Greetings.... to anyone who still wanders in here.
What's a six month absence between friends, huh?
Last May, the 22nd to be exact, a tornado ripped through the homestead here and leveled the place.
Fortunately I was at work and missed out on the excitement.
But.....
I was temporarily homeless, bunking with my son and his wife while this place was rebuilt. Most household items were lost/damaged. What I was able to salvage was packed away -- mostly electronics. Everything else had to be replaced.
So now I'm home and very happy to be here.
Hopefully I'll be able to get around to your blogs soon. I just wanted to post this quick little post for now.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
I've Reached A New Level Of Cool
I think it's time to take a break from blogging about the mess Gov. Walker is making here in Wisconsin. (It's probably only a temporary break though as Walker and his fundamentally wrong stance and union busting tactics have me incensed.)
Last night I was pleasantly surprised when both my kids showed up here. It's a rarity to get them together any more as one is in college and the other has a family of his own now. As we were visiting my son was uncharacteristically quiet. When he finally spoke it was to ask me what I was listening to as I had some music playing in the background. When I told him it was a playlist from YouTube both kids got off the sofa and decided to investigate what the "old man" listens to.
I like various forms of music but have especially embraced (some) symphonic rock as of late. My kids, who consider themselves up on most music trends were completely baffled and impressed with what I had on a particular playlist. They had also never heard of most of the groups/bands as well. This wan't particularly surprising to me as most of these groups were from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, etc. For some reason their music hasn't really caught on in the U.S., which I've found perplexing myself.
Anyway....
They spent almost an hour checking out my tunes and then I heard my daughter whisper to my son, "Did you ever think Dad was this cool?" His response was no. My response, "I heard that smart ass."
By the time the evening was over both had decided that they've been sadly missing out on some great music and the old man here had certainly surprised them. I think they were used to me playing music from the "80's", the era when I was young enough to be considered "cool." They also like music from that era as well, which makes them "cool" in my eyes.
(Although, disappointingly, they both consider rap a form of music with some merit. Sigh.)
The evening ended and I'm sure by now I've lost a measure of coolness in their eyes though. I mean seriously, who really considers a parent cool for any real length of time?
Below is a couple of examples of what I like and what they seemed to be impressed with as well. Give 'em a play and let me know what you guys think.
Now in all fairness both of my kids like and have heard of Within Temptation. But the group, Sirenia was totally off their radar, as well as a few others on my playlist. The "old man" here felt a little smug at their bafflement and amazement at my musical taste. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I Want A "Do-Over" This Week
Car Problems? Check.
Computer problems? Check.
Work Problems? Check.
Monday started off as any other Monday for me. Wake up, eat some breakfast, shower, and head to work. The only problem is that my car apparently wanted the day off. Trudged back inside, called son the mechanic to make arrangements for car problem, then called taxi to ferry my ass to work that day. Relatively cheap repair as the shop where my son works gives healthy discounts to family members. Car tow, new starter, and new oil pan gasket replaced for less than $260.00. (Apparently small oil leak from oil pan shorted out starter.)
My daughter's car also felt it was time to rebel against her as well. She fried her clutch on Monday for the second time in the last year. This wasn't a complete surprise, but not one I saw coming quite this soon as we'd replaced her clutch last summer. The kid likes driving a stick, but driving a stick isn't her forte. Mom and Dad raided their respective "piggy banks" and shelled out about $4000.00 for a different car, with an automatic transmission to keep the kid mobile.
My computer has been dying a slow death. Not a huge surprise since it's over six-years-old and gets a lot of use. Talked to the "Geek Squad" at Best Buy and they summed up the problem in a few words. After doing some remedial math on repair costs versus a new computer cost a new desk top computer was purchased last night. Nothing fancy but another $525.00 down the drain. (Well not exactly $525.00 but who counts pennies?)
I worked the last couple of days with the new kid we recently hired. I've been pretty impressed with him honestly. He's pretty sharp and nothing like the "Worthless Co-Worker" he replaced. He informed me yesterday that his girlfriend dumped him the day before Valentine's day. I momentarily felt bad about this until he told me the reason for the dump. Apparently she doesn't want to move to the other side of the state with him for a new job he accepted. His last day is an undetermined day next week. The boss, who has been off the last two days, has yet to be informed. That will happen today I guess. I don't see him staying beyond this weekend because the new place that hired him wants him "immediately" and he's raring to go. Since I'm off today and tomorrow I'm guessing Saturday will actually be his last day.
So the hiring process commences again. Hopefully it won't take 3 months to get him replaced as it did with the "Worthless Co-Worker." I'm not holding my breath though as it always takes an ungodly amount of time to get people hired here. The one thing I do know is that the boss will be thrust into panic mode about this. March isn't a good month to be short handed for us as we do a couple of off-site sales events in addition to having a store to staff. Compounding this is his wife is pregnant and due in late March as well. He had planned to take one week of vacation when the baby arrived which probably isn't feasible now.
That's been my week so far, how's your week going?
Computer problems? Check.
Work Problems? Check.
Monday started off as any other Monday for me. Wake up, eat some breakfast, shower, and head to work. The only problem is that my car apparently wanted the day off. Trudged back inside, called son the mechanic to make arrangements for car problem, then called taxi to ferry my ass to work that day. Relatively cheap repair as the shop where my son works gives healthy discounts to family members. Car tow, new starter, and new oil pan gasket replaced for less than $260.00. (Apparently small oil leak from oil pan shorted out starter.)
My daughter's car also felt it was time to rebel against her as well. She fried her clutch on Monday for the second time in the last year. This wasn't a complete surprise, but not one I saw coming quite this soon as we'd replaced her clutch last summer. The kid likes driving a stick, but driving a stick isn't her forte. Mom and Dad raided their respective "piggy banks" and shelled out about $4000.00 for a different car, with an automatic transmission to keep the kid mobile.
My computer has been dying a slow death. Not a huge surprise since it's over six-years-old and gets a lot of use. Talked to the "Geek Squad" at Best Buy and they summed up the problem in a few words. After doing some remedial math on repair costs versus a new computer cost a new desk top computer was purchased last night. Nothing fancy but another $525.00 down the drain. (Well not exactly $525.00 but who counts pennies?)
I worked the last couple of days with the new kid we recently hired. I've been pretty impressed with him honestly. He's pretty sharp and nothing like the "Worthless Co-Worker" he replaced. He informed me yesterday that his girlfriend dumped him the day before Valentine's day. I momentarily felt bad about this until he told me the reason for the dump. Apparently she doesn't want to move to the other side of the state with him for a new job he accepted. His last day is an undetermined day next week. The boss, who has been off the last two days, has yet to be informed. That will happen today I guess. I don't see him staying beyond this weekend because the new place that hired him wants him "immediately" and he's raring to go. Since I'm off today and tomorrow I'm guessing Saturday will actually be his last day.
So the hiring process commences again. Hopefully it won't take 3 months to get him replaced as it did with the "Worthless Co-Worker." I'm not holding my breath though as it always takes an ungodly amount of time to get people hired here. The one thing I do know is that the boss will be thrust into panic mode about this. March isn't a good month to be short handed for us as we do a couple of off-site sales events in addition to having a store to staff. Compounding this is his wife is pregnant and due in late March as well. He had planned to take one week of vacation when the baby arrived which probably isn't feasible now.
That's been my week so far, how's your week going?
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Only Thing Missing Is Fish
Ice fishing yesterday comprised of 11 hours of time, 3 different locations, and a crappy photographer. True to his word my kid drove right up to the first spot of fishing. In the first spot we fished at we were sitting on top of 22 feet of water with the fish finder showing a ton of fish under us. Unfortunately none of them were hungry as we sat there for two hours with nothing to show but a few weak bites.
Naturally this wouldn't do and my son the fishing fanatic decided we needed to move to another location. He was in a fishing tournament the previous weekend and decided that that's where the fish were. He also assured me it was a spot we could drive right up to like this first spot we tried. So we packed up and headed out to that spot. Again the second spot showed a ton of fish under us and we were sitting on top of 11 feet of water. We caught a ton of fish in second spot. Not one keeper in the bunch though. I don't think I've ever caught so many fish at one time as we did there. Every "Bambi" in this lake was biting, but not one fish worth keeping. (Or taking a picture of.)
