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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. 
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| It just does't want to end. This has been one of those summers I will remember for a long, long time. Not because it was so fun, or filled with so much excitement. No, just the opposite, it was work, all work, and nothing but work. Seven days a week, without a break. The few days I did have off were spent working from home, so not really a day off anyway. Part of the reason is just short on help. Every time we hired someone, another would up and quit. Even that, however, wasn't the biggest problem. No, the problem stems from one person who just didn't want to work in the first place. She started out good, but had some limits on days and times she could work. Of course, it was just temporary, and would soon change. That was the beginning of a summer of lies and deceit. Her hours did change, but not so she could work more, just so they would fit her needs. She wanted to work some mornings, so the schedule changed. But, she could not work any more hours, just different ones. Even so, it would have given me and my wife each a day off. Not together, me one day, her the next. But, even as I set the schedule in motion, it changed. I can't work mornings until school starts. OK, then lets switch it back to the way it was. It did not allow for any time off, but not much could be done about that. It did leave me working one twelve hour day, but she was certain there was no way she could work that day. Until she told someone that she was going to volunteer on that day, as well as not being able to work another day she was needed on. So in other words, Mondays she could not work. She could volunteer her time on Mondays, but not work. In the process, she would also not work on Fridays anymore, either. This meant I would work twelve hour shifts on both these days now. I had to talk to her, after all, this is her job, she does have some responsibilities. Did she want to work or not. She said she did, and I thought it would get better now. Nope. Instead, she gave me her notice that she would work until the end of this month, then quit to go work for nothing. Fine, if that is what she wants. I had some time to look for someone and start training. Things were set, we would be alright with her leaving, and I talked to her about the last day she would work, September 1st. She picked offered, and i accepted. Then, shortly after this, she told me she was going to go drinking and celebrate her leaving us and working as a volunteer. She also added that she would be suffering a hangover and not work on Monday. I told her she couldn't take a day off for a hangover, and we did not have anyone to cover her shift. Of course, she called that night and I had to work two shifts, open and close as a result. She has given me the silent treatment since. I don't know why, I did not push the issue, since she would be done with work in a couple of weeks. I just scheduled her hours through the end of the month, to the times and days she said she was available, and added just one other, September 1st, as she had offered. It would give me and Rhonda a day off together, while family is out here visiting. That would be four days left for her to work between today and September 1st. Three days next week, and one the week after. But, will it work out? It's looking doubtful already. She sent a text to my cell phone stating she will not be able to work many days next week because she has stuff going on. Not many? She is only working three days a week as it is. So, with the schedule already posted, she now decides she cannot work three days? The three days she picked and said she could? Unbelievable! There isn't anything I can do differently, but yet I'm sure she will call and not be able to work. She said she would finish the month and work September 1st, but I think it was just a line of BS. What it means for me is one more week of bull-shit and then she is gone. She can finish with some dignity and stick to what she agreed to, or she can reveal her true self by not sticking to her word. The choice is hers to make. |
| I finally get a day off and how do I spend it? Working. I'm just finishing up, but still have more that needs to get finished. But, since I seldom get a day off, I'm calling this enough and going to spend the rest of the day doing something enjoyable. If things had worked out right, I would have this done on Monday, but things did not go that way. So, today I spent half the day getting caught up on my work from home items. Now, if the next schedule works out, I may have two days off next week. I'm also hoping to get a call later today and set up an interview. Once we get another person hired, we will be looking pretty good for having two days off together, in a row. I almost forgot, before I go having a good time, I still have to fix the bathtub faucet. Then, I can take a nice relaxing bath and enjoy the rest of my day off. I should also be mowing or working on a ton of personal things that I'm behind on, but too much work and no down time is really demotivating. Nope, I'm going to fix the faucet and that's it for work for today. Once I'm done with the faucet, I'm going to work on dinner, I'm cooking for Rhonda tonight, then it's enjoy a nice meal with a beautiful brunette, take a nice bath, and sit back and enjoy the evening. If she is up to it, I may even get my hair cut tonight. Tomorrow it's back to work, and hopefully everything moves along smoothly. No more late calls saying I can't make it in, no changing the schedule over and over, and no messing me up on my scheduled days off. It sounds good, but it has been a long time since it's worked this way. Even so, there's always hope~ |
