Dire news. There's a real bookstore in town -- it's some kind of chain called Hastings, which is obviously trying to outdo B&N. It has movies, music, books in all categories, large magazine selection, cafe, etc. It also takes in used books but not massmarket paperbacks -- only trade paperback or hardback. What!?!?
Got just a few items at the WM, including some powdered graphite to try to make the gray tank valve easier to push/pull.
Checked out the Alamo Senior Center -- it's really big. So I paid my $10 "donation" membership and had my picture taken for my ID card. There's a state form to fill out -- tedious but must jump through the bureaucratic hoops. Found out the swimming is not at the Sr. Ctr. but at the Wellness Center in the middle of town and it costs $37 a month to join it. Hmmm. But the Sr. Ctr. does have line dancing lessons, pool tables, exercise rooms, etc etc.
Have just eaten my trashed browns w/sunnyside up eggs on top. As soon as the computer stuff is done, I'll head home, get hooked up, and hunker down for the two front that are rolling in starting tonight.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday 12/26
Saturday 12/26
Quite busy in the store for the five hours I worked today. Got called down by Kenn as having taken over a customer from Caleb. That wasn't my intent; I was just trying to be helpful, but I apologized profusely. I certainly don't want to be a Rose by any other name.
Two fronts are on their way, with cold weather and possible snow. My knee is certainly letting me know the weather people are right.
Work tomorrow, off Monday. Will go to town and the wifi cafe.
Ooooh. RTV is showing I Bury the Living with Richard Boone.
Quite busy in the store for the five hours I worked today. Got called down by Kenn as having taken over a customer from Caleb. That wasn't my intent; I was just trying to be helpful, but I apologized profusely. I certainly don't want to be a Rose by any other name.
Two fronts are on their way, with cold weather and possible snow. My knee is certainly letting me know the weather people are right.
Work tomorrow, off Monday. Will go to town and the wifi cafe.
Ooooh. RTV is showing I Bury the Living with Richard Boone.
xmas day
After getting back yesterday after errands, my right knee decided it would swell up, which made it lots of fun getting hooked back up, especially getting down on the ground to reach under the rig to open the gray water valve. So I spent the rest of the day alternating aspirin and antihistamine, because I also had an allergy attack.
Today I'm much better, though I spent the day lazing about and napping.
About 6.30pm all we Bowlin folk (four whole people) gathered in the house to have a nosh and chitchat. Carol had made goodies. I contributed a mozzarella/prosciutto roll with some garlic/onion rice crackers. There was "Oklahoma dip" made of melted velveeta and hamburger, hummus, cheese balls, grapes, cream cheese with A-1 sauce on it. For sweets, there was pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, cookies, fudge, chocolate cake. I think there was more stuff but can't remember. All very fattening and midwestern (they're from Tulsa originally).
Caleb left at 7 as he'd agreed to babysit his nephew, but Kenn and Carol and I sat around and chatted till about 8pm. Then we all cleaned up and went home.
I'd heard from Mary-Ann that there wouldn't be the traditional tree-trimming party at Hazel and John's as John has come down with the flu. Not good, especially with his congestive heart failure. I told K&C that if something dire happens, I'm outta here on my way to Asheville. There's a very small group of people I'll drop everything for, and John is high on that list.
Am wishing for the best for everybody, and especially for those dear to me.
Today I'm much better, though I spent the day lazing about and napping.
About 6.30pm all we Bowlin folk (four whole people) gathered in the house to have a nosh and chitchat. Carol had made goodies. I contributed a mozzarella/prosciutto roll with some garlic/onion rice crackers. There was "Oklahoma dip" made of melted velveeta and hamburger, hummus, cheese balls, grapes, cream cheese with A-1 sauce on it. For sweets, there was pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, cookies, fudge, chocolate cake. I think there was more stuff but can't remember. All very fattening and midwestern (they're from Tulsa originally).
Caleb left at 7 as he'd agreed to babysit his nephew, but Kenn and Carol and I sat around and chatted till about 8pm. Then we all cleaned up and went home.
I'd heard from Mary-Ann that there wouldn't be the traditional tree-trimming party at Hazel and John's as John has come down with the flu. Not good, especially with his congestive heart failure. I told K&C that if something dire happens, I'm outta here on my way to Asheville. There's a very small group of people I'll drop everything for, and John is high on that list.
Am wishing for the best for everybody, and especially for those dear to me.
xmas eve
Store is closed today. Kenn and Carol took off in their SUV around 9am and aren't back yet (4pm). They do a lot of geo-caching so maybe that's what they're up to.
I took a nice shower and then did laundry -- you know, traditional xmas events.
Talked to John R today -- he's feeling much better. Phew. Joe, Hazel's oldest son, answered the phone, which was disconcerting (his nickname used to be Lurch -- long story). And Johnny was over, too, so I said happy holidays to them all.
Tried to read a Black London book by Caitlin Kittredge and just didn't like it at all. I know I've read stuff by her before and liked it okay. Maybe it's this series I don't like.
Am trying a book called Darker Angels by M.L.N. Hanover, and so far so good. The style is somewhat familiar but the author's name is not. I read the blurb about the author and it gave me the feeling that this is a pseudonym. I mean, I would recognize the name of an International Horror Guild award-winner, wouldn't I? Diana B -- what do you know about this author?
Work tomorrow and Sunday during the afternoon. Not too onerous.
TTFN
I took a nice shower and then did laundry -- you know, traditional xmas events.
Talked to John R today -- he's feeling much better. Phew. Joe, Hazel's oldest son, answered the phone, which was disconcerting (his nickname used to be Lurch -- long story). And Johnny was over, too, so I said happy holidays to them all.
Tried to read a Black London book by Caitlin Kittredge and just didn't like it at all. I know I've read stuff by her before and liked it okay. Maybe it's this series I don't like.
Am trying a book called Darker Angels by M.L.N. Hanover, and so far so good. The style is somewhat familiar but the author's name is not. I read the blurb about the author and it gave me the feeling that this is a pseudonym. I mean, I would recognize the name of an International Horror Guild award-winner, wouldn't I? Diana B -- what do you know about this author?
Work tomorrow and Sunday during the afternoon. Not too onerous.
TTFN
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Wednesday 12/23
Wednesday 12/23 8am
The storm has arrived. Spattering rain during the night but just now it's begun to snow, lightly and not sticking so far, supposedly windy later but not now. I heard that a huge dust storm yesterday closed I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix (which is where Picacho Peak is, 35 mi. north of Tucson). Pictures were terrible; glad I'm not there right now.
I remember the dust storms in Libya (called "ghiblis") -- the sand out of the Sahara was so fine it was like talcum powder. We could see them coming, usually out of the southeast, huge clouds boiling up into the sky. We would pack stuff around all the doors and windows to keep it out but quite a lot would still filter in. Fortunately, all the floors were marble so it was easy to sweep it up, though it took days as it got everywhere. Folklore said the storms would last 1 day, 3 days, or 9 days. Those long lashes on camels are to keep the sand out of their eyes, as are the face-wrappings of the natives. We non-natives had no such protection.
The Libyan dress is called a barracan, traditionally of cotton or light linen. I was taught how to wrap it properly and still remember how (this for the woman's version; the men's is, naturally, the outdoor version only and they don't have to hide their faces). The material is a rectangle about 3 ft wide and 20 ft long. If you don't start it right, it's impossible to do. When done, you have a chest covering and a skirt with a tight wrap at the waist and a loose cape in back that you can draw over your head and around to cover the face. A short-sleeved waist-length blouse is worn under it to cover the rest of the torso. This is the basic dress but to go outside the house (where strange men can see you), there's a piece of undyed coarse linen that is draped over everything like a cloak, tucked under the elbows to hold it closed in front, down over the forehead and then folded in to make an open triangle over one eye, held by one hand. The elbows and a hand are now out of action, so there's only one hand and one eye in use. Think about doing your errands like that, with a child or two hanging on to the outside of the barracan. Humph.
Somewhere I have a picture of my mother wearing a barracan for a costume party held at the Shores of Tripoli Club (a Corps of Engineers place). She was in her late 30s when we were in Tripoli. I also have a picture of her hula-hooping in a cocktail dress at a party in Livorno Italy. Mom could be a lot of fun until she retired and got religion.
The storm has arrived. Spattering rain during the night but just now it's begun to snow, lightly and not sticking so far, supposedly windy later but not now. I heard that a huge dust storm yesterday closed I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix (which is where Picacho Peak is, 35 mi. north of Tucson). Pictures were terrible; glad I'm not there right now.
I remember the dust storms in Libya (called "ghiblis") -- the sand out of the Sahara was so fine it was like talcum powder. We could see them coming, usually out of the southeast, huge clouds boiling up into the sky. We would pack stuff around all the doors and windows to keep it out but quite a lot would still filter in. Fortunately, all the floors were marble so it was easy to sweep it up, though it took days as it got everywhere. Folklore said the storms would last 1 day, 3 days, or 9 days. Those long lashes on camels are to keep the sand out of their eyes, as are the face-wrappings of the natives. We non-natives had no such protection.
The Libyan dress is called a barracan, traditionally of cotton or light linen. I was taught how to wrap it properly and still remember how (this for the woman's version; the men's is, naturally, the outdoor version only and they don't have to hide their faces). The material is a rectangle about 3 ft wide and 20 ft long. If you don't start it right, it's impossible to do. When done, you have a chest covering and a skirt with a tight wrap at the waist and a loose cape in back that you can draw over your head and around to cover the face. A short-sleeved waist-length blouse is worn under it to cover the rest of the torso. This is the basic dress but to go outside the house (where strange men can see you), there's a piece of undyed coarse linen that is draped over everything like a cloak, tucked under the elbows to hold it closed in front, down over the forehead and then folded in to make an open triangle over one eye, held by one hand. The elbows and a hand are now out of action, so there's only one hand and one eye in use. Think about doing your errands like that, with a child or two hanging on to the outside of the barracan. Humph.
Somewhere I have a picture of my mother wearing a barracan for a costume party held at the Shores of Tripoli Club (a Corps of Engineers place). She was in her late 30s when we were in Tripoli. I also have a picture of her hula-hooping in a cocktail dress at a party in Livorno Italy. Mom could be a lot of fun until she retired and got religion.
Tuesday 12/22
Tuesday 12/22
Big fast-moving front should be here by this afternoon, bringing us rain, wind, maybe snow, and much colder temps (highs in the low 40s, below freezing at night). Front itself will be gone by Thurs, leaving behind cold.
Am sneaking up the idea of a "career" change. Have discovered the American Society of Indexers, which has a course and a certificate for those wishing to be indexers. Not cheap (about $500). However, this is something I can do on the computer anywhere anytime and doesn't depend on my physical state, so it's really something I can do for the rest of my life. Of course, the society doesn't find jobs for you, but it does have a "classified" section on the website and it does put you in touch with other indexers. Networking ta da.
One of the RVW women solos does this and kindly gave me the link to the ASI. I think I'll bombard her with questions. A computer program (such as Word) can be set up to index a mss. by choosing all nouns, but that's really not good enough to be a real index -- that takes a human. I think as an ex-typesetter/proofreader/editor and an ex-bookseller, I have the proper qualifications. Other things mentioned as traits of good indexers are crossword puzzles, reading mysteries, and cataloging/categorizing one's possessions. Guess which of these I have. Yep, got 'em all. I mean, I set up spreadsheets for fun.
I have discovered, though, that it's the setting up and testing that I like. I'm not too fond of the ongoing maintenance process -- that's just data entry. So indexing would be perfect -- studying the material, creating the concept, testing, refining, etc. And then you're done with it and go on to the next challenge. Perfect.
Big fast-moving front should be here by this afternoon, bringing us rain, wind, maybe snow, and much colder temps (highs in the low 40s, below freezing at night). Front itself will be gone by Thurs, leaving behind cold.
Am sneaking up the idea of a "career" change. Have discovered the American Society of Indexers, which has a course and a certificate for those wishing to be indexers. Not cheap (about $500). However, this is something I can do on the computer anywhere anytime and doesn't depend on my physical state, so it's really something I can do for the rest of my life. Of course, the society doesn't find jobs for you, but it does have a "classified" section on the website and it does put you in touch with other indexers. Networking ta da.
One of the RVW women solos does this and kindly gave me the link to the ASI. I think I'll bombard her with questions. A computer program (such as Word) can be set up to index a mss. by choosing all nouns, but that's really not good enough to be a real index -- that takes a human. I think as an ex-typesetter/proofreader/editor and an ex-bookseller, I have the proper qualifications. Other things mentioned as traits of good indexers are crossword puzzles, reading mysteries, and cataloging/categorizing one's possessions. Guess which of these I have. Yep, got 'em all. I mean, I set up spreadsheets for fun.
I have discovered, though, that it's the setting up and testing that I like. I'm not too fond of the ongoing maintenance process -- that's just data entry. So indexing would be perfect -- studying the material, creating the concept, testing, refining, etc. And then you're done with it and go on to the next challenge. Perfect.
Monday 12/21
Monday 12/21
Worked from 9am to 5pm. Was a busy day and had two sales of over $200 each and so will get a commission (day's total was almost $900).
Most fun was two German women, mother and daughter. Mother seemed about 70 or 80, physically frail but full of life and laughter. They bought five pieces of Native American jewelry. Every once in a while I'd catch a German word or phrase so close to English I could understand it, and I would laugh -- the mother enjoyed that. We discussed my name and my German roots. They taught me how to say merry xmas and happy new year in German, which I repeated to them (and promptly forgot).
Then there was the family that bought things such as a Minnetonka leather hat, fireworks, cheap jewelry, and a small longhorn set (which the guy wants to put on the front of his old Pontiac that he made into a convertible by shearing the top off). From Montana.
Caleb has begun to make me his confidante. Today I heard the "confidential" news that Kenn and Carol are to be named manager of the month and employee of the month. Caleb really thought he was going to get "employee" because of the work he's done and the help he's been to K&C since they arrived here. He also thinks Kenn nominated both himself and Carol for the "honor."
There was some other "secret" corporate thing he told me that he wasn't supposed to. So -- no telling him anything I don't want repeated. Oh yeah, he thinks Kenn cheated on the test for manager (used the book) so as to get 100%. Is this true? No idea.
Caleb is ex-military, which is just as bad as a corporation for gossip and bitchiness and political infighting. I believe I'll just do my job, listen to whatever anybody wants to tell me, keep my opinions to myself, and sail serenely on until I can't stand it anymore.
Bones are aching because of a front moving in. Aspirin time.
Got a gift from Blair today of her special fruitcake. Came home and immediately cut two pieces and scarfed them down. Thanks, B!
9.30pm. Watching the Jay Leno show. He asked Jeff Bridges (one of my all-time favorite actors) to tell his favorite joke.