The crappy photographer (me) failed to take any pictures of our second stop of the day, which was a shame. This spot was like a small city with hundreds of vehicles and ice shanties set up.
My son decided after a few hours in the second spot another relocation was called for. He was genuinely flummoxed by the lack of sizable fish being caught. The first spot we went to was his favorite spot and had never let him down before. The second spot he had done well in the weekend before.
As he was mulling different spots to move to he recalled me telling him where I used to catch a lot of fish when I was a kid and he'd never been there before. I reluctantly agreed to try this spot as he'd been bugging me in the past to go there. My reluctance was related to a couple of factors. One being we were talking about a spot that I hadn't ice fished in forty years. Two being there was no easy access to this spot and no way possible to drive right up to this spot. In other words we were going to be hauling 250 pounds of equipment on a hefty hike to get there. Welcome to my nightmare folks.
We arrive there and he's in love with the spot. There's about a dozen people set up in this area. It's a big area and a lot of deep water ranging from 40 to 60 feet deep in places. He decided to drill several test holes to set up the fish finder for the best spot. I swear I drug that ice shanty for over a mile as he went from spot to spot looking for fish. He wasn't pleased with the test results and I finally had to put my foot down, before collapsing with exhaustion, to tell him we weren't going to catch any fish by simply drilling holes in the ice.
We were seeing fish, just not the appropriate number to please him. He took pity on me and we finally set up in what he deemed was an acceptable location. And yeah, we didn't catch a thing worth keeping once again. We finally packed up and got off the ice before dark. I was beat. Him, not so much. He decided he wasn't done fishing for the day and decided he was heading to the "dam" to catch fish. When he asked me if I wanted to go I politely declined stated he was nuts. He got out his cell phone and called a friend and they made plans to hook up for a night of fishing.
A phone call from him later last night found him to be pretty happy. He was finally catching fish and wished I was there. I told him it wasn't the end of the world that we didn't do that well earlier in the day and maybe I was bad karma and all he really needed to do was to get rid of me to catch some fish worth keeping. He didn't quite buy into that so I imagine he's going to want to drag me out again in the future. Below are a few pictures, all from the first location we started out at.
Time to drill a hole
Truck sitting on top of 28 inches of ice.
Setting up the ice shanty.
Just about fully set up.
The kid in the shanty.
Fish (depth) finder to the left, heater in the center, my knee on the right.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Odds and Ends
Yesterday I babysat my two-year-old granddaughter. Nothing surprising there because I try to do this one time a week. My son works 7:00 - 4:00 shift and my daughter-in-law works 1:00 - 10:00 shift, normally. I usually watch the kid from 12:00 - 5:00. Yesterday was different though. My daughter-in-law was scheduled 8:00 to 5:00 for some type of training so the babysitting gig was a longer day.
I knew one thing was going to happen to displease me yesterday, and I suspected one other thing to displease my daughter-in-law. I was right on both counts.
We'll start with what I suspected first. I called my son on Thursday night to let him know I was 'illen. I figured I'd give them the option to take the granddaughter to their regular day care provider if they didn't want a sickly grandparent around the kid. I told him I didn't care myself and that I could feel miserable at home or at their place equally. The granddaughter is easy to watch, so me being sick wouldn't be a hardship.
When the daughter-in-law answered the door yesterday morning to see me standing there I knew someone was in trouble. Not me, but my son. Her first words were, "Hi... say you don't look so good." Her second question was, "How long have you been standing out here?" The next thing she uttered was, "Are you sick?"
My answers were thanks, not too long, and yes, didn't Jon tell you? My daughter-in-law is a sweet girl. She's easy going, even tempered, and sensible. Yesterday morning I'd have to add a tad upset in the mix though. Apparently my son failed to inform her of my phone call from the day before giving them the option to avoid a sick grandparent showing up to infect them with a winter cold. I'm pretty sure my son was going to get his ass chewed out last night when she got home from work.
I have to admit I felt miserable yesterday. Hell I'm not feeling too chipper today, but I still plan on going to work to spread the lack of chipper to my boss and co-worker. I'm thoughtful like that, naturally. After all why confine the "it's better to give, than receive" nonsense only to Christmas, right?
Now on to my displeasure.
My daughter-in-law isn't a morning person. She's still sweet and easy going. What I mean is that this girl is a sleeper. She likes to sleep in and getting up at what I guess is 6:30 in the morning isn't what she wants to do. I knew she wasn't going to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary to get to work in time yesterday. This doesn't mesh well with how I approach things. I'm an early person who hates to be late, so I give myself plenty of time to get to where I'm going. I tried to temper this yesterday though.
Apparently not enough tempering on my part. I still stood outside their door, in the cold, for almost 10 minutes because when she's in the bathroom, which apparently also serves as a sound proof room, she hears nothing. I'm pretty sure I hid my displeasure well, despite the onset of frostbite. I also had to reason with myself that my car was a warm haven that I could have retreated to as well to wait for the door opening ceremony. My fault for being either too stupid or lazy to do this.
I muddled through the day, tried not to breathe on the granddaughter, and fled for home soon after my son got home from work. The one thing I didn't do was give my son a heads up to his wife's displeasure with him. I dunno, maybe I was feeling a little mean spirited due to this damn cold. The other possibility is why spoil a surprise?
I knew one thing was going to happen to displease me yesterday, and I suspected one other thing to displease my daughter-in-law. I was right on both counts.
We'll start with what I suspected first. I called my son on Thursday night to let him know I was 'illen. I figured I'd give them the option to take the granddaughter to their regular day care provider if they didn't want a sickly grandparent around the kid. I told him I didn't care myself and that I could feel miserable at home or at their place equally. The granddaughter is easy to watch, so me being sick wouldn't be a hardship.
When the daughter-in-law answered the door yesterday morning to see me standing there I knew someone was in trouble. Not me, but my son. Her first words were, "Hi... say you don't look so good." Her second question was, "How long have you been standing out here?" The next thing she uttered was, "Are you sick?"
My answers were thanks, not too long, and yes, didn't Jon tell you? My daughter-in-law is a sweet girl. She's easy going, even tempered, and sensible. Yesterday morning I'd have to add a tad upset in the mix though. Apparently my son failed to inform her of my phone call from the day before giving them the option to avoid a sick grandparent showing up to infect them with a winter cold. I'm pretty sure my son was going to get his ass chewed out last night when she got home from work.
I have to admit I felt miserable yesterday. Hell I'm not feeling too chipper today, but I still plan on going to work to spread the lack of chipper to my boss and co-worker. I'm thoughtful like that, naturally. After all why confine the "it's better to give, than receive" nonsense only to Christmas, right?
Now on to my displeasure.
My daughter-in-law isn't a morning person. She's still sweet and easy going. What I mean is that this girl is a sleeper. She likes to sleep in and getting up at what I guess is 6:30 in the morning isn't what she wants to do. I knew she wasn't going to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary to get to work in time yesterday. This doesn't mesh well with how I approach things. I'm an early person who hates to be late, so I give myself plenty of time to get to where I'm going. I tried to temper this yesterday though.
Apparently not enough tempering on my part. I still stood outside their door, in the cold, for almost 10 minutes because when she's in the bathroom, which apparently also serves as a sound proof room, she hears nothing. I'm pretty sure I hid my displeasure well, despite the onset of frostbite. I also had to reason with myself that my car was a warm haven that I could have retreated to as well to wait for the door opening ceremony. My fault for being either too stupid or lazy to do this.
I muddled through the day, tried not to breathe on the granddaughter, and fled for home soon after my son got home from work. The one thing I didn't do was give my son a heads up to his wife's displeasure with him. I dunno, maybe I was feeling a little mean spirited due to this damn cold. The other possibility is why spoil a surprise?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Not As Bad Of A Day As I Expected
As some of you know I went ice fishing yesterday. Well, that's not quite true, you only have my word that I went ice fishing, it's impossible for strangers to really know, unless you witnessed it. For those of you that read my previous post you know I whined a bit about going ice fishing yesterday. There was a healthy dose of dread on my part.
