Yeah... I Was Wondering If You Could....

After watching Office Space the other night I came to the conclusion that the approach used by the boss is often used at my place of employment (minus the cup of coffee). This week I am "taking my turn" on the night shift to assist in training of fellow employees. As I've expressed before I am not a night shift person. I have grown used to getting up, doing the daily hygiene things, and shooting off to work. Start your day and get it over. I dislike waiting around all day to go to work. Not that I'm sitting here waiting because as I write the laundry is going and I am getting dinner ready for my husband. He may be the happy one in this situation. He'll get dinner and not be bothered all night. Just him and the dog bonding. I see it now, Sadie in the kitchen, maybe at the table, having dinner with dad.

I did manage to talk him into joining me in some Christmas shopping last night. I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet but the opportunity was there. I asked, he made a face, I explained how I do this alone every year, he agreed. I did have to look for him a few times as he wandered, but for the most part he helped out. My lame excuse for wanting him to come..I didn't want to get mugged in the Walmart parking lot. I'm pretty brave, but I hate that parking lot. The little dork driving around in the security car is not going to save anyone.

I was able to watch the first half of the Packer game yesterday. My son's girlfriend had a Pampered Chef party at 2pm. She felt bad enough so I saw no need to inquire as to why one would schedule a demonstration on a Sunday afternoon. They had the game on so all was good. I caught the highlights. All was good.

It's Back...

I know I'm going to take a lot of "ribbing" for this but the only food I consider edible from McDonalds is back. Yes folks, back for the season is the McRib sandwich. Color me happy! My husband is currently on a McRib run. He loves me.

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

I truly wish I could find something good or funny to write about in my post. Racked my brain, nope, I got nothin.
My brother-in-law was discharged from the hospital today. Physically he's fine. Sister-in-law was under the assumption that he'd be going to the rehab floor for a week or two so they could work on his mental state. Their insurance will cover for him to go into a Nursing Home, but not stay at the hospital. The girl has exhausted what donated vacation time she has and is not able to leave him home unattended. He's a bit clouded yet. He had no psychiatric evaluation prior to leaving although all the nurse's could have been able to attest to his mental state.
A & I stopped in to see them after work today. He was sleeping when we got there but woke and came into the kitchen to chat with us. At first he made sense, asking A about work and talking about small things. He then went into the bathroom and after taking too long my sister-in-law D went to check things out. She found him taking the light fixture in the bathroom down. For what reason is beyond all of us. He then came into the kitchen, complained of a headach and proceeded to open up a pill bottle and self medicate himself. We then took any medications that were in the house and locked them up. Yeah, he's ready to go home alright. They live about a mile from us so I'm sure we'll get a call soon.
There is a slight chance of hope. Their insurance will pay for adult day care which happens to be at the same hospital she works at. She'll find out tomorrow if he can go. She then can at least go back to work. Not saying she'd be able to concentrate much, but more then she could if he was at home alone. Oh, there is another great thing...they may just be able to stream-line the hearing for Social Security that was applied for a year ago. This illness started more than 2 years ago. He quit his job in October of 2005. This is when things began to esclate. All we can do is be there for them. A winning lottery ticket would probably be welcome right about now.

Did I mention also that work once again sucks! Yes, my 1st shift job is rotating onto my most dreaded shift next week. 3pm to 11pm. I am going to this shift to train the untrainable person who will be running the line on 2nd shift. My co-worker /friend has been on 2nd for over a month now attempting to train him. She's not real patient and he's not to attentive. It's going to take more than a week but that's all I care to work it. There is a slight chance that there may just be a little good in starting at 3pm. When I figure it out I'll let you all know.

You're Almost Perfect????

I think my husband may have been a little on the tipsy side the other night. He's have a horrible couple of weeks at work, has worked some long hours and has been a little on edge between work and his brother being ill. Saturday night we ventured out after a visit to the hospital. After I saw him consume his first drink like it was water I knew I'd better take it easy as I would be the driver. As the night progressed I was handed the car keys and also watched the eyes grow glassier by the moment. I figured it was just about time to go when he sat down next to me and in somewhat of a slur proceeded to tell me that " I was almost perfect". Yep..time to hit the road buddy. But he wasn't quite ready yet. He would go on to put his 5 bucks into the slot machine and play for what seemed like an hour. Luckily he lost it all or I'm certain we'd still be there.

