About a month ago, MAWA came to the house. Meadville Area Water Authority wanted to install a new meter in our basement that can be read from outside, eliminating the occasional necessity of being allowed in for readings. Carmen was kind of hinky about it, but let them in anyway. They installed their meter and left.
A couple of weeks later, we got a letter from MAWA in the mail. Our plumbing, it seems, is not up to snuff. They require a backflow preventer, and a shut-off before and after the meter. So I looked at the installation and ascertained that I needed a backflow preventer and a shut-off after the meter, and that it was all threaded connections I could deal with myself. So I went to The Home Depot and bought my parts, then commenced to attempt installation.
W e e e e l l l l - the valve before the meter would not shut off the water, only cut the flow in half, and to replace that would get into soldering and sweating and stuff I have no clue how to do. So I began the long process of coaxing our plumbers, who did the work on the upstairs bathroom (and still have not billed us for it) to come do the job of replacing and installing the valves. They finally returned my calls on Wednesday and showed up Thursday. They looked at the situation and ascertained that the water needed to be turned off at the street to replace the faulty valve, and while we were at it, the copper pipe leading from the basement floor entrance to the faulty valve is corroded and needs to be replaced as well. We went out to the curb and searched in vain for the shut-off valve out there.
I called MAWA and they vowed to send out a representative to shut off the water the next morning. Lo and behold, he was there bright and early. It took him about fifteen minutes to find the spot with his handy dandy metal detector. The plumbers arrived just as the MAWA guy had ascertained that the access to the valve is bent and broken and needs to be replaced before the water can be shut off. He marked the location clearly with two colors of spray paint, and vowed that it would be replaced in three days, which I took to mean Wednesday, since it was Friday at the time. The plumbers will do their work while this magic is being done, they say.
I am waiting with great anticipation to see what additional worms crawl out of this can that opened when Carmen allowed the meter replacement. It's a beautiful new meter, though.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Thaw
It's forty degrees here in Meadville, Pennsylvania. It has been above freezing for a day and a half, and the world outside is melting. Of course, there is still over a foot of snow out there, so the melting will take a good while - unless it rains like it did over new years weekend. But the driveway and sidewalk are clear of snow and ice. The furnace is taking a well-deserved break after the minus fifteens of January, and the basement is returning to the wetness of spring, summer and fall. It's always something.
It's Valentine's Day. I found a beautiful card that plays "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke, one of Carmen's top 1,000 favorite songs (I know because I recently loaded it onto her new MP3 player.) The surprise was that our little girl Lucia (Little LuLu Two Claws) was fascinated by it. She ran back and forth over it, under it and through it, trying to find whatever was making that strange sound coming from the card. Left alone, she would have dug into the secret chamber and pulled the chip out - I know because she tried. The card had to be put out of her reach, like so many other "cat toys."
It's my day off this week as well. That means that after Friday, Saturday and Sunday being pretty much church-related busy-ness, and Saturday evening digging out of a six inch snowfall, I can do my laundry and clean the house today. Woo hoo! Look out, kitties, here comes the Kirby vacuum!
It's Valentine's Day. I found a beautiful card that plays "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke, one of Carmen's top 1,000 favorite songs (I know because I recently loaded it onto her new MP3 player.) The surprise was that our little girl Lucia (Little LuLu Two Claws) was fascinated by it. She ran back and forth over it, under it and through it, trying to find whatever was making that strange sound coming from the card. Left alone, she would have dug into the secret chamber and pulled the chip out - I know because she tried. The card had to be put out of her reach, like so many other "cat toys."
It's my day off this week as well. That means that after Friday, Saturday and Sunday being pretty much church-related busy-ness, and Saturday evening digging out of a six inch snowfall, I can do my laundry and clean the house today. Woo hoo! Look out, kitties, here comes the Kirby vacuum!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Discoveries
I grind coffee beans with a manual grinder. I hate the blade grinder because it grinds a quarter of the beans to dust and completely misses a lot of beans, no matter what I try. Dust is no good, because we use a percolator. We bought a "burr grinder" but the motor burned up in a month. I asked for the manual job, because I know the motor won't burn up. SO! When I load the hopper, I sometimes drop a bean or two. This morning, Lucia ran over to it, ready to soccer dribble it all over the house, but first she sniffed it. She must not have liked the smell, because she began pawing the floor to drag imaginary dirt over the tiny little turd I dropped.