What is invisible and smells like worms?
a
n
s
w
e
r
Bird farts
Worked from 9am to 5pm. Was a busy day and had two sales of over $200 each and so will get a commission (day's total was almost $900).
Most fun was two German women, mother and daughter. Mother seemed about 70 or 80, physically frail but full of life and laughter. They bought five pieces of Native American jewelry. Every once in a while I'd catch a German word or phrase so close to English I could understand it, and I would laugh -- the mother enjoyed that. We discussed my name and my German roots. They taught me how to say merry xmas and happy new year in German, which I repeated to them (and promptly forgot).
Then there was the family that bought things such as a Minnetonka leather hat, fireworks, cheap jewelry, and a small longhorn set (which the guy wants to put on the front of his old Pontiac that he made into a convertible by shearing the top off). From Montana.
Caleb has begun to make me his confidante. Today I heard the "confidential" news that Kenn and Carol are to be named manager of the month and employee of the month. Caleb really thought he was going to get "employee" because of the work he's done and the help he's been to K&C since they arrived here. He also thinks Kenn nominated both himself and Carol for the "honor."
There was some other "secret" corporate thing he told me that he wasn't supposed to. So -- no telling him anything I don't want repeated. Oh yeah, he thinks Kenn cheated on the test for manager (used the book) so as to get 100%. Is this true? No idea.
Caleb is ex-military, which is just as bad as a corporation for gossip and bitchiness and political infighting. I believe I'll just do my job, listen to whatever anybody wants to tell me, keep my opinions to myself, and sail serenely on until I can't stand it anymore.
Bones are aching because of a front moving in. Aspirin time.
Got a gift from Blair today of her special fruitcake. Came home and immediately cut two pieces and scarfed them down. Thanks, B!
9.30pm. Watching the Jay Leno show. He asked Jeff Bridges (one of my all-time favorite actors) to tell his favorite joke.
What is invisible and smells like worms?
a
n
s
w
e
r
Bird farts
Sat 12/19
Saturday 12/19
Another nice day here, while I understand the east is getting hammered with a blizzard. Called Joe and found that Asheville got a foot of snow, at least where he is in town. Bet Blair's house got more, out by Doggett Mtn.
Went out and prowled the area with my camera. Took about 17 shots and kept these two. Have no idea what the names of these plants are.
Another nice day here, while I understand the east is getting hammered with a blizzard. Called Joe and found that Asheville got a foot of snow, at least where he is in town. Bet Blair's house got more, out by Doggett Mtn.
Went out and prowled the area with my camera. Took about 17 shots and kept these two. Have no idea what the names of these plants are.
Friday 12/18
Did some errands today. Tried to find the Senior Center on Puerto Rico Ave, but after some while of wandering up and down and around, gave up.
Then I went up the road and took another picture of the pistachio statue to see if it came out better -- which it did and here it is.
I also took a pic of the "historical" Running Indian sign. There's no longer any neon in it and the legs don't move any more. But it is historical roadside America.
Took a shot of my site, too, so y'all can see how I'm situated. And a shot of the Sacramento Mtns. across the highway.
Did some errands today. Tried to find the Senior Center on Puerto Rico Ave, but after some while of wandering up and down and around, gave up.
Then I went up the road and took another picture of the pistachio statue to see if it came out better -- which it did and here it is.
I also took a pic of the "historical" Running Indian sign. There's no longer any neon in it and the legs don't move any more. But it is historical roadside America.
Took a shot of my site, too, so y'all can see how I'm situated. And a shot of the Sacramento Mtns. across the highway.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday 12/16
Wednesday 12/16
Had a small expedition today. Left about 10am, headed for Mescalero out Hwy 70. Passed through the "historic" village of Tularosa. Took about five minutes to case the joint. Stayed on Hwy 70 heading east. This marker is all about a gun battle that was part of the Lincoln County War back in the late 1800s, where Billy the Kid, just a ranch hand at the time, took sides.
The next pic shows the back of the historical markers -- a nice map of the specific area.
There's a huge mountain off to the northeast, snow capped. Took a picture of it showing its western side. Eventually, there was a marker with info on Sierra Blanca, 12000 ft high, extinct volcano. Took a picture of that, too, looking at the mtn head on, framed by pine trees on both sides of the road.
This next picture of one I took of the mountain on the way up, not knowing it was Sierra Blanca. This is its west side.
After a quick stop at the Mescalero Tribal Store, went on to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, which has a hotel, conference center, and a casino (no alcohol allowed on gaming floor). I walked around looking at the individuals sitting in front of slot machines, punching the same button over and over again. This doesn't strike me as "fun" so I left and started the drive back.
Stopped at McGinn's Country Store with the world's largest pistachio statue outside (my picture came out fuzzy for some reason). Bought a few goodies, including an award-winning dessert wine made here in NM. We'll see whether I like it.
Then on to Walmart for a few supplies. Then off to the Rustic Cafe for a burger and tater tots and wifi. And then back to my site about 3.30pm. Also stopped at the visitor's center to look for a topo map that would give more info on the terrain around here -- no luck. I did find out that the long mtn range to the west is the San Andres Mtns (not the Organ Mtns, as someone told me). They did give me a newsletter about the senior center here. Wonder if I'm ready for that. They do have a pool so I could swim. And they have a pool (billiards) league. Hmmm.
Finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Six dancers left, three male, three female (Legacy, the b-boy dancer who'd done spectacular work, came in 8th). Special guests included Jennifer Lopez singing her new single, Louboutin. Boring. Anyhow, I got the sequence right on all six dancers, and Russell won. A krumper, yet (he was the first krumper to make it into the top 20). Jacob was the other finalist, a technically amazing dancer who'd been in dance all his life, but he's lacking in emotional expression, though he progressed during the competition. Russell, on the other hand, had no training except his self-taught krumping. During the competition, he took on paso doble, samba, jazz, contemporary, waltz, foxtrot, hip hop, bollywood, and more. Besides doing all that well, he expressed emotion and connected with the audience. He deserved the win.
I'm also enjoying The Sing-Off, the a capella competition.
Think I'll just veg tomorrow and then Friday I'll come down to the cafe again to do email etc. Also need to get the rear airbags aired up.
TTFN
Dont' forget -- if you click on a picture, it'll come up very large (I upload at 900).
Had a small expedition today. Left about 10am, headed for Mescalero out Hwy 70. Passed through the "historic" village of Tularosa. Took about five minutes to case the joint. Stayed on Hwy 70 heading east. This marker is all about a gun battle that was part of the Lincoln County War back in the late 1800s, where Billy the Kid, just a ranch hand at the time, took sides.
The next pic shows the back of the historical markers -- a nice map of the specific area.
There's a huge mountain off to the northeast, snow capped. Took a picture of it showing its western side. Eventually, there was a marker with info on Sierra Blanca, 12000 ft high, extinct volcano. Took a picture of that, too, looking at the mtn head on, framed by pine trees on both sides of the road.
This next picture of one I took of the mountain on the way up, not knowing it was Sierra Blanca. This is its west side.
After a quick stop at the Mescalero Tribal Store, went on to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, which has a hotel, conference center, and a casino (no alcohol allowed on gaming floor). I walked around looking at the individuals sitting in front of slot machines, punching the same button over and over again. This doesn't strike me as "fun" so I left and started the drive back.
Stopped at McGinn's Country Store with the world's largest pistachio statue outside (my picture came out fuzzy for some reason). Bought a few goodies, including an award-winning dessert wine made here in NM. We'll see whether I like it.
Then on to Walmart for a few supplies. Then off to the Rustic Cafe for a burger and tater tots and wifi. And then back to my site about 3.30pm. Also stopped at the visitor's center to look for a topo map that would give more info on the terrain around here -- no luck. I did find out that the long mtn range to the west is the San Andres Mtns (not the Organ Mtns, as someone told me). They did give me a newsletter about the senior center here. Wonder if I'm ready for that. They do have a pool so I could swim. And they have a pool (billiards) league. Hmmm.
Finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Six dancers left, three male, three female (Legacy, the b-boy dancer who'd done spectacular work, came in 8th). Special guests included Jennifer Lopez singing her new single, Louboutin. Boring. Anyhow, I got the sequence right on all six dancers, and Russell won. A krumper, yet (he was the first krumper to make it into the top 20). Jacob was the other finalist, a technically amazing dancer who'd been in dance all his life, but he's lacking in emotional expression, though he progressed during the competition. Russell, on the other hand, had no training except his self-taught krumping. During the competition, he took on paso doble, samba, jazz, contemporary, waltz, foxtrot, hip hop, bollywood, and more. Besides doing all that well, he expressed emotion and connected with the audience. He deserved the win.
I'm also enjoying The Sing-Off, the a capella competition.
Think I'll just veg tomorrow and then Friday I'll come down to the cafe again to do email etc. Also need to get the rear airbags aired up.
TTFN
Dont' forget -- if you click on a picture, it'll come up very large (I upload at 900).
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tularosa Drive
This marker is just on the south edge of town (you can expand it to read the info, if you want). The village itself is nothing to write home about, so I won't.
Tue 12/15
Tuesday 12/15
A second day at work where all went well. So much nicer here. Caleb has begun to tell me his family stories, so I guess we're getting along. I've discovered he's in his early 30s, ex-military, has dandruff, tall and slightly overweight, married with two kids but his wife is still in the army and is stationed at Ft. Knox, collected baseball cards, comic books, swords, coins, etc. His mother, however, seems to have appropriated all of these when he was away and either sold or gave them all away.
Today I cleaned and rearranged two of the tables, the Native American and the Indian.
Starting tomorrow, I have five days off. Probably will go to Mescalero tomorrow for cigs. Will try to take some nice photos. There's a large range of mountains to the south and I found out it's the Organ Mtns, which makes it a very large range indeed.
Here's the actual phonebook address for the store. I got an xmas card from Blair (watch out for the zip code)
Bowlin's Running Indian Store
7166 Hwy 54/70
Alamogordo NM 88310
Am in the throes of the finals of So You Think You Can Dance, and have discovered Sing Off, an a-capella group competition.
A second day at work where all went well. So much nicer here. Caleb has begun to tell me his family stories, so I guess we're getting along. I've discovered he's in his early 30s, ex-military, has dandruff, tall and slightly overweight, married with two kids but his wife is still in the army and is stationed at Ft. Knox, collected baseball cards, comic books, swords, coins, etc. His mother, however, seems to have appropriated all of these when he was away and either sold or gave them all away.
Today I cleaned and rearranged two of the tables, the Native American and the Indian.
Starting tomorrow, I have five days off. Probably will go to Mescalero tomorrow for cigs. Will try to take some nice photos. There's a large range of mountains to the south and I found out it's the Organ Mtns, which makes it a very large range indeed.
Here's the actual phonebook address for the store. I got an xmas card from Blair (watch out for the zip code)
Bowlin's Running Indian Store
7166 Hwy 54/70
Alamogordo NM 88310
Am in the throes of the finals of So You Think You Can Dance, and have discovered Sing Off, an a-capella group competition.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Today w/pix
This is the pic of my brother, the intrepid sailor, in his foul-weather gear, working to get us back to the marina.
This is Hwy 70 heading out of Las Cruces toward San Augustin Pass. The road turns right just before running into that mountain dead ahead.
On the other side of the Pass in the Tularosa Basin.
Less than a day or so after arriving in Alamogordo, we got another snowstorm with about 4 inches. This is the view out my window.
Okay, officially caught up now. I've found free wifi in the Rustic Cafe about two miles away, and it supports email so I won't be going to the library anymore. Got here about 11am. Ate their "Trashed Browns" w/diced ham, peppers, cheese, red sauce, and with two sunnyside up eggs on top. Very good. Sweet tea is normal.
It's a beautiful day, about 63, slightly breezy, sunny. It's now about 1pm and I'm going to go to town for a few items. I'll go to Mescalero on Wednesday.
This is Hwy 70 heading out of Las Cruces toward San Augustin Pass. The road turns right just before running into that mountain dead ahead.
On the other side of the Pass in the Tularosa Basin.
Less than a day or so after arriving in Alamogordo, we got another snowstorm with about 4 inches. This is the view out my window.
Okay, officially caught up now. I've found free wifi in the Rustic Cafe about two miles away, and it supports email so I won't be going to the library anymore. Got here about 11am. Ate their "Trashed Browns" w/diced ham, peppers, cheese, red sauce, and with two sunnyside up eggs on top. Very good. Sweet tea is normal.It's a beautiful day, about 63, slightly breezy, sunny. It's now about 1pm and I'm going to go to town for a few items. I'll go to Mescalero on Wednesday.
Saturday 12/12
Saturday 12/12
4pm
Blew off going anywhere today. Nicely cloudy when I woke up later than usual. Did clear off by midday but I just couldn't get myself going. So had a nice lunch, then took a long nap. It's now 4.30, beginning to dim towards sunset. Closed the door, which had been open most of the day. Will just settle in with a good book and bad TV.
8pm
Well, I've been watching The Polar Express. I know I know, it's a kid's movie, but the art is fantastic and the story isn't too treacly. I mean, the art is FABULOUS!. When the elves are celebrating at the end, the headliner is an elfinized Steven Tyler on a unicycle. LOL.
The other thing I watched on the This channel was "Christine." I knew the story, of course, but I'd never seen the movie. Great music and cars.
4pm
Blew off going anywhere today. Nicely cloudy when I woke up later than usual. Did clear off by midday but I just couldn't get myself going. So had a nice lunch, then took a long nap. It's now 4.30, beginning to dim towards sunset. Closed the door, which had been open most of the day. Will just settle in with a good book and bad TV.
8pm
Well, I've been watching The Polar Express. I know I know, it's a kid's movie, but the art is fantastic and the story isn't too treacly. I mean, the art is FABULOUS!. When the elves are celebrating at the end, the headliner is an elfinized Steven Tyler on a unicycle. LOL.
The other thing I watched on the This channel was "Christine." I knew the story, of course, but I'd never seen the movie. Great music and cars.
Friday 12/11
Friday 12/11 8.30pm
Did chores. Nuff said.
Carol came over about 11am and asked if I wanted to go with her to a Christmas Concert this evening. It's so nice to be asked out! I said yes. We left about 6.30 to go to the Univ. campus, Tays Hall.
Well! Not at all what either of us expected. Billed as the Community Choir and Orchestra, we expected lots of traditional noels and sing-alongs.
What we got was a badly produced revival meeting.
The choir was about 40 strong and sounded pretty good, except for the soloists, who all sang flat. Of course, they were mostly in the dark as the lighting was terrible, and they were hard to hear because the audio was badly balanced. And the whole choir was massed to one side of the large proscenium, spilling off the apron onto the floor. A large cross was set up in the center of the apron.