The best part was when we got home. Our dog is not allowed in our kitchen. I had gone into the other room for a moment and came back to find him standing in the kitchen staring at the floor. I then saw the dog, in the kitchen chowing on something. When I asked he told me he dropped his piece of lunch meat and cheese on the floor and she got it. Something tells me that I'm the only one that doesn't allow her in the kitchen. She probably loves when I work nights. No doubt the big guy has her eating at the table with him. He then went on to continue his "almost perfect" conversation. It appears that if it wasn't for me being " a little bit on the bitchy side" once in awhile that I'd be in that category. Hmm... I guess I'm bitchy When I wake him up prior to 11 am on the weekends. Maybe because the night before I'm told that he wants to be up early to get somewhere before it gets to crowded. Maybe because when I do wake him up at 11 or so he's pissed off because I "let him" sleep so late. Regardless of all that I guess he sees me much better than I see myself.

On a sad note I got news tonight that one of our friends that we know from the bar has passed away. He's been in poor health for a while now and suffered a stroke a few weeks back. He was a good guy who always had a hug and a smile for you. We'll miss you Pat!

Third Times A Charm?

My brother-in-law has been through hell. 15 days ago he went for surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. He is still in ICU. He has had two additional surgeries, one to insert a shunt and another to reposition the shunt. The doctor was hoping his natural valve in the brain would take over and drain fluid after being plugged by the tumor for who knows how long. This did not happen, hence the shunt. He was very cloudy, very confused and I know to himself he made perfect sense. The man put on a show for us everyday. His last surgery was Thursday and they just might have it right this time. He was still a little cloudy yesterday and was a little irate when told he'd been at the hospital for 14 days. I'll be heading up their shortly to see what today holds. My sister-in-law is holding up well. She just wants her husband back.

I haven't done to much of anything else the past two weeks. I hear Miller calling me and later on tonight I just may answer his call.

Change of Plans

I've changed my mind about wanting to be a tour guide at St. Luke's. I have seen so much of that hospital in the past 6 days that I now know many of the ICU nurse's by name. My brother-in-law is having a rough time. He came out of the surgery good but slipped into a rough 4 days with detox and cold turkey from all the medications they were giving him prior to the surgery. The past few days he's been pretty much sleeping until around 7 at night when he gets a little irritable and hard to control.
When I stopped there after work today I was happy to see him sitting up and awake. That was crushed when I saw the look of concern on his wife's face. He's very confused. He knew me but thought I was still married to my ex. He was convinced he was at the vet's office and his dog was injured. Our chore for an hour was to talk to him and remind him of where he was and why. He was giving me names of people he claimed came to see him that he hasn't seen in years. The man did always have a sense of humor about him and that's still there. At least today he remembered he was married for more than thirteen years. What is sad is seeing the strain on my friends face. She is at least going home at night now. I wasn't sure how long she would hole out there. So all this has caused a set back in his recovery. The doctor is assuring her that by tomorrow he should be regaining his memory clearer. We can only hope so.
My husband is still working some screwed up hours. Hence the holiday candy sales. I must say as tired as he looks he has managed to be pleasant at home. I just can't ask him to do anything. Then I get the "sigh". So for now I lay off and don't worry that the dryer takes 2 hours to dry a load. I'm just glad my clothes lines are still hanging outside. I figure if I get up an hour early I can chip the ice off the lines and "freeze dry" his skivvies outside.

Tour Guide Of St. Lukes

I have become way to familiar with St. Lukes Hospital. I know where the color coded diamonds on the floor lead to and the quickest and easiest way to enter the hospital. There are nurses that are familiar and I can tell you that I'll walk across the street for food rather than eat in their deli or cafeteria.

In the past year and a half I should have earned frequent visitor miles for the amount of times I have been there. Today my husband's brother had surgery to remove a tumor (non-cancerous) from his brain. This poor guy has been through a roller coaster for more than two years now. He's been to doctor's, therapy and through many tests only to have them continuously mess with medications. Finally about two weeks ago my sister-in-law took matters into her hands and went to see his doctor, begging him to do more tests. She knew her husband was out of character and knew he needed help. A CAT scan was done and the tumor was found. The surgery was scheduled fast. They're not sure how long the tumor was there but are leaning toward since birth. The doctor figures that it started to take a toll on his well being the past few years. This could or could not be the root of many of his recent problems. We're all praying that this could be the miracle that could put him back on track.