| Today was a lot better than yesterday. First of all, I only had to work once today, not twice like yesterday. Also, the yard traffic was pretty slow, and I was much more awake. I had a nice night's sleep and was feeling much better. I didn't have to get there early, and was done early, as well. Finally, I do not have to work tomorrow. Evens so, it's late and I'm tired, ready for bed. Partly it's working seven days a week; it's really taking a toll on me. It's also not getting enough sleep, almost every night. Finally, it's the stress and headaches that come with my job. Most of them should not be, or at least, not very often, but some people do all they can to add turmoil and chaos to everything they come in contact with. We have one of them at work; always something going on. Although, I don't know if it is, or not, since everything seems to contradict everything else all the time. There is also the fact that if there are two choices, one right and one wrong, the choice is to be wrong. Likewise, if there is a choice and one is to take and return nothing, while the other is to give and likely get some back, it's take and return nothing. I thought we were finally done with these types, but they manage to do a good job of cover up. It takes some time for their true colors to come through. Of course, I'm still learning, and hopefully getting better. Even so, some people are good at deceit and lying, and it takes time for them to reveal their true nature. For now, it's a nice night, and I have tomorrow off. Hope it stays that way. |
| What a messed up day. It started yesterday at work, when the person who was suppose to work today told me she was going to get celebrate and get drunk. She made a comment she would not be able to work, because of being hungover. After she was off work, she posted in Facebook that she was already drinking and glad she was not driving. Then, at about 10:30 the phone's ringing. Nice, since I go to bed early and get up at 3:15 in the mornings. I don't get to the phone in time, but find a voice message telling me, "I can't work in the morning." So, I will have to work for her, but it will put me into overtime. Therefore I get to work out a schedule change and try and get my hours back down some. This puts me close to midnight before I am back in bed. Of course, knowing that this is going to mess up everything, I can't get back to sleep anyway. I had just told her that I intended to get a lot of work done on Monday, so I could have it all done by Wednesday and maybe, just maybe, I could actually have a day off. I haven't all summer, but I did manage to get this same person a day off when she asked for one. I also put in quite a few hours of adjusting and changing the schedule to fit her needs. In return, she burns me and I end up working an opening shift, then coming home and taking a power nap so I can go back and close tonight. It also changed another person's hours and messed her up, and almost cancelled another person's day off. Why, so she could celebrate her new job she is leaving us for at the end of the month. Yep, she was celebrating a new job and an ending her position with us. I can't say it's a job, though, since she is just a volunteer for them. At the same time, she continued to tell me how she likes her job, and all this other BS, then pulls this. Today I take my power nap and wake to my phone. She sent a message and woke me up to say she did not miss work to drink, she was up fighting with her husband. Oh, and she removed her post about drinking, so I guess that never happened now. I had put a post in Facebook about having to pull a double shift as a result of Smirnoff, since that was what she had posted, and my son goes off on me for complaining about my job. He went on and on about how I was wrong on every level and had no right to post anything about it. You would have to meet my son, he does nothing but post BS in Facebook all day long. His life is nothing but drama and problems, and of course, he is never at fault for anything that happens, but always a victim. I don't say anything, there his posts and his opinions, but he sure did rip me up. My wife, in my defense and knowing how much my life has been disrupted and put on hold this summer do to people at work, told him to get a life. His reply is to call me an asshole for saying anything negative about work. Then, his friends jump in without any idea what the original post was and start in on me and my wife as well. I just finally closed out Facebook, I got tired of getting my ass chewed out because my kid didn't like me complaining about working seven days a week and having to deal with people calling in because of drinking and other lame excuses. I wasn't even complaining about work, just having to cover for someone because they chose to get drunk and couldn't work the next day. Even if they didn't get drunk and just could not work because they were fighting with their significant other, it's not a legitimate excuse and it still messes up everyone else. I don't know what the big deal was, I just needed to vent a little, and also wanted to let the person know I did not approve. How it had anything to do with my kid, I don't know. Why he went off on me, I don't know. I do know I'm tired, my week is already messed up, I'm in here now because I'll be going back to work in a short time, and I didn't like his calling me an asshole because I said something he did not agree with. Isn't it amazing how one person can make a bad decision, and it starts a