I'm not especially fond of winter weather. We left my place at about 7:00 am and the temperature was -16F with a wind chill reported at -25F to -30F. I'm happy to report my survival, not only my survival but I stayed warm. The money I spent on Thursday on gear paid off handsomely. My son even contributed to my warm gear when he showed up at my place yesterday morning with a winter weather hat thing-a-ma-bob which covered my entire head, with the exception of my eyes. He called it a belated birthday gift as I had just turned 51 last Tuesday.
We have an ice shanty with three portable heaters so I wasn't worried about being too cold during the actual fishing part of the day. My fear of becoming a block of frozen humanity had more to do with the hour we'd spend walking to the fishing hole and set up of the shanty. I was delighted to stay warm during this part of the event.
We spent approximately six hours fishing. The temperature inside the ice shanty was toasty. Almost too warm, but the kid knew I was paranoid about getting cold. We caught a lot of fish. Mostly crappie, perch, and oddly a bass or two. When we left the ice the temperature had risen to -2F. As warmly as we were dressed that seemed almost tropical when compared to the start of the day.
I can safely say that cold weather won't be a factor when we go again. Naturally another dreadful factor has sprung up though. More dastardly than cold weather.
I am woefully out of shape, and 32+ years of smoking has taken its toll. Hauling approximately 200 pounds of ice shanty and fishing equipment between the two of us kind of sucked. Hell, I was wearing about two tons of clothes in addition to what we were hauling around. The kid enjoyed ribbing the old man about, well, getting old and out of shape actually.
(And you know you're getting old when you threaten to kick the kids' ass and he just laughs at you, and continues to shoulder two-thirds of the workload as you wheeze along side of him. Healthy, young, little shit anyway.)
The day ended perfectly. Usually Friday's are my day to babysit my granddaughter. Since we spent the day fishing that didn't happen. About two hours after getting home my son brought her over to my place to see me. Now that was a perfect way to end the day.
But back to the ice fishing.
I'm now thinking I may need to quit smoking, and maybe make an effort to get back into shape. I was truly shocked with my "performance" yesterday. It was quite a wakeup call on how smoking has affected me when pushed to perform some relatively heavy labor. Yesterday pretty much kicked my ass in a physical sense. I've had fleeting thoughts in the past about quitting smoking. Now they're a bit more serious.
Naturally, as I'm an idiot, I typed that last paragraph while actually smoking. As I always like to find a "silver lining" in most situations, this shows I still have the ability to multi-task I guess. Pretty lame, huh?
I'm not especially fond of winter weather. We left my place at about 7:00 am and the temperature was -16F with a wind chill reported at -25F to -30F. I'm happy to report my survival, not only my survival but I stayed warm. The money I spent on Thursday on gear paid off handsomely. My son even contributed to my warm gear when he showed up at my place yesterday morning with a winter weather hat thing-a-ma-bob which covered my entire head, with the exception of my eyes. He called it a belated birthday gift as I had just turned 51 last Tuesday.
We have an ice shanty with three portable heaters so I wasn't worried about being too cold during the actual fishing part of the day. My fear of becoming a block of frozen humanity had more to do with the hour we'd spend walking to the fishing hole and set up of the shanty. I was delighted to stay warm during this part of the event.
We spent approximately six hours fishing. The temperature inside the ice shanty was toasty. Almost too warm, but the kid knew I was paranoid about getting cold. We caught a lot of fish. Mostly crappie, perch, and oddly a bass or two. When we left the ice the temperature had risen to -2F. As warmly as we were dressed that seemed almost tropical when compared to the start of the day.
I can safely say that cold weather won't be a factor when we go again. Naturally another dreadful factor has sprung up though. More dastardly than cold weather.
I am woefully out of shape, and 32+ years of smoking has taken its toll. Hauling approximately 200 pounds of ice shanty and fishing equipment between the two of us kind of sucked. Hell, I was wearing about two tons of clothes in addition to what we were hauling around. The kid enjoyed ribbing the old man about, well, getting old and out of shape actually.
(And you know you're getting old when you threaten to kick the kids' ass and he just laughs at you, and continues to shoulder two-thirds of the workload as you wheeze along side of him. Healthy, young, little shit anyway.)
The day ended perfectly. Usually Friday's are my day to babysit my granddaughter. Since we spent the day fishing that didn't happen. About two hours after getting home my son brought her over to my place to see me. Now that was a perfect way to end the day.
But back to the ice fishing.
I'm now thinking I may need to quit smoking, and maybe make an effort to get back into shape. I was truly shocked with my "performance" yesterday. It was quite a wakeup call on how smoking has affected me when pushed to perform some relatively heavy labor. Yesterday pretty much kicked my ass in a physical sense. I've had fleeting thoughts in the past about quitting smoking. Now they're a bit more serious.
Naturally, as I'm an idiot, I typed that last paragraph while actually smoking. As I always like to find a "silver lining" in most situations, this shows I still have the ability to multi-task I guess. Pretty lame, huh?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Pray For My Warmth Tomorrow Please
My son called me earlier today. He was wanting to know if I had seen the latest forecast for tomorrow.
I had. Repeatedly actually.
I didn't share his excitement though. He was thrilled that the weather forecast was now only calling for a low of -14F, rather than the -16F previously forecast.
We're going ice fishing tomorrow. While I like to fish, I'm not a fan of ice, unless it's in the cooler keeping my diet Coke cold. But the kid is persistent and decided since I'm not going to get a weekend day off from work until mid February he took a vacation day tomorrow since I'm off then.
I think I'm prepared, as dreadfully prepared as one can be anyway.
I got off work last night at 9:00 pm and decided that maybe a stop at Walmart wouldn't hurt. New gloves, a snowsuit, and warmer winter boots were on my mind. Walmart sucks. (Unless you think accomplishing a third of your goal a success.) An acceptable snowsuit was found at a decent price. ($29.99) I like 50% off sales. Saving $30 bucks is never a bad thing. But they had no boots nor gloves that would suit my needs.
As I was off today I ran out to Gander Mountain. They'renever rarely out of shit. The reason for this is they're usually pretty expensive so when it comes to winter clothing they're the last outfit in town to run out of it. They didn't let me down in this respect. I'm much poorer due to them not letting me down actually.
One pair of boots - $109.00 (The little sales twerp pointed out they were $80.00 off repeatedly as I stared them down for perhaps ten minutes.) I bought them and as he was prepared to utter how great a price this was, for the eleven-teenth time, I cut him off. Imay have muttered about shoving one of them up his ass on Saturday if my feet ended up frozen blocks of ice on Friday.
Next up, gloves.
Apparently my mumbling threats didn't scare off the little sales twerp because he followed me over to the gloves/mittens section. He was like an encyclopedia of glove knowledge. After listening to him ramble on for a few minutes I chose a pair of gloves ($39.99). He seemed pleased with my choice and only told me once that I was saving $10.00, as they were 20% off and normally $49.99. (Maybe that boot to ass threat mumble was on his mind.)
"What's up next", he asked after the choosing of the gloves ceremony.
I told him I was just going to meander over to the ice fishing equipment aisle. So off we go, me and my adopted little sales twerp. I have to admit the kid was growing on me at this point. I can usually differentiate between a salesperson whose trying to up sell, or is just genuinely being helpful. He was just trying to be helpful.
So we get over to that aisle and he's uncharacteristically quiet. He finally admitted that ice fishing wasn't something he knew a lot about. Me either, I told him, which seemed to brighten him up a bit. I then asked him to tell me what's been selling well in this aisle. That got him back on track.
I picked out a few things and as we proceeded up to the checkout he asked me if I was serious about the whole boot in the ass comment. I told him he had earned a reprieve. The worst thing that could happen was me shoving his head in a snowbank. He seemed to feel this was the lesser of two evils himself. Pretty nice kid.
On an entirely different note, what is unknown precipitation? I've been a little obsessed with checking the weather online today and that was listed as occurring. I looked out the window to see it was snowing. Apparently today snow is considered "unknown precipitation."
All I know is that I spent almost $200.00 today, most of it in an effort to be warm tomorrow. I don't even care if we catch any fish as long as I stay warm.
I had. Repeatedly actually.
I didn't share his excitement though. He was thrilled that the weather forecast was now only calling for a low of -14F, rather than the -16F previously forecast.