As I sat in his room with her tonight we had a lot of time to talk. He wasn't resting to comfortably at first, but after some pain medication and just plain exhaustion on his part he fell into a peaceful sleep. She of course has planted herself at his bedside for the night. The look of strain that I've seen on her face over the past few years seemed to be lifting. She's worried, but so hopeful. This emotional day has shown me a good picture of what "true love" is. She has not and never will give up on him. Sure she gets discouraged and angry at times but that's human nature. I admire her strength.. Now if God can see this and just throw them a little luck all our prayers will be answered.

On a different note there is sadness amongst the family of a good friend of ours. After a long struggle with cancer he has lost his mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this time. Although she will be missed, she's in peace and in good hands.

My final comment of the day is to my friend who painstakingly was trying to find a job that would suit me after my retirement from my current job. I'm pretty sure I could handle being a tour guide of some sort. The toll booth-parking lot attendant is out of the question. But thanks for your suggestions. Now I know how you see me even if it was the beer talking.

On My Way To Recovery

After a totally miserable Monday spent mostly sleeping, I managed to pull myself together enough to go to work on Tuesday morning. The biggest problem was that my ears were hurting pretty bad. I can count on 1 finger the number of times I've had an ear infection. Usually when my ears hurt it's because something else is coming on. By Tuesday it was just the ears and a sinus headache. Took some DayQuil tablets and vitamin C and still felt like crap all day. I had this hollow, echoing feeling in my head. Not much of what anyone said to me all day long made any sense, nor did I care. I know I had a fever as hot flash's don't last that long. Toward the end of the day and a few more cold tablets I felt well enough to stop at Menard's.

Our current kitchen faucet sucks. It's some cheap $40.00 faucet that for some stupid reason I picked out. You get what you pay for I guess. We've replaced the sprayer on it twice in the past year only to have it leak start to leak again. Every Sunday for the past few months I scan the ad's looking for a new one. A few times I've mentioned to the guy I live with that it'd be great if we could get a new faucet. This is the reply " Oh, crap...that's just more work for me". I then threaten to do it myself. Then I get " Well go pick out what you want". So yesterday I did. With ad in hand I wandered through Menard's but did I get the one in the ad? Absolutely not. I went up a few grades. Not the most expensive but I figured right smack dab in the middle should give me a faucet that lasts awhile.

While at Menard's I also happened upon some room area rugs that were "drastically reduced". I've been looking for a new one for the living room for awhile and the price was right. This little feat required me to go back for a rolling cart. I loaded this 8 X 10 1/2 rug on the cart, got through the checkout and out to my truck. This is where the problem arose. Duh! Dumb broad trying to load carpet into truck bed that is about two feet to small. There was no way it was going into the back seat. Hence the bungee cords that are always kept under the back seat. I managed to find two and bungee the cover down on the truck bed. As soon as I was done a kind man came over to ask if I needed help. I'm pretty sure he watched this whole show from his car and after having a good laugh thought he'd now come to the rescue. He noted that I seemed to have it all under control. Things went smooth until I got home. Now, I could have easily left the hauling in for the man I live with. Not my style. I got it in, pulled the other one up, moved some stuff around and liked the results.

The guy I live with got home around 8pm, noticed the faucet laying on the table and said " Oh crap, more work for me". Proceeded to walk into the living room , sit down on "his" chair and never notice the carpet until a few minutes later when I brought it up. I'm wondering what else I could do around here that could go un-noticed?

Stricken

I woke at 2:30 this morning in a bit of a sweat. Nope, not an old lady hot flash. This felt different. I got up for water and noticed a soreness in my throat and my head was feeling a little light. Didn't think much of it and popped a vitamin C tablet and returned to bed. Two hours later I woke again feeling worse. I feared I had become stricken with the illness that many people at work have been walking around with for a few weeks now. This angers me as I had been so careful. Like a dork I walked around with a bottle of alcohol for the past few weeks wiping off everything I see the ill touching. I've taken my vitamins faithfully and even added an extra boost with vitamin C.
At 5 a.m. I shut off the alarm and began the morning ritual. My throat felt as if it were closing up on me, I have a fever and my head feels more hollow than it normally does. My eyes (although cleaned out now) were crusty and my nose is plugged up. In general I feel like crap! I then did something that I normally don't do. I called in sick. And now I'm going to take some over the counter drugs and get back into my warm bed, because now I have developed the chills, and sleep this thing away.

