in past rants.  never mind.

I never did search for a battery yesterday. It was far too cold to ramble around.  I did take a minute and measure the dimensions of the old battery (and the pan that it was sitting on for potentially getting a bigger battery). come to find out,  there's not a lot of room under that shrimpy trucks hood for both a 4 cylinder engine and a bigger battery, so I'll prob'ly stick with the stock size.  maybe today, I'll get brave.  otherwise, I'm bound to have bad luck this weekend, and kick myself (once again) for not taking care of the problem when I had time to do it...

pooperdog continues to enjoy her big pillow. snoring contently while I type. 'nuff sed.

oh yeah, I almost forgot about the big news.  about once a year, one of these wood-panel submarines burn to the ground.  this time it was one over near the far pond.  it was gutted and surrounded by police tape. this prompts me to use my hardware stores credit card reward points ($10.80 cents worth) toward a good sized fire extinguisher.  there was already a tiny one in the kitchen, I un-mount that one from the wall and remount it by the back door. the new one is mounted underneath the light switch next to the front door (so theoretically, either one can be grabbed as one exits the structure with both front and back door in mind.  the bigger of the two by the kitchen in case I fall asleep while making pot pies again). I hope to never use either one, but consider it peace of mind insurance.  yet another reason for my purchase was something someone said about his battery terminal wire shorting out and getting white hot (in the car battery forum. researching batteries the other day). he goes on to say how his $15 fire extinguisher saved his car from him being otherwise helpless watching it completely go up in flames on the side of the road...just sayin'

the pooperdog and I take a walk down...yikes! scary shit!

the battery in my truck is gettin' tired (I'm sure I've complained about this before, but it's still a bit more fresh than always talking about work).  there's another $100 that needs to be sunk into the ol' girl.  I'll shop around today, and get me one that can handle a GPS and an MP3 always plugged in (the minute I forget to unplug something while the truck is off, I need to bust out the charger).  maybe I'll measure the battery tray and find the biggest with the most crankin' amps, so as it out lasts the truck itself, and I won't need to cross my fingers (as I do now) when trying to start it in below subzero weather.  I stop by 'Batteries plus' yesterday and pick the guys brain.  seems you can't just unhook the old and put in a new one without potentially frying the cars computer (in models 1996 and newer).  he mentions a gizmo that's low voltage, that you put in the lighter socket to keep everything important juiced while you switch batt'rys (good to know).  I will also take a look at how easy (or not) it is (or isn't) to put in beafier cables with the big lead grips, instead of the small wires and toy connectors it currently has.  it looks like a good day to figure it all out...then I can stop kickin' myself when I forget to unplug something.  sometimes it's not even my fault. I'll slam the seat belt in the door which keeps it open just enough to keep the dome light on.  frustrating. my charger is getting over worked.  just another day, I guess, in the tired ol' truck's never ending story...in 6 more years she'll be considered an antique!  ...oops. I just wiki'd "antique cars". seems they have to be 45 years old for that category.  I was looking for the 20-45  year range which they consider "classic".  so, 6 more years (and a couple dozen rolls of duct tape) she'll be considered a classic car!  can she make it?  maybe. I'm not in any hurry to replace her. I just realized I'm giving my truck a female gender as if it's a battleship...

p.s.  seems the more I look into (via introwebbage) this gizmo that keeps juice to important things (while changing the batt'ry), the more I seemingly don't need it (reading up in forums about blowing car computers while changing batteries, etc. is basically a wives tale, and/or pertains to newer high end import cars that have anti-theft functions).  seems the biggest problem is possibly losing my radio presets (big whoop, right? more research needed...)

I must say, since the return of that four letter word called 'work', I'm hugely in less of a mannequin depressor state.  I wasn't looking forward to resumes, interviews, being broke beyond belief (prob'ly within a month or two), not to mention that interview question they always ask; "why'd you quit your last job?"  "...because of it's stalag qualities.  the hours sucked. and I hate welding" (that's the only truthful answer I could have given).  anyway, if anything, this new set-up should buy me some time 'til the economy starts pickin' up (anytime now). and speaking of work, I don't have to work 'til Friday.  I guess that makes this my weekend, so I pick up some beerses (I have had only one beer in forever and that one tasted horrible being that I was in the midst of my sickness).  now that I'm completely thru with my antibiotic pack, I believe I'll have me a couple 6 coldeys.  maybe I'll find me a good zombie movie and relax...*plan*

k, last week, you remember I was this close [holds up a 3 ft long 2x4] to buying a smart-phone, to replace my broken tracfone. I even went as far as to order it, only for them to return my money because some glitch in my online order, then just before throwing the tracfone away, I try it and IT WORKS! long story short,  something similar happened with my truck.  the 'check engine' light likes to come on because of a spark plug issue.  so just as I'm ready to purchase a car computer diagnostic thingy (that you plug into a connector under the steering column whereby you can turn the 'check engine' light off),  the 'check engine' light automatically goes off.  it's weird.  so I figure I saved hundreds of dollars on a smart phone, and a good $160 on a diagnostic thingy (this one was fancy.  it had a ton of other features like...well go here. check it out.  that way I'm getting more beneficial use out of it, then just turning off a dumb light. but of course now I can't justify its purchase, since the dumby light is out.  I don't know what my point is, but I do like when things fix themselves, saving me potentially hundreds in dinero (is Robert Dinero's real name 'Bob Money'? yeah, prob'ly not).  I must have a friendly ghost (wait, I don't believe in ghosts, oh well.  doesn't mean there isn't one there)

