While I have had things to do (build sets at Albuquerque Little Theatre, for example) I have never had a job and a blog (or three) at the same time. One would think that a twenty or so hour a week job would have little impact on my life, but one would be wrong. The morning is all about getting Carmen and me out the door on time. The evening is supper and recouperating. The blogs were all about a lot of time on my hands. It's just not there any more.
This week I work Monday through Thursday, five hours a day. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I'm off! I'm thinking my big Year In Review posting is coming this weekend! Woo hoo!
In the meantime, I still have three wasted mornings and evenings to use for thinking about what I want to say about 2010. Should be a good one. Can't wait!
For those of you who come aboard hoping for cat news, all I can tell you is that ReLu and LuLu are even closer buddies than before. Remus has developed a special little "Come play with me" call, and they have a wonderful time chasing each other all over the house. When it's time to rest, they often curl up together on the back of the sofa or on the bed, frequently complete with licking each other to sleep. Getting Lucia for a companion for Remus has turned out to be the best idea we've had in a long time.
Back in a couple of days - I promise.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Blow Out
You'll remember, I'm sure, the previous post in which I described my angst about my payroll deposit. I went to work anyway, and had a fine day delivering two gallons of paint and putting away the last of Wednesday's truck. After work I walked home and got the mail on the way in. There was an envelope from Sherwin Williams Corporate Payroll containing a paper check for the amount I was expecting. Yay.
Saturday I packed the ox head and the donkey parts into the car, with some tools and touch-up paint. Carmen set the stage while I assembled and touched up the donkey. Afterward we had a late lunch/early supper at our fave Meadville restaurant, Montana Rib And Chop House. I had the grilled tuna. Yum yum. We stopped at KMart and Big Lots on the way home, giving us a reminder of why we try to stay away from shopping opportunities during December.
Back home we watched a Christmas movie, then I retreated to my office for some "Family Feud" fun, when suddenly I had to run to the bathroom, barely making it in time. I was feeling nauseated until suddenly I had to throw up. Remember Vinny going home with the stomach flu? I think he passed it on to me first. The scenario played itself out many more times during the night.
I stayed in bed most of yesterday, giving my boy Remus an unusual opportunity to stick his claws in my face for an afternoon feeding time. Yay.
I tried to remain standing for a while this morning, washing dishes and such, but it soon became apparent that, while the worst is over, I'm not out of the woods yet. The good news: I called in and Vinny answered the phone. He understood completely.
Saturday I packed the ox head and the donkey parts into the car, with some tools and touch-up paint. Carmen set the stage while I assembled and touched up the donkey. Afterward we had a late lunch/early supper at our fave Meadville restaurant, Montana Rib And Chop House. I had the grilled tuna. Yum yum. We stopped at KMart and Big Lots on the way home, giving us a reminder of why we try to stay away from shopping opportunities during December.
Back home we watched a Christmas movie, then I retreated to my office for some "Family Feud" fun, when suddenly I had to run to the bathroom, barely making it in time. I was feeling nauseated until suddenly I had to throw up. Remember Vinny going home with the stomach flu? I think he passed it on to me first. The scenario played itself out many more times during the night.
I stayed in bed most of yesterday, giving my boy Remus an unusual opportunity to stick his claws in my face for an afternoon feeding time. Yay.
I tried to remain standing for a while this morning, washing dishes and such, but it soon became apparent that, while the worst is over, I'm not out of the woods yet. The good news: I called in and Vinny answered the phone. He understood completely.
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Disappointing Post
I woke up at 6:08 this morning and bounded (as much as these artritic old bones can bound) out of bed. I turned on my computer before warming up yesterday's leftover coffee. With eager anticipation I went to my online banking site. Last night at midnight was my first scheduled direct deposit since June of 2009. I zoomed through the gauntlet of passwords and identity checks and landed at last at my checking account. And there was my available balance - the same as it was twelve hours before. I clicked on the details link, and sure enough, there was a posting from Sherwin Williams Payroll - for a whopping $0.00!