A Soggy Win

Being the dedicated Grandparent's we are we headed out the door around noon today for the game. Not the Packer game, but Dylan's playoff game. I was prepared with my yellow rain coat and an umbrella. As we pulled into the lot we saw the mud soaked kids coming off the field from the last game. Not a sad look on their faces. Not even the parents.
Dylan's coaches had them off the field for their pre-game hype. I looked at the field and saw one giant mud pit in the middle. We stood in the continuous rain and watched as they scored three touch downs in the first half of the game. Dylan was mud from head to toe. Those boys were hungry for a win and not caring a bit about the mud that had consumed their once clean uniforms. The way I figured it was the muddier you got the harder you were playing. This game, standing wise meant nothing to them. There was no pressure but they won 20-6. You could just see it in the kids faces that they were having a blast. I was glad I opted for this game verses the Packer game. A Packer win means something but watching this game and how much fun they were having meant more than any Packer win. Besides you know your Grandma loves you when she'll hug you even when you're caked with mud.

We did make it home just into the 3rd quarter of the Packer game. I thought it would be a higher scoring game but I'll take the win and the $$ I won in the pool.

I went to my first Rugby game yesterday afternoon along with J & J. After a quick explanation of the game we hunkered down to watch my fellow co-worker in action. Within 10 minutes of playing time he was out with a rather large gash across his eyebrow and a lot of blood. He was a little angry at this happening as he wanted to play. He got fixed up on the sidelines and had a nice goose egg growing on his forehead. I knew it was a little tougher than football but didn't expect it to be quite as bloody, nor did I expect to see so much skin. I'd certainly go to another game in the future. Maybe it'll be somewhere where there are actually locker rooms so this one guy won't have to totally strip in the open to change his clothes.

Thursdays Should Be Girls Night

I don't usually stop for a liquid refreshment during the week, but yesterday I had the urge. After twisting Gambino's arm to meet me earlier than 5 she obliged and was partaking in her refreshment as I strolled in. Jo would soon join us after standing in line in not so comfortable shoes at the book signing. (She's on the good list now for sure).
Prior to going I had to promise myself that 7:30 was my curfew. 8 at the latest. The one thing I can no longer do at my age is function at work hung over. I also knew it wouldn't be a good day to take a sick day. Plus I wasn't going to stick around for the singing. Ben & Peve did, but accidentally. They though they had time for one more.
After a few hours of the company of good friends, a loss at Rock'em Sock'em and a really good chicken sandwich I hit the road. I was sure my dog would be crossing her legs by this time. Must have made it just in time as she made a bee-line for the door.
Jo made a comment last night that stuck in my head a little. She wants to start doing things she hasn't been able to do for some time. I was thinking about that comment today and thought about some things I want to do, but A raises his eyebrows about. He's not a movie goer...he snores through them. He's not a play goer (unless it's Grease or something from the 50's) but has gone in the past to things with me. Why should I continue to make this poor guy suffer through this stuff or be disappointed when he balks at going. He'd probably be quite happy to stay home and fix something or just enjoy the peace and quiet of his wife not being home. So let's go girls...let's start planning some "Things Girls like to do and Men Hate" outings. I think we'd all be happy then.

Oblivious

I found out today that I am oblivious to what goes on around me at work. Years ago I made a promise to myself to not give in to meaningless gossip in the work place. This is the result of being burned once.
My full time career started in a small office with a handful of employees. People were having affairs, getting divorces, in rehab and born agains right under my nose and I wouldn't know until months later. I concluded that it just didn't concern me. I would listen but not repeat. The last job I worked at was with a bunch of cackling hen's that did nothing more than gossip all day long. If they had nothing...they just made shit up. I was getting a divorce and didn't even know it. I stayed out of this stuff as most of it was hurtful. Once, I repeated something to someone else and had the source of the gossip in my face. That ended it. I went to the "I don't care" attitude and went to work to work.
I made it through 6 years where I am now hearing idle gossip. Keeping what people told me in confidence to myself and not offering much information about my own personal life. Either they think I am the most boring person in the world or they've figured it out by now.
I must have missed some specially marked day on the calendar today. Was it National Gossip Day? I checked but the day just say's October 10th. Nothing special besides my friends anniversary. Was it "Get it Off Your Chest Day". I wonder as if a line could have formed by me without interupting production it would have. A few things made me a little sad as one guy at work that I'm pretty close to is in the process of a divorce. They just bought a house. He had no clue they were even having problems. Another guy is pretty down on his luck. I'm not really concerned about him as he's one of those "I know everything" people and has his face in everyone's business. But there's more, and I had to act like I knew nothing. I was shocked at some of the crap I heard and am a little angry that some things are going on. I was trusted with some information awhile back and kept this all in confidence at work. It was no one's business. Now today I have four different people shoveling information that I just plain don't want to hear.
My special message : " Don't confide in me as a friend, explain that there are two sides to every story, and then think that everyone is so stupid that they'll never figure it out. That is a complete insult.