The orchestra, which we couldn't see at all, was over-miked and tended to drown out all but the whole choir.
And in between each song, many of which were unfamiliar, someone would rhapsodize about the birth of the baby Jesus and his wonderfulness, or a pastor would give a mini-sermon.
The program was: O Come O Come Emmanuel; You Better Get Ready; Gloria in Excelsis Deo (they mispronounced "excelsis"); Wise Men from the East; Soli Deo Gloria; What Kind of King; Infant Heart of God; Only Love; Silent Night; Christmas Chorale and Carols (with a children's choir called Special Blessing); Tell It on the Mountain; and Joy Joy Joy.
I was very good, if I do say so myself. I snickered quietly to myself, when I wasn't wincing at the awfulness of the "concert."
Turns out this was sponsored by 17 (17!) churches in the area. So much for being a "community" concert. They even had a little form in the program where you could write down your problem and, if you wished someone to pray with you, your contact info. Teenagers came around and collected these in baskets (one guy had breasts bigger than mine and really needed a bra). I expected a collection plate at any moment.
Hope I have more fun going to Mescalero tomorrow.
Did chores. Nuff said.
Carol came over about 11am and asked if I wanted to go with her to a Christmas Concert this evening. It's so nice to be asked out! I said yes. We left about 6.30 to go to the Univ. campus, Tays Hall.
Well! Not at all what either of us expected. Billed as the Community Choir and Orchestra, we expected lots of traditional noels and sing-alongs.
What we got was a badly produced revival meeting.
The choir was about 40 strong and sounded pretty good, except for the soloists, who all sang flat. Of course, they were mostly in the dark as the lighting was terrible, and they were hard to hear because the audio was badly balanced. And the whole choir was massed to one side of the large proscenium, spilling off the apron onto the floor. A large cross was set up in the center of the apron.
The orchestra, which we couldn't see at all, was over-miked and tended to drown out all but the whole choir.
And in between each song, many of which were unfamiliar, someone would rhapsodize about the birth of the baby Jesus and his wonderfulness, or a pastor would give a mini-sermon.
The program was: O Come O Come Emmanuel; You Better Get Ready; Gloria in Excelsis Deo (they mispronounced "excelsis"); Wise Men from the East; Soli Deo Gloria; What Kind of King; Infant Heart of God; Only Love; Silent Night; Christmas Chorale and Carols (with a children's choir called Special Blessing); Tell It on the Mountain; and Joy Joy Joy.
I was very good, if I do say so myself. I snickered quietly to myself, when I wasn't wincing at the awfulness of the "concert."
Turns out this was sponsored by 17 (17!) churches in the area. So much for being a "community" concert. They even had a little form in the program where you could write down your problem and, if you wished someone to pray with you, your contact info. Teenagers came around and collected these in baskets (one guy had breasts bigger than mine and really needed a bra). I expected a collection plate at any moment.
Hope I have more fun going to Mescalero tomorrow.
Thursday 12/10
Thursday 12/10
Worked three whole hours today, about a half-hour of which was spent going to the bank. The delivery truck arrived from the warehouse with about 40 boxes of stuff. Kenn started in on it. As I'll be working mostly Mon & Tue, I won't have much to do with that stuff.
I'm now off for three days, work Mon-Tue, off five days, work Mon-Tue. Am not sure what I'm going to do with myself with all this free time.
RTV is now showing I Spy! What fun!
Tomorrow is chores day -- laundry, clean bathroom in house, take shower and wash hair. But at least it's all right here -- no more driving 40 miles.
I moved the shoe rack from beside the door to hanging on the closet door, which is inset a little so the shoes don't stick out. It just means I can't open the door all the way, but it opens about halfway which is enough to get clothes in and out.
Marinated a t-bone and cooked it, along with green beans, and a hunk of French bread. A good supper.
Worked three whole hours today, about a half-hour of which was spent going to the bank. The delivery truck arrived from the warehouse with about 40 boxes of stuff. Kenn started in on it. As I'll be working mostly Mon & Tue, I won't have much to do with that stuff.
I'm now off for three days, work Mon-Tue, off five days, work Mon-Tue. Am not sure what I'm going to do with myself with all this free time.
RTV is now showing I Spy! What fun!
Tomorrow is chores day -- laundry, clean bathroom in house, take shower and wash hair. But at least it's all right here -- no more driving 40 miles.
I moved the shoe rack from beside the door to hanging on the closet door, which is inset a little so the shoes don't stick out. It just means I can't open the door all the way, but it opens about halfway which is enough to get clothes in and out.
Marinated a t-bone and cooked it, along with green beans, and a hunk of French bread. A good supper.
Wednesday 12/9
Wednesday 12/9 10.30pm
There's an odd new channel called "This" that plays old movies. Really old movies. At this moment I've stumbled across a WW II movie all about escaped U-boat Nazis trying to cross Canada and get into the States. It's as much propaganda as anything else. And, hoo boy, is the acting bad. And the script! I caught the last 30 minutes or so.
Three men in a canoe, one paddling and babbling about the wonders of nature etc (this turns out to be Leslie Howard), doing a good imitation of a silly twit. They arrive at camp (elaborate tipis -- huh, weren't tipis used on the plains? were they ever used in deep forest?) and he proceeds to be a good host twit, including showing off his Picasso and his Matisse -- he loves them so he couldn't bear to leave them behind. Mind you, these are just canvas on stretchers, unframed. He's a writer with a fine three-barreled name, researching Blackfoot traditions.
He gets overpowered and tied up, whereupon the two baddies proceed to trash the place as he details his physical reactions to the events (pulse? steady; palms? dry; belly? calm). When they destroy the paintings (decadent art!), he winces slightly. When they drop his newly completed manuscript on the Blackfeet into the fire, he gives a little grunt. British stiff upper lip, don't you know.
The Nazis run off, having spooked the (loose!) horses by trying to saddle them. Our hero gets loose, he and his men (who slept through nearly all of the uproar) corner one guy in a cave. The guy has four shots left in his pistol so Howard walks forward, counting the shots, including the 4th one that hits him in the thigh, which causes him to stagger a little and then limp on into the cave to beat up the bad guy.
That's the end of the Howard part (yah!). Then the other Nazi turns up on a freight train traveling toward the States, and is trapped with Raymond Massey as a Canadian soldier, who invites him to enjoy some of the "weak democracy" to be found at the end of his fists. The last shot is of a snarling Massey advancing on the cringing Nazi.
It was called The 49th Parallel. And what a cast! Laurence Olivier, Glynis Johns, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey. Bad acting and all. I missed Olivier, which is okay by me as I think he's only intermittently a good actor but who does love to chew the scenery. I do like Glynis Johns, though.
There's an odd new channel called "This" that plays old movies. Really old movies. At this moment I've stumbled across a WW II movie all about escaped U-boat Nazis trying to cross Canada and get into the States. It's as much propaganda as anything else. And, hoo boy, is the acting bad. And the script! I caught the last 30 minutes or so.
Three men in a canoe, one paddling and babbling about the wonders of nature etc (this turns out to be Leslie Howard), doing a good imitation of a silly twit. They arrive at camp (elaborate tipis -- huh, weren't tipis used on the plains? were they ever used in deep forest?) and he proceeds to be a good host twit, including showing off his Picasso and his Matisse -- he loves them so he couldn't bear to leave them behind. Mind you, these are just canvas on stretchers, unframed. He's a writer with a fine three-barreled name, researching Blackfoot traditions.
He gets overpowered and tied up, whereupon the two baddies proceed to trash the place as he details his physical reactions to the events (pulse? steady; palms? dry; belly? calm). When they destroy the paintings (decadent art!), he winces slightly. When they drop his newly completed manuscript on the Blackfeet into the fire, he gives a little grunt. British stiff upper lip, don't you know.
The Nazis run off, having spooked the (loose!) horses by trying to saddle them. Our hero gets loose, he and his men (who slept through nearly all of the uproar) corner one guy in a cave. The guy has four shots left in his pistol so Howard walks forward, counting the shots, including the 4th one that hits him in the thigh, which causes him to stagger a little and then limp on into the cave to beat up the bad guy.
That's the end of the Howard part (yah!). Then the other Nazi turns up on a freight train traveling toward the States, and is trapped with Raymond Massey as a Canadian soldier, who invites him to enjoy some of the "weak democracy" to be found at the end of his fists. The last shot is of a snarling Massey advancing on the cringing Nazi.
It was called The 49th Parallel. And what a cast! Laurence Olivier, Glynis Johns, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey. Bad acting and all. I missed Olivier, which is okay by me as I think he's only intermittently a good actor but who does love to chew the scenery. I do like Glynis Johns, though.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Today
Have successfully found both the post office and the library, where I am sitting right now. You have to have a library card to use the wifi but I'm being a "guest" right now. Somebody needs to send me a piece of mail to the store so I can wave it in the librarian's face.
Bowlin's Running Indian Store
7166 Hwy 70 N
Alamogordo NM 88310
It's way warmer than it was yesterday, even though still quite breezy and cool.
I see that the pics I had planted in my journal didn't make the transition to my blog. I guess I need to do it the old-fashioned way and let the blog upload the real thing. I'll try to get them posted later.
It's really nice being so close to town, about five miles to the center of town. I'm sitting in the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Room here at the library. Interesting middle name, eh? When I asked the Ref. Lib. who he was, she seemed surprised that someone would ask. Oh, she said, he was an early cowboy here and wrote a lot of books, and we have all his papers.
The town streets are numbered north to south, and east to west are state names (the library is on Oregon). The main downtown street is New York, which I'm going to wander up on my way back from WM.
Work 10-1 tomorrow and then off for 3 days. Hard life.
Off to WM to make an eye exam appnt. to get new glasses.
Bowlin's Running Indian Store
7166 Hwy 70 N
Alamogordo NM 88310
It's way warmer than it was yesterday, even though still quite breezy and cool.
I see that the pics I had planted in my journal didn't make the transition to my blog. I guess I need to do it the old-fashioned way and let the blog upload the real thing. I'll try to get them posted later.
It's really nice being so close to town, about five miles to the center of town. I'm sitting in the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Room here at the library. Interesting middle name, eh? When I asked the Ref. Lib. who he was, she seemed surprised that someone would ask. Oh, she said, he was an early cowboy here and wrote a lot of books, and we have all his papers.
The town streets are numbered north to south, and east to west are state names (the library is on Oregon). The main downtown street is New York, which I'm going to wander up on my way back from WM.
Work 10-1 tomorrow and then off for 3 days. Hard life.
Off to WM to make an eye exam appnt. to get new glasses.
Tuesday 12/8
Tuesday 12-8 6am
Blizzard watch in NW part of the state; rain for us all day with high winds -- 35 gusting to 50. So much for going anywhere today. Not particularly cold, though, which is good. Tomorrow I'm going to try the library for wifi and get my newsletter out! Maybe trundle around town a little and have a look. There's a billiards parlor downtown; maybe I'll try it out (without pulling out my own cue until I get some practice in).
Met Caleb yesterday. Nice guy, very soft-spoken, called me ma'am a lot. Told him that it didn't bother me but between co-workers was a little formal. He stopped doing it by the end of the day. When I first came in and introduced myself, he said "nice to meet you" and nothing else. Great, I thought, another non-talker. But by the end of the day my scintillating personality (hah) had thawed him considerably and I've begun to get his life story (when he was 15 his father required him to stop saying mom and dad and begin saying ma'am and sir -- weird, huh?).
Had a pretty good day sales-wise. One time was dealing with a group of four elderly Chinese women, all of whom were interested in geodes. Much heaving about of some hefty rocks, no I like this blue one better than that blue one, wait let's see that purple one, but what about this red one, and on and on. But they were fun. I believe they're not going to use them as bookmarks but in their small gardens, a venerable Asian tradition to have interesting rocks in gardens.
Schedule for week is off Tue-Wed, work half-day Thur, off Fri-Sun, work all day Mon-Tue. I believe I can handle this. What a nice change from Akela.
It's 6.30am now and the sky is beginning to lighten. I see big clouds scudding across the sky, driven by the wind. No color yet but it's going to be interesting soon. I'll see if I can get a picture through the window (not going out, thank you very much).
Ta.
Update at 5.30pm.
Well! The winds did a job all over the area. El Paso officially had 68mph. The White Sands base police building lost its entire roof, with shattered windows. A canopy at a stadium, which was supposed to withstand higher winds, blew off. The system has now moved into the middle of the country as a blizzard.
White Sands is only about 30 miles south of here but it got the full effect of the wind funneling through the pass. I bounced around some in the rig but never felt like it was going to go airborne. Tomorrow is to be breezy (15mph), low 50s, sunny, so I'm going to town, as planned.
Oh yeah. Saw Clint Eastwood on "Ellen" today. He's about to turn 80!
Blizzard watch in NW part of the state; rain for us all day with high winds -- 35 gusting to 50. So much for going anywhere today. Not particularly cold, though, which is good. Tomorrow I'm going to try the library for wifi and get my newsletter out! Maybe trundle around town a little and have a look. There's a billiards parlor downtown; maybe I'll try it out (without pulling out my own cue until I get some practice in).
Met Caleb yesterday. Nice guy, very soft-spoken, called me ma'am a lot. Told him that it didn't bother me but between co-workers was a little formal. He stopped doing it by the end of the day. When I first came in and introduced myself, he said "nice to meet you" and nothing else. Great, I thought, another non-talker. But by the end of the day my scintillating personality (hah) had thawed him considerably and I've begun to get his life story (when he was 15 his father required him to stop saying mom and dad and begin saying ma'am and sir -- weird, huh?).
Had a pretty good day sales-wise. One time was dealing with a group of four elderly Chinese women, all of whom were interested in geodes. Much heaving about of some hefty rocks, no I like this blue one better than that blue one, wait let's see that purple one, but what about this red one, and on and on. But they were fun. I believe they're not going to use them as bookmarks but in their small gardens, a venerable Asian tradition to have interesting rocks in gardens.
Schedule for week is off Tue-Wed, work half-day Thur, off Fri-Sun, work all day Mon-Tue. I believe I can handle this. What a nice change from Akela.
It's 6.30am now and the sky is beginning to lighten. I see big clouds scudding across the sky, driven by the wind. No color yet but it's going to be interesting soon. I'll see if I can get a picture through the window (not going out, thank you very much).
Ta.
Update at 5.30pm.
Well! The winds did a job all over the area. El Paso officially had 68mph. The White Sands base police building lost its entire roof, with shattered windows. A canopy at a stadium, which was supposed to withstand higher winds, blew off. The system has now moved into the middle of the country as a blizzard.