Next on the list of new discoveries is the mouse cursor arrow/hand on my computer screen. Lucia will hang out, as long as I'll let her, in front of my monitor, chasing that little sucker around the screen. Sometimes she scores a direct hit, lifts her paw and it's not there! What the heck?!
Under discoveries yet to come, I must assume that our little girl, who is now over twice as big as she was when she came, is going to learn a hard lesson about jumping up onto our glass cooktop. One of these days it's not going to be as cool as it has been every time she has jumped up there so far.
And speaking of heat, she has finally learned that Carmen's side of the bed has the electric blanket turned on. Now that was the best discovery of all.
Next on the list of new discoveries is the mouse cursor arrow/hand on my computer screen. Lucia will hang out, as long as I'll let her, in front of my monitor, chasing that little sucker around the screen. Sometimes she scores a direct hit, lifts her paw and it's not there! What the heck?!
Under discoveries yet to come, I must assume that our little girl, who is now over twice as big as she was when she came, is going to learn a hard lesson about jumping up onto our glass cooktop. One of these days it's not going to be as cool as it has been every time she has jumped up there so far.
And speaking of heat, she has finally learned that Carmen's side of the bed has the electric blanket turned on. Now that was the best discovery of all.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Corollary
We went to a dinner and celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King this evening. The featured speaker was a third grade teacher at Meadville Elementary. Her main point was that, as far as we've come, the work is not finished - and no matter how much farther we go, our work will never be finished. Humans being humans, there will always be forces intent on taking away the rights of others. She likened it to the Meadville snow: "Our sidewalks will never be so clear that we can ever stop shoveling." Amen.
White Blues
The sun came out this morning and has been shining pretty much all day. Of course, it snowed all day yesterday and most of the night, so there was still shoveling to be done. When it actually stops snowing for any length of time, I like to get out there and scrape down to bare concrete. Then I can actually see bare concrete for minutes, even possibly hours at a time before it starts snowing again. It's very disheartening to snowblow and shovel for an hour, only to find that it's all covered again before I even get the tools put away.
The warm rainy weather we had over New Years weekend melted all but the deepest heaps and plow ridges, leaving the world suddenly green. There was great rejoicing for a day - before the snow started again and everything was six inches deep in white by Tuesday.
When I look out the window and see flakes falling, I see more shoveling, more flakes in the face while walking to work, and basically being unpleasant outdoors. People tell me it will stop doing this eventually. Yay.
The warm rainy weather we had over New Years weekend melted all but the deepest heaps and plow ridges, leaving the world suddenly green. There was great rejoicing for a day - before the snow started again and everything was six inches deep in white by Tuesday.
When I look out the window and see flakes falling, I see more shoveling, more flakes in the face while walking to work, and basically being unpleasant outdoors. People tell me it will stop doing this eventually. Yay.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Another Year Older And Deeper In Debt
Got up extra early today, not because I wanted my birthday to last longer, but because it had been snowing all night and I knew I needed to snowblow and shovel in addition to getting myself out the door for work and getting Carmen out the door for work. This week I have been starting at 11:00 instead of 12:00, which means starting my launch sequence at 9:45 instead of 10:45. After tomorrow I'm off Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday!
Friday is Soup Kitchen at 10:00 am until 12:30 or so. Saturday is working on the set at the Community Theatre. Sunday is church. Monday? Don't know yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll be at least shoveling snow on several of those days. Probably busting out the snowblower once or twice as well. If I'm going to be deeper in debt, I'm glad it's a snowblower I bought.
Cats are still the same. Shovel the food in, shovel the litter out. The great circle of life.