landslide of reactions that affect other people? This is not her first time she has posted something and then removed it thinking I did not see why she missed work or needed to have a day off. Like my kid, her life is nothing but drama, one thing after another. And like him also, a result of their own decisions and choices. Also like my kid, I really don't know what to believe and what is just a line of BS. All I do know is someone has to be there to fill in, to keep things working, and to show people to the door when they can't do their job and be responsible to their position. It is funny, though. She wants to be a police officer, but can't even cut it as a security guard. She will quit her job at the end of the month, and then work for free. When it doesn't work out, and she realizes she made a bad choice, she will blame it on anything other than re own decisions, and like my kid, want everyone to sympathize with her because life is just what you make it. |
| Well golly gee, I missed yesterday and barely made it in today. Why? Because of working seven days a week. I really need some down time to re-energize. I should get some rest this week, but only one day off, and the way things have been going, I may very likely be working by the time Wednesday and my day off get here. Or, I may be working from home trying to get things caught back up again. Of course, if my brother finds out I have a day off, he will do his best to get me to go fishing with him. That's the way it's been going, very few days off this summer. I think I could count my days off on one had and that's going back to May. Out of them days I was off, I still was working, just not on site. I can't really say that, it would be more truthful to say that I was not scheduled to work, was not on the clock, and was not getting paid, but I was still working from home or going in to talk to someone. Other days I was doing interviews, working on paperwork and faxes, or a combination of all of these. That is how I got so overtired this week. Well, this summer; it's been building up week after week. Even so, I have gotten myself caught up on sleep a few times, only to have it start all over. Lately it's been my brother and fishing. I do love to fish, and I do enjoy getting out on the lake and relaxing. But, with so much going on, I can't really relax, and even if I do go out on the lake, there are so many other things I should be doing. I just make myself get further behind, and then have to try and get caught back up again. Even worse, I don't get home and resting soon enough, so I get behind in my sleep. Hopefully that is coming to an end soon. Hopefully. |
| Wow! What's up with T.J? Seriously, is he sick, maybe suffering from dementia -- something must have gone terribly wrong. What am I talking about? Look at the time. No, not the clock or your watch; I'm not asking, "What time is it?' I'm talking about the time of my entry today. It's not even seven o'clock my time and I'm writing my entry. Of course, it's still plenty late, considering I was up at three-thirty this morning. Even so, this is super early for me to be in here and writing. I worked today, but was done at nine this morning, home by ten, and off fishing by noon. I wanted to come in off the lake around five this afternoon, but it was later, close to six by the time we headed for home. Even so, I didn't have any fish to clean and was able to get online pretty fast after getting home. I spent a little time talking with my lovely wife, then showed her my leg, where I got caught between the boat and the winch. Luckily it's not too bad, and could have been much worse. Where we went fishing, there is no dock, and really, no landing. It's not eve really a lake, it's a flooded slough. The road is under water, so it works as a make shift boat ramp, but it's not deep enough there. So, we turn after we get into the water and back the trailer into the ditch. Now, it's deep, but an awful angle to try and land the boat, especially when it's windy. And being South Dakota, it's always windy. We compensate by driving the boat right onto the trailer. My brother drives the boat, I stand out on the trailer and catch the boat, hook the winch and crank it the rest of the way in. Only today, the wind is out of the south and it's blowing the boat the wrong way. He tries to drive up on the trailer, but even as he does, the back catches the wind and goes sideways. So, he backs out and tries another run. I also go out a bit further, to catch the front of the boat and get it lined up, hook the winch, and crank it on. Today, we are out a little further, though, and the boat comes in as usual, up on the trailer, but it does not stop when it hits the front rollers. No, it does not hardly touch the front rollers, and I soon realize I'm going to get pinned between a fairly fast moving, heavy boat, with a trolling motor lined right up with Willy. I'm also sitting back against the winch, so there will be no give. This is unacceptable, so I attempt to move, as quickly as I can. Even so, balancing on the tounge of a trailer slows me down quite a bit. As I turn and move, the boat hits and my leg becomes pinned, but Willy escaped, unscathed. My leg however, is now caught between the winch, the front of the boat, and the prop for the trolling motor. Luckily, I had moved enough, and turned enough, it did not hit straight on. If it had, I would have likely busted bone and needed lots of stitches. Instead, I have one light scratch that barely broke skin, a welt the size of a cantaloupe, and a lot of bruising. And, I still have my Willy. I know that may sound funny, but it was a close call. I didn't know if I was going to be out of the way enough, in time. The leg is sore, but Willy would have not survived that prop on the trolling motor. See, a man can get by with one leg. I'm fortunate, I have both legs and nothing too terribly serious, I thin over the counter pain medication will do me just fine, and despite the mishap, I enjoyed myself. Now, I'm going to go eat some chili and have a cheeseburger, then it's relax for a little while and bed. |