We're going ice fishing tomorrow. While I like to fish, I'm not a fan of ice, unless it's in the cooler keeping my diet Coke cold. But the kid is persistent and decided since I'm not going to get a weekend day off from work until mid February he took a vacation day tomorrow since I'm off then.
I think I'm prepared, as dreadfully prepared as one can be anyway.
I got off work last night at 9:00 pm and decided that maybe a stop at Walmart wouldn't hurt. New gloves, a snowsuit, and warmer winter boots were on my mind. Walmart sucks. (Unless you think accomplishing a third of your goal a success.) An acceptable snowsuit was found at a decent price. ($29.99) I like 50% off sales. Saving $30 bucks is never a bad thing. But they had no boots nor gloves that would suit my needs.
As I was off today I ran out to Gander Mountain. They're
One pair of boots - $109.00 (The little sales twerp pointed out they were $80.00 off repeatedly as I stared them down for perhaps ten minutes.) I bought them and as he was prepared to utter how great a price this was, for the eleven-teenth time, I cut him off. I
Next up, gloves.
Apparently my mumbling threats didn't scare off the little sales twerp because he followed me over to the gloves/mittens section. He was like an encyclopedia of glove knowledge. After listening to him ramble on for a few minutes I chose a pair of gloves ($39.99). He seemed pleased with my choice and only told me once that I was saving $10.00, as they were 20% off and normally $49.99. (Maybe that boot to ass threat mumble was on his mind.)
"What's up next", he asked after the choosing of the gloves ceremony.
I told him I was just going to meander over to the ice fishing equipment aisle. So off we go, me and my adopted little sales twerp. I have to admit the kid was growing on me at this point. I can usually differentiate between a salesperson whose trying to up sell, or is just genuinely being helpful. He was just trying to be helpful.
So we get over to that aisle and he's uncharacteristically quiet. He finally admitted that ice fishing wasn't something he knew a lot about. Me either, I told him, which seemed to brighten him up a bit. I then asked him to tell me what's been selling well in this aisle. That got him back on track.
I picked out a few things and as we proceeded up to the checkout he asked me if I was serious about the whole boot in the ass comment. I told him he had earned a reprieve. The worst thing that could happen was me shoving his head in a snowbank. He seemed to feel this was the lesser of two evils himself. Pretty nice kid.
On an entirely different note, what is unknown precipitation? I've been a little obsessed with checking the weather online today and that was listed as occurring. I looked out the window to see it was snowing. Apparently today snow is considered "unknown precipitation."
All I know is that I spent almost $200.00 today, most of it in an effort to be warm tomorrow. I don't even care if we catch any fish as long as I stay warm.
Friday, January 14, 2011
I'm Still Alive
I'm still alive despite efforts yesterday to kill me, or at the very least injure me.
We're well into winter here. Well enough into as a matter of fact, that most people should be used to all aspects of winter by now. We had the snowiest December on record. January's snow fall has tapered off from last month but we've still gotten more as well. Yesterday was no exception as two inches were added.
Sadly, a significant portion of the driving population that was out and about yesterday haven't a clue how to drive properly and safely when the roads are snow and/or ice covered. I saw more stupidity yesterday and accidents than I thought possible in a one day period. Usually it's the first snow day when this occurs, which occurred back in November.
I managed to get home alive yesterday from running errands and grocery shopping. I spent the evening thinking about the number of accidents I saw, and narrowly avoided myself, and came up with a few possible reasons why people were morons on the road yesterday.
1) Weird migration patterns. While January isn't normally a month people choose to move I thought maybe this year was different. Maybe people from the southern states fell in love with Wisconsin and couldn't wait for warmer weather to move and a bunch of them recently moved here and can't drive in winter conditions.
2) Snowbirds. With the economy still poor maybe the people who have the means to flee Wisconsin for Florida or Arizona stayed home this year due to the lack of funds. Since they normally don't stick around here in winter months they're probably poor winter drivers as well.
3) Alcohol. Hey, Wisconsin is known to harbor a significant portion of the drinking population and maybe happy hour started much earlier yesterday than usual. Wisconsin also has very lenient drinking and driving laws when compared to surrounding states. It's hard for outsiders to notice someone from Wisconsin is drunk until you see them sober, which is an infrequent event.
4) Astrology or Zodiac nonsense. Many people seemed to be in an uproar about the changes in this nonsensical business. Maybe it affected their driving. Of course people who put their faith in a bunch of mumbo-jumbo like the astrological signs in the first place would be suspect drivers in any weather as far as I'm concerned.
We're supposed to get more snow later today. Not a significant amount, but yesterday's snow wasn't either. I've got my granddaughter babysitting gig to attend to though. If it wasn't such a pain in the ass I'd have my daughter-in-law bring the kid over here today so that I didn't have to contend with idiots on the road. But then I'd be putting my granddaughter out amongst them. So not a good idea.
(Also, if I watch the granddaughter here the mess we make happens here and I'd be the one to have to clean it up. I'm much fonder of making the mess at their place, where I just laugh at my son when he comes home from work and looks at the disaster the granddaughter and I create.)
So I'll be venturing out later today among the idiots myself. Winter sucks.
We're well into winter here. Well enough into as a matter of fact, that most people should be used to all aspects of winter by now. We had the snowiest December on record. January's snow fall has tapered off from last month but we've still gotten more as well. Yesterday was no exception as two inches were added.
Sadly, a significant portion of the driving population that was out and about yesterday haven't a clue how to drive properly and safely when the roads are snow and/or ice covered. I saw more stupidity yesterday and accidents than I thought possible in a one day period. Usually it's the first snow day when this occurs, which occurred back in November.
I managed to get home alive yesterday from running errands and grocery shopping. I spent the evening thinking about the number of accidents I saw, and narrowly avoided myself, and came up with a few possible reasons why people were morons on the road yesterday.
1) Weird migration patterns. While January isn't normally a month people choose to move I thought maybe this year was different. Maybe people from the southern states fell in love with Wisconsin and couldn't wait for warmer weather to move and a bunch of them recently moved here and can't drive in winter conditions.
2) Snowbirds. With the economy still poor maybe the people who have the means to flee Wisconsin for Florida or Arizona stayed home this year due to the lack of funds. Since they normally don't stick around here in winter months they're probably poor winter drivers as well.
3) Alcohol. Hey, Wisconsin is known to harbor a significant portion of the drinking population and maybe happy hour started much earlier yesterday than usual. Wisconsin also has very lenient drinking and driving laws when compared to surrounding states. It's hard for outsiders to notice someone from Wisconsin is drunk until you see them sober, which is an infrequent event.
4) Astrology or Zodiac nonsense. Many people seemed to be in an uproar about the changes in this nonsensical business. Maybe it affected their driving. Of course people who put their faith in a bunch of mumbo-jumbo like the astrological signs in the first place would be suspect drivers in any weather as far as I'm concerned.
We're supposed to get more snow later today. Not a significant amount, but yesterday's snow wasn't either. I've got my granddaughter babysitting gig to attend to though. If it wasn't such a pain in the ass I'd have my daughter-in-law bring the kid over here today so that I didn't have to contend with idiots on the road. But then I'd be putting my granddaughter out amongst them. So not a good idea.
(Also, if I watch the granddaughter here the mess we make happens here and I'd be the one to have to clean it up. I'm much fonder of making the mess at their place, where I just laugh at my son when he comes home from work and looks at the disaster the granddaughter and I create.)
So I'll be venturing out later today among the idiots myself. Winter sucks.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Maybe Being Shorthanded At Work Isn't So Bad
We've been without the (ex)Worthless Co-Worker for a little over two months now. The first month wasn't so hard to deal with, but the month of December sucked. Now that the Christmas shopping season is over this shorthanded gig is much more tolerable. While we still work two 12 hour days per week we at least get two days off per week. I think I only had two days off total in December.
The boss actually interviewed two people last week and seemed impressed with one of them. The first guy didn't stand a chance though and he was the only one I actually saw. Two things seemed to sink his chances. One being his age, he is older than the boss, which for some reason bothers the boss. The other is that the boss feels he'd be too much like me. I actually found that amusing. Apparently I'm not very "bossable" and the boss needs someone he can boss around.
The 2nd guy he liked. A young guy fresh out of college who is apparently very "bossable." I believe this guy will go through a phone interview with the district manager tomorrow and if he impresses him he'll get a job offer. It sounds like he can start mid January, so hopefully when February rolls around he'll be fully trained and we'll be back to a normal work schedule.