A lot of my time these days is spent shoveling.
Friday is Soup Kitchen at 10:00 am until 12:30 or so. Saturday is working on the set at the Community Theatre. Sunday is church. Monday? Don't know yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll be at least shoveling snow on several of those days. Probably busting out the snowblower once or twice as well. If I'm going to be deeper in debt, I'm glad it's a snowblower I bought.
Cats are still the same. Shovel the food in, shovel the litter out. The great circle of life.
A lot of my time these days is spent shoveling.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
You Can Get Anything You Want...
As I approached my local Sherwin Williams store yesterday, I noticed a Meadville's Finest Police car in the parking lot. Buying paint? Maybe. Then the officer came out the door and walked around to the side of the building. Hmmm.
I went inside, not stamping snow off my shoes for the first time ever in that store, and asked "Did we have a break-in or something?" W - e - e - l - l - l . . . It turned out that someone had come in the night with fourteen bags of garbage and dumped it - not IN the dumpster, which might have gone unnoticed, but in FRONT of the dumpster, which couldn't possibly go unnoticed.
I already had the guitar licks of "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, In Four Part Harmony And Full Orchestration" going through my head, when Officer Opie came back in with an envelope bearing the name and address of the alleged perpetrator of the biggest crime of the last fifty years. It was a Government Housing address, and the letter was a notice that the Government was sending an Inspector to said address. Evidently, the perp didn't want the inspector to see the half ton of garbage in said Government Housing. The officer (not really Opie) then went to said address to inform said perp that he'd found the envelope at the bottom of a half ton of garbage. "Yessir, Officer Opie, I cannot tell a lie. I put that envelope under that garbage."
CSI Meadville!
I went inside, not stamping snow off my shoes for the first time ever in that store, and asked "Did we have a break-in or something?" W - e - e - l - l - l . . . It turned out that someone had come in the night with fourteen bags of garbage and dumped it - not IN the dumpster, which might have gone unnoticed, but in FRONT of the dumpster, which couldn't possibly go unnoticed.
I already had the guitar licks of "The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, In Four Part Harmony And Full Orchestration" going through my head, when Officer Opie came back in with an envelope bearing the name and address of the alleged perpetrator of the biggest crime of the last fifty years. It was a Government Housing address, and the letter was a notice that the Government was sending an Inspector to said address. Evidently, the perp didn't want the inspector to see the half ton of garbage in said Government Housing. The officer (not really Opie) then went to said address to inform said perp that he'd found the envelope at the bottom of a half ton of garbage. "Yessir, Officer Opie, I cannot tell a lie. I put that envelope under that garbage."
CSI Meadville!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2010 - Year Of The Geezer
It's a darn good thing nobody reads this stuff, or I'd be in big trouble. Last Monday I promised I'd write this in a couple of days. Well, guess what - I didn't. I could make up a long string of excuses for you, but the truth is much more easily swallowed: I just didn't feel like it.
So here we are on Jon Hondorp's favorite day of the year, the day after all of the madness ends and the world gets back to normal. It's a good day for a grinch like me, too. For those of you keeping score, Jon was a part owner of Mystic Scenic Studios in Norwood, Massachusetts until he was asked to leave in the spring of 2007. He started up his own shop in Somerville, and for three months in 2009, while I was laid off from Mystic, I worked for Jon. But that's another story. I'll eventually get there over at "The Business Of Show."
The year began in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a major phase of my transition to geezerdom. I was basically confined to my bed and my recliner with a deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. Blood clots. I was tethered to my oxygen concentrator for my lung and keeping my left leg elevated. I was taking anti-coagulants and being hauled to the hospital every couple of weeks to have my blood tested for its coagulation factor. And the most telling sign of geezerdom: I started wearing a compression stocking on my left lower leg.