| This is it, Thursday night and time for me to be in bed; actually past time. I got home earlier today, but I was so tired I couldn't focus, so I took a three hour nap. After I got up, it was time to get some work done. I tackled a bigger project, creating a New Hire Orientation Checklist book. I'm working with MS Word, so not real familiar with the program, and some of the documents are in Word format, some are in Excel, and some are PDF's. Then, I also have some forms that I need added in. I got most of it figured out and it looks pretty good, but I could not find any way to include the forms without scanning them. I just left blank pages where they will go, and insert them after I print the pages out. I have it ready, I just need to look it all over one last time and then print it out and put it together. I can get a binding done for it pretty cheap; just spiral bound, but it will work fine. It just took most of the day, then supper and a little Netflix and now a snack and bed. Tomorrow is another early day, but I do get done earlier. I would be able to get more done, but I told Len I would go fishing. I know, it's good to get a break, but when your tired, have a lot on your mind, and so much to do, it's not really a break. It's just getting one more day behind, and more stress and work to try and get caught up. But, how do you explain that to someone who isn't working and has nothing but time? Even if I could, I don't think he would understand. He takes things less seriously, as a rule, than I do. I suppose I take things too seriously, but I don't know any other way. If there's something that I need to do, I can't push it aside, it's just right there until I get it done. Unfortunately, this summer just hasn't granted me any time to do that. Hopefully soon, but then what? I finally get some time off, but I'm so far behind I spend it working and trying to get caught back up? Probably. |
| I'm here, right on time, or maybe even a little bit early. Not really, but it's early for me. I'm going to have another short entry, being as tired as I am. But, we started training a new person today and she is showing a lot of promise. By next week, the hours will be down a little, and there may even be a day off in there someplace. I won't know until I talk to the other person to see what days she will work, but maybe -- just maybe, there will be a day off. I almost hate to get my hopes up, since this is how it usually works. I hire someone, we train them and set a schedule so we can get a day off. Just one, and not even both of us on the same day (my wife also works at the same place) and it's looking good. We may even get to try it for a week, then it changes and it's worse than it was before. So, here's hoping and at the same time, being a little apprehensive. |
| This is going to be another short entry, since it's late and I need to get to sleep. Three o'clock comes pretty early. But, things may start getting better, since we start training a new guard tomorrow. Also, by tomorrow, I may be starting to get caught up a bit on my sleep. I took a nice nap this afternoon, and with getting to bed pretty early tonight, I should be doing better tomorrow. Now, I just have to keep from getting behind again. I know my little brother will be around soon enough and that's all it will take to get me behind again. Not intentionally. No, he just doesn't understand. I don't think he really comprehends that I usually only get about six hours of sleep in on a good night, and lately, they have been very rare. Even when I go to bed early, I don't sleep well, and haven't since I got bit by that damn tick. I don't know if that's the problem, since I did go on the antibiotics shortly after realizing I had been bit. See, I didn't realize it was a deer tick bite until it started showing signs of Lyme's infection. Still, it was within two weeks, or very close to it. But, I am also having problems with some foods. MSG's for one, get me messed up. Like a hangover, without drinking. Also, I have recently discovered that I have a sensitivity to wheat. How severe? I'm not certain, but it seems even small amounts may be causing quite a few side effects. I had pancakes yesterday and I am pretty ill today. I didn't know how bad wheat was until I ate the pancakes, because I have been a big consumer of wheat and wheat products all my life. I suppose it will take time to discover just how sensitive I am, and the only way to really find out will be to go completely wheat free for a while, see how I feel, and then try eating small amounts and see if I have problems, and how severe they are. But first, I need to make sure there isn't anything else creating problems, as well. For instance, the shortage of sleep could be compounding the sensitivity and crating other problems. Then, there is stress and the problems that causes. Another area is eating; I have not been eating very well, and that could also have things messed up. Then there is the fact that when I'm working various shifts, I tend to drink too much coffee and not enough water. Other times, I tend to dehydrate a bit, and both of them can cause a multitude of problems. So, first things first. I need to get this new guard trained so I can get some down time and cut my hours. Then, I will have time to work on the rest... |