It was my understanding that, yes, my wage was going to be much lower than it was working in show biz in Orlando and Boston, but still higher than volunteering at the theatre. I could have stayed home and racked up $0.00 - I've done it - recently!
My boss, Diane, told me she has never had a problem with payroll in her twenty eight years with the company (at that same store!) As usual, I am the exception. Today is her day off, but Vinnie went home yesterday with the flu, so she'll probably be there. I hope this is a mistake that can be ironed out easily. I'm still training, sure, but I know I'm worth more than $0.00.
It was my understanding that, yes, my wage was going to be much lower than it was working in show biz in Orlando and Boston, but still higher than volunteering at the theatre. I could have stayed home and racked up $0.00 - I've done it - recently!
My boss, Diane, told me she has never had a problem with payroll in her twenty eight years with the company (at that same store!) As usual, I am the exception. Today is her day off, but Vinnie went home yesterday with the flu, so she'll probably be there. I hope this is a mistake that can be ironed out easily. I'm still training, sure, but I know I'm worth more than $0.00.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Week In Review
My last posting, a week ago (!) was, it turned out, the calm before the literal storm. Sure, it had been snowing nonstop since Wednesday, but as of bedtime Saturday night, the roads, driveway and sidewalks were clear. At cat feeding time, 4:30am I looked out and there were six inches of accumulation on the aforementioned surfaces. The new Sno-Thro came out for its debut performance at 8:00 Sunday morning. I did the driveway and sidewalk from the far side of Donnie's yard to the far side of Cheryl's yard in about seven minutes, in plenty of time to get to church by 9:00.
After church and the congregation's annual meeting, we returned home to find a high ridge of snow across the driveway entrance, plus about four inches of new snow. I "snew blew" again. Carmen backed into the garage, and the front wheel drive had trouble pushing the RAV4 over the packed snow left by the thrower. I also had to push. So I got out the snow shovel and scraped the driveway and sidewalk down to bare concrete. The whole neighborhood was out shoveling and operating snow removal machines. We bonded.
By Sunday evening I had drawn the outline of the donkey flats for the Christmas pageant and had it approved by the director/ producer/ minister. Snow was still pouring out of the sky when we went to bed.
Monday morning I snew blew and scraped again before Carmen set out for work, salting more for traction than for any hope of keeping them clear. I looked at the walkway from the front sidewalk up the steps and around the grassy knoll to the front porch. There were deep depressions in it from the newspaper delivery to inside the front storm door that morning. I felt bad for him and the postal person, but the path could not be cleared of its foot of snow by a Sno-Thro, and would take a long time with twentieth century wide-thing-on-a-stick technology - more time than I had. I got Carmen off to work, showered, changed and got myself off to work.
Tuesday morning was the same routine. I blew and scraped for almost an hour, showered and changed for work, and shoveled the parking lot at the store. Snow was still pouring. Back home, same thing. Seven solid days of snow dumping on us, and still going.
Wednesday morning I got started earlier than usual. The plumber was coming at 8:00 to (FINALLY !) hook up the sink and toilet upstairs. When I looked outside I went into shock! There was nothing falling from the sky. So I scraped and salted the concrete surfaces as usual, then dug a trench across the back yard to Cheryl's back door. I hadn't been in to check on things in well over a week. All was well. I figured, while I was there, I'd read her gas meter, since she had asked me for a reading every month since September. So I came back, got out of my snowy boots and such, and wrote Cheryl an email describing my care of her sidewalk and my report on the gas reading etc. While I was attaching pictures to the email, I saw my inbox gain a "1" indicating that a new message had come in. So I sent the one to Cheryl, and the inbox appeared complete with a message from Cheryl asking me to "tunnel over to the house and get a gas meter reading." I thought it was funny, anyway. Oh, and by then it had started snowing AGAIN!