Meanwhile, we were following up on my admission that I probably did have some hearing loss ater twenty five years of loud power tools every day. Once I was off the oxygen, we made an appointment with Sandia Hearing Aids to pound the final nail into my geezerly status. Starting at the top, I now had a bald head with a fringe of greying hair, trifocal glasses, two hearing aids, a compression stocking and orthotic arch supports in my shoes. I was reminded of Allan Sherman's parody "Second Hand Nose" "...I'll melt the girls' hearts. They can't resist a man with interchangeable parts..."
Meanwhile, Carmen was deep into the search process, exchanging information packets with congregations looking for ministers, having phone interviews, and flying to far flung destinations to "precandidate" with congregations. The three finalists were: London, Ontario; Brighton, Michigan; and Meadville, Pennsylvania - all very much a part of the Lake Erie lake effect snow belt. We were destined to buy a snow blower. Part of the search process is that there is a time and date at which it is permissable for the congregations to call their choices. At the proscribed time, all three lines into the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque lit up simultaneously. London, Brighton and Meadville all called Carmen as their first choice to be their candidate. Carmen chose Meadville, and broke the hearts of the other two search committees.
So, in April we flew to Erie and drove a rental car to Meadville. Carmen had events scheduled nearly every day during the ten days she was here, and I had some as well. The second day here we were hauled all over town by a realtor, looking at about fourteen houses that met our criteria - three bedrooms and two bathrooms being the lion's share of criteria. Late in the afternoon we made an offer on a house very close to the church, and by Sunday afternoon we had a signed contract. On Monday evening we had it inspected, and by the time I drove back to Erie airport on Wednesday morning, the mortgage was in motion. I was going home alone to take care of the kitties.
Also on Sunday, the Albuquerque congregation had a special meeting at which they decided to be Carmen's ordaining congregation.
The following Sunday, after Carmen's second Sunday sermon. the Meadville congregation voted to call Carmen as their next minister, starting in August. Suddenly we had a firm destination and a definite time frame. I started calling moving companies and assembling boxes.
During May I did a lot of work at Albuquerque Little Theatre mounting "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas", for which they paid me a small stipend. At the beginning of June, my previous employers in Orlando, FX Group, were installing a news set in Albuquerque, and I got myself on board for two days of the install before people began arriving from all over the country for the Ordination on June 6th.
During the rest of June I was packing and organizing while Carmen was elevated to Assistant Minister for a month at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. Her last day was Sunday, July fourth. That night, the whole country celebrated with fireworks.
On Monday the fifth, Shyanne Moving Company came and loaded nearly all of our stuff on a semi trailer, and on Tuesday the sixth, we loaded our two kitties and a Rav4 load of stuff and set out for Pennsylvania, stopping for the night in Oklahoma City, St Louis and Columbus. The Gospel Of Rand McNally contains the details of that adventure.
So Friday afternoon we entered our newly acquired house and discovered that the three / two house we bought was really still a two / one - the seller had not even come close to finishing the work he was doing converting the attic into a "master suite." We opened an account at the Home Depot. So from mid-July until mid-October, my task was to finish the upstairs so that it could serve as Carmen's sanctum, and build fourteen foot wide by seven foot tall bookcases for the living room, to accomodate most of the 120 boxes of books we moved to Meadville. In Mid-December, the plumber finally came and hooked up our toilet and sink upstairs, and work on the house was pretty much done.
In mid-September our little girl Yin died and we were very very sad. Then in mid-November a little black and white kitten came to live with us, and she's a major source of joy and laughter. Even grumpy old Remus Lupin is in love with Lucia. OH - and the latest Lucia news: two of her declawed claws grew back! Her Indian name is "Little LuLu Two Claws"
But the huge news: after a year and a half of diligent searching, I finally landed a job as "part time sales associate" at Sherwin Williams in downtown Meadville - in walking distance ! ! ! I am the delivery geezer, driving the van all over northwestern Pennsylvania and even into the wilderness of Ohio. If nothing else, The Gospel Of Rand McNally will benefit from this development.
Carmen's first Christmas season went well. I made another ox head for another Christmas pageant, as well as a donkey. Her Christmas Eve service went very well. And - you won't believe it - she has had many days off since Christmas Eve, and she has spent most of that time... wait for it... relaxing! Tomorrow she is back to work with evenings booked as well nearly every night this week. She's a busy girl, that girl.