| Here it is, late again. Well, not late by normal standards, although WDC will show this post written an hour later than it was. Even so, not late for you, perhaps, but late for me. Me! The guy who stays up until three or so. Not no more, this working mornings changed all that. Now, after getting up at 03:00 and working about ten hours straight through, then going through an interview and hire session, so a total of just over twelve hours, eight is late. But, she is hired and hopefully the training goes well and soon I can have more time for myself. Of course there are those who will put demands on it right off, but I think I can work around them. Even as relief shows up, however, so does more difficulty and adversity. I will lose another worker at the end of the month, and I upset the delivery coordinator when she got put in her place today. Speaking of which, she also put me in a bad position. See she is trying to push off some of her work and responsibility on the security guards, so I had to put a stop to it. Now, I could have reported the incident, but it was borderline, and I did not want to get her into any trouble. But, she decided the outcome and now I have to do what is dictated. She wanted me to do something I cannot do, a very big security risk. I did not realize at the time what she wanted me to do, and if she had been smart and kept her mouth shut, I never would have learned about her intentions. But, when she did not get her way, she went over the radio and asked why, and then explained that her intention was not only adding work for me that I am not qualified to do, but that she wanted me to break security protocals. Then, she made a comment over the radio about how she would remember this when we needed to have something straightened out by her. Well, that sounds like she is going to get even with me for doing my job, and it is something I do have to report. My intentions were to get the message to her that this would not fly, without getting her into any trouble. She took my nice intentions and forced a move I cannot avoid. Well, it was her choice; I tried. |
| It's getting late and I need to get this done for the night. That sounds wrong, "Need to get this done." That has the incantation that this is a task that is not pleasant but needs to be done. It's not. I have some of them, but not many. Once in a while they surface, but writing is never one of them. It isn't always something I enjoy, but it is never displeasing to me. For example, when writing up someone for some corrective action. I do not enjoy it, but I do not dislike it, either. Of course, the confrontation is anything but pleasant, and in some cases, I wish I didn't have to. In most of them, I do not mind at all, it's just unpleasant. Like I said, though, the writing part is still a challenge and I do not mind it. The only time I can say I don't like to write is when I don't have anything to write about. Even then, I really can't say I don't like it, I just don't have anything to write. It's more frustrating than anything. That has been the case for a while now. I don't have time to write, and I really don't have much to write about. I go to work, I come home, I work from home. So what to write about -- um, work? So I do, but even that is difficult unless I write about what is most pressing upon my brain, and that is too much work, no time off, and the problems that create this situation. And, that is what I have been writing about. So, it's getting old in a hurry. In fact, I have many entries about work, and I would rather write about other things. When you don't have time for other things, that becomes difficult. I could call upon my wonderful imagination, but even there, I'm limited by time. Yes, it takes time to imagine, to work out details, and to write it down. Mostly, though, it takes peace of mind to come back over and over to finish the imaginary item. And right now, I do not have time. In fact, I'm gone so much my dog doesn't even like me anymore. My wonderful wife supports me, but she also is missing me, and I her. There are other's who also want some of my time. I try and tell them, "I don't got none," but they don't understand. "Hell, I don't understand." So it is, but hopefully I'll be looking back at all of this soon and with a smile on my face I can say, "That was hell!" For now, it's life and we deal with it the best we can. |
| It's a late one again, and it's going to be a short one, too. I took a nice nap, and I just can't seem to get woke up, so we will just keep this short tonight and call it good. I did get all the yard all mowed after work, so not a complete wasted afternoon, and I did need to get caught up on my sleep, so with my nap, and not having to go in so early tomorrow, I should be doing pretty good. |