White Sands is only about 30 miles south of here but it got the full effect of the wind funneling through the pass. I bounced around some in the rig but never felt like it was going to go airborne. Tomorrow is to be breezy (15mph), low 50s, sunny, so I'm going to town, as planned.
Oh yeah. Saw Clint Eastwood on "Ellen" today. He's about to turn 80!
Sunday 12/6
Sunday 12-6 4pm
So I hooked up the water splitter after disconnecting our jerry-rigged connection. Reconnected their rig. Added my second hose to my hose and ran it behind their rig so they can go out and in without running over it. Put foam insulation on my extended hose. Turned water on. All good.
Tested the sewer line but it still had some ice in it (about 1pm) so I went inside to wait for an hour or so. Came out about 2 or 2.30 and closed the gray water valve. Unhooked the old sewer line and walked all the water down the line. Hooked both new lines together to make the 20 ft line, got it screwed into the waste pipe. Took the transparent connector from the old line and put it on the new one (so I can see what's happening and when it runs clear). Connected the new line to the rig. Opened the gray tank valve.
Now came the attempt to make it flow properly. I discovered that my hose reel will stand on edge and the line can rest in it and it's almost as tall as the waste pipe. I let the first 10 ft droop so the tanks would empty and then used the cradles to gently go up. I'll still have to walk it when doing the black tank, but at least it'll flow out of the tank into the line halfway and I'll walk it from there. I only need to empty the black tank about once a week, takes about 10 minutes, so no big deal to add a few minutes to walk it all away.
Then I went to the house and took a shower. It's really nice to be able to raise my arms over my head. So I'm feeling both clean and virtuous.
Have started number 4 in Lilith Saintcrow's "Jill Kismet" series, Flesh Circus. She's one of the best of the paranormal writers, and I like this series better than her Dante Valentine series of a few years back. She's written the first in a new series that's not paranormal but is what you might call sword and sorcery; I really enjoyed it and am waiting for the next one.
Also picked up Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I absolutely loved his Snow Crash (and have finally found a pb of it to re-read at some point). Anathem is a huge book so I'll have to be in the just the right mood when I start it.
I started Mary Gentle's "Ilario" a while ago (about a hermaphrodite in a sorcerous alternate history) and never got back to it, but it's niggling around in the back of my brain, so I may pick it up again soon. Fabulous writer. Definitely for non-squeamish adults.
It was warm enough today to have the door open for a couple of hours. Nice, after being 20 the other night.
Work from 10-5 tomorrow.
PS Have discovered that RTV channel is all old series. Turned it on just now and found it was playing Airwolf. I loved that show. Great helicopter flying. And Ernie Borgnine got to chew the scenery some, since Jan Michael Vincent isn't one of the world's best actors. Too bad JMV messed his life up so badly.
PPS Just watched NCIS: LA for the first time. Now, NCIS is one of my favorite shows and I generally don't like spinoffs. This one is pretty funny in that it's way more outrageous than the original. Hooray for Linda Hunt, though, who brings force to the show (I guess she's the Mark Harmon character). The hacker genius is a hoot, too. LL Cool J is fine, though not much of an actor. His partner is okay. The obligatory beautiful woman is okay. The main problem is their "office," which seems to be some vast Spanish hacienda (I mean, really, does NCIS work out of a place like that?), and the silly plot about a hijacked missile. So, tolerable but not compelling.
So I hooked up the water splitter after disconnecting our jerry-rigged connection. Reconnected their rig. Added my second hose to my hose and ran it behind their rig so they can go out and in without running over it. Put foam insulation on my extended hose. Turned water on. All good.
Tested the sewer line but it still had some ice in it (about 1pm) so I went inside to wait for an hour or so. Came out about 2 or 2.30 and closed the gray water valve. Unhooked the old sewer line and walked all the water down the line. Hooked both new lines together to make the 20 ft line, got it screwed into the waste pipe. Took the transparent connector from the old line and put it on the new one (so I can see what's happening and when it runs clear). Connected the new line to the rig. Opened the gray tank valve.
Now came the attempt to make it flow properly. I discovered that my hose reel will stand on edge and the line can rest in it and it's almost as tall as the waste pipe. I let the first 10 ft droop so the tanks would empty and then used the cradles to gently go up. I'll still have to walk it when doing the black tank, but at least it'll flow out of the tank into the line halfway and I'll walk it from there. I only need to empty the black tank about once a week, takes about 10 minutes, so no big deal to add a few minutes to walk it all away.
Then I went to the house and took a shower. It's really nice to be able to raise my arms over my head. So I'm feeling both clean and virtuous.
Have started number 4 in Lilith Saintcrow's "Jill Kismet" series, Flesh Circus. She's one of the best of the paranormal writers, and I like this series better than her Dante Valentine series of a few years back. She's written the first in a new series that's not paranormal but is what you might call sword and sorcery; I really enjoyed it and am waiting for the next one.
Also picked up Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I absolutely loved his Snow Crash (and have finally found a pb of it to re-read at some point). Anathem is a huge book so I'll have to be in the just the right mood when I start it.
I started Mary Gentle's "Ilario" a while ago (about a hermaphrodite in a sorcerous alternate history) and never got back to it, but it's niggling around in the back of my brain, so I may pick it up again soon. Fabulous writer. Definitely for non-squeamish adults.
It was warm enough today to have the door open for a couple of hours. Nice, after being 20 the other night.
Work from 10-5 tomorrow.
PS Have discovered that RTV channel is all old series. Turned it on just now and found it was playing Airwolf. I loved that show. Great helicopter flying. And Ernie Borgnine got to chew the scenery some, since Jan Michael Vincent isn't one of the world's best actors. Too bad JMV messed his life up so badly.
PPS Just watched NCIS: LA for the first time. Now, NCIS is one of my favorite shows and I generally don't like spinoffs. This one is pretty funny in that it's way more outrageous than the original. Hooray for Linda Hunt, though, who brings force to the show (I guess she's the Mark Harmon character). The hacker genius is a hoot, too. LL Cool J is fine, though not much of an actor. His partner is okay. The obligatory beautiful woman is okay. The main problem is their "office," which seems to be some vast Spanish hacienda (I mean, really, does NCIS work out of a place like that?), and the silly plot about a hijacked missile. So, tolerable but not compelling.
Saturday 12/5
Saturday 12-5 6pm
Still pretty cold today, and it was 20 last night. When I got up, it was 56 in here so I turned on the big heater in the a/c unit. It took about an hour to get up to 68. It's supposed to be warm tomorrow
Good thing, because I went to town today with Carol (she asked if I wanted to go -- isn't that nice?). Got a new sewer 20 ft line with swivel fittings, and another cradle. Also got a water splitter for two hoses that has separate shut-offs. And I got some more foam insulators for the water hose because I'm going to get out my other hose and connect the two so I can run it all the way under their rig to the water spigot. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the sewer and the water lines.
Fun stuff.
Still pretty cold today, and it was 20 last night. When I got up, it was 56 in here so I turned on the big heater in the a/c unit. It took about an hour to get up to 68. It's supposed to be warm tomorrow
Good thing, because I went to town today with Carol (she asked if I wanted to go -- isn't that nice?). Got a new sewer 20 ft line with swivel fittings, and another cradle. Also got a water splitter for two hoses that has separate shut-offs. And I got some more foam insulators for the water hose because I'm going to get out my other hose and connect the two so I can run it all the way under their rig to the water spigot. Tomorrow I'm going to work on the sewer and the water lines.
Fun stuff.
Friday 12/4
Friday 12-4 8am
Today is the end of my 3-month trial period. I've taken the test ("module" 1); if I pass, I'll get keys and alarm codes etc and will be able to open and close for real. Guess I'll stay with the company and see how it goes. Looks my Kenn wants my schedule will be two long days, Mon & Tue at 8.5 hrs with a 1/2-hr break, for 16 hrs. Then I'll have five days off. I can handle that.
I'm actually eager to stay in this area a while (not southern NM but Alamogordo). I want to go to Ruidoso and check it out, and the Mescalero Apache reservation, and the racetrack etc etc. And the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Rec. Area is only about 30 miles away, but no paved roads so will have to walk around. Then there's the Valley of Fires State Park, a 1500-yr-old lava flow 4-6 miles wide and 44 miles long. Of course, White Sands Natl Monument is just 15 miles south of Alamogordo, 275 sq. miles of moving gypsum dunes.
Those mountains on the northern edge of town are the Sacramentos and up in them is the Natl Solar Observatory, in the Lincoln Natl Forest. Cloudcroft is a village up in the mtns at 9000 ft with the worlds 2nd highest golf course at 9200 ft. I probably won't try to get up there until spring, not with my little 4-banger. I think the highest I've been in my rig is that pass the other day at 5700 ft.
It's kind of fun looking at maps and seeing names out of Louis L'amour books (whose research was impeccable). The Malpais. Chaves Canyon. Hondo. There's also a Billy the Kid Casino, and a Billy the Kid Natl Scenic Byway.
It did snow last night, starting about 5pm, and we got a couple of inches. However, it's now 9am and the sun is out and most of the clouds are gone. However, it's still really cold; my little heater has managed to get the interior up to 58 deg. The floor is cold but I do have a rug in front of the couch, so that helps. I'm going to get plastic up on the kitchen window and two of the vents today, and that will help, too. But it'll be warmer tomorrow so I'll take myself out for a spin.
Didn't go out today at all so will feed the cats again tomorrow morning.
Today is the end of my 3-month trial period. I've taken the test ("module" 1); if I pass, I'll get keys and alarm codes etc and will be able to open and close for real. Guess I'll stay with the company and see how it goes. Looks my Kenn wants my schedule will be two long days, Mon & Tue at 8.5 hrs with a 1/2-hr break, for 16 hrs. Then I'll have five days off. I can handle that.
I'm actually eager to stay in this area a while (not southern NM but Alamogordo). I want to go to Ruidoso and check it out, and the Mescalero Apache reservation, and the racetrack etc etc. And the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Rec. Area is only about 30 miles away, but no paved roads so will have to walk around. Then there's the Valley of Fires State Park, a 1500-yr-old lava flow 4-6 miles wide and 44 miles long. Of course, White Sands Natl Monument is just 15 miles south of Alamogordo, 275 sq. miles of moving gypsum dunes.
Those mountains on the northern edge of town are the Sacramentos and up in them is the Natl Solar Observatory, in the Lincoln Natl Forest. Cloudcroft is a village up in the mtns at 9000 ft with the worlds 2nd highest golf course at 9200 ft. I probably won't try to get up there until spring, not with my little 4-banger. I think the highest I've been in my rig is that pass the other day at 5700 ft.
It's kind of fun looking at maps and seeing names out of Louis L'amour books (whose research was impeccable). The Malpais. Chaves Canyon. Hondo. There's also a Billy the Kid Casino, and a Billy the Kid Natl Scenic Byway.
It did snow last night, starting about 5pm, and we got a couple of inches. However, it's now 9am and the sun is out and most of the clouds are gone. However, it's still really cold; my little heater has managed to get the interior up to 58 deg. The floor is cold but I do have a rug in front of the couch, so that helps. I'm going to get plastic up on the kitchen window and two of the vents today, and that will help, too. But it'll be warmer tomorrow so I'll take myself out for a spin.
Didn't go out today at all so will feed the cats again tomorrow morning.
Thursday 12/3
Thursday 12-3 7am & 8pm
Worked 12-5.30 yesterday. What a simple store this is to work at. Of course, all the stuff is the same, and there's a fireworks section, too. Kenn has worked out a cleaning rotation for the tables, which makes sense. I did two of them yesterday and now I know those items really well.
We did have a little dustup about my hours. He's planning schedules and said, okay, I can have you work all day Mon & Tue and that'll give you 15 hours. No, I said, I have to have 16 hours and that's what Alfred promised me. He began sputtering about labor costs, Carol giving up hours so I could have them etc etc. I understand, I said, and I've been management, but that's not the point, I was promised 16.
Well, you can't really open or close because you haven't taken the test; how about you study for it and take it in two weeks and pass it; then I can give you 16. No, I said, my 16 hours doesn't hinge on anything; Alfred promised me 16 and that's the minimum I have to have; otherwise, I might as well look for something else. So he's going to talk to Alfred and I'm going to study for the test and he's going to find 16 hrs for me.
It seems as though I'll be aiming for the title "shift supervisor." I pointed out to Kenn that nobody had ever told me what the options are or what I had to do to get them. I just learned about these "modules" a week or so ago. There's about 50 single-spaced type pages in the manual of stuff I'm supposed to learn -- employment methods, grounds for dismissal, discrimination policies, etc etc. I can't take it home to study, either; it has to stay in the store. Update: I finished reading the section and said I was ready to take the test. It took me 20 minutes. Now it gets faxed to hq and graded.
The store had a good day yesterday, mostly before my shift; I rang up $26. What a difference from Akela! Update: Today I had two sales, no cash, and did about $90. Whoo hoo.
Warmed up considerably yesterday and a lot of the snow melted. However, Friday's forecast is for 2-4" of snow and really cold, so it may mean I don't get out and get the propane checked and get a new sewer hose and find a wifi hotspot. Update: It's already snowing so I probably won't get out tomorrow at all. It should be in the low 60s by Sat. or Sun, so that'll be nice.
How is it every winter I wind up in a cold place? I mean, Kansas last year, and now here! So far I've been in cool summer places, but I bet Alamogordo is hot, even at 4500 ft. We'll see (or not, as the case may be).
Oh yeah, I'm now in charge of feeding the cats that hang around the store. Kenn and Carol don't like cats so they're happy to turn the job over to me. The store buys the food. I was given three cans of food yesterday, standing out in the snow, and was told that they hadn't been fed in a couple of days. So I slogged over to the house yard and put a can out.
Worked 12-5.30 yesterday. What a simple store this is to work at. Of course, all the stuff is the same, and there's a fireworks section, too. Kenn has worked out a cleaning rotation for the tables, which makes sense. I did two of them yesterday and now I know those items really well.
We did have a little dustup about my hours. He's planning schedules and said, okay, I can have you work all day Mon & Tue and that'll give you 15 hours. No, I said, I have to have 16 hours and that's what Alfred promised me. He began sputtering about labor costs, Carol giving up hours so I could have them etc etc. I understand, I said, and I've been management, but that's not the point, I was promised 16.
Well, you can't really open or close because you haven't taken the test; how about you study for it and take it in two weeks and pass it; then I can give you 16. No, I said, my 16 hours doesn't hinge on anything; Alfred promised me 16 and that's the minimum I have to have; otherwise, I might as well look for something else. So he's going to talk to Alfred and I'm going to study for the test and he's going to find 16 hrs for me.