So I guess that's it. A very busy, very eventful year has drawn to a close, and so must this post.
So here we are on Jon Hondorp's favorite day of the year, the day after all of the madness ends and the world gets back to normal. It's a good day for a grinch like me, too. For those of you keeping score, Jon was a part owner of Mystic Scenic Studios in Norwood, Massachusetts until he was asked to leave in the spring of 2007. He started up his own shop in Somerville, and for three months in 2009, while I was laid off from Mystic, I worked for Jon. But that's another story. I'll eventually get there over at "The Business Of Show."
The year began in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a major phase of my transition to geezerdom. I was basically confined to my bed and my recliner with a deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism. Blood clots. I was tethered to my oxygen concentrator for my lung and keeping my left leg elevated. I was taking anti-coagulants and being hauled to the hospital every couple of weeks to have my blood tested for its coagulation factor. And the most telling sign of geezerdom: I started wearing a compression stocking on my left lower leg.
Meanwhile, we were following up on my admission that I probably did have some hearing loss ater twenty five years of loud power tools every day. Once I was off the oxygen, we made an appointment with Sandia Hearing Aids to pound the final nail into my geezerly status. Starting at the top, I now had a bald head with a fringe of greying hair, trifocal glasses, two hearing aids, a compression stocking and orthotic arch supports in my shoes. I was reminded of Allan Sherman's parody "Second Hand Nose" "...I'll melt the girls' hearts. They can't resist a man with interchangeable parts..."
Meanwhile, Carmen was deep into the search process, exchanging information packets with congregations looking for ministers, having phone interviews, and flying to far flung destinations to "precandidate" with congregations. The three finalists were: London, Ontario; Brighton, Michigan; and Meadville, Pennsylvania - all very much a part of the Lake Erie lake effect snow belt. We were destined to buy a snow blower. Part of the search process is that there is a time and date at which it is permissable for the congregations to call their choices. At the proscribed time, all three lines into the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque lit up simultaneously. London, Brighton and Meadville all called Carmen as their first choice to be their candidate. Carmen chose Meadville, and broke the hearts of the other two search committees.
So, in April we flew to Erie and drove a rental car to Meadville. Carmen had events scheduled nearly every day during the ten days she was here, and I had some as well. The second day here we were hauled all over town by a realtor, looking at about fourteen houses that met our criteria - three bedrooms and two bathrooms being the lion's share of criteria. Late in the afternoon we made an offer on a house very close to the church, and by Sunday afternoon we had a signed contract. On Monday evening we had it inspected, and by the time I drove back to Erie airport on Wednesday morning, the mortgage was in motion. I was going home alone to take care of the kitties.
Also on Sunday, the Albuquerque congregation had a special meeting at which they decided to be Carmen's ordaining congregation.
The following Sunday, after Carmen's second Sunday sermon. the Meadville congregation voted to call Carmen as their next minister, starting in August. Suddenly we had a firm destination and a definite time frame. I started calling moving companies and assembling boxes.
During May I did a lot of work at Albuquerque Little Theatre mounting "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas", for which they paid me a small stipend. At the beginning of June, my previous employers in Orlando, FX Group, were installing a news set in Albuquerque, and I got myself on board for two days of the install before people began arriving from all over the country for the Ordination on June 6th.
During the rest of June I was packing and organizing while Carmen was elevated to Assistant Minister for a month at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. Her last day was Sunday, July fourth. That night, the whole country celebrated with fireworks.
On Monday the fifth, Shyanne Moving Company came and loaded nearly all of our stuff on a semi trailer, and on Tuesday the sixth, we loaded our two kitties and a Rav4 load of stuff and set out for Pennsylvania, stopping for the night in Oklahoma City, St Louis and Columbus. The Gospel Of Rand McNally contains the details of that adventure.