But as far as January goes, being shorthanded isn't necessarily a bad thing.
For you see January is a cold month.
My son and I like to fish. Actually I like to fish, my son is a fishing fanatic. A few years ago he embraced ice fishing, me, not so much. I resisted any and all attempts he made into talking me into ice fishing until last January. I only gave in then because the prior Christmas his gifts to me were all ice fishing equipment and his persistence had to be rewarded.
Now the kid had everything you could possibly need for ice fishing. A two-man shanty, a heater, more than enough fishing equipment, etc. My thought, at the time, was a heated shanty would probably be tolerable so we went fishing on a Saturday last January that I had off of work. Our work schedules don't mesh well for things like this. He has weekends off all the time, I usually have one weekend off a month.
But he was excited. He finally had talked the "old man" into ice fishing.
So the day we went ice fishing was cold. Cold as in 22 'effin degrees below zero. Needless to say dressing warmly was in order. And dressed warmly I was. We hauled all this crap out to this great fishing spot he had found.
Have I mentioned it was cold out?
I was freezing by the time we got to this hot fishing spot. I was still on board though and pretending to be a good trooper. I just knew once we got the shanty set up and the heater working I'd be warming up in no time at all. Yeah, not so much. That heater might have raised the temperature inside the shanty to 5 degrees below zero. I was miserable. That heater was basically useless.
By the time I got home I couldn't feel my toes, nor my hands. I literally cried with pain as I ran my hands under warm water to get what I suspect were frozen blood vessels flowing again.
The next day I went out and bought another heater for the kid for his igloo on sled rails. I did go one other time with him in February last year as well. The only difference was the temperature outside was almost 30 degrees above zero and we now had two heaters for the ice shanty. Much better experience, but ice fishing still isn't something I'm crazy about.
So now we're into January again, as in the coldest month of the year. And as you've probably guessed the kid wants to drag my ass out ice fishing again. He has compelling arguments, at least in his own mind. A new ice fishing shanty and a new heater which he guarantees will drive us out into the cold to cool off it works so well.
My reply to him was "It's a shame we're still shorthanded at work son. I don't foresee a weekend off until mid February." As I uttered those words I tried my best to look extremely sad. I'm not sure he bought into my act though. But I know I'm going to stay warm this January.
The boss actually interviewed two people last week and seemed impressed with one of them. The first guy didn't stand a chance though and he was the only one I actually saw. Two things seemed to sink his chances. One being his age, he is older than the boss, which for some reason bothers the boss. The other is that the boss feels he'd be too much like me. I actually found that amusing. Apparently I'm not very "bossable" and the boss needs someone he can boss around.
The 2nd guy he liked. A young guy fresh out of college who is apparently very "bossable." I believe this guy will go through a phone interview with the district manager tomorrow and if he impresses him he'll get a job offer. It sounds like he can start mid January, so hopefully when February rolls around he'll be fully trained and we'll be back to a normal work schedule.
But as far as January goes, being shorthanded isn't necessarily a bad thing.
For you see January is a cold month.
My son and I like to fish. Actually I like to fish, my son is a fishing fanatic. A few years ago he embraced ice fishing, me, not so much. I resisted any and all attempts he made into talking me into ice fishing until last January. I only gave in then because the prior Christmas his gifts to me were all ice fishing equipment and his persistence had to be rewarded.
Now the kid had everything you could possibly need for ice fishing. A two-man shanty, a heater, more than enough fishing equipment, etc. My thought, at the time, was a heated shanty would probably be tolerable so we went fishing on a Saturday last January that I had off of work. Our work schedules don't mesh well for things like this. He has weekends off all the time, I usually have one weekend off a month.
But he was excited. He finally had talked the "old man" into ice fishing.
So the day we went ice fishing was cold. Cold as in 22 'effin degrees below zero. Needless to say dressing warmly was in order. And dressed warmly I was. We hauled all this crap out to this great fishing spot he had found.
Have I mentioned it was cold out?
I was freezing by the time we got to this hot fishing spot. I was still on board though and pretending to be a good trooper. I just knew once we got the shanty set up and the heater working I'd be warming up in no time at all. Yeah, not so much. That heater might have raised the temperature inside the shanty to 5 degrees below zero. I was miserable. That heater was basically useless.
By the time I got home I couldn't feel my toes, nor my hands. I literally cried with pain as I ran my hands under warm water to get what I suspect were frozen blood vessels flowing again.
The next day I went out and bought another heater for the kid for his igloo on sled rails. I did go one other time with him in February last year as well. The only difference was the temperature outside was almost 30 degrees above zero and we now had two heaters for the ice shanty. Much better experience, but ice fishing still isn't something I'm crazy about.
So now we're into January again, as in the coldest month of the year. And as you've probably guessed the kid wants to drag my ass out ice fishing again. He has compelling arguments, at least in his own mind. A new ice fishing shanty and a new heater which he guarantees will drive us out into the cold to cool off it works so well.
My reply to him was "It's a shame we're still shorthanded at work son. I don't foresee a weekend off until mid February." As I uttered those words I tried my best to look extremely sad. I'm not sure he bought into my act though. But I know I'm going to stay warm this January.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tying Up Loose Ends
I've got my fingers crossed that today will actually be a day off from work. My last post had me whining about working on Thursday because the boss decided he was sick.
I almost made it through Friday as well without working. I got home from babysitting my granddaughter about 5:00 pm and the boss calls to tell me he has to take his sick wife to the emergency room. So off to work I went again from 5: 45 to 9:00 that night. (She's pregnant and has a history of miscarriages so they go into panic mode when there's a perceived problem.) Thankfully everything turned out to be fine with her.
I haven't been around here much so here's an update on things that have been happening as of late, other than lots of work:
1) (ex) Worthless Co-Worker. We last left off with her fleeing her internet "spiritual husband" and coming back here. She stopped into work the night before Thanksgiving and I had a chance to marvel at her incredible ignorance once again. Seriously. Stupid. Woman.
God talks to her. Since she fled the "spiritual husband" she's been praying for answers to her "man" problems and God has spoken to her and told her what she needs to do. After she told me what God insisted she do I feel God really doesn't like her much.
Apparently she's supposed to forgive her "spiritual husband" and give him another chance, as long as he plays honest from now on. God told her he was still the one for her. So apparently the "spiritual husband" was on his way here to be with her over Thanksgiving and a new beginning.
I haven't seen her since but a sister of hers stopped in the store Saturday night and had plenty to say. Even as crazy and stupid as her whole family is they have this "spiritual husband" pegged (correctly) as a loser. They've all been trying to talk her out of this relationship to no avail. The kicker is, if they haven't talked her out of it, is that the ex Worthless Co-Worker still has the plane tickets to Israel and they fly out tomorrow with plans on getting married there.
This girl hasn't a shred of common sense.
2) I actually lost my temper at work yesterday. This rarely happens even when some douche bag customer annoys me. While I pretty much always say what's on my mind, I usually never raise my voice. I state what I've got to say in an even voice for the most part. My boss says its actually disarming that way. But there was nothing disarming about it yesterday. I'll probably give more details in the next post. I've got to get some crap done around here, and I've got to get around to your blogs and see what you folks have been up to lately.
(Plus I'm kind of fond of cliff hangers to torment you with.)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Publication Of One Of Life's Unwritten Rules
Life has many unwritten, and unspoken, rules. I'm going to discuss one of them today.
Many people have unwritten rules though. While they may be good rules they may only fit a specific issue, circumstance, or family. The rule I'm covering is a universal rule for the benefit of all parents. Before the unveiling of this rule a couple myths about rules need debunked.
1) Rules are made to be broken.
No they're not skippy. If a rule is a bad rule it needs to be simply changed or altered. The premise behind most rules are valid, at least at one time.
2) There are exceptions to all rules.
Why yes, yes there are. The problem most people have with this thought process is that they themselves feel they are the exception to a specific rule, or all rules for that matter. I'm here to tell you sport that you're not that special. If someone has failed to tell you this, let me be the first.
You're not that special. You have no special exemption to following rules.