Tuesdays Generally Suck

I've come to the conclusion that for some reason Tuesday's at work suck for me. It's only worse when you are missing one person from the line and another has meetings to attend. Then you have one who has suddenly forgotten everything you trained him on, and another that does nothing but complain and forget what he's supposed to do. I walked into the line this morning only to once again find 3rd shift not running, granted they had issues but I think too many people get involved in a simple fix. In all my years in the manufacturing industry it was pounded into my head that when a problem arises that affects the quality or outcome of the product you change only one thing at a time. This will allow you to capture what the issue was and correct it. But no...let's change ten settings and then not be able to pinpoint which one actually corrected the issue. Hmmmm...then let's look around and discover that someone has brought the incorrect raw materials for the product into the room. When discovered this will then send up a red flag that perhaps the raw materials should have been labeled in the warehouse. Gee, I think that subject was raised in the last line meeting we had. Too many new employees wandering around in an unfamiliar warehouse trying to locate things. It's just easier for an old-timer (watch the cracks about this one) to go get these items. This ends my work rant....(for today).

On a lighter note, on my way home today I saw a dumb accident. On the corner of Highway 100 and Layton a compact car wasn't able to stop in time to avoid tapping the bumper of a small delivery truck (DHS I believe). You could clearly see there was no damage. This guy sits and waits until the light turns green and then exits his truck almost getting hit my little old me as he swings his door open. This prevented me from moving as he left his door open. I had a choice of going partway up on the curb or ripping his door off. I opted to sit and watch this incident. He got out, looked at the back of his company truck which had no damage, looked at the woman's car- no damage and told her to pull into the gas station to exchange information. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE. He was completely tying up traffic not only in the proceeding south lane but in the turning lane also. She must have refused citing no damage and he said then " I'll call the cops and we'll sit here until they come". I then rolled down my window and politely said " Excuse me, but could you please close your car door so this line of traffic that is not involved in this little incident can go". I expected some foul response, but he complied. Maybe it was the politeness of it.

Did Anyone Catch....

John Madden's totally asinine comment shortly into the 4th quarter in reference to Brian Griese " He's playing like a ten year veteran out there". Reaction in this household was complete shock, not to mention arguing with someone on TV that can't hear you.

More later...I am currently in mourning, although I will admit I don't think the Packers showed up for the 2nd half of the game.

Speaking Of Commercials...

Last night were were joined by K & J for a rather late dinner. The boys were roofing most of the day so the grill wasn't fired up until dark. We had a good dinner of steak (ribeye was the best I've had in a long time) spuds and veggies. After dinner we retired to the porch and after flipping through channels settled on Grease. Maybe because it's a upbeat movie, maybe because we can pretty much recite the movie, maybe because my husband things ONJ was hot.

This was on the Family channel, so things were cut. The commercials last night were also a little on the funny side. The unexpected, never seen by any of us before took us a little off guard. An always maxi-pad with wings is floating through the air and comes to land on a mechanical bull. The wings of course attach to the sides of the bull and the bull then starts to rock. "What the fuck, You gotta be kidding, that's just wrong, I thought the water tower one was bad" were some of the comments that I can remember. I though A was going to come unglued. I searched for the video of this to post but was unable to find it and share it with those who have not been able to see this yet. You get a lot of funky stuff when doing a search for "Always Maxi Pads" . If you add "with wings" to it you get a few things on buffalo wings. Interesting. "Always Maxi Pad with Wings in a narrowed search will bring up buffalo wings. Hmmmmm.

Winners For Effort

Dylan's game today was a complete blow out. They played the #1 team. Last year they played this undefeated team in their Superbowl and won. No such luck today. I have to give them a "A" for effort. It seemed in some cases they may have been intimidated by the size of these kids. This is a 3rd and 4th grade league. I'm almost positive that some of the opposing team members may have flunked a grade or two. The heat couldn't have been doing them much good either. At one point we were all under the impression that this was their last game. However they go on to the playoffs next weekend.