It seems as though I'll be aiming for the title "shift supervisor." I pointed out to Kenn that nobody had ever told me what the options are or what I had to do to get them. I just learned about these "modules" a week or so ago. There's about 50 single-spaced type pages in the manual of stuff I'm supposed to learn -- employment methods, grounds for dismissal, discrimination policies, etc etc. I can't take it home to study, either; it has to stay in the store. Update: I finished reading the section and said I was ready to take the test. It took me 20 minutes. Now it gets faxed to hq and graded.
The store had a good day yesterday, mostly before my shift; I rang up $26. What a difference from Akela! Update: Today I had two sales, no cash, and did about $90. Whoo hoo.
Warmed up considerably yesterday and a lot of the snow melted. However, Friday's forecast is for 2-4" of snow and really cold, so it may mean I don't get out and get the propane checked and get a new sewer hose and find a wifi hotspot. Update: It's already snowing so I probably won't get out tomorrow at all. It should be in the low 60s by Sat. or Sun, so that'll be nice.
How is it every winter I wind up in a cold place? I mean, Kansas last year, and now here! So far I've been in cool summer places, but I bet Alamogordo is hot, even at 4500 ft. We'll see (or not, as the case may be).
Oh yeah, I'm now in charge of feeding the cats that hang around the store. Kenn and Carol don't like cats so they're happy to turn the job over to me. The store buys the food. I was given three cans of food yesterday, standing out in the snow, and was told that they hadn't been fed in a couple of days. So I slogged over to the house yard and put a can out.
Wednesday 12/2
Wednesday 12-2 8am
Really cold last night, about 26, and the area is totally socked in this morning. Here's my first morning's view.
[didn't come through]
Lovely, eh? Took it about 7am. It's a little brighter now, an hour later, but nothing else has changed much. This is looking more or less west from my couch. That frondy thing in the middle right is my money tree plant.
I'm still finding little pools of sugar in odd places. Double sigh. It may take months, months I say, to get it all. Good thing it's not summer or all the area critters would be passing the word about the new restaurant.
I think I'm going to get a new sewer hose, 20 ft long, with new connections and probably a second cradle, and see if I can't rig some way to do a very gradual upslope and then downslope to the drain. Maybe then I won't have to walk the line every day.
Also, when I got my propane tank filled a couple of weeks ago, I don't think the guy closed it off tightly enough as I catch faint whiffs outside when I'm near the tank and inside I get a faint headache. I've lit the pilot light on the stove and will leave it on to prevent pooling of the fumes. I'll have it checked soon. It may be something else, maybe a crack in the line from the tank to the inside. Maybe he closed it too tightly and cracked something. Who knows.
I'm to go to work at noon today but have no idea what my schedule's going to be. Will let you know. I think it's time for my second cup of coffee.
Really cold last night, about 26, and the area is totally socked in this morning. Here's my first morning's view.
[didn't come through]
Lovely, eh? Took it about 7am. It's a little brighter now, an hour later, but nothing else has changed much. This is looking more or less west from my couch. That frondy thing in the middle right is my money tree plant.
I'm still finding little pools of sugar in odd places. Double sigh. It may take months, months I say, to get it all. Good thing it's not summer or all the area critters would be passing the word about the new restaurant.
I think I'm going to get a new sewer hose, 20 ft long, with new connections and probably a second cradle, and see if I can't rig some way to do a very gradual upslope and then downslope to the drain. Maybe then I won't have to walk the line every day.
Also, when I got my propane tank filled a couple of weeks ago, I don't think the guy closed it off tightly enough as I catch faint whiffs outside when I'm near the tank and inside I get a faint headache. I've lit the pilot light on the stove and will leave it on to prevent pooling of the fumes. I'll have it checked soon. It may be something else, maybe a crack in the line from the tank to the inside. Maybe he closed it too tightly and cracked something. Who knows.
I'm to go to work at noon today but have no idea what my schedule's going to be. Will let you know. I think it's time for my second cup of coffee.
Tuesday 12/1
Tuesday Dec 1 6pm
Left Akela Flats about 11am under lowering skies with a little blue showing here and there. Was supposed to clear out by late afternoon. Roads fine. Stopped at the WM in Las Cruces, mainly because the rubber seal on the sewer connector has broken and WM has a section of RV supplies. While there, went ahead and bought groceries, too.
Headed out of Las Cruces on Hwy 70 toward the Organ Mtn pass, San Augustine at 5719 ft. The mountains were white with snow, and I took some pictures while driving with one hand and just aiming out the window with the other hand. Who knows what I'll get, if anything.
Well, that one (of 17) turned out okay. The road curves right in front of that hill and starts up the pass, which is gradual on this side and steep going down the other side. Chugged over the pass and finally found a place to stop and take pix of the backside of the mountains and some other hills off to the west. On to Alamogordo.
The closer I got the more socked-in it looked, and the area showed about six inches of snow. There's a mountain range quite near and it could hardly be seen. Had no trouble finding the Bowlin store (although the GPS wanted me to turn right for some reason, instead of left). As the store was right there, I ignored the voice.
Kenn and Carol were working today, and Kenn showed me where to park. We're much closer than at Akela, about 10 ft apart, but at least the main window I look out is on the other side from them and I have a distance view. After some slogging around in the snow and slush, got hooked up. Came in to put away groceries and had a domestic disaster -- dropped an open bag of sugar. Sigh.
Also am picking up about seven good channels, all the main ones plus MyNet and CW and something called RTV. There's some Spanish and religion stations, too, which I can just ignore. Haven't ever figured out how to suppress unwanted channels on my remote, which I used to be able to do back in NC with cable. That way, I didn't even have to see those irritating folk (like Pat Robinson? Robertson? oh, you know who I mean) or sweating shouting exhorting folk with really really bad hairpieces.
The only bad thing is the sewer connector is higher than my rig, so the line doesn't drain well at all. This means I'll get to "walk the line" every day to help the liquid go down. The only thing going in there right now is kitchen sink stuff so it's not nasty. But still -- what a pain. It's going to be such fun doing the black tank.
There's a little house here with a bathroom we can use (a real shower), a washer/dryer, too. Really nice. I'm going to go over in the morning and take a nice hot shower. Right now, I'm about to have my first meal of the day and I'm really hungry.
Ta.
Left Akela Flats about 11am under lowering skies with a little blue showing here and there. Was supposed to clear out by late afternoon. Roads fine. Stopped at the WM in Las Cruces, mainly because the rubber seal on the sewer connector has broken and WM has a section of RV supplies. While there, went ahead and bought groceries, too.
Headed out of Las Cruces on Hwy 70 toward the Organ Mtn pass, San Augustine at 5719 ft. The mountains were white with snow, and I took some pictures while driving with one hand and just aiming out the window with the other hand. Who knows what I'll get, if anything.
Well, that one (of 17) turned out okay. The road curves right in front of that hill and starts up the pass, which is gradual on this side and steep going down the other side. Chugged over the pass and finally found a place to stop and take pix of the backside of the mountains and some other hills off to the west. On to Alamogordo.
The closer I got the more socked-in it looked, and the area showed about six inches of snow. There's a mountain range quite near and it could hardly be seen. Had no trouble finding the Bowlin store (although the GPS wanted me to turn right for some reason, instead of left). As the store was right there, I ignored the voice.
Kenn and Carol were working today, and Kenn showed me where to park. We're much closer than at Akela, about 10 ft apart, but at least the main window I look out is on the other side from them and I have a distance view. After some slogging around in the snow and slush, got hooked up. Came in to put away groceries and had a domestic disaster -- dropped an open bag of sugar. Sigh.
Also am picking up about seven good channels, all the main ones plus MyNet and CW and something called RTV. There's some Spanish and religion stations, too, which I can just ignore. Haven't ever figured out how to suppress unwanted channels on my remote, which I used to be able to do back in NC with cable. That way, I didn't even have to see those irritating folk (like Pat Robinson? Robertson? oh, you know who I mean) or sweating shouting exhorting folk with really really bad hairpieces.
The only bad thing is the sewer connector is higher than my rig, so the line doesn't drain well at all. This means I'll get to "walk the line" every day to help the liquid go down. The only thing going in there right now is kitchen sink stuff so it's not nasty. But still -- what a pain. It's going to be such fun doing the black tank.
There's a little house here with a bathroom we can use (a real shower), a washer/dryer, too. Really nice. I'm going to go over in the morning and take a nice hot shower. Right now, I'm about to have my first meal of the day and I'm really hungry.
Ta.
Monday 11/30
Monday 11-30 3pm
Well, I did the slogging around in the rain and mud. Got wet and cold. Got everything stashed away. Not very tidily as I'm only going 100 miles, but stuffed in the storage bin and smushed down until I could lock it. It'll do.
About noon I went down to the Apache Cafe and discovered they had a special of salmon with rice pilaf and green beans and corn. I said no corn but extra green beans, please. It was tasty, though the fish was overcooked, and the rice wasn't exactly "pilaf." But, hey, it was only $5.
And the wifi was down because of the weather. The manager guy said it was probably the transmitter on the mountain. So I didn't get to check my email or send out the Yclept Yarbro issue.
Grrr
When I got back and plugged in, my TV wasn't picking up any signals either. I've tried programming it a few times in different positions and each time I pick up a different station. I really only want one, the one that has So You Think You Can Dance on it. But so far no luck.
Grrr. Grrr.
They're still predicting some snow. We'll see. I'm planning on leaving tomorrow about 11 or 12, going to Albertson's Grocery in Las Cruces, stocking up, and arriving at the Alamogordo store about 3 or 4pm, to get hooked up before dark. Then I'm going over to the house and taking a long hot shower. It's supposed to be up to 60 by Friday.
Have no idea what my schedule's going to be. With only 16 hours of work, it'll probably be two 8-hr days, Mon & Tue, as I know that's when Kenn and Carol want off. Of course, that won't happen until I learn to open and close, I think, but Caleb already knows how to do that stuff so I may just be his assistant until I pass the "modules." So corporate.
This whole corporate thing is weighing on me. I may just quit in Jan. anyhow, go to Quartzsite and have some fun for a few weeks with my RVW friends, and then find another job.
Well, I did the slogging around in the rain and mud. Got wet and cold. Got everything stashed away. Not very tidily as I'm only going 100 miles, but stuffed in the storage bin and smushed down until I could lock it. It'll do.
About noon I went down to the Apache Cafe and discovered they had a special of salmon with rice pilaf and green beans and corn. I said no corn but extra green beans, please. It was tasty, though the fish was overcooked, and the rice wasn't exactly "pilaf." But, hey, it was only $5.
And the wifi was down because of the weather. The manager guy said it was probably the transmitter on the mountain. So I didn't get to check my email or send out the Yclept Yarbro issue.
Grrr
When I got back and plugged in, my TV wasn't picking up any signals either. I've tried programming it a few times in different positions and each time I pick up a different station. I really only want one, the one that has So You Think You Can Dance on it. But so far no luck.
Grrr. Grrr.
They're still predicting some snow. We'll see. I'm planning on leaving tomorrow about 11 or 12, going to Albertson's Grocery in Las Cruces, stocking up, and arriving at the Alamogordo store about 3 or 4pm, to get hooked up before dark. Then I'm going over to the house and taking a long hot shower. It's supposed to be up to 60 by Friday.
Have no idea what my schedule's going to be. With only 16 hours of work, it'll probably be two 8-hr days, Mon & Tue, as I know that's when Kenn and Carol want off. Of course, that won't happen until I learn to open and close, I think, but Caleb already knows how to do that stuff so I may just be his assistant until I pass the "modules." So corporate.
This whole corporate thing is weighing on me. I may just quit in Jan. anyhow, go to Quartzsite and have some fun for a few weeks with my RVW friends, and then find another job.
Sunday 11/29
Sunday 11-29 10.30 pm
Last day! Busy busy busy. Did almost $800 and only one sale was over $50, so lots of activity. Came up $5 short -- got to be something obvious but neither Rose nor I could find it so left it for Leeann to do.
Parting words from Leeann were to drive carefully. Parting words from Rose were good luck at the new store. No parting words from Ryan.
It's rained off and on all day and is now raining heavily. It might freeze tonight which will mean icy roads and maybe some flakes, though it's not too probably as the high tomorrow will be 40. I get to slog around in the mud and get all the hoses ready to move. Fun.
Last day! Busy busy busy. Did almost $800 and only one sale was over $50, so lots of activity. Came up $5 short -- got to be something obvious but neither Rose nor I could find it so left it for Leeann to do.
Parting words from Leeann were to drive carefully. Parting words from Rose were good luck at the new store. No parting words from Ryan.
It's rained off and on all day and is now raining heavily. It might freeze tonight which will mean icy roads and maybe some flakes, though it's not too probably as the high tomorrow will be 40. I get to slog around in the mud and get all the hoses ready to move. Fun.
Saturday 11/28
Saturday 11/28
Well, of course, now that everybody knows I'm leaving, Rose and Ryan are both being very friendly and helpful.
Busy busy day today, even though I still only got less than $800 in sales. It was almost nonstop. Rose did manage to get most of the fireworks sales, and she had about ten commission sales and I had about four.
And a big winter storm is about to slam us. I did get plastic up on the big windows today and it really makes a difference. I'll put some up on the vents and the kitchen window, too. I think I'm going to look for a carpet runner. It needs to be max 20 inches wide, which is hard to find, but it's nice in winter to step onto.
The wind has really picked up and there's been some rain. Snow has been mentioned. The high on Monday and Tuesday should be in the low 40s. And those are the two days I need to get ready to move and to actually drive to Alamogordo. Ought to be interesting.
Well, of course, now that everybody knows I'm leaving, Rose and Ryan are both being very friendly and helpful.
Busy busy day today, even though I still only got less than $800 in sales. It was almost nonstop. Rose did manage to get most of the fireworks sales, and she had about ten commission sales and I had about four.
And a big winter storm is about to slam us. I did get plastic up on the big windows today and it really makes a difference. I'll put some up on the vents and the kitchen window, too. I think I'm going to look for a carpet runner. It needs to be max 20 inches wide, which is hard to find, but it's nice in winter to step onto.
The wind has really picked up and there's been some rain. Snow has been mentioned. The high on Monday and Tuesday should be in the low 40s. And those are the two days I need to get ready to move and to actually drive to Alamogordo. Ought to be interesting.
Friday 11-27
Friday 11/27
My last day here at Akela Flats is SUNDAY.
I'll relax on Monday, putting things to rights for moving, like water hoses and sewer line, all drained and coiled and put away. I also plan to go down to the Apache Cafe and do some wifi work, like sending out the latest issue of Yclept Yarbro (#30!).
Alfred told me that they could only offer me 16 hours a week to start (I had asked for 20-25), so we'll see how that goes. That'll get me the minimum I need to live well, added to my social security. Of course, I'm adding to my socsec right now as it's being taken out of my paycheck, so I should be getting more, starting in Jan.