Wednesday at work was all about deliveries. The truck came in as I approached - Wednesday is its usual day - and there are usually items on the truck that customers have been waiting for, so Wednesday afternoon is pretty much a deliveries kind of day. I'm pretty much the delivery boy. So, Vinnie and I got things sorted out for four deliveries, loaded the van and were ready to go by 2:00. We set out into the pouring snow, and immediately blew off the delivery deep into Amish country many miles away. We got stuck in the first place we went, sacrificing a sand bag to the traction gods. The second place I never would have found on my own - a huge industrial complex out in the hinterlands. Vinnie had to call the guy to find out where we needed to go. The third place was the Red Lobster restaurant near the Walmart, where a contractor was working. There were some things Diane needed from Staples right nearby, and the last stop was at the Valu Home Center for more sandbags. Winter, after all, has only just begun.
Wednesday evening was snow blowing and shoveling again. That night, the snow stopped, and to date, I have not shoveled anything since Thursday morning - that's forty eight whole hours now!
Thursday we both had days off. I loaded and ran the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. Carmen started work on her Sunday sermon. Our little girl Lucia had a vet appointment at 1:30, so we dashed out to do some shopping in the late morning before taking her in for her next round of shots and such. Then we pretty much came home and made ready for the "6:59er" pot luck at church. There we ate, sang carols and I danced with Miriam until she fell and broke her pelvis. Yes, it's all fun and games until somebody falls and breaks a pelvis.
Yesterday I did my monthly volunteering at the Soup Kitchen before I went to work. Once there, Diane was telling me about how I would be putting away stuff from Wednesday's truck - until Vinnie reminded her of three pending deliveries. So I loaded the van and set out on my first solo delivery adventure. I only made two wrong turns, which I thought was a pretty good first try. The last stop was where Jim Snyder works. He was on the search committee that brought us here, and he's a mover and shaker with the Community Theatre. He was standing right there when I brought in the stuff. "Well," he said, "you're in the history books now. You took down Miriam."
SO! Today I must must must get to work on my critters! The ox head needs much more papier mache, and the donkey flats need to be cut out and painted and assembled into a double-sided rolling donkey. Enough ruminating, I must get fabricating!
After church and the congregation's annual meeting, we returned home to find a high ridge of snow across the driveway entrance, plus about four inches of new snow. I "snew blew" again. Carmen backed into the garage, and the front wheel drive had trouble pushing the RAV4 over the packed snow left by the thrower. I also had to push. So I got out the snow shovel and scraped the driveway and sidewalk down to bare concrete. The whole neighborhood was out shoveling and operating snow removal machines. We bonded.
By Sunday evening I had drawn the outline of the donkey flats for the Christmas pageant and had it approved by the director/ producer/ minister. Snow was still pouring out of the sky when we went to bed.
Monday morning I snew blew and scraped again before Carmen set out for work, salting more for traction than for any hope of keeping them clear. I looked at the walkway from the front sidewalk up the steps and around the grassy knoll to the front porch. There were deep depressions in it from the newspaper delivery to inside the front storm door that morning. I felt bad for him and the postal person, but the path could not be cleared of its foot of snow by a Sno-Thro, and would take a long time with twentieth century wide-thing-on-a-stick technology - more time than I had. I got Carmen off to work, showered, changed and got myself off to work.
You'll remember I had some trepidation about working with Vinnie. Well, we had a fine day together. He imparted a lot of his hard-won wisdom about the job, and was very patient with my nearly complete lack of knowledge.
By the end of my workday Monday, the parking lot in front of the store was in need of a touch-up, so I snow shoveled the critical areas (as outlined by my buddy Vinnie) before I went home to start again on the critical areas at the house. I saw no evidence that anyone had muscled through the foot and a half of snow to the porch. No mail today. I guessed I'd better get it cleared. And yes, it did take a long time. Once again, I salted all areas for traction. Carmen had no trouble backing in.Tuesday morning was the same routine. I blew and scraped for almost an hour, showered and changed for work, and shoveled the parking lot at the store. Snow was still pouring. Back home, same thing. Seven solid days of snow dumping on us, and still going.