Sitting (or should I say pacing) out there brought back memories of last year when my parents were in town. My dad was able to make two games. I recall sitting there drinking hot chocolate and wearing a winter jacket. What a difference today. I was swatting at the bee's so much it must have looked like I had some uncontrollable jerking disease. Of course if one un-named husband of mine would have stood farther away from me while consuming his hamburger I may have avoided this issue. Thanks to Jodi for coming out and supporting the team.

In honor of Gambino's little ditty she posted yesterday I felt compelled to join my friends at the local watering hole. There is truth in Stb's statements that one can consume and not spend a whole heck of money. I have a collection of tickets in addition to not a big dent in my wallet. I'm still confused (?) at buying a round for 7 and getting $12.00 back from a $20.00. Once again and enjoyable time. Good company...good friends and plenty to chuckle about. I did come to the conclusion upon arriving home a little hungry and making a peanut butter sandwich that it was time to hit the grocery store.

While composing my blog I am currently listening to the sound of the nail gun that I purchased for my husband in Christmas of 05. It is being put to use on the roof right now. I pulled up from grocery shopping and saw my brother on the roof. I immediatly yelled for him to get off my roof as I cannot be responsible if he should fall. Of course the homeowners is paid but I would not be able to bear the guilt if something would happen. Now my husband is up there. I don't want to be out there, nor do I think I'm welcome out there. I guess as long as I hear the nails being fired that all is well. I did go check the color of the shingles just to assure myself that they were not some discounted funky color. They are black. That is about the extent of my involvement in this project.

Magnet For Rudeness

We started three shifts at work a few weeks ago and I was fortunate enough to stay on first shift. We also went back to 8 hours shifts, unless you want to stick around and help out the next shift. I've been exiting any where from 3:15 to 4. It just seems so weird. There should have been a gradual decrease from 10 plus hours down to 8. One's body and brain cannot comprehend this change. It's been nice though. I can now complete any errands I have and be home before I was usually leaving work. I finally feel somewhat normal. I'm sure this will change without much notice soon.

On my way home today I decided to stop at the local Walmart. I needed a few things that are less costly there then other stores. As I was walking in the cheaters door (lawn & garden doors rock) a middle aged couple must not have seen me and banged their cart into me. I managed to mumble an excuse me and went along my merry way. I would run into this couple several times more during my trip. Each time it would be that one of us was exiting an aisle and the other would nearly bump into them. I was polite enough to continue saying the thing that you say when you get in someones way. They opted for the rude person's way. Say nothing and carry on.

When my purchases were complete I headed for the cheater's check-out (once again Lawn & Garden area). Low and behold who should be right in front of me. It was my big chance...I could ram my cart right into rude lady's very large behind. By accident of course. They had 3 things in their cart. He argued every price with the cashier. The other check-out opened and I tried to get around her to get to that aisle. I said "excuse me" 3 or 4 times. Then I nudged her. She whipped around and gave me the glare that your mother would give if you cut up in church or something. I politely explained that I was trying to get to the other aisle and asked her several times. "hmmmmphft" was all I got from her. By the time she moved her fat ass the line had other customers. They were done by this time anyway. I did my thing, walked out to my car only to find they were parked right next to me. He tried to leave his cart in back of my truck until I pointed out to him where the cart coral was. I dared not make any more stops on my way home for fear of confirming the fact that I was being followed or tested.

Stowin Away The Weekend Home

This weekend marked the last camping trip of the season. Hard to believe 5 months went by so quickly. The camper is now parked in the driveway, soon to be cleaned out and necessary repairs made and it will retire to it's winter resting spot. Toward the end of April it will be pulled out and put into use for hopefully one more year. My husband promised that he'd so some work on it as it is starting to show it's age. Plans are in the works for a new camper but it may be postponed another year. Unless of course, we should happen upon some extra $$. We did have a pleasant, low key weekend. Some good friends were absent but we did manage to have a decent fire and the TiKi torches were filled. The food as always was good and provided one lovely woman with enough gas to just about propel her from her chair several times. A side trip to the Dog Track cost me more money then I won as usual.