| Look at this! It's just a little past noon and I'm in here writing. Way to go me! On the other side of the coin, however, I still don't have any time. I got off work at ten, but didn't get out of there until eleven. I got home and grabbed a bit to eat, and am now waiting for my brother to call, so we can meet up at the lake. By the time we get done, it's going to be supper time or later, I'm sure. Then, it's bed time for me, whether I go to bed or sit up, I'll be sleeping. I was up at three fifteen this morning and will be up at the same time tomorrow. So, no time later, better get this done right away. I shouldn't even go fishing, I have so much other stuff to do. But, he enjoys the time together, and it is a nice get away. Not that I don't think about all the problems at work, but since I can't do nothing about any of it out on the lake, I kind of keep in on the back burner. Besides, I'm too damn tired to focus on anything important anyway. My other choice is to go mow grass, but I don't think that would be a good idea since I am the only one home and could fall asleep mowing. Yes I am that tired. It's been months since I had a day off -- April to be exact. Even back then the stress was getting to me, and my time off was spent trying to work things out, going in to work, calling, and all that fun stuff. By May it was seven days a week on site, over forty hours, sometimes fifty, and still as much if not more to do from home. I was starting to clock my home times, but gave up after I hit twenty hours one week. Yes, between home and work, driving, and stuff at home, phone calls, and paperwork, I hit twenty hours of my time burned up off the clock, and had worked about forty or so on the clock. It's just stayed about the same. At least the stress is less now, they all left, but the time is an easy fifty, more often more than that. No wonder I'm so tired. Maybe I can nap a little. |
| Running late again, as always; maybe I should rephrase that. If I'm always running late anymore, then if I get in here late, I'm not actually late by current standards, but just on time. Hmm So then, I'm just on time again, as usually. Later than I like, but until something changes, that's not going to change. Hopefully the change comes soon, I'm getting very tired of working everyday, bouncing my hours and shifts around, and putting in over forty hours every week. My day has been kind of messed up since I got up, but it's not a bad day, just out of sync I am. See, I used to work nights and then had to fill in as needed. That had me bouncing all over, but then when the morning shift opened I took that and had kind of a steady schedule set before me. Only, being short on help, I still had to do a little filling in. We had things set pretty good, but then someone wanted to work a different shift and since it would give me a day off, I tried it. But, my day off a week only lasted a couple weeks, and then she could not work mornings. I should add, I spent my day off each week for a couple weeks, catching up on my work from home part of my job. Now, I'm not sure what she can work, seems to vary every week. I do know she can sign up for volenteer work on days I'm pulling double shifts. Kind of upsets a person, especially after bending over backwards to try and make things work for her. I should be used to it, there seem to be a lot of people who will take - take - take, yet refuse to give anything back unless there is something more in it for them. I should be used to it, and expect it. But, I like to give everyone a fair chance, and even then, if they mess up, an opportunity to correct things. Of course, if the don't -- well lets just say this isn't baseball and there are not three strikes. You mess up once, fine, it's a mistake; correct it. Mess up again, and it's time to move along. And for tonight, it's late, I have to be up before time starts, so it's also time for me to move along, too. I should add a post scriptum: To those delightful readers who leave me comments... Thank you very much. I would enjoy taking a few minutes to say something in response, but I just do not have the time right now. However, I do read and enjoy them very much. |
| Here we are, running late and just getting going in here, again. Not as late as lost night, but still late. Tonight it's a result of something better, I was out fishing. Not that I really had time to go fishing, but since I don't get any time off right now, it's a nice break from things. My brother has been after me all summer, so I decided I would go out for a while this afternoon. It was a beautiful day to be on the lake, he is happy, and I enjoyed myself. The only down side is, I want to get some things done in here, too. Unfortunately, I have so much to do, I don't get much of a chance. I could do the same as I did with fishing, but it does not work the same. With fishing, it's up to the fish and I can still catch them even when I have a lot on my mind. But, try to write with all this stuff on my mind, and it's not going to happen. In face, it can even be difficult to write a little in here. So, I can't write because my mind is too preoccupied, I can't do much for a review, I'm too tired and my mind is overflowing, and I can't even enjoy reading something, I'm way too tired and my mind is way to full with all the other stuff right now. One day soon... I hope., |
| I wonder if I got this in before the date switches over? Different time zones so it's still Tuesday here, but not for much longer. It's enough, at least the date will be right for the entry, but the edit will be after midnight WDC time. I had the day off, but not. I know, it doesn't make sense. It's like this, I work as a security guard, but I am also the supervisor. Our corporate office is in Iowa, so I handle all the local stuff. There's emails, to send, reports to write, and paperwork to keep up with, as well as the schedules, training and all the local things. I get paid a bit more for my position, but I don't get paid for anything other than my regular scheduled work, as a security guard. In other words I sometimes have a lot of work to do from home, and off the clock. That was the case today, so I did not work today as far as my security position, but I did work from home doing a lot of reports and paperwork. Even so, it was a nice day and I did get some relaxing in. But, it got late on me and now I'm going to be running behind on sleep again. That's the