So Friday afternoon we entered our newly acquired house and discovered that the three / two house we bought was really still a two / one - the seller had not even come close to finishing the work he was doing converting the attic into a "master suite." We opened an account at the Home Depot. So from mid-July until mid-October, my task was to finish the upstairs so that it could serve as Carmen's sanctum, and build fourteen foot wide by seven foot tall bookcases for the living room, to accomodate most of the 120 boxes of books we moved to Meadville. In Mid-December, the plumber finally came and hooked up our toilet and sink upstairs, and work on the house was pretty much done.
In mid-September our little girl Yin died and we were very very sad. Then in mid-November a little black and white kitten came to live with us, and she's a major source of joy and laughter. Even grumpy old Remus Lupin is in love with Lucia. OH - and the latest Lucia news: two of her declawed claws grew back! Her Indian name is "Little LuLu Two Claws"
But the huge news: after a year and a half of diligent searching, I finally landed a job as "part time sales associate" at Sherwin Williams in downtown Meadville - in walking distance ! ! ! I am the delivery geezer, driving the van all over northwestern Pennsylvania and even into the wilderness of Ohio. If nothing else, The Gospel Of Rand McNally will benefit from this development.
Carmen's first Christmas season went well. I made another ox head for another Christmas pageant, as well as a donkey. Her Christmas Eve service went very well. And - you won't believe it - she has had many days off since Christmas Eve, and she has spent most of that time... wait for it... relaxing! Tomorrow she is back to work with evenings booked as well nearly every night this week. She's a busy girl, that girl.
So I guess that's it. A very busy, very eventful year has drawn to a close, and so must this post.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Something New
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.
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 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.
Monday, November 29, 2010
A Long Time
If you had told me any of this on June 11th, 2009, I would have scoffed heartily. I mean, I knew that we were in the throes of the worst economic meltdown ever, but I was sure that, with the help of members of the Albuquerque congregation, I would find a job somewhere doing something. The pay rate or the tasks expected of me were not an issue. Distance was an issue but not an insurmountable one. If I found a good enough job that required me to buy a car, I would have bought a car.
So a year went by. I was an extra on Breaking Bad for a day. I was an extra on Crash 2 for a day. I was paid a stipend for my work on White Christmas at Albuquerque Little Theatre. I worked two days on a museum exhibit for the Albuquerque Museum of History and Science.
Then I had my deep vein thrombosis - five days in the hospital, a month on oxygen - and then it was February. There were five months left in Albuquerque before we moved again. I was an extra on In Plain Sight. I was paid a stipend for my work on The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Then in June I was able to work two days, with the company I worked for in Ocoee, Florida for nine years, doing an installation at a TV station in Albuquerque. That's it for one year.
In mid-July we came to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where the house we bought required a LOT of work. But once that work was pretty near completion, I poured on the steam to find a job.
Today I begin my new job, starting work for the first time since June of 2009. I'm a little nervous about it. Is that normal? I forget.
So a year went by. I was an extra on Breaking Bad for a day. I was an extra on Crash 2 for a day. I was paid a stipend for my work on White Christmas at Albuquerque Little Theatre. I worked two days on a museum exhibit for the Albuquerque Museum of History and Science.
Then I had my deep vein thrombosis - five days in the hospital, a month on oxygen - and then it was February. There were five months left in Albuquerque before we moved again. I was an extra on In Plain Sight. I was paid a stipend for my work on The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Then in June I was able to work two days, with the company I worked for in Ocoee, Florida for nine years, doing an installation at a TV station in Albuquerque. That's it for one year.
In mid-July we came to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where the house we bought required a LOT of work. But once that work was pretty near completion, I poured on the steam to find a job.
