Maybe they want to see you all "sparkly." ;)

infi's system is doing the hokey pokey

Is that what they wanted?

PC LOAD LETTER?

WHAT THE FUCK IS PC LOAD LETTER?

(I got a surprising amount done even with the downtime, but not nearly what I wanted to get done. Ha, and the auditors are here and I had to keep logging Audit Man back in about every half hour.)

I survived. Turned into 58 hours after I went to another job. A 12 hour break and back in the grind for 8 more, a 16 hour break and back into a 24+10 hour session. Life goes on.....

The Bobs! :lol:

I STILL haven't finished the gazillion page form that the government wants me to fill out to attempt to qualify for voc rehab training. I am supposed to list in stunning detail every step I propose to take toward re-training for the next 3 years - I kid you not. I must also include estimates for all costs involved, no matter how great or how small. Hell, the program (through the University of Northern Arizona) hasn't even accepted me yet, nor have they informed me regarding any financial aid I might qualify for. I have been trying to reach the voc rehab worker who is responsible for a population of 30,000 workers or would be workers in my area. Love those budget cuts, especially when they prevent people from getting help to free themselves from Uncle Sam's assistance programs.

I'd like to dump the Colorado legislature out here on the desert all by themselves so they could see up close and personal how much fun it is to make your way in a region of the state that has 13% unemployment and climbing.

The heat wave is here. Today 97 (36C), tomorrow 100 (38C).

That's fine, but what really gets to me is the overnight low temperature of 80 (27C). That's just unreasonable.

We're on...Day 3 or 4? It's pure hell.

Heat indices 110 or higher. One can barely breathe outside. It's so humid that sweat pours off you the second you walk out the door!

I want to go swimming, real swimming in a quarry where the temp isn't artificially kept at body temperature and you may as well take a bath. Cold and clear. Yep. That's what I want.

I feel a little bad. We're dropping my daughter off at camp on Saturday. It's in the mountains, and there's a lake, but there is no AC. I hope it cools down a bit next week. I can imagine her lying in a bunk in a hot stuffy cabin just sweating in the stifling heat.

There are (or at least were as of about 7 years ago) old dorms on the A&M campus here in Texas that still have no air conditioning.

I know it sounds impossible, but you really do get used to it. (And then when you get back, you wonder why in the hell everyone wants to keep the house so cold...) She's going to find herself drinking a lot of water though.

So, I went in for my interview for paper delivery lady this AM. Another hopeful aspirant for the job arrived a bit after I did, so we shot the breeze while we waited. Turned out that he has a family - wife and two small sons - and all he's been able to find around town is a part time job - 20 hours at minimum wage. I felt really bad for him and almost just split to give him a better shot at the job.

But then I thought, "Heck, I'm an old lady with a bad back, and he's a young, strong kid. No contest." So, I went into the interview anyway, since I was already there.

Tell you what - that publishing company is run by a bunch of vultures. They told me up front that it takes 7 hours to deliver all the papers - at least while you're learning the route - but the current delivery guy who is quitting does the whole route in 3 hours.

The paper pays a flat $90.00/week for 3 - 7 hours of work, 4 nights a week. The mileage adds up to about 200 miles/week.

Let's see. If I'm super girl, I only need to work 12 hours/week. My truck gets around 20 mpg which comes to 10 gallons of gas per week if I don't get lost or anything and add extra miles. Gas is roughly $4.00/gal around here, so that's $40.00/wk, leaving me with $50 remaining. $50/12 = $4.17/hour and that's if I can fly through the route like a bat out of hell. As for wear and tear on the truck? Whatever.

This is what happens if you live in a small town with 13% unemployment and in the middle of nowhere. :mad:

There's no help for it. I've got to get it together and move to Durango where they have real jobs that probably even pay the minimum wage. Housing is a bitch, but I could always go camp on the forest service land which is right outside of town.

I have to break my financial impasse SOMEHOW!

ugh, I'm sorry. You like gardening IIRC, can you start up a small plant raising business on the side, maybe? Or something like that?

Yeah, I've considered that although it's kind of late to get a gardening gig going now. No one here would hire me, anyhow. Once again, there would be many more oportunities in Durango. I can also start my own rose business in Durango like what I used to have in the City. It would be a gamble, but I think there's enough money in Durango that I could pull it off.

I've already started packing. If I'm gonna go, it has to be soon. Stupid economy. Stupid Congress. Stupid, dishonest financial jerks.

OK, rant off. :mad2:

Awww....so sorry to hear about the job, Sam. If Durango is better, then move. Ok, I'm just saying that. I hope things will get better soon. :hug:

I'm going on a 300 mile bike ride next week (Chicago to Detroit).

I hope it's going to be cool, with low humidity.


And a tail wind.

Why don't you see if the Durango Community Shelter would take you in for a bit until you get a job?

Hey cool, HLJ! Which route are you taking through Indiana? Maybe I could set up a little Cellar Pep Station for you on your way!

That would be so cool! :)

I don't know - my brother designed the route. We're probably going right under the lake.

We could avoid these triple-digit temperatures if we would just switch to the metric system.

Will you go through Ann Arbor?

Send a fan with her, that's what we did.

when my power went out last week (for four days) I used my silk Oriental fan that I bought for a buck in New Orleans. Best purchase evah.

Musquirt.