I just got off the phone with Sally (temps HR), and asked the big questions concerning how to gracefully quit what I'm doing, knowing that paint markers on hot weld may have contributed to my bronchitis, and the million hours a week thing's not cuttin' it, in order to get healthy again, etc.  she seemed sympathetic (for once...wait, there was one other time when the paychecks were 2 weeks late.  she had a sympathetic tone then, as well.  she's a nice lady, come to think of it.) we played tennis back and forth about quitting this assignment and trying something else, somewhere else, but she warned me that the hours will be close to the same (if and when something else becomes available).  then she suggests C-shift here at the stalag.  it's essentially 4-12 hour days. two on day shift (Fri and Sat), two on nights (Sunday and Mon), leaving Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as my "weekends off".  squirrelly hours, but I consider it.   she mentions an opening available that doesn't involve welding.  it gets more and more appealing as she talks, plus the idea of completely starting over somewhere else makes me nervous.  here, I know the place, and how it works (and I know most of the inmates), now I just have to learn all the jobs in this new dept (prob'ly a steep learning curve as was the welding dept., but that's fine) . it looks like an assembly line involving small parts (alla the beer/orgy dept).  I'll make it work. chances are good that it's one of those departments that you change jobs every hour, so I'm pretty sure I'll just get comfortable in one area, then bam! time to learn the next. I've had this crash course before (in aforementioned beer/orgy dept).  it'll be tough, but I can weather it.  I guess this'll have to do until that Playboy fotographer job opens up

a couple things about Rosie, just to change the subject a bit to the lighter side. I always assumed she was a messy eater. every time I sweep the kitchen floor there's a small scattering of  nuggets from her bowl that make it onto the floor.  as I'm sweeping the floor, the other day,  she's at her bowl.  this time I witness her picking out certain colored pieces (tan and brown) from the multi-colored food, and setting them outside her bowl.  it's a damn hoot!  she's gettin' as finicky as the cat! also, later, I see her pawing at her bed mat and walking around in small circles, prob'ly trying to make it more comfy, so the next time I hit the store, I grab a giant pillow (designed as a big dog bed) and place it next to the couch. the cat seemed more interested, at first, but now she uses it a lot.  the big dog now can crash in sheer comfort. I also fold my old sleeping bag to about the size of her old pad, and place it under that so she has two good places to be comfortable.  she's a good dog!

old dog meets new pillow! she gets it all hairy pretty fast, but it's easy to clean, swiping over it with the vacuum in the locked upright position, plus it has a zipper when I wanna unstuff it, and throw it in the warsh...

 I gotta settle for the BBC radio (broadcast thru SHOUTcast internet radio) and a good imagination to "watch" the Super Bowl.  the Packers win (as I had hoped they would).  it sounded like it would have been a good game to maybe watch (damn you Home Land Security!).  afterward, I get the longest sleep I've gotten since this whole bronchitis thing started. I must have slept a good 12 hours! (bowling ball emoticon for real sleep!).  I was supposed to go back to work today, but pulled a no call/no show. I tried calling Sally (temp's HR) earlier, and left a message on her machine, as to the huge amount of apprehension I have about going back knowing that burning paint won't do a damn bit of good over an already thrashed throat (paint pen check marks on smoking hot weld=bad juju smoke).  she doesn't call back.  anyway, it may be the best $8/hour job I ever dumped, but now what?  maybe Wendy's is hiring.  hey, I'm not too proud.  a job is a job.  I'll call Sally again tomorrow, and see what the score is...worst case scenario; I lose a crappy job.  best case; I lose a crappy job!