Supposedly, a big storm is rolling in and the high on Sunday should be in the mid 50s, with a possibility of some rain and wind. Monday not much better, but Tuesday, when I'll be traveling, should be better. Of course, I'm only going about 100 miles, but I need to stop at a grocery story in Alamogordo and stock up a little.
Speaking of storm, remember way back last May when my brother, his SO Deborah, and I were going to sail across San Francisco Bay to watch Kaboom, a huge fireworks display? And the Bay was to choppy and windy and nasty, he had to put on his foul weather gear and turn us around and take us back to dock. Well, I finally got a picture of him being intrepid at the helm.
But I see it didn't transfer so will try again later.
I have no idea what the new arrangements will be here at Akela, and don't really care. I get the feeling that Rose will be working fulltime for a while, but that's guesswork. When I got in today, I was told that Leeann was on the phone with Alfred and not to disturb her. Then she called Rose in and closed the door for a long chat. Then she came out to me and said, your turn. But we didn't go in the office, we just stood behind the counter while she told me my last day here would be Sunday.
Oh yes, I passed the HazMat test.
My last day here at Akela Flats is SUNDAY.
I'll relax on Monday, putting things to rights for moving, like water hoses and sewer line, all drained and coiled and put away. I also plan to go down to the Apache Cafe and do some wifi work, like sending out the latest issue of Yclept Yarbro (#30!).
Alfred told me that they could only offer me 16 hours a week to start (I had asked for 20-25), so we'll see how that goes. That'll get me the minimum I need to live well, added to my social security. Of course, I'm adding to my socsec right now as it's being taken out of my paycheck, so I should be getting more, starting in Jan.
Supposedly, a big storm is rolling in and the high on Sunday should be in the mid 50s, with a possibility of some rain and wind. Monday not much better, but Tuesday, when I'll be traveling, should be better. Of course, I'm only going about 100 miles, but I need to stop at a grocery story in Alamogordo and stock up a little.
Speaking of storm, remember way back last May when my brother, his SO Deborah, and I were going to sail across San Francisco Bay to watch Kaboom, a huge fireworks display? And the Bay was to choppy and windy and nasty, he had to put on his foul weather gear and turn us around and take us back to dock. Well, I finally got a picture of him being intrepid at the helm.
But I see it didn't transfer so will try again later.
I have no idea what the new arrangements will be here at Akela, and don't really care. I get the feeling that Rose will be working fulltime for a while, but that's guesswork. When I got in today, I was told that Leeann was on the phone with Alfred and not to disturb her. Then she called Rose in and closed the door for a long chat. Then she came out to me and said, your turn. But we didn't go in the office, we just stood behind the counter while she told me my last day here would be Sunday.
Oh yes, I passed the HazMat test.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Today (T-Day)
Hope everyone has a good holiday. I'm enjoying mine. Walked down to the Apache Cafe. Will have their T-Day buffet soon. Talked to my brother, who's in the process of transferring all 200+ of my music CDs to his iPod. I left them with him when in SF last May. Then he will find me an iPod and transfer them all to it and send it to me. Yah!
Will talk to Quinn Yarbro soon and get the latest newsletter issue ready to go out on Monday.
Oh right, comments from B. HazMat is short for Hazardous Materials -- which is pretty much any chemical or combustible, as far as I can tell.
The naked man -- heh heh -- is a wizened old coot who owns a used bookstore in Yuma AZ and works there naked, though I believe he's begun to wear a cock sheath. He's had the store for years and has been written up numerous times, sometimes nationally.
That's it, folks, until next Monday.
Will talk to Quinn Yarbro soon and get the latest newsletter issue ready to go out on Monday.
Oh right, comments from B. HazMat is short for Hazardous Materials -- which is pretty much any chemical or combustible, as far as I can tell.
The naked man -- heh heh -- is a wizened old coot who owns a used bookstore in Yuma AZ and works there naked, though I believe he's begun to wear a cock sheath. He's had the store for years and has been written up numerous times, sometimes nationally.
That's it, folks, until next Monday.
Wed 11-25
Wednesday 11-25
When I got to work at 1pm, Shane said Alfred had come by the store for a flying visit and wanted me to call him. I got him at 7.30 but he said he was eating dinner and would call me tomorrow. Shane also said Alfred told him that I would be moving in two weeks.
I think, if that's true and is confirmed by Alfred, that I'll give it a try. But hitch itch is getting stronger. I may just quit in January anyhow and go to Quartzsite for some fun. The only break I've had since last June 1 is the 5-day drive to Picacho.
Was invited to go with Bob, the regular, to Cracker Barrel for T-Day dinner, where he's gone for 40-odd years. I thanked him but declined; said I have a personal problem with them (but didn't tell him it is their right-wing politics that's the problem). I'll just go to the Apache Cafe.
When I got to work at 1pm, Shane said Alfred had come by the store for a flying visit and wanted me to call him. I got him at 7.30 but he said he was eating dinner and would call me tomorrow. Shane also said Alfred told him that I would be moving in two weeks.
I think, if that's true and is confirmed by Alfred, that I'll give it a try. But hitch itch is getting stronger. I may just quit in January anyhow and go to Quartzsite for some fun. The only break I've had since last June 1 is the 5-day drive to Picacho.
Was invited to go with Bob, the regular, to Cracker Barrel for T-Day dinner, where he's gone for 40-odd years. I thanked him but declined; said I have a personal problem with them (but didn't tell him it is their right-wing politics that's the problem). I'll just go to the Apache Cafe.
Tue 11-24
Tuesday 11-24 10.30 pm
Well, I talked to Alfred on Monday and told him a lot of what's been going on. He said he was going to drop by the store today and would come out to my rig and we'd have a long talk about what he could do about it.
But he was a no-show and no phone call, either.
Now, he may have had some emergency he had to handle, or he may have had a heart attack and died.
Decision time is upon me, and I'm pretty sure it won't take more than a week.
If I do quit, I'll go to Quartzsite until I hear from Strates Shows. If I don't get that job, I'll find something else.
Well, I talked to Alfred on Monday and told him a lot of what's been going on. He said he was going to drop by the store today and would come out to my rig and we'd have a long talk about what he could do about it.
But he was a no-show and no phone call, either.
Now, he may have had some emergency he had to handle, or he may have had a heart attack and died.
Decision time is upon me, and I'm pretty sure it won't take more than a week.
If I do quit, I'll go to Quartzsite until I hear from Strates Shows. If I don't get that job, I'll find something else.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Today
So I did call Alfred and we had a long talk about my unhappiness. He's coming to the Akela Flats store tomorrow and we'll have another long talk and decide just when I'm going to the Alamogordo store. I told him I almost just walked out the other day, which I've never done, but which is a good measure of just how unhappy I am. So we'll see.
As to the comment about Rose reading my blog -- I'm pretty sure none of these people read at all, blogs, books, magazines, newspapers, anything. I bring in magazines I'm done with every week and invite them all to take what they want. None does and they get taken away to a shelter.
Allergy attack has subsided somewhat, just some drippiness and an occasional sneeze. Bought some local honey to see if that will help.
Will report next week on what Alfred and I decide. Thanks for all the emotional support, folks. It really means a lot to me.
As to the comment about Rose reading my blog -- I'm pretty sure none of these people read at all, blogs, books, magazines, newspapers, anything. I bring in magazines I'm done with every week and invite them all to take what they want. None does and they get taken away to a shelter.
Allergy attack has subsided somewhat, just some drippiness and an occasional sneeze. Bought some local honey to see if that will help.
Will report next week on what Alfred and I decide. Thanks for all the emotional support, folks. It really means a lot to me.
Sat-Sun 11/21-22
Saturday 11-21 & Sunday 11-22
It's almost open warfare between me and Rose. When it was time for my break, I said, I'll just go and let you have ALL the customers. And there were a few other incidents. I've come to the conclusion that she has a huge inferiority complex which she tries to assuage by (1) cozying up to the boss (Leeann) and (2) picking on the low persons (me). I hope she doesn't irritate me to the point I lose control of my legendary (at least in my own mind) temper. I've tried several different approaches and none has worked, so I've given up.
In the middle of the night (2.30 am) I woke up with a massive allergy attack under way, nose and eyes streaming, machine gun sneezing, sinuses packing up etc etc. Took one antihistamine pill, then another, then another, over the next few hours (max is 5 in 24 hrs), and it finally backed off just a little. Took a fourth when I got to work at 1pm Sunday. Had been up and down, dozing and napping and allergy-ing. One hour of work convinced me that I wasn't up to it, sweating with fever and dizzy.
Told Leeann, who was getting ready to leave. No sympathy, just "I'll see what I can do." Then, "I have to go to town but then I'll be back. And then I get to do a 13-hr day tomorrow."
Well, I said, I didn't do it on purpose, you know.
Anyhow, she came back and I left work at 3.45, just as the pill had started to wear off.
Believe I'll be calling Alfred tomorrow to tell him I can no longer stand working here at this store, and maybe I'm not cut out for Bowlin. The more I learn, the more bureaucratic bullshit there is. Example: a display case came in for textile goods, along with a diagram of what goods are to be put where. So, no initiative needed, thank you very much.
Not for me, I think.
It's almost open warfare between me and Rose. When it was time for my break, I said, I'll just go and let you have ALL the customers. And there were a few other incidents. I've come to the conclusion that she has a huge inferiority complex which she tries to assuage by (1) cozying up to the boss (Leeann) and (2) picking on the low persons (me). I hope she doesn't irritate me to the point I lose control of my legendary (at least in my own mind) temper. I've tried several different approaches and none has worked, so I've given up.
In the middle of the night (2.30 am) I woke up with a massive allergy attack under way, nose and eyes streaming, machine gun sneezing, sinuses packing up etc etc. Took one antihistamine pill, then another, then another, over the next few hours (max is 5 in 24 hrs), and it finally backed off just a little. Took a fourth when I got to work at 1pm Sunday. Had been up and down, dozing and napping and allergy-ing. One hour of work convinced me that I wasn't up to it, sweating with fever and dizzy.
Told Leeann, who was getting ready to leave. No sympathy, just "I'll see what I can do." Then, "I have to go to town but then I'll be back. And then I get to do a 13-hr day tomorrow."
Well, I said, I didn't do it on purpose, you know.
Anyhow, she came back and I left work at 3.45, just as the pill had started to wear off.
Believe I'll be calling Alfred tomorrow to tell him I can no longer stand working here at this store, and maybe I'm not cut out for Bowlin. The more I learn, the more bureaucratic bullshit there is. Example: a display case came in for textile goods, along with a diagram of what goods are to be put where. So, no initiative needed, thank you very much.
Not for me, I think.
Friday 11/20
Friday 11/20
So next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Bowlin gave a 20 lb turkey to all its employees. I declined. After all, it's just me, my freezer is too small (though I could have left it in the store's freezer), my oven is too small to cook it. So far, nobody has invited me to dinner, and I don't expect anyone will. And I don't think I want to spend several hours being polite with any of these people. I think I'll walk down to the Apache Cafe; they'll have something. We close at 2pm that day, if there aren't any customers, that is.
Got a call from Carol up at Alamogordo, wanting to know if I had any news about when I'd be transferring. Said no, though Alfred is "working on it." We talked about the people here and agreed that we didn't like any of them, the store is filthy, and Ryan (the 17-yr-old) is useless.
Told her about the request on his "to-do" list one day last week to clean the rubber mat that had gotten some soft drink syrup spilled on it. His comment was "With?" And so it hasn't been cleaned yet. How about soap and hot water, just to start?! It's going to be interesting to see how he adapts (or not) to the Army next year. No hiding out in the warehouse talking on the phone for hours and still getting paid for it. Sheesh.
Saw an ad in Workamper News from the Strates Shows company (the carnival I want to work for). Called them to say I'd sent in a resume last spring and would still like to be considered for any kind of office work or cashier or whatever. They said they'd pull my resume and put it in the folder for consideration for next year's season, but it might be a while as this season is just winding down. Think I'll hang on with Bowlin for a few more weeks. If I'm still unhappy by the end of December, I'll quit and go to Quartzsite, where the big rally happens in late Jan. and lots of RVW women attend.
One woman suggested I might get a job at the bookstore owned by the Naked Man (though lately he's begun wearing a cock sheath). I said, but but I'd have to look at him all the time; shudder. He's not very attractive. It's a thought, though.
Tomorrow I'm going to take the Hazmat test, per Alfred's instructions. Guess I'm not going to be let go. Leeann said he's working out a lot of stuff at other stores in order to be able to transfer someone here. We'll see.
So next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Bowlin gave a 20 lb turkey to all its employees. I declined. After all, it's just me, my freezer is too small (though I could have left it in the store's freezer), my oven is too small to cook it. So far, nobody has invited me to dinner, and I don't expect anyone will. And I don't think I want to spend several hours being polite with any of these people. I think I'll walk down to the Apache Cafe; they'll have something. We close at 2pm that day, if there aren't any customers, that is.
Got a call from Carol up at Alamogordo, wanting to know if I had any news about when I'd be transferring. Said no, though Alfred is "working on it." We talked about the people here and agreed that we didn't like any of them, the store is filthy, and Ryan (the 17-yr-old) is useless.
Told her about the request on his "to-do" list one day last week to clean the rubber mat that had gotten some soft drink syrup spilled on it. His comment was "With?" And so it hasn't been cleaned yet. How about soap and hot water, just to start?! It's going to be interesting to see how he adapts (or not) to the Army next year. No hiding out in the warehouse talking on the phone for hours and still getting paid for it. Sheesh.
Saw an ad in Workamper News from the Strates Shows company (the carnival I want to work for). Called them to say I'd sent in a resume last spring and would still like to be considered for any kind of office work or cashier or whatever. They said they'd pull my resume and put it in the folder for consideration for next year's season, but it might be a while as this season is just winding down. Think I'll hang on with Bowlin for a few more weeks. If I'm still unhappy by the end of December, I'll quit and go to Quartzsite, where the big rally happens in late Jan. and lots of RVW women attend.
One woman suggested I might get a job at the bookstore owned by the Naked Man (though lately he's begun wearing a cock sheath). I said, but but I'd have to look at him all the time; shudder. He's not very attractive. It's a thought, though.
Tomorrow I'm going to take the Hazmat test, per Alfred's instructions. Guess I'm not going to be let go. Leeann said he's working out a lot of stuff at other stores in order to be able to transfer someone here. We'll see.
Wednesday 11/18
Wednesday 11-18 9am
Rolled around on the ground yesterday, underneath the rig, taking pictures of the black water tank to send to a fellow Toyota RV owner. He needs to replace his and our models are the same. Very difficult to measure something with no square edges, especially while lying on one's back with about 4" of maneuvering space. But got it done. Slithered out and then picked off goatheads (local name; think sandspurs) from my back and side and feet.