Wednesday morning I got started earlier than usual. The plumber was coming at 8:00 to (FINALLY !) hook up the sink and toilet upstairs. When I looked outside I went into shock! There was nothing falling from the sky. So I scraped and salted the concrete surfaces as usual, then dug a trench across the back yard to Cheryl's back door. I hadn't been in to check on things in well over a week. All was well. I figured, while I was there, I'd read her gas meter, since she had asked me for a reading every month since September. So I came back, got out of my snowy boots and such, and wrote Cheryl an email describing my care of her sidewalk and my report on the gas reading etc. While I was attaching pictures to the email, I saw my inbox gain a "1" indicating that a new message had come in. So I sent the one to Cheryl, and the inbox appeared complete with a message from Cheryl asking me to "tunnel over to the house and get a gas meter reading." I thought it was funny, anyway. Oh, and by then it had started snowing AGAIN!
Wednesday at work was all about deliveries. The truck came in as I approached - Wednesday is its usual day - and there are usually items on the truck that customers have been waiting for, so Wednesday afternoon is pretty much a deliveries kind of day. I'm pretty much the delivery boy. So, Vinnie and I got things sorted out for four deliveries, loaded the van and were ready to go by 2:00. We set out into the pouring snow, and immediately blew off the delivery deep into Amish country many miles away. We got stuck in the first place we went, sacrificing a sand bag to the traction gods. The second place I never would have found on my own - a huge industrial complex out in the hinterlands. Vinnie had to call the guy to find out where we needed to go. The third place was the Red Lobster restaurant near the Walmart, where a contractor was working. There were some things Diane needed from Staples right nearby, and the last stop was at the Valu Home Center for more sandbags. Winter, after all, has only just begun.
Wednesday evening was snow blowing and shoveling again. That night, the snow stopped, and to date, I have not shoveled anything since Thursday morning - that's forty eight whole hours now!
Thursday we both had days off. I loaded and ran the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen. Carmen started work on her Sunday sermon. Our little girl Lucia had a vet appointment at 1:30, so we dashed out to do some shopping in the late morning before taking her in for her next round of shots and such. Then we pretty much came home and made ready for the "6:59er" pot luck at church. There we ate, sang carols and I danced with Miriam until she fell and broke her pelvis. Yes, it's all fun and games until somebody falls and breaks a pelvis.
Yesterday I did my monthly volunteering at the Soup Kitchen before I went to work. Once there, Diane was telling me about how I would be putting away stuff from Wednesday's truck - until Vinnie reminded her of three pending deliveries. So I loaded the van and set out on my first solo delivery adventure. I only made two wrong turns, which I thought was a pretty good first try. The last stop was where Jim Snyder works. He was on the search committee that brought us here, and he's a mover and shaker with the Community Theatre. He was standing right there when I brought in the stuff. "Well," he said, "you're in the history books now. You took down Miriam."
SO! Today I must must must get to work on my critters! The ox head needs much more papier mache, and the donkey flats need to be cut out and painted and assembled into a double-sided rolling donkey. Enough ruminating, I must get fabricating!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Family Dynamics
Cats love to play. Professor Remus J. Lupin is no exception. He loves it when I chase him through the house. He loves it when the belly rub morphs into a wrestling match. W-e-e-e-l-l-l there is one thing that loves to play even more than a cat, and that's a kitten. Getting ReLu a kitten has turned out to be an excellent move.
I have already mentioned the thundering hoofbeats throughout the house these days. They wrestle, they play the chair game and the door game. Now they have started curling up to sleep together, and they've even been observed licking each other's heads.