Today I begin my new job, starting work for the first time since June of 2009. I'm a little nervous about it. Is that normal? I forget.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving
My boy didn't wake me up until after five this morning (yesterday it was 2:30.) I fed the kids in our new style. Before Yin died, I used to feed Remus in a separate room, to prevent him from bullying Yin out of the way and eating her food before eating his. For a couple of months we got used to feeding in the regular food dish location. Yesterday morning, Lucia (Aunt Karen calls her Pickles) came nosing around the canned food distribution operation, so I scooped out some for her. She gobbled it up, then went after Professor Lupin's dish. He cast me a wounded look and walked away. I grabbed his dish from Lucia and put it in the separate room, and here I am again with two separate feeding stations, for the opposite reason. The good part is, Lucia doesn't take very long to eat, and neither does Remus. I let the boy out and went back to bed for a few more hours.
We awoke to thundering hoofbeats. Lucia and Remus were chasing each other from one end of the house to the other, up the stairs, one end to the other up there, back down the stairs and around again. They really seem to have fun together when they are both in the mood to play.
My next gig was to get the percolator going and make breakfast - 0atmeal for her, peanut butter sammich for me - then start cleaning the kitchen. We have company coming from western Massachusetts tomorrow. Then we called and talked to my mommy and daddy in the Georgia mountains while I loaded sixteen more Lucia pictures onto my computer and posted them on Facebook.
A shower and a change of clothes got us ready to drive ten miles north to Cambridge Springs for Thanksgiving dinner at The Riverside Inn there beside the river. It was good, and somebody else cooked and cleaned up which made it even better. So now the kitties are fed for the night, and my Neal Stephenson book is calling my name.
That is what I am thankful for today.
We awoke to thundering hoofbeats. Lucia and Remus were chasing each other from one end of the house to the other, up the stairs, one end to the other up there, back down the stairs and around again. They really seem to have fun together when they are both in the mood to play.
My next gig was to get the percolator going and make breakfast - 0atmeal for her, peanut butter sammich for me - then start cleaning the kitchen. We have company coming from western Massachusetts tomorrow. Then we called and talked to my mommy and daddy in the Georgia mountains while I loaded sixteen more Lucia pictures onto my computer and posted them on Facebook.
A shower and a change of clothes got us ready to drive ten miles north to Cambridge Springs for Thanksgiving dinner at The Riverside Inn there beside the river. It was good, and somebody else cooked and cleaned up which made it even better. So now the kitties are fed for the night, and my Neal Stephenson book is calling my name.
That is what I am thankful for today.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Whole World Is A Toy
I knew this. It has always been thus. A kitten comes into my life, and suddenly everything in the house is swatted, nudged, pounced on or bitten to see what caliber of toy it is. Lucia has swatted the floor to see if it will skitter away for chasing purposes. Furniture, windows, doors, cabinets - none of them make very good toys.
We did have one calamity this morning. Even without claws, (her previous humans had her hands ruined) she can leap up onto the high backs of our dining room chairs. Fifteen pound Professor Remus John Lupin saw her do it and tried leaping up there his own damn self. The resulting crash of the chair careening over backward scared the living crap out of all four mammals in the house early this morning.
Yes, Remus has stooped so low as to actually play with our new little girl on rare occasions. She chases him through the house, attacks his tail, and plays the chair game with him between naps. With her boundless energy and his massive bulk, I can see how walking into the house after work is going to be an adventure every day for a while.
We did have one calamity this morning. Even without claws, (her previous humans had her hands ruined) she can leap up onto the high backs of our dining room chairs. Fifteen pound Professor Remus John Lupin saw her do it and tried leaping up there his own damn self. The resulting crash of the chair careening over backward scared the living crap out of all four mammals in the house early this morning.
Yes, Remus has stooped so low as to actually play with our new little girl on rare occasions. She chases him through the house, attacks his tail, and plays the chair game with him between naps. With her boundless energy and his massive bulk, I can see how walking into the house after work is going to be an adventure every day for a while.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Back To Basics
"Confessions Of A Cat Juggler" started out with stories of my cats and our cats, and kind of evolved into just an online public diary. W e e e e l l l l. . . as of an hour ago, we begin a new chapter. Her name is Lucia.