Naturally there are a few valid exceptions to rules. Common sense dictates this. If I have to spell them out for you then you obviously need to follow rules in strict accordance. You're not bright enough to question any aspect of a rule. Look up Darwin's Theory then be thankful modern science/medicine has allowed you to survive as long as you have.
(See.... that's a perfect example of an exception to a rule. Some of you people would be dead if not for that exception to a rule.)
Anyway.
I have two children. The oldest is about a month from turning 27, the youngest turned 21 last May. Both received a refresher course of this unwritten rule the past two days. No matter the age of your children, their station in life, or possibly the fact they're a genius, this rule applies. (Any questions will be referred to items 1 and 2 of the debunking of rules myths.)
It's a simple rule as follows:
Parents are to be listened to at all times. We've earned this right and respect.
(Think about this for a second. Had we as parents, not bumped uglies, you wouldn't even be here.)
Now here's an important fact to remember about this rule. While you are required to listen, and listen respectfully, if you're of legal age you don't have to heed our words. But you're going to damn well listen. That's simply referred to as learning the hard way, in most cases.
I can honestly say I followed this rule, with the allowable exception to rules stated in item 2 of the debunking of rules myths. My mother was probably certifiably crazy. Years of spousal abuse and alcohol abuse had a hand in this. But she definitely earned the right to be listened to, and listened to with respect. Heeding her words at times, not so much.
But we're talking about normalcy here. You young whipper-snappers need to embrace this rule. Because for the vast majority of you, and heaven help us in some cases, you'll be parents one day yourselves. Keep that in mind. You don't have to wait that long to embrace and follow this rule. Because trust me, as a relatively normal parent, this is a rule you'll expect to be followed yourself one day by your children.
Many people have unwritten rules though. While they may be good rules they may only fit a specific issue, circumstance, or family. The rule I'm covering is a universal rule for the benefit of all parents. Before the unveiling of this rule a couple myths about rules need debunked.
1) Rules are made to be broken.
No they're not skippy. If a rule is a bad rule it needs to be simply changed or altered. The premise behind most rules are valid, at least at one time.
2) There are exceptions to all rules.
Why yes, yes there are. The problem most people have with this thought process is that they themselves feel they are the exception to a specific rule, or all rules for that matter. I'm here to tell you sport that you're not that special. If someone has failed to tell you this, let me be the first.
You're not that special. You have no special exemption to following rules.
Naturally there are a few valid exceptions to rules. Common sense dictates this. If I have to spell them out for you then you obviously need to follow rules in strict accordance. You're not bright enough to question any aspect of a rule. Look up Darwin's Theory then be thankful modern science/medicine has allowed you to survive as long as you have.
(See.... that's a perfect example of an exception to a rule. Some of you people would be dead if not for that exception to a rule.)
Anyway.
I have two children. The oldest is about a month from turning 27, the youngest turned 21 last May. Both received a refresher course of this unwritten rule the past two days. No matter the age of your children, their station in life, or possibly the fact they're a genius, this rule applies. (Any questions will be referred to items 1 and 2 of the debunking of rules myths.)
It's a simple rule as follows:
Parents are to be listened to at all times. We've earned this right and respect.
(Think about this for a second. Had we as parents, not bumped uglies, you wouldn't even be here.)
Now here's an important fact to remember about this rule. While you are required to listen, and listen respectfully, if you're of legal age you don't have to heed our words. But you're going to damn well listen. That's simply referred to as learning the hard way, in most cases.
I can honestly say I followed this rule, with the allowable exception to rules stated in item 2 of the debunking of rules myths. My mother was probably certifiably crazy. Years of spousal abuse and alcohol abuse had a hand in this. But she definitely earned the right to be listened to, and listened to with respect. Heeding her words at times, not so much.
But we're talking about normalcy here. You young whipper-snappers need to embrace this rule. Because for the vast majority of you, and heaven help us in some cases, you'll be parents one day yourselves. Keep that in mind. You don't have to wait that long to embrace and follow this rule. Because trust me, as a relatively normal parent, this is a rule you'll expect to be followed yourself one day by your children.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
There Are Times I Wonder Why I Have A Phone
I got off work a couple of hours early yesterday and was looking forward to a quiet Saturday night at the homestead. The place was back to normal after the tsunami hot water heater crisis and the place still has that new carpet smell.
Quiet was on the agenda, in big bold letters. Unfortunately I failed to share said agenda with anyone else. The only consolation I can bask in is that the Worthless Co-Worker is involved in the shattering of my quiet Saturday night plans. That will have to wait a bit to be shared though, she wasn't the first to spoil my agenda, she's just the most entertaining example.
(I have to admit to being a little disturbed at the popularity she's gaining through my blog though. My take on that though is moronic calamities always draw attention. That type of behavior always fascinates though.
Oh...
and yes, Alicia, I'm going to keep my promise to not use the real name of the Worthless Co-Worker here. The fact that you two share the same name is going to be our little secret. No one will ever know this because I'd never, ever break that sacred bond of trust between us. After today anyway.)
Where was I?
Oh, the shattering of quiet. My phone never stopped ringing.
1st call: Ex-wife called. This is never good. It's not that we don't get along okay, it's just that communication between us involves a problem, or perceived problem, with either the son or daughter. In all fairness she's a great mother, but she's also a great mother who overreacts to everything. I knew which child we'd be discussing before answering the phone.
(Child has had an extremely rough run of bad luck over the last 4-5 months. Nothing I'm going to go into details of, but life hasn't been kind as of late.)
After much hand wringing, cajoling, and hysterics ex-wife elicited a promise that I would call said child to ensure that suicide wasn't in the works. (And no, child isn't suicidal, mother is in full overreaction panic mode.) But I agree that a phone call is warranted to discuss latest life setback with child.
2nd call: That would be me keeping promise to ex-wife. (After all, as was repeatedly stated during first call, said child listens to me better than mother, as per the mother.
Hell, that last sentence even confuses me.
But she's right. Child does listen to me somewhat better. But that doesn't necessarily mean child heeds what I say any better though. She just listens better.)
I put on my magical dad solving problem hat and ascertained child was upset, but definitely not suicidal. Dad solved problem with common sense instructions. Crisis averted and hat removed.
3rd call: Ex-wife again to make sure I called child right away. As is often the case with me, I couldn't help but string her along a little bit here. I told ex-wife that that phone call was in the works but I had a cake that needed frosting first. I think she quit breathing for a full minute on that one. Had we been in the same room, rather than 75 miles apart, my life would have been in peril. I then assured her that no, I don't bake, unless making toast was considered baking, and that the phone call was made, and was a huge success.
4th call: Pretty Vietnamese lady from the mall called. She's somewhat fascinated with me. Sadly for me, that fascination only involves food. Once she found out I was single she determined that I can't possibly be eating right, or often enough, or something. So she cooks, mostly soups, and always sends some home with me. Apparently in my haste to leave work yesterday I had forgotten to stop in where she works to pick up supper. This devastates her. Seriously. So even though I have today and tomorrow off, I'll be running out to the mall to pick up soup later today. I honestly felt bad about forgetting the soup, and she takes this mission, or act of mercy, very seriously. I've never had the heart to tell her that about 50% of what she makes my stomach revolts and refuses to allow entrance. I tell her everything she makes is great. While some of you may frown upon that, you weren't there the first time I told her something she made wasn't something my stomach favored. Life's just easier to bear when pretty Vietnamese lady is happy, trust me.
5th call: Daughter, feigning curiosity if mother put father up to calling her to check up on her. Showed some irritation with this call, since I knew where it was going. Finished this phone call with the certainty child understands, with clarity, that father will brook no more drama this evening between daughter and ex-wife. This call was a success so maybe the ex-wife is right about the child listening to me better than to her.
6th call: Son called. Finally, a voice of reason and sanity. He and his wife had been to a few garage sales. At one, he bought eight cases of brand new golf balls for five dollars. Five. Unbelievably. Cheap. Dollars. And some of them were to be shared with me. He's everything I wanted a son to turn out to be. Conversation did end a bit sadly though. With the addition of this arsenal to his golf bag he wanted to go golfing today with me. Normally this is a no-brainer. Sadly, there's no golfing today for me. Some rat shit bug bit me on the hand last Thursday while we were fishing and my left hand is quite swollen. Swollen to the point I probably can't grip a golf club. We won't even go into details what it's like to take a piss with the preferred "gripping" hand disabled. But it would probably hinder my ability to write my name in a snow bank, if that urge were to hit me.