damn, you'd think these antibiotics would kick in by now (day 4 of a 5 day  prescription).  I am a bunch less stuffy, but still have that annoying cough-a-thon thing that happens often (which, I guess I'm askin' a lot for antibiotics to fix a "throat crack").   listen, I know what you're thinkin' after reading last nights rant about work "...serves ya right after takin' 2 years (+) off and enjoying yourself"  yeah. I deserve that.  those were two good years too.  Rosie liked it when I was around more, and even though I couldn't change someones mind about being my friend (prob'ly appearing way needy), I still liked hangin' with Mittens. those are good memories (things turned out for the better anyway. she was an emotional wreck, drowning me in her sea of sorrow. here's hopin' her new boyfriend is a good psychologist).   speakin' of which, Mittens, her daughter and her boyfriend stop by yesterday for a Rosie visitation (being that it used to be her dog, in case you don't read far back enough...).  I didn't dare invite them into the wood-panel submarine for fear they'd catch my mung-of-the-lung, so we yacked out on the porch for a spell.  they were all gooey over their old dog, and commented on how fat she's become (I spoil her a lot).  it was a pleasant visit. there was no awkwardness as there might have been during their first visit months ago, when I still had feelings for what's her face.   beside that, it was a couple 3 pooperdog walks, many small blocks of sleep, a bit of the Netflix thing (some kind of documentary on carpet bombing civilians during WWII, and another about the Iraq war...I guess I was in a "warring" mood.  why not, right?). plus, I sat down and did my taxes online.  it costs me $34 instead of $100(+) to go in and do them.  after completion, it does an error check. I guess something was wrong with my unemployment 1099G.  the questions where pretty straight forward. I filled them out exactly the way the form says, yet it still gives me an error. I try many different things. nothing helps correct the problem.  now within my $34 package, I'm able to e-file using last years pin number, but then I'm told I can't because I haven't fixed the error.  ok. I get a phone number off from the website for help (included in the package), and, of course, I pick Saturday (a day outside of 'bidness hours') to work on the damn thing.  ok.  I click "save my progress so far".  it showing 90% done, and will give them a holler on Monday.  meanwhile, the dog must find it comforting to lay on the cool stacks of forms laid out on the bedroom floor (good dog Rosie...she can do no wrong).  next to the progress bar, it also shows what my return for federal will be. it's close to $850 (shweet!), and State, I owe $250 (for not paying state taxes when I prematurely withdrew my shrimpy 401k last year).  so I guess, after paying state tax and the tax preparation, I'll end up with a cool $560!  that's awesome!  I thought sure I'd have to pay a bunch more toward my 401k taxes, but I'm not celebrating too hard yet, being those numbers may change dramastically, once I fix said 1099G errors (who knows, right? I'll find out tomorrow). 

so, this morning, I click on my favorite link to watch football on, and get this (click link).  if by chance, that link doesn't work, it pretty much tells me that I can't watch the Superbowl on the 'puter (THANK YOU VERY LITTLE, HOMELAND SECURITY!).  damn! I was invited to watch it at the 'Squatches, but I don't know if I should drag my sicky ass over there and potentially doom them with the lung crudnick.  dammit!  I could watch it at a crowded bar, but that doesn't sound appealing either.  dammit!  any other game.  why pick on the Superbowl to shut things down on.  double sloppy dammit!! anyway. I'd be beyond furious if it were the LIONS playing (....HAHAHAHAHA!!! SHYEAH, AS IF, AND MONKEYS MIGHT FLY OUT OF MY BUTT!). K,  I've bitched enough about stuff.  let's put this away and take another nap *plan*

let's see how fast homeland security shuts down my Xanga blahg down, for hyper-linking to said seized website [knock, knock...] wait, who are these men in black suits at my door

man, I'd love to let the temp agency know (again) my thoughts about this stalag's grueling work ethics (their ethics coinciding with, since they provide for...). lay it on thick about this bronchitis almost doing me in. I've never had a job where you didn't have time to heal from a cold.  I've never had a job that didn't give me night shift premium, and I've never had a job that didn't pay me double time on Sunday's (except for that 12 hour rotating shift when you had 3 and 4 days off during the week but that was reasonable).  it's unconscionable and completely unreasonable to think the human body can take on that many hours and continue to function healthy. I could go on about low wages, no vacations, holidays, or any benefits what so ever, but I guess those are typical work pimp ethics (which are bad enough in and of themselves, yet still less punishing than what I've mentioned above)  how can you sleep at night providing for such an uncaring company?  you can use the excuse "you signed up for it knowing full well...blah, blah" (and you'd be right), but what else is a guy to do, when it's the only working gig in town?  it's exploitation of the working poor.  and if 72 to 84 hours straight is the new normal in America, I'm moving to Guatemala. you know. something heavy like that (maybe said with "America the beautiful" playing in the background).  it's prob'ly all been said before.   my opinion won't even phase them, they'll continue being the puppy mill to the smoke stalag that they are, long after I resign,  and make money off the over worked broken backed prison camp laborers who except this as how it should be.  it's sad.  is there no fairness left at all?! what happened to work ethics that appear somewhat thoughtful, respectful,  and caring toward the worker? what happened to the 40 hour work week?!  I want that back!  then maybe slam my fist on the desk and say "I quit!".  all right.  that's enough venting for now. let's do another shot of cough syrup and get some more rest...

ya know, on second thought, I'm just as guilty. signing up and continuing to be an employee is somewhat justifying their stance.  as long as there's a line of people waiting at the door, they can pretty much dictate how it's going to be...Guatemala, here I come!