So the cafe and all its mini-cafe offspring have those big containers for condiments. Mustard separates, right? So you push the little handle and you get musquirt. It's disgusting. But I don't dare try to shake it, one of the haughty line cooks got mad at me for not showing due respect to the mustard dispenser. He said something about how they don't work right if...to which I replied that maybe they aren't such a great idea, then. At the very least someone could shake it once a day. I've worked in college cafeteria...attention to detail my friends, attention to detail.

I like mustard on chicken tenders. I don't want the Dijon Beijing Relished Mustardo Extraordinaire with Real Peanuts and Barbed Wire. I just want mustard.

Is that what they call a Musquirt Ramble?

Rant, ramble...either works.

No, we'll miss it by about 10 miles.

it's just vinegar and propylene glycol...

I have to go see my glycol in about 45 minutes, now that you mention it.

Well that's bad planning! I woulda brought you beer.....

I'll take excessive heat for 600 Alex.

I could try to convince my brother to take a side trip.

I've barely eaten all week and have not lost a single pound. Not even a part of one. I don't think my metabolism works at all!

Maybe you're dead.

Hmmmm...maybe.

Well, there's the problem. When you don't eat, your body thinks you're starving so it switches to fat-conserving state so you can survive longer. ;) For my body, it usually takes at least a week for me to see any changes.

Yeah I know that. :) It still sux though. You'd think there'd have to be at least one upside to being sick. lol

Thanks Spexx, that was an obvious idea in hindsight, but hadn't occurred to me. We got her a little clip on fan for her bunk bed. It pushes a surprising amount of air, and will be good for me to take to work after she gets back from camp.

This one time, at fanned camp...

I have to delay my camping trip a day because the truck needs new brake pads. Off to the mechanic we go. Grrrrrr! I'm never gonna get outta here!

Better to delay by a day than to end up with no brakes coming down Red Mountain pass.

How does our cafeteria routinely screw up fish?

If it's breaded, the breading is a rubbery lemon-tasting mess.

If it's baked, it has absolutely no flavor at all.

It's fish. How bad can anyone screw up fish?

Meh - fish is pretty easy to screw up.
Says the woman who can make a souffle but didn't get a jacket potato with beans right.

Mass catering is an under-appreciated art.
I see it five days a week in term time and I have to admit I am staggered by what they achieve.
Roast potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings, Goujons, Pies - check.

Anything topped with potato (Cottage Pie, Shepherd's Pie etc) Fail - the fat floats on top - gag.

And they change the veggie meal with no notice.
One of "my" girls was excited to be having cous cous. Oh no you don't. Veggie lasagna instead, which she really didn't like. And our Hindu pupil would sometimes be faced with a veggie substitution that had egg in it - even if he agreed to it, the checkout computer would show he couldn't have it. His parents took to giving him a "snack" (a filled chapatti) in case this happened.

In general they're brilliant though.

Usually they're pretty good. I just will avoid fish dishes from now on.

I worked in the cafeteria in college. Another of my younger self jobs that I loved. We had so much fun, but we worked hard.

Our ladies don''t make the food, it's shipped in from a larger school.
And they work hard and seem to have fun.

I'd be happy to scoff it.
Salad is an option every day and I am (rather stupidly) proud when my munchkins choose a vegetable or salad option. They eat more widely than I did at their age. Then again, our school dinner were teh grim.

I really miss those rectangular pizzas we got in HS. They were so awful they were awesome!

Mildly irritating me today?

Well, it's been building up. I'm supposed to be going on vacation starting on Monday, but it's still kind of up in the air. We're trying to get my father-in-law moved into a nursing home nearby from several states away, and are still going through the application process. I was hoping to have him all situated before heading off on vacation, but he hasn't even finished his application yet. He might not get in, and we might have to look elsewhere. Plus work is getting really busy. I can probably swing getting free for vacation, but I won't be able to relax because so much will be hanging over me while I'm gone.

So I'm thinking of cancelling the trip. I'll know in the next few days. At least everything is easy to cancel. We were just going to visit relatives and go camping and hiking. The kids will be disappointed though.

Maybe I'll just postpone it or shorten it or something. I don't like it when I'm not able to control my plans.

If you can minimize your stress, do it. Sometimes vacation is not a vacation at all.

For instance, in my case, the cost of the vacation adds stress that lasts longer than the memory of the pleasure it gives. I really hate that.

the world only rides on your shoulders if you let it Glatt !!!!!
Work wise , if this was scheduled in advance , Take the time !!!!!
If nothing else Help Dads get settled

Maybe by Monday, you'll know what you can accomplish. I'm wishing for you some fun. If even a little.

Students, and the English language. Not a good mix.

There are three ways of spelling words that sound like whether. You wrote the word twice, and managed to use both wrong spellings.

And I'm not allowed to be sarcastic in this job.

I'm not sure weather the whether will be favourable tomorrow or not. ;)

I got a little rash, just *here*

I think it's from the heat.:redface:

So you got a little hasty there while you were in heat, just take your time in the future.

Seriously? Is that in the contract?

Heat.
Bloody heat here.
And humidity.

Bad mix for most people, especially bad for me. Why? Because I suffer the most okay, and I've got a badge to prove it.

Hot, fat, sweaty and on a diet.
And bored. Pissflaps.
Roll on 5th September.

It's finally below 90, but still so humid. It did storm last night which I loved.

Unlike Sundae, I will also bitch loudly when it's snowy, icy, and cold. Some of us (er, me) can't be pleased.