And finally, the call some of you have been waiting for. Worthless Co-Worker debuts with call number seven of the evening. Naturally this one will be shared with greater detail:
Worthless Co-Worker: I have a problem.
Me: What's new?
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you be serious for a minute?
Me: Now what's wrong?
Worthless Co-Worker: I left my key at home and can't lock the store up.
Me: It's almost 10:00 pm, we close at 9:00 pm. Did you call (store manager)?
Worthless Co-Worker: Yes, and he's really pissed at me.
Me: I'll bet.
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you do me a favor? His wife won't be home until 10:30 and he can't come out here until after then to lock the store. He says I can't go home without locking the store. Can you believe that shit?
Me: Um, yeah, actually I can believe "that shit."
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you come out here and lock the store so I can leave? I don't want to be here until 11:00 pm.
Me: I guess. But in all honesty, I won't get there until after 10:30 either. I've got to get dressed and it takes me about 25 minutes to get there normally.
Worthless Co-Worker: Oh please, will you do this? I don't want to see him tonight, he's really mad.
Me: Whatever, I'll be out.
Worthless Co-Worker: Thank you, thank you....etc.....
8th call: Store Manager......
Store Manager: Did (Worthless Co-Worker) call you?
(See Alicia, I didn't use her name. I put "Worthless Co-Worker" between those two parenthesis. I'm all about honoring my promises.)
Me: Yes she did.
Store Manager: Now I'm really pissed. I told her specifically not to call you. Did she tell you what she did?
Me: Yup. I was just throwing on some clothes to run out there to lock the place up.
Store Manager: No you're not!!
Me: Um, okay.
Store Manager: What did she tell you?
Me: She told me she forgot her key, you were pissed, and she wanted me to come out there so she could go home.
Store Manager: Did she tell you where she called me from?
Me: No, I'm assuming the store though.
Store Manager: You assumed wrong. That silly @#%$&^ called me from her cell phone, from her car, on her way home. This is a termination offense. I told her to get back to the store and wait for me.
Me: Oh man, don't fire her ass.
Store Manager: Are you kidding me? You don't even like her. What the %$#& are you on?
Me: She's great for my blog dude.
Store Manager: Are you serious?
Me: Yup. Just go scare the hell out of her.
Store Manager: I dunno. But you stay home. I'm going in to deal with this.
Me: Okay. I'll call her to let her know she's going to be there for a bit longer then.
Store Manager: Fine.
9th, and final call of the evening.....
Me: Got some bad news for you princess.
Worthless Co-Worker: What?
Me: I can't find my key to the store.
Worthless Co-Worker: You're kidding me, right? You never lose things. You're just trying to make me more miserable aren't you?
Me: Okay, I'm kidding. But.... Store Manager called me right after you did and I'm forbidden to come out there.
Worthless Co-Worker: Are you kidding me?
Me: Nope.
Worthless Co-Worker: Now that pisses me off. Why would he do that? I'm going to let him know exactly what I think about that when he gets here then.
Me: Good luck with that. Not what I'd recommend, but you do what you think is right. I'm getting off the phone now. I've talked to way too many people tonight on the phone as it is. Buh, bye.
At this point I'm assuming she still has a job. That assumption is based on the fact that I'm writing this blog post and not working today had she been fired. It'll be interesting to hear how this panned out though, that's for sure.
Quiet was on the agenda, in big bold letters. Unfortunately I failed to share said agenda with anyone else. The only consolation I can bask in is that the Worthless Co-Worker is involved in the shattering of my quiet Saturday night plans. That will have to wait a bit to be shared though, she wasn't the first to spoil my agenda, she's just the most entertaining example.
(I have to admit to being a little disturbed at the popularity she's gaining through my blog though. My take on that though is moronic calamities always draw attention. That type of behavior always fascinates though.
Oh...
and yes, Alicia, I'm going to keep my promise to not use the real name of the Worthless Co-Worker here. The fact that you two share the same name is going to be our little secret. No one will ever know this because I'd never, ever break that sacred bond of trust between us. After today anyway.)
Where was I?
Oh, the shattering of quiet. My phone never stopped ringing.
1st call: Ex-wife called. This is never good. It's not that we don't get along okay, it's just that communication between us involves a problem, or perceived problem, with either the son or daughter. In all fairness she's a great mother, but she's also a great mother who overreacts to everything. I knew which child we'd be discussing before answering the phone.
(Child has had an extremely rough run of bad luck over the last 4-5 months. Nothing I'm going to go into details of, but life hasn't been kind as of late.)
After much hand wringing, cajoling, and hysterics ex-wife elicited a promise that I would call said child to ensure that suicide wasn't in the works. (And no, child isn't suicidal, mother is in full overreaction panic mode.) But I agree that a phone call is warranted to discuss latest life setback with child.
2nd call: That would be me keeping promise to ex-wife. (After all, as was repeatedly stated during first call, said child listens to me better than mother, as per the mother.
Hell, that last sentence even confuses me.
But she's right. Child does listen to me somewhat better. But that doesn't necessarily mean child heeds what I say any better though. She just listens better.)
I put on my magical dad solving problem hat and ascertained child was upset, but definitely not suicidal. Dad solved problem with common sense instructions. Crisis averted and hat removed.
3rd call: Ex-wife again to make sure I called child right away. As is often the case with me, I couldn't help but string her along a little bit here. I told ex-wife that that phone call was in the works but I had a cake that needed frosting first. I think she quit breathing for a full minute on that one. Had we been in the same room, rather than 75 miles apart, my life would have been in peril. I then assured her that no, I don't bake, unless making toast was considered baking, and that the phone call was made, and was a huge success.
4th call: Pretty Vietnamese lady from the mall called. She's somewhat fascinated with me. Sadly for me, that fascination only involves food. Once she found out I was single she determined that I can't possibly be eating right, or often enough, or something. So she cooks, mostly soups, and always sends some home with me. Apparently in my haste to leave work yesterday I had forgotten to stop in where she works to pick up supper. This devastates her. Seriously. So even though I have today and tomorrow off, I'll be running out to the mall to pick up soup later today. I honestly felt bad about forgetting the soup, and she takes this mission, or act of mercy, very seriously. I've never had the heart to tell her that about 50% of what she makes my stomach revolts and refuses to allow entrance. I tell her everything she makes is great. While some of you may frown upon that, you weren't there the first time I told her something she made wasn't something my stomach favored. Life's just easier to bear when pretty Vietnamese lady is happy, trust me.
5th call: Daughter, feigning curiosity if mother put father up to calling her to check up on her. Showed some irritation with this call, since I knew where it was going. Finished this phone call with the certainty child understands, with clarity, that father will brook no more drama this evening between daughter and ex-wife. This call was a success so maybe the ex-wife is right about the child listening to me better than to her.
6th call: Son called. Finally, a voice of reason and sanity. He and his wife had been to a few garage sales. At one, he bought eight cases of brand new golf balls for five dollars. Five. Unbelievably. Cheap. Dollars. And some of them were to be shared with me. He's everything I wanted a son to turn out to be. Conversation did end a bit sadly though. With the addition of this arsenal to his golf bag he wanted to go golfing today with me. Normally this is a no-brainer. Sadly, there's no golfing today for me. Some rat shit bug bit me on the hand last Thursday while we were fishing and my left hand is quite swollen. Swollen to the point I probably can't grip a golf club. We won't even go into details what it's like to take a piss with the preferred "gripping" hand disabled. But it would probably hinder my ability to write my name in a snow bank, if that urge were to hit me.
And finally, the call some of you have been waiting for. Worthless Co-Worker debuts with call number seven of the evening. Naturally this one will be shared with greater detail:
Worthless Co-Worker: I have a problem.
Me: What's new?
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you be serious for a minute?
Me: Now what's wrong?
Worthless Co-Worker: I left my key at home and can't lock the store up.
Me: It's almost 10:00 pm, we close at 9:00 pm. Did you call (store manager)?
Worthless Co-Worker: Yes, and he's really pissed at me.
Me: I'll bet.