difficult part this summer, we are short on help. We should be staffed with six people, and have four, and only three of them are willing to put in any extra hours. The fourth person keeps working against us and trying to reduce her hours. So, I have not only a lot of overtime, I have a lot of extra time put in here off the clock, work varied shifts, and seem to be editing the schedule weekly. The good news is, we only have to make it through the end of the month and our hours will be reduced. The bad news is, we will also be short one more person when her position ends. It would be ideal to keep her on and have a full team for the fall and winter, but if she will not work, what good will it do? So, I plan on saving myself a headache and letting her go with the end of the double coverage. I am also hopeful that we will get another person training real soon. Until then, there is little time for anything, and I am especially eager to have more to spend relaxing and in here. |
| What a long day! I was up at 3:30 this morning, working by 5:00 this morning, got done with my shift at 4:00 this afternoon, and got out of work by 5:00 this afternoon. Then, it was a little bit of shopping, go out to eat, and get a few groceries. I was finally back home around 7:30 this evening and now it's going on 9:00. Everything is put away, I checked my mail, and am very happy to see I do not have to be up at 3:30 again to do it all over again. I'm hoping things are going to start turning around, but I have reservations about this. Even so, fair is fair and if things turn around and she can show she is willing to work and give what she can, then I think she should get a second chance to stay on after the end of the month. Even so, it's going to be tough trying to cover all the hours if she cannot pick any more up. If she could, we could at least get off the overtime and get another back to the hours he should be working. But, that depends on a great deal and I just don't have the information yet. So, once again, it's late getting in here and I have no time. I hold fast to hope and persevere, to endeavor... help will come. |
| My last entry was on Friday, I missed Saturday and now am writing for Sunday. I just did not get the time to get in here yesterday, so I get to mark one miss since I started this. I was up at three-thirty again yesterday, and did not get out of work until twelve hours later. By the time I got home, I was shot. Three hours of sleep Friday night, if I was lucky, then a twelve hour day. I made it home, sat down here in my chair, and nodded right off. I tried to get something done, but I kept dozing off, so I finally just went and crawled into bed. I knew Rhonda would call after she got off work, so I didn't even bother to set an alarm. Of course, it was after eight by now. Rhonda would be done around nine-thirty, so I figured an hour and a half nap. Then she would call, wake me, and I could start our dinner and have it ready for here when she got home. She did call, too. But I was sleeping so sound, I did not here the phone. We have two of them, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Our bedroom is right off the living room, and I always wake to the phone, but not this time. I did not hear anything, even though she left a message. I did kind of hear the dogs barking when she got home, but it was so far away and muffled. In my brain, it registered. I knew they were barking, and I knew why. I wanted to open my eyes and get up to go see her. I was awake enough to know these things, but still to asleep to open my eyes. I was fighting it, I could here her moving around, I thought I heard her voice, but the darkness was pulling me back in. I don't know what actually pulled me back out and woke me enough to get my eyes open, but something did. I seen light and sound soon followed. I knew I could not hold on long, so I rolled to my side, swung my legs over the side of the bed and forced reluctant muscles to move. As I stepped out, I seen her computer was on, and then -- there she was. I was steadily becoming more and more awake, and soon she was in my arms, our lips met and our bodies embraced. Soon after we were both back in bed, locked in passion and longing for the other. After, we ate a little, watched a bit of T.V. then soon returned to bed, snuggled, cuddled, and soon I was sound asleep, again. Today I was in better shape, but I'm still very tired. I'll skip dinner and settle myself into bed for a nice nap here soon. Rhonda will not be home for another hour and a half, and I can get caught up on some much needed sleep while I wait. Then, we will enjoy a nice, but quick dinner, watch a little T.V. and then snuggle into bed. Tomorrow I will be up at three-thirty again, and it will start all over. Well, not quite. Next week is going to be a long one. I have to work twelve hours again tomorrow, and I'm not sure what will come of the rest of it. By the time I get home, I will hopefully find an E-mail message with good news, lots of hours of availability, and an end to this particular problem. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but I will hope for the best and be prepared for the worst. It should land in there someplace in the middle. |