Lucia (some folks calls her Pickles) loves Carmen more than she loves me. For one thing, I don't make myself available for her to snuggle with. The main reason for this kitten was to have a cat that likes Carmen. That also worked out well. She'll come to me in a pinch, but she'll go right to Carmen if the opportunity presents itself.
So a tiny little black and white girl kitty hath wrought great changes in our household. Long may she wave.
I have already mentioned the thundering hoofbeats throughout the house these days. They wrestle, they play the chair game and the door game. Now they have started curling up to sleep together, and they've even been observed licking each other's heads.
Lucia (some folks calls her Pickles) loves Carmen more than she loves me. For one thing, I don't make myself available for her to snuggle with. The main reason for this kitten was to have a cat that likes Carmen. That also worked out well. She'll come to me in a pinch, but she'll go right to Carmen if the opportunity presents itself.
So a tiny little black and white girl kitty hath wrought great changes in our household. Long may she wave.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Change Of Life
I worked four half days this week. Hell, I worked a lot more hours during more days when we were busy at Albuquerque Little Theatre. But there I was a volunteer, doing exactly what I wanted to do and no more. It's very different having an actual job, where the boss is boss and I am the part time new guy nobody. And there's a lot I have to learn before I'll be an asset to the company.
There's a lot of computer work. It was a good thing that I spent so much of my unemployed time on my computer, so that learning curve is shorter. Our time clock is the store computer system. There are training CD ROMs to plow through part of each day. The bulk of the paint mixing is computerized. All of the sales are entered into the computer. Any delivery that includes hazardous materials has to have a bill of lading that includes every item being delivered, and the computer generates that as well. I have an idea that I'll be doing most of the deliveries. I delivered to three places on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning I gathered up all the trash and took it out to the dumpster. In the afternoon I swept, mopped and vacuumed the store before I left. Any day now I'll be cleaning the bathrooms.
Thursday afternoon Diane (the manager) took me around the store and talked about the ptoduct information on the display fixtures ("You don't need to memorize all of this if you know where to find it.") Then she started talking about her plans to rearrange the store and modify some displays - "Now you're talking my language!" I said.
Anyway, I'm happy to have a job and so far I like everybody I work with. The assistant manager, Vinnie, was on vacation this week. He's the one who tried to scare me away when I was applying for the job. I anticipate some challenges on Monday when he is back. That's okay, I've had challenges before.
The real losers have been the kitties. ReLu has had me home all day most of the time for a year and a half. Poor baby, no-one to pester for food for three hours every afternoon. And the blogs are suffering as well.
We'll get over it.
There's a lot of computer work. It was a good thing that I spent so much of my unemployed time on my computer, so that learning curve is shorter. Our time clock is the store computer system. There are training CD ROMs to plow through part of each day. The bulk of the paint mixing is computerized. All of the sales are entered into the computer. Any delivery that includes hazardous materials has to have a bill of lading that includes every item being delivered, and the computer generates that as well. I have an idea that I'll be doing most of the deliveries. I delivered to three places on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning I gathered up all the trash and took it out to the dumpster. In the afternoon I swept, mopped and vacuumed the store before I left. Any day now I'll be cleaning the bathrooms.
Thursday afternoon Diane (the manager) took me around the store and talked about the ptoduct information on the display fixtures ("You don't need to memorize all of this if you know where to find it.") Then she started talking about her plans to rearrange the store and modify some displays - "Now you're talking my language!" I said.
Anyway, I'm happy to have a job and so far I like everybody I work with. The assistant manager, Vinnie, was on vacation this week. He's the one who tried to scare me away when I was applying for the job. I anticipate some challenges on Monday when he is back. That's okay, I've had challenges before.
The real losers have been the kitties. ReLu has had me home all day most of the time for a year and a half. Poor baby, no-one to pester for food for three hours every afternoon. And the blogs are suffering as well.
We'll get over it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