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you do me a favor? His wife won't be home until 10:30 and he can't come out here until after then to lock the store. He says I can't go home without locking the store. Can you believe that shit?
Me: Um, yeah, actually I can believe "that shit."
Worthless Co-Worker: Can you come out here and lock the store so I can leave? I don't want to be here until 11:00 pm.
Me: I guess. But in all honesty, I won't get there until after 10:30 either. I've got to get dressed and it takes me about 25 minutes to get there normally.
Worthless Co-Worker: Oh please, will you do this? I don't want to see him tonight, he's really mad.
Me: Whatever, I'll be out.
Worthless Co-Worker: Thank you, thank you....etc.....
8th call: Store Manager......
Store Manager: Did (Worthless Co-Worker) call you?
(See Alicia, I didn't use her name. I put "Worthless Co-Worker" between those two parenthesis. I'm all about honoring my promises.)
Me: Yes she did.
Store Manager: Now I'm really pissed. I told her specifically not to call you. Did she tell you what she did?
Me: Yup. I was just throwing on some clothes to run out there to lock the place up.
Store Manager: No you're not!!
Me: Um, okay.
Store Manager: What did she tell you?
Me: She told me she forgot her key, you were pissed, and she wanted me to come out there so she could go home.
Store Manager: Did she tell you where she called me from?
Me: No, I'm assuming the store though.
Store Manager: You assumed wrong. That silly @#%$&^ called me from her cell phone, from her car, on her way home. This is a termination offense. I told her to get back to the store and wait for me.
Me: Oh man, don't fire her ass.
Store Manager: Are you kidding me? You don't even like her. What the %$#& are you on?
Me: She's great for my blog dude.
Store Manager: Are you serious?
Me: Yup. Just go scare the hell out of her.
Store Manager: I dunno. But you stay home. I'm going in to deal with this.
Me: Okay. I'll call her to let her know she's going to be there for a bit longer then.
Store Manager: Fine.
9th, and final call of the evening.....
Me: Got some bad news for you princess.
Worthless Co-Worker: What?
Me: I can't find my key to the store.
Worthless Co-Worker: You're kidding me, right? You never lose things. You're just trying to make me more miserable aren't you?
Me: Okay, I'm kidding. But.... Store Manager called me right after you did and I'm forbidden to come out there.
Worthless Co-Worker: Are you kidding me?
Me: Nope.
Worthless Co-Worker: Now that pisses me off. Why would he do that? I'm going to let him know exactly what I think about that when he gets here then.
Me: Good luck with that. Not what I'd recommend, but you do what you think is right. I'm getting off the phone now. I've talked to way too many people tonight on the phone as it is. Buh, bye.
At this point I'm assuming she still has a job. That assumption is based on the fact that I'm writing this blog post and not working today had she been fired. It'll be interesting to hear how this panned out though, that's for sure.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
So I'm A Full Time, Once Or Twice A Week Babysitter
So I'm a grandparent now.
(And no, not a recent one, so congratulations are not in order.)
I'm just in the beginning of the grandparenthood stage with just one grandchild so far. But I've got to tell you I'm enjoying it far more than I thought was possible. This little life form is now 20 months old and I can't imagine life without her being around.
This kid is perfect, I shit you not. Oh my son and daughter-in-law may not quite go that far and will tell me that she can be fussy, mad, hates naps, etc.... but I have yet to witness any of this. Seriously. And as someone who's around her quite a bit I should. It's not that I don't believe them, after all I have two kids myself, and they weren't perfect. Pretty easy to raise over all, but not perfect.
Both my son and daughter-in-law work full time and have had a lot of trouble finding dependable and affordable daycare. So I stepped up to the plate and volunteered to watch her on my days off, which amounts to about 6 days a month where it works out that I'm off when they're working.
Below is a list of of activities we do that will display the awesomeness of this child during the 9-10 hours she's in my care:
1) I usually have to feed her two meals a day when I'm watching her. While the parents bemoan the fact that she won't always eat well for them I can honestly say this is a non-issue for me. She eats everything I throw in front of her. So what if there's always ice cream involved. Naturally the parents haven't been let in on this little secret. (And no, before any righteous parent decides this is terrible, not just ice cream, we do the healthy type of food, but this kid knows Gramps, or as she calls me, "Pa Pa", is gonna give her ice cream if she eats well.)
2) We play, and play, then play some more. And the best part? She's brought out my inner child. (And we make a huge mess, and it's great. After all, this babysitting gig occurs at their place, not mine. There's no clean up or picking up involved for me.)
3) And naps? Not a problem. This kid naps for an average of 2 hours for me. Every. Single. Time. At first this made me nervous, just based on what the parents told me with their troubles in this area. I'd check the crib every 10 minutes to make sure this kid was breathing and alive when she was napping for me. (After all, it wouldn't look very good on the babysitting resume if the kid died while napping in my care.)
4) This kid knows how I feel about poopy diapers. I can tell her she should wait for mommy or daddy to get home before doing this. And for some reason it works with far more success than I dreamed possible. Hell, I've even initiated the potty training sequence with some degree of success. But in listening to the parents my "some" degree is better than their efforts so far. (I actually think this irritates the daughter-in-law though. Not the "some" degree of success part. She just doesn't think potty training should have been started yet. But hey, I think that if a kid can come up to you, point at their diaper, and say they've peed, or pooped, it's time to potty train.
5) She listens to me and there's few bad behavior episodes. (Almost didn't list this one because I think it's normal for a kid to behave better for almost anyone else than a parent.)
I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture, and you're either bored enough already, or extremely jealous of the mad skills I possess as a babysitter. My point is she's an awesome addition in my life.
(And no, not a recent one, so congratulations are not in order.)
I'm just in the beginning of the grandparenthood stage with just one grandchild so far. But I've got to tell you I'm enjoying it far more than I thought was possible. This little life form is now 20 months old and I can't imagine life without her being around.
This kid is perfect, I shit you not. Oh my son and daughter-in-law may not quite go that far and will tell me that she can be fussy, mad, hates naps, etc.... but I have yet to witness any of this. Seriously. And as someone who's around her quite a bit I should. It's not that I don't believe them, after all I have two kids myself, and they weren't perfect. Pretty easy to raise over all, but not perfect.
Both my son and daughter-in-law work full time and have had a lot of trouble finding dependable and affordable daycare. So I stepped up to the plate and volunteered to watch her on my days off, which amounts to about 6 days a month where it works out that I'm off when they're working.
Below is a list of of activities we do that will display the awesomeness of this child during the 9-10 hours she's in my care:
1) I usually have to feed her two meals a day when I'm watching her. While the parents bemoan the fact that she won't always eat well for them I can honestly say this is a non-issue for me. She eats everything I throw in front of her. So what if there's always ice cream involved. Naturally the parents haven't been let in on this little secret. (And no, before any righteous parent decides this is terrible, not just ice cream, we do the healthy type of food, but this kid knows Gramps, or as she calls me, "Pa Pa", is gonna give her ice cream if she eats well.)
2) We play, and play, then play some more. And the best part? She's brought out my inner child. (And we make a huge mess, and it's great. After all, this babysitting gig occurs at their place, not mine. There's no clean up or picking up involved for me.)
3) And naps? Not a problem. This kid naps for an average of 2 hours for me. Every. Single. Time. At first this made me nervous, just based on what the parents told me with their troubles in this area. I'd check the crib every 10 minutes to make sure this kid was breathing and alive when she was napping for me. (After all, it wouldn't look very good on the babysitting resume if the kid died while napping in my care.)
4) This kid knows how I feel about poopy diapers. I can tell her she should wait for mommy or daddy to get home before doing this. And for some reason it works with far more success than I dreamed possible. Hell, I've even initiated the potty training sequence with some degree of success. But in listening to the parents my "some" degree is better than their efforts so far. (I actually think this irritates the daughter-in-law though. Not the "some" degree of success part. She just doesn't think potty training should have been started yet. But hey, I think that if a kid can come up to you, point at their diaper, and say they've peed, or pooped, it's time to potty train.
5) She listens to me and there's few bad behavior episodes. (Almost didn't list this one because I think it's normal for a kid to behave better for almost anyone else than a parent.)
I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture, and you're either bored enough already, or extremely jealous of the mad skills I possess as a babysitter. My point is she's an awesome addition in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)