| Better get to writing this or it's going to show up on Saturday even though it's still Friday here. But, I need to go clean some fish first, so just a short start and then I'll write a little bit more when I'm done. The fish are cleaned and I'm back. Well, they are mostly cleaned, I did the cutting and messy part, Rhonda is washing them up in clean water and putting them in the freezer. If you had not guessed yet, I went out fishing this afternoon, after work. One of the guests this morning mentioned he was only going to do a little bit of work, then go fishing this afternoon. I asked him where and he told me, and we talked fishing for a little bit. I told him where we had gone but not had much for luck. He explained how he fishes the same lake, and I wanted to give it a try. So, after work, and then another hour after scheduling and paperwork, I bought the items I needed, called my brother, and we got out on the lake about two this afternoon. We did great, and ended up catching over three limits, I'm guessing about fifteen fish. The limit is four per person, so more like four limits. Of course we did not keep all of them, but did end up with a limit each. Some we ended up with were pretty small for keeping, but they had swallowed the hook and would not have survived if released. I could not see letting them go knowing they would die, so that we could keep bigger fish. They were on the small side, but big enough. Barely, but big enough. They will taste great, so it doesn't matter. Of course, cleaning them does, if they were bigger they would fillet out much better. But since they are not, I did not fillet them. They are trimmed up, gutted and heads removed, ready to grill with the skin on to hold in the moisture. Walleyes tend to be a very lean fish and dry out so easy, but with skin intact, I think they will grill up very well. Especially with some good hardwood added to give a smoky flavor. I know, I should have come home, taken a nap, and got some work done instead. But, it was a nice day, and I do not know when I will get another chance like today. Next week will be a long week since we had to revamp the schedule for a certain person. Then, she still wanted one of the days off, even though it would put us over on hours. We hacked it out and got it to work, but I have to pull some long hours to fill in. Then, after I get back from fishing, I find out that she is planning on volunteering one of the days she asked to have the schedule switched to. I don't get it. She didn't say anything to me at all, and I told her she would be put back on her shift of double coverage, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That is what she asked for and even though it was short notice and made for a lot of work for me and Rhonda, we did it for her. She told me before, she cannot work Mondays, so that was not even asked. But, on Monday, she is going to apply for a volunteer position on Fridays and Mondays. She can work for nothing on Mondays, but she cannot help out the people she works with? We will see how it turns out, but she may just have ended her career with us. I have no use in keeping someone on who would walk over her fellow workers, lie to them, and then leave them short and give her time to someone else. I could take out the handbook and show her the agreement she made to put her work first, to work all scheduled hours, and any overtime if needed. Instead, I will let her hang herself by doing this. She will only have two days left she works, and they are double coverage, which is a temporary position. When it ends, she will not have any option to pick up work she turned down now; not when it put us in a terrible position and cost everyone except her. I believe the term is, "used." Call it what you will, Karma, divine justice, what ever; the bottom line is, "What comes around, goes around." As for me, I'm just glad I had the foresight to go fishing on such a beautiful day, while the opportunity presented itself. After today, she may have screwed me out of any days off for who know's how long. |
| Here I am, late as usual. It's a regular thing for me; to be late that is. Not that I try, it's just that there is so much going on and so little I can do about it. Today is another example of the same. I worked from 5:00 this morning until 11:00 this morning, but by the time I got out of there, it was 11:30. From there, I went and did an interview. We are in need of help, and I had a person who was interested. He was qualified and able, we are in a bind and need help bad. I offered him the position and he accepted. We filled out paperwork, set up a training schedule, and got everything ready to go. By this time, it's after 2:00 in the afternoon. I go from there back to work to get the schedule updated, and end up helping out. Then, it's into the store to work out the details with the store management. Finally I'm done and back home at 3:30 this afternoon. Keep in mind, this is my time, and I do not get paid for this. But, since it will give us all a little more time off, and a couple of us haven't been getting any days off, it's worth it. However, shortly after I get home, I get a call. He no longer wants the position, he can make more off of unemployment. Well, since he only wanted part time and limited his hours he could work to twelve to eighteen, I'm sure he can. So, I wasted away my afternoon, and didn't get anyplace. Also, the person who is working a few mornings and filling in for the double coverage since we are so short informed me she can no longer work the mornings, and only is available for the three double coverage days. This is three days less, and another eighteen hours of coverage I need to fill in somehow. So, the late afternoon and evening has been spent trying to work out a schedule that works as best as we can, and that leaves little time for anything else except to eat a quick supper, write a few lines here and get to bed so I can get up at 3:30 tomorrow and do it all again. I still have hope -- one day soon it will all work out. |
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