It was back to work this morning only to walk into a mess, or I should say several mess's. Once I got one thing straightened out we tried to work on the second problem. I knew this was serious when our Engineer was out on the line pretty much all day. I left at 3:30 and the problem still was not resolved nor did we have any production for the day so far. I called around 6pm only to find out the issue was still not resolved and he was still there. A little "joke" was going around between him and another Engineer about sending out their resumes. This issue has been holding us up for several weeks now and should have been looked at long ago. Now that we didn't make a shipment it seems to become serious. This is not entirely any one's fault as we are a little short handed in Production Support and these guys are doing more than their share of work. They are constantly in meetings and trying to juggle around a heavy work load. As operators, we can only do so much on our own and it gets extremely frustrating for us to be at work for 8-10 hours and not come close to making a production goal. But enough of that.....

Too bad for the Brewers, however they did have a winning season and provided us all with 6 months of excitement. There's always next year.
Another great Packer game yesterday. 4-0. Next week it's bring on the Bears. This could be an exciting game also. I should start getting emails any day now from my nephew the one and only Bears fan that I know. He can talk all the smack he wants to. It's not my fault he was raised corrupt.

In The Dark

Wednesday afternoon brought an out of the blue power outage for much of the South Side of Milwaukee. A power outage is never convenient, but this put a damper on my night. I had planned to get everything ready for our weekend camping trip. Instead I watched the battery operated television and lite many candles. Our power was expected back on my 8pm. Apparently the area we live in was the last to go on. From what I can figure it was around 1am. As much as I cursed out my husbands new alarm clock, the battery back-up functioned correctly. Having a power outage is live rough camping but inside your house. We found that the generator we purchased a few years ago served its purpose. We found that we are not prepared for an emergency. The generator is in the garage. I was never issued a garage key. (Man's world out there) and husband could not located the key ring with the garage key on it. We then found out how easy it is (was) to break into our garage. This has not been corrected. Then of course the brand new, never been used generator would not start. I left the area at that time. I'm no dummy.

On to Thursday...I left work to a flooded parking lot and pouring rain most of the way home. I got about a 1/2 mile from home and saw what appeared to be snow on the ground. 27th street going south was flooded, and there were small piles of white stuff all over. We had some accumulation of hail. Of course do you think I could find a camera to snap a picture. One had dead batteries and the other was out of film. The dog was a little skeptical about walking her little princess paws through the pile of hail on the deck.

It's off for the last weekend of camping this year. The weather seems promising. Hopefully the bee's will have left the area already. I seem to have caught my husbands cold so I may just plop my self in a lawn chair and let the sun take over.

Crappy Day

Why does one have to have a bad day? Is it just to off-set the good days you have? I know everything can't always be peaches & cream but come on now, what's wrong with a streak of good luck?

Yesterday for example was a good day. We did the Save the Boob's walk. The weather was good, the company was good and the Packer Game, refreshments and company after the walk was good. My hurting feet were okay after an hour or so and when we got home I did a few things around the house and actually sat down and watched some television.

Today was a different story. It started out okay, until I got to work. It was like I was being tested for just how much I could take before I blew. We all know that it's takes a little to yank my chain, and yank it they did today. I first off remembered that a girl who originally started on 1st and then went to 3rd was coming back to 1st today. I had trained her on 1st and she is hard to train. She kept asking all of us to be patient with her and apparently I was the only one who could be as I kept having to work with her. After a few hours today it hit me...she is not much further along then she was when she left our shift originally. She still asks the same questions and still has to show me every roll that she has a question on. My nerves were frayed within 2 hours.

On our schedule it stated that 1st shift was to do a change-over this morning. When I came in I inquired about this and it was confirmed that the changeover would be taking place. This required about 2 hours of switching materials and dies. Not a big deal when everyone takes a task and does it. Nooo....not today. There were only two of us that knew what had to be done. It was bogged down by having to train others. This is not a bad thing, as people need to learn this equipment. But when you have a higher up questioning your every move it can be a little tense. When you have parts of the equipment that do not function correctly it can be tense. About 3/4 of the way through the change-over the big boss comes in and is pissed that we're changing over (he wants answers as to why) as we didn't make the order we were supposed to. I stood there holding material that I was webbing through the machine, just waiting for him to tell me to change back. He mumbled something about the communication sucking around this place and left. Nothing went good. The entire work day was shit! I need to learn not to take things like that so personal, but when I have a crappy day there it bothers me. I'm constantly thinking of what I could have done differently, to make it better. After much thought today I came up with the answer. I should have stayed home.