Winterizing the water hose with foam wrap doesn't seem to have helped. Past two mornings haven't had water till the sun warms it up. Hmmm. Fortunately, I always have water in my Brita pitcher and in two 1-gal jugs.
Was surprised that Joanna what's-her-face (the "model") was eliminated on Dancing With the Stars. I thought she'd come a long way and showed real promise as a dancer. And Donny Osmond, though a stellar performer, had been messing up recently. But he is a real crowd pleaser, though he has trouble portraying any emotion other than upbeat showman, so a tango's fierceness is beyond him, and a salsa's sexiness looks pouty instead.
Didn't actually watch the results show last night as it's on opposite So You Think You Can Dance, a real dancers show. The krumper Russell has been wowing everybody with his ability to learn other styles. And the b-boy Legacy has recently been growing mightily, too -- did a killer Paso Doble last night (barechested. Yum). The ballroom guy and the girl (forgot her style) he's partnered with did a really fine contemporary dance routine -- she was excellent and he was a rock solid partner.
Wish I could have continued with my ballroom dancing career, though it was doing my knees no favors. Ah well.
Rolled around on the ground yesterday, underneath the rig, taking pictures of the black water tank to send to a fellow Toyota RV owner. He needs to replace his and our models are the same. Very difficult to measure something with no square edges, especially while lying on one's back with about 4" of maneuvering space. But got it done. Slithered out and then picked off goatheads (local name; think sandspurs) from my back and side and feet.
Winterizing the water hose with foam wrap doesn't seem to have helped. Past two mornings haven't had water till the sun warms it up. Hmmm. Fortunately, I always have water in my Brita pitcher and in two 1-gal jugs.
Was surprised that Joanna what's-her-face (the "model") was eliminated on Dancing With the Stars. I thought she'd come a long way and showed real promise as a dancer. And Donny Osmond, though a stellar performer, had been messing up recently. But he is a real crowd pleaser, though he has trouble portraying any emotion other than upbeat showman, so a tango's fierceness is beyond him, and a salsa's sexiness looks pouty instead.
Didn't actually watch the results show last night as it's on opposite So You Think You Can Dance, a real dancers show. The krumper Russell has been wowing everybody with his ability to learn other styles. And the b-boy Legacy has recently been growing mightily, too -- did a killer Paso Doble last night (barechested. Yum). The ballroom guy and the girl (forgot her style) he's partnered with did a really fine contemporary dance routine -- she was excellent and he was a rock solid partner.
Wish I could have continued with my ballroom dancing career, though it was doing my knees no favors. Ah well.
Tuesday 11/17
Tuesday 11/17
Was reading the new Rolling Stone magazine on the 25th anniversary of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts. Reminded of some of the music I've both enjoyed and heard live.
1980 Tucson Racquet Club, poolside. B.B. King. This was the year I took "off" after quitting the Univ. of Arizona. I spent a lot of time at the Racquet Club and one summer night, there was the great man himself. I was about 50 ft away up on the snack bar patio. Magical.
[Sidenote: Had lunch on this patio with Ross what's-his-name who was in a popular Western series on TV, two guys, lots of science, can't remember the name. Nice guy. We talked food, which relaxed him from being the "star".)
1970s or 80s Tucson. Pinetop Perkins and the Muddy Waters Band. There was a dive bar I used to frequent. One long half was bar, the other long half was music and dancing. And there was Pinetop Perkins, somewhere in his 70s then (he's still performing now in his 90s) and members of the Muddy Waters Band, rolling out that barrelhouse piano, in that small smoky sweaty bar, people milling and drinking and yelling and dancing. Perfect.
1970s UofA campus Tucson. Papa John Creach. I'd been a fan of his since I heard his electrifying fiddle playing backup for the Jefferson Airplane. A concert hall was not the best venue for him -- no dancing etc -- but the sound was glorious.
1990s 45 Cherry, Asheville. Koko Taylor. An ambitious blues bar, sadly defunct. I was dating Andy, a younger man who frequented DBN and was smitten with me. He was a music radio reporter and took me along to hear the great blues shouter. Loved her music and was already a fan, but she's so short (and the floor so flat) I could only see the top of her hair. Another time at this same bar, I went with Andy to hear Willie "The Lion" Smith, another great blues guy. Fun times.
If we go way way back, to the early 1960s, I saw Jimmy Reed play in Houston. He was so stoned, they had to tie him to the chair so he wouldn't fall out. But he gave a great performance. One of the few Delta Blues guys I like (I like Chicago blues better).
Also in Houston at that time, Etta James was the house singer at a bar and she and I shared a fondness for Sherman's cigarettes (she liked the blue paper ones). That's when I was involved with the drug dealer and was doing a lot of speed (also another story).
Memories can be fun sometimes. Now, back to the Rolling Stone.
Was reading the new Rolling Stone magazine on the 25th anniversary of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts. Reminded of some of the music I've both enjoyed and heard live.
1980 Tucson Racquet Club, poolside. B.B. King. This was the year I took "off" after quitting the Univ. of Arizona. I spent a lot of time at the Racquet Club and one summer night, there was the great man himself. I was about 50 ft away up on the snack bar patio. Magical.
[Sidenote: Had lunch on this patio with Ross what's-his-name who was in a popular Western series on TV, two guys, lots of science, can't remember the name. Nice guy. We talked food, which relaxed him from being the "star".)
1970s or 80s Tucson. Pinetop Perkins and the Muddy Waters Band. There was a dive bar I used to frequent. One long half was bar, the other long half was music and dancing. And there was Pinetop Perkins, somewhere in his 70s then (he's still performing now in his 90s) and members of the Muddy Waters Band, rolling out that barrelhouse piano, in that small smoky sweaty bar, people milling and drinking and yelling and dancing. Perfect.
1970s UofA campus Tucson. Papa John Creach. I'd been a fan of his since I heard his electrifying fiddle playing backup for the Jefferson Airplane. A concert hall was not the best venue for him -- no dancing etc -- but the sound was glorious.
1990s 45 Cherry, Asheville. Koko Taylor. An ambitious blues bar, sadly defunct. I was dating Andy, a younger man who frequented DBN and was smitten with me. He was a music radio reporter and took me along to hear the great blues shouter. Loved her music and was already a fan, but she's so short (and the floor so flat) I could only see the top of her hair. Another time at this same bar, I went with Andy to hear Willie "The Lion" Smith, another great blues guy. Fun times.
If we go way way back, to the early 1960s, I saw Jimmy Reed play in Houston. He was so stoned, they had to tie him to the chair so he wouldn't fall out. But he gave a great performance. One of the few Delta Blues guys I like (I like Chicago blues better).
Also in Houston at that time, Etta James was the house singer at a bar and she and I shared a fondness for Sherman's cigarettes (she liked the blue paper ones). That's when I was involved with the drug dealer and was doing a lot of speed (also another story).
Memories can be fun sometimes. Now, back to the Rolling Stone.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Today
Have done the Deming run. Gas, propane, groceries. Also made an appointment to get my eyes checked in a couple of weeks (if I'm still here) and then get new close-up glasses, which they'll be able to fit to my current frames (hooray).
Am now sitting in the Apache Cafe, having had my meatloaf lunch.
I'm so boring. They know what I'm going to order now.
I was more pissed at Rose than I thought and, after having decided to let it go, wound up snarling at her the very next day. I wandered off toward a customer to see if she needed any help. Rose piped up from where she was ringing up a customer, "that's my customer." I wheeled around and said, ever so sweetly with clenched teeth, "of course she is!" She turned from her customers to start arguing with me, and I just said "Fine!" and went stalking off.
Ever since, she's been extra friendly and helpful. Who knew?
December 3rd is the end of the 3-month trial period. If nothing has changed by then (i.e., I'm still at Akela), then I'm going to quit. An RVW friend who's in Quartzsite AZ right now has checked into some park rate there and found one for $220/month (plus electric, which would probably be about $100). I could bop over there for a couple of months and then find something else.
We'll see.
Am now sitting in the Apache Cafe, having had my meatloaf lunch.
I'm so boring. They know what I'm going to order now.
I was more pissed at Rose than I thought and, after having decided to let it go, wound up snarling at her the very next day. I wandered off toward a customer to see if she needed any help. Rose piped up from where she was ringing up a customer, "that's my customer." I wheeled around and said, ever so sweetly with clenched teeth, "of course she is!" She turned from her customers to start arguing with me, and I just said "Fine!" and went stalking off.
Ever since, she's been extra friendly and helpful. Who knew?
December 3rd is the end of the 3-month trial period. If nothing has changed by then (i.e., I'm still at Akela), then I'm going to quit. An RVW friend who's in Quartzsite AZ right now has checked into some park rate there and found one for $220/month (plus electric, which would probably be about $100). I could bop over there for a couple of months and then find something else.
We'll see.
Friday 11-13
Friday the 13th
Made a nice big sale (before Rose came to work, of course). There's a huge box of fireworks, mostly artillery shells, that separately would sell for $1200, on sale for $700. Sold one. However, had to get Shane over to explain exactly what's in the box (which is about 8 ft by 3 ft) -- he gave the customer a long spiel about the contents and basically sold him on it, so I wound up giving Shane the commission. I just got to ring it up.
Now, the commission rate is only 3%, and the total sale was $800, so we're not talking huge amounts of money here. But it was the right thing to do. It would have been really nice if I had gotten a crash course in fireworks: what the types are, what they do, etc. But I've mentioned the haphazard training methods before.
Rose was up to her usual poaching behavior. One was particularly blatant. A guy walked in, walked up to me at the counter and asked me a question about an item. Before I could get my mouth open to answer, Rose came from wherever she was, passed behind me saying, That's right over here, and off they went.
I was seriously pissed. Gave considerable thought to having it out with her. But I talked myself out of it. Over my long life, I've learned not to say things in the heat of anger as I tend to use a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel. Once I get really angry and let it all blurt out, there's no going back or mending it. I think I'll save it all up and have a talk with her when I know I'm out of here for sure.
I'm pretty sure she doesn't do it to anybody but me. After all, I'm low person on the totem pole and everybody else is either management (Leeann, Shane) or longtime employee who doesn't care about sales (Mary Lou).
Grrrr.
Made a nice big sale (before Rose came to work, of course). There's a huge box of fireworks, mostly artillery shells, that separately would sell for $1200, on sale for $700. Sold one. However, had to get Shane over to explain exactly what's in the box (which is about 8 ft by 3 ft) -- he gave the customer a long spiel about the contents and basically sold him on it, so I wound up giving Shane the commission. I just got to ring it up.
Now, the commission rate is only 3%, and the total sale was $800, so we're not talking huge amounts of money here. But it was the right thing to do. It would have been really nice if I had gotten a crash course in fireworks: what the types are, what they do, etc. But I've mentioned the haphazard training methods before.
Rose was up to her usual poaching behavior. One was particularly blatant. A guy walked in, walked up to me at the counter and asked me a question about an item. Before I could get my mouth open to answer, Rose came from wherever she was, passed behind me saying, That's right over here, and off they went.
I was seriously pissed. Gave considerable thought to having it out with her. But I talked myself out of it. Over my long life, I've learned not to say things in the heat of anger as I tend to use a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel. Once I get really angry and let it all blurt out, there's no going back or mending it. I think I'll save it all up and have a talk with her when I know I'm out of here for sure.
I'm pretty sure she doesn't do it to anybody but me. After all, I'm low person on the totem pole and everybody else is either management (Leeann, Shane) or longtime employee who doesn't care about sales (Mary Lou).
Grrrr.
Thursday 11-28
Thursday 11-12 8.45pm
Business has been really slow (already mentioned more than once), which means lots of standing around (mentioned many times), which makes me hurt (mentioned to the point of overkill).
There. That's the update.
I talked to Alfred last Friday and he said he hoped to have news about the move to Alamogordo within two weeks. We'll see.
Ryan and I have sort of "bonded" over kung fu flicks. And even Rose is more friendly these days, which sort of happened all at once after my new strategy of standing way back and letting her have all the sales she wants. Cause I really don't give a shit.
A roadrunner has been strolling by my window in the early mornings.
Big storm is rolling in off the pacific so we should cool down a lot by Sunday, to about a high of 58, then slowly back into the low to mid 60s. [Update: the front is moving more slowly so cold now is Monday-Tuesday, with a low Tue. night of 32 deg.]
Other than that, no news.
Business has been really slow (already mentioned more than once), which means lots of standing around (mentioned many times), which makes me hurt (mentioned to the point of overkill).
There. That's the update.
I talked to Alfred last Friday and he said he hoped to have news about the move to Alamogordo within two weeks. We'll see.
Ryan and I have sort of "bonded" over kung fu flicks. And even Rose is more friendly these days, which sort of happened all at once after my new strategy of standing way back and letting her have all the sales she wants. Cause I really don't give a shit.
A roadrunner has been strolling by my window in the early mornings.
Big storm is rolling in off the pacific so we should cool down a lot by Sunday, to about a high of 58, then slowly back into the low to mid 60s. [Update: the front is moving more slowly so cold now is Monday-Tuesday, with a low Tue. night of 32 deg.]
Other than that, no news.
Late Post for 10-30
Friday 10-30
Forgot to tell you about the Greyhound bus that had to stop here late Thursday (maybe it was Wednesday) because one of the wipers busted and they needed to fix a new one on and needed pliers (!). First Rose and I knew of it was when about 30 people piled into the store, headed for the bathrooms, and then started buying warm things (blankets, ponchos, bajas, etc; asked for gloves and knit caps, which we don't have). Also bought lots of snacks and drinks.
They really needed the wipers as it was spitting rain and snow flurries and was cold. The driver asked for pliers, which I found, but he broke them -- I mean, the metal shaft broke in half. Must have been really cheap pliers. Anyhow, I went and got my toolbox and they (the driver and two "helpers" from the passengers) chose my vise grips and my channel locks and got the job done.
One of the helpers admired my Russian blue stone ring, said his father was a jeweler and he recognized the stone. The driver was very pleased with our service and said he was going to mention it to all the other drivers.
Anyhow, Friday itself was another day of me standing around while Rose bustled in front of me and got almost $800 in commissionable sales while I managed about $150. I find this sort of competition distasteful, which is why I've never liked working for commissions. That was the big problem when I was teaching ballroom dancing -- the base salary was about $50 a week and you were supposed to make it up to a living wage with commissions. But that required pressuring people into signing contracts for more and more lessons. I loved teaching but not that kind of selling.
And RIP, Soupy Sales.