When Yin died, she left a big empty space in our lives, especially Carmen's. With Remus as our only kitty, Carmen could never have a lapfull of cat, because, for whatever reason one might conjure, Remus just doesn't like her very much. People heard about our loss, and many knew people with kittens to give away. We resisted for a while, but then last week it was time. When we went to a parishoner's birthday party last Saturday, Carmen met a woman with a kitten she had rescued at three weeks old and nursed to robust health. Problem: she and her husband are going south on a sailing adventure until spring and don't want to take ten week old Lucia along.
This afternoon they brought Lucia over, complete with food and her dish and her large complement of toys. It was obviously very hard for them to give her up, but they stayed with us for a half hour or so and were assured Lucia had entered a cat-friendly household.
Soon after they left, Remus J. Lupin came out to investigate this new arrival. Overcome with curiosity, he slowly approached this tiny little girl. She let out a growl that sounded like a foghorn, followed by a hiss, and Remus backed away. I guess she showed him!
We were hoping a kitten would knock our bratty little boy off of his high horse. I think Lucia has already done it.
When Yin died, she left a big empty space in our lives, especially Carmen's. With Remus as our only kitty, Carmen could never have a lapfull of cat, because, for whatever reason one might conjure, Remus just doesn't like her very much. People heard about our loss, and many knew people with kittens to give away. We resisted for a while, but then last week it was time. When we went to a parishoner's birthday party last Saturday, Carmen met a woman with a kitten she had rescued at three weeks old and nursed to robust health. Problem: she and her husband are going south on a sailing adventure until spring and don't want to take ten week old Lucia along.
This afternoon they brought Lucia over, complete with food and her dish and her large complement of toys. It was obviously very hard for them to give her up, but they stayed with us for a half hour or so and were assured Lucia had entered a cat-friendly household.
Soon after they left, Remus J. Lupin came out to investigate this new arrival. Overcome with curiosity, he slowly approached this tiny little girl. She let out a growl that sounded like a foghorn, followed by a hiss, and Remus backed away. I guess she showed him!
We were hoping a kitten would knock our bratty little boy off of his high horse. I think Lucia has already done it.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
YAAAAAAAY ! ! !
YAAAAAAAAY ! ! !
Sherwin called at 2:55 and offered me a job. A year and a half later.
Sherwin called at 2:55 and offered me a job. A year and a half later.
The Limbo Rock
Today is the fourth cold and rainy day in a row, welcome to northwestern Pennsylvania. The Meadville Tribune classifieds sported zero jobs which I might conceivably fake my way into. The CWDS (Commonwealth Workforce Development System) website has had nothing that I haven't already applied for. The plastic mold assembly/cleaning entry level jobs I applied for last week have been filled, leaving the geezer high and dry. Craigslist has nothing. I even tried the Tribune's employment partner Monster again, despite repeated disappointments at that site - disappointed again. Just like last year, many places advertised UPS seasonal driver helper jobs available here, but just like last year, I jumped through hoop after hoop to the end of their gauntlet only to be informed that there are no positions open in my area. What else can I do? Go door to door in the rain begging for a job? Can you spare a dime?
Yesterday I made myself useful by getting the toilet and vanity as ready as possible for the plumber to do her/his thing and doing a little cosmetic finishing on the throne platform. Last week I did the chicken wire sculpture of my annual ox head for the Christmas play, now waiting for a half gallon of glue for the papier mache skin. I could install plastic over the outside of the french doors, trapping rain water in tight spaces until May or June, but my Spidey sense tells me that drier is better, so wait for a non-rainy day - in May or June?
Limbo. Come on, Sherwin Williams! Rescue me from limbo!
Yesterday I made myself useful by getting the toilet and vanity as ready as possible for the plumber to do her/his thing and doing a little cosmetic finishing on the throne platform. Last week I did the chicken wire sculpture of my annual ox head for the Christmas play, now waiting for a half gallon of glue for the papier mache skin. I could install plastic over the outside of the french doors, trapping rain water in tight spaces until May or June, but my Spidey sense tells me that drier is better, so wait for a non-rainy day - in May or June?
Limbo. Come on, Sherwin Williams! Rescue me from limbo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