Forgot to tell you about the Greyhound bus that had to stop here late Thursday (maybe it was Wednesday) because one of the wipers busted and they needed to fix a new one on and needed pliers (!). First Rose and I knew of it was when about 30 people piled into the store, headed for the bathrooms, and then started buying warm things (blankets, ponchos, bajas, etc; asked for gloves and knit caps, which we don't have). Also bought lots of snacks and drinks.
They really needed the wipers as it was spitting rain and snow flurries and was cold. The driver asked for pliers, which I found, but he broke them -- I mean, the metal shaft broke in half. Must have been really cheap pliers. Anyhow, I went and got my toolbox and they (the driver and two "helpers" from the passengers) chose my vise grips and my channel locks and got the job done.
One of the helpers admired my Russian blue stone ring, said his father was a jeweler and he recognized the stone. The driver was very pleased with our service and said he was going to mention it to all the other drivers.
Anyhow, Friday itself was another day of me standing around while Rose bustled in front of me and got almost $800 in commissionable sales while I managed about $150. I find this sort of competition distasteful, which is why I've never liked working for commissions. That was the big problem when I was teaching ballroom dancing -- the base salary was about $50 a week and you were supposed to make it up to a living wage with commissions. But that required pressuring people into signing contracts for more and more lessons. I loved teaching but not that kind of selling.
And RIP, Soupy Sales.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Monday 11/9
Big adventure today! Instead of going 20 miles west to Deming, I went 35 miles east to Las Cruces! Whoo hoo!
It's a city of about 75,000, and has a Barnes & Noble. That was my main reason to go there. I haven't been to a bookstore since I left Tucson in mid-September, so it was time to be a little bad (financially, that is). And, of course, a few of my favorite authors had new books out (JD Robb, Barbara Kingsolver, Charlaine Harris -- the Harper Blaine series).
Then I found the local equivalent of EarthFare and got some good coffee and bread and eggs, and a few other goodies.
By that time, I was tired and so headed back to the Apache Cafe to do the wifi thing. Had thought about eating in Las Cruces, just for something different, but the only Japanese I could find was at a restaurant called "Euro-Asian Cuisine" so I thought not.
Am still at the cafe and about to go check my friends' blogs, check the bank, and go "home." Watch the dance shows this evening while munching on blueberry croissants. Sounds good to me. See y'all next week.
It's a city of about 75,000, and has a Barnes & Noble. That was my main reason to go there. I haven't been to a bookstore since I left Tucson in mid-September, so it was time to be a little bad (financially, that is). And, of course, a few of my favorite authors had new books out (JD Robb, Barbara Kingsolver, Charlaine Harris -- the Harper Blaine series).
Then I found the local equivalent of EarthFare and got some good coffee and bread and eggs, and a few other goodies.
By that time, I was tired and so headed back to the Apache Cafe to do the wifi thing. Had thought about eating in Las Cruces, just for something different, but the only Japanese I could find was at a restaurant called "Euro-Asian Cuisine" so I thought not.
Am still at the cafe and about to go check my friends' blogs, check the bank, and go "home." Watch the dance shows this evening while munching on blueberry croissants. Sounds good to me. See y'all next week.
Saturday 11/7
Saturday 11/7 6.30am
Well! At least it was busy yesterday. I still didn't have a good money day but there were people in the store to talk to and help out. We've gotten a 25¢ table and things are flying off it. So the sales don't amount to much in toto.
I don't hurt nearly as much when I'm busy scurrying around; it's the standing that's the problem. And we did have some things to check in, price, and put out on the quarter table (one item was little ceramic western hats covered in glitter). You know about glitter, don't you? It gets everywhere. Just touch the little hats and your hands are covered in blue glitter.
I wish that guy who wanted the "widower's" ring would come back; I've found some here in the store that would fill the bill. He was looking for a wedding-band style ring but black, to indicate that he is a widower but not interested in being set-up with friends of friends etc. I hadn't heard of this before.
I see out my window that we have some clouds, nicely pink with dawn light. This is a major weather change from the same old same old blue cloudless sky. There's not supposed to be any rain with this cloud cover, and it'll still be in the mid-70s (about 10 deg. above normal). One of the main reasons I left Tucson after 14 years was the sameness of the weather -- boring boring.
Amusing incident yestereve. A customer (tall burly guy) saw our stuffed jackalope and began asking questions about it -- are they scarce? are they a mutation? do they damage crops? etc. Ryan was talking to him and soberly answered all these questions. Those of us who could hear were having a hard time not laughing out loud (customers, too). As soon as the guy left, we all laughed, including Ryan. One customer snorted, "Easterners!"
So I told him about growing up at the beach and people would come from inland (like New Mexico, Texas, the Midwest) and want to take some ocean home with them in a jar. We would carefully suggest they pour a little out so that when the tide came in, the jar wouldn't overflow. And they would carefully do so, put the lid on, and go home happy, leaving us laughing at "Inlanders!"
Well! At least it was busy yesterday. I still didn't have a good money day but there were people in the store to talk to and help out. We've gotten a 25¢ table and things are flying off it. So the sales don't amount to much in toto.
I don't hurt nearly as much when I'm busy scurrying around; it's the standing that's the problem. And we did have some things to check in, price, and put out on the quarter table (one item was little ceramic western hats covered in glitter). You know about glitter, don't you? It gets everywhere. Just touch the little hats and your hands are covered in blue glitter.
I wish that guy who wanted the "widower's" ring would come back; I've found some here in the store that would fill the bill. He was looking for a wedding-band style ring but black, to indicate that he is a widower but not interested in being set-up with friends of friends etc. I hadn't heard of this before.
I see out my window that we have some clouds, nicely pink with dawn light. This is a major weather change from the same old same old blue cloudless sky. There's not supposed to be any rain with this cloud cover, and it'll still be in the mid-70s (about 10 deg. above normal). One of the main reasons I left Tucson after 14 years was the sameness of the weather -- boring boring.
Amusing incident yestereve. A customer (tall burly guy) saw our stuffed jackalope and began asking questions about it -- are they scarce? are they a mutation? do they damage crops? etc. Ryan was talking to him and soberly answered all these questions. Those of us who could hear were having a hard time not laughing out loud (customers, too). As soon as the guy left, we all laughed, including Ryan. One customer snorted, "Easterners!"
So I told him about growing up at the beach and people would come from inland (like New Mexico, Texas, the Midwest) and want to take some ocean home with them in a jar. We would carefully suggest they pour a little out so that when the tide came in, the jar wouldn't overflow. And they would carefully do so, put the lid on, and go home happy, leaving us laughing at "Inlanders!"
Friday 11/6
Friday 11/6 6.30am
Woke up aching. Business has been really slow this Wed. & Thu. so there's lots of standing around. I try to keep moving most of the time so things won't stiffen up but there's just nothing to do. When I first came in, there were some things to unpack (t-shirts, leather jackets and vests), put on hangars, and then put on racks. Rose came in at two pm and by 3pm, it was all done. Then? Nothing.
Including customers. Both Wed. and Thu. were really slow. Yesterday, I didn't even make $100 in my register. It's the damned time change -- freaks people out and they rush to get home by dark. It'll take a week or so for everybody to adjust and then I hope that business will pick up.
We're supposed to be decorated for xmas by now and be playing xmas music. Ick. As usual, Leeann does all that herself so the PM shift doesn't get to do any of that. As a consequence, it's not done yet. And, of course, we're not supposed to arrange the displays on any of the tables either.
So not only do I get to stand around for six hours, I'm bored bored bored.
I know -- bitch bitch moan moan whine whine. But isn't that what my blog is for?
Woke up aching. Business has been really slow this Wed. & Thu. so there's lots of standing around. I try to keep moving most of the time so things won't stiffen up but there's just nothing to do. When I first came in, there were some things to unpack (t-shirts, leather jackets and vests), put on hangars, and then put on racks. Rose came in at two pm and by 3pm, it was all done. Then? Nothing.
Including customers. Both Wed. and Thu. were really slow. Yesterday, I didn't even make $100 in my register. It's the damned time change -- freaks people out and they rush to get home by dark. It'll take a week or so for everybody to adjust and then I hope that business will pick up.
We're supposed to be decorated for xmas by now and be playing xmas music. Ick. As usual, Leeann does all that herself so the PM shift doesn't get to do any of that. As a consequence, it's not done yet. And, of course, we're not supposed to arrange the displays on any of the tables either.
So not only do I get to stand around for six hours, I'm bored bored bored.
I know -- bitch bitch moan moan whine whine. But isn't that what my blog is for?
Tuesday 11/3
Tuesday 11/3 10pm
Yesterday I did the errands -- laundry (no carts! no chairs!), gas, groceries. Walmart was out of the specific bulbs I need for my lights so I bought a different size and hope it'll work if I need it. Also got the window plastic kit which I'll put on soon.
Bought some batteries (duracells). Later bought a Consumer Reports magazine. When I read it that evening, there was a report on batteries. Energizer lithiums are better. Will remember this for next time.
Went to the Apache Cafe and did the internet thing. This Friday they're going to have a seafood buffet until 8pm. I can't make it as I don't even get off till 7.30. Drat. Had my usual meatloaf dinner. Got home by 4.30 and got hooked up before it got dark.
I hate daylight savings! Especially in the fall, when the changeover happens, it's so sudden. One day it stays light until 6.30 or 7; the next it's dark at 5 or 5.30.
Was glad to get all my errands done yesterday so that I could do absolutely nothing today. Took two naps. Stayed off my feet. Have actually built up enough stamina to stay on my feet for the 6-hr shifts but seven days in a row really took a toll. I hurt bad by Sunday.
Back to work tomorrow.
Yesterday I did the errands -- laundry (no carts! no chairs!), gas, groceries. Walmart was out of the specific bulbs I need for my lights so I bought a different size and hope it'll work if I need it. Also got the window plastic kit which I'll put on soon.
Bought some batteries (duracells). Later bought a Consumer Reports magazine. When I read it that evening, there was a report on batteries. Energizer lithiums are better. Will remember this for next time.
Went to the Apache Cafe and did the internet thing. This Friday they're going to have a seafood buffet until 8pm. I can't make it as I don't even get off till 7.30. Drat. Had my usual meatloaf dinner. Got home by 4.30 and got hooked up before it got dark.
I hate daylight savings! Especially in the fall, when the changeover happens, it's so sudden. One day it stays light until 6.30 or 7; the next it's dark at 5 or 5.30.
Was glad to get all my errands done yesterday so that I could do absolutely nothing today. Took two naps. Stayed off my feet. Have actually built up enough stamina to stay on my feet for the 6-hr shifts but seven days in a row really took a toll. I hurt bad by Sunday.
Back to work tomorrow.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thursday 10/29
Thursday 10-29
I'm so over these people here. There's no training; it's all piecemeal, casual statements. And offers of help are frequently turned down, unless I really push it. For instance, Leeann and Shane were talking about doing inventory on children's t-shirts and how Carol used to do them so Shane didn't have to. I said, you know, I could do that if you'd just show me what you want done. Silence. And then Leeann said, well, okay. So she showed me how and it took about two minutes to explain it and then I went and did it.
Rose has no sense of humor that I can discern. And she bustles about, breathing fast and sighing gustily. I said, is there anything you want me to do? Not right now, she said. So I stood around, listening to her frantically whipping around. She has to do a lot of the closing financial stuff I'm not yet permitted to do, but she also did the cleanup on the food things, that I do know how to do. Why? No idea. She also takes a lot of sales away from me, which is irritating. She seems to be competitive about it, which I'm not. Mary Lou is the only one who actually talks to me.
And I never hear anything when I do things right, just criticism or orders when I did something wrong.
It's beginning to feel like Crescent City, where I was a lump in the store with nothing to do. Kit, the VP of the organization, was in today, and I mentioned that i was really looking forward to moving to Alamogordo, and he assured me that Alfred was working on it. At least there I'll get to learn stuff, like all the reports that are due all the time, constant inventorying, etc.
Not happy. Starting to think about just quitting and finding something somewhere else. I heard that the new military budget cuts out some plane program that is a big deal at Holliman AFB at Alamogordo. No idea yet what effect it'll have.
Tuesday 10/27
Tuesday 10-27
Well, Leeann is back as of last Friday. And my schedule has increased to 6-hr shifts, and I'm on for 7 days straight. Had Sunday off and will now work Mon-Sun. I protested but she said she really needed the coverage. I asked what she had heard from Alfred about me moving to Alamogordo as Carol had called again, wanting to know when I'm coming. She said he's looking for someone to fill my place here but doesn't have anyone yet.
I'm generally pissed and thinking again about quitting. We'll see.
Big storm coming in tomorrow, mostly late, and will be cold by nighttime (in the 20s). I'll get out and put the wrap on the water hose and the foil over the sewer line and hope it doesn't all freeze. Very windy now and I've put my antenna down, just in case.
Looks like I won't be back online till next Monday.
Well, Leeann is back as of last Friday. And my schedule has increased to 6-hr shifts, and I'm on for 7 days straight. Had Sunday off and will now work Mon-Sun. I protested but she said she really needed the coverage. I asked what she had heard from Alfred about me moving to Alamogordo as Carol had called again, wanting to know when I'm coming. She said he's looking for someone to fill my place here but doesn't have anyone yet.
I'm generally pissed and thinking again about quitting. We'll see.
Big storm coming in tomorrow, mostly late, and will be cold by nighttime (in the 20s). I'll get out and put the wrap on the water hose and the foil over the sewer line and hope it doesn't all freeze. Very windy now and I've put my antenna down, just in case.
Looks like I won't be back online till next Monday.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday 10-21 9am
Instead of having today off, I have to work today and tomorrow and then have Friday off, work Sat., have Sunday off. I hate split days off. But, as of Fri. I go down to 5 hour shifts. Yah!
Had a big thunderstorm yesterday, first since I've been here. Rolled up from the southwest, moving northeast across the state. Expected to dump snow above the 9000ft level (we're at 4300 so no worries). Brought cooler weather in its wake, so we'll have about 70 day and 50 night -- not bad at all.
I wished I had my camera with me at work because there were some wonderful vistas with mountains limned against towering dark clouds with a small clear spot tinged with pink and orange and red from the setting sun. Very dramatic.
Won't be back online until Fri., I guess, when I'll walk down to the Apache Cafe. See y'all then.
Saturday 10-24 7am
Went to town yesterday and shipped some goodies and some books. Mary-Anne will take the books to DBN and sell them for me (it's one of the few that pays cash, reasonable cash; Bookman's in Tucson would give me $53 for credit or $11 cash, whereas DBN would give half the credit amount in cash).
Anyhow, went to town. Got my hairs cut. It's still really really short but at least it's all evened up now. Instead of looking like a fuzzy cueball, I look like a Roman senator (ala Richard Burton). I'll have to wear some makeup and jewelry to keep from looking like a stern male taskmaster or a retired football linebacker.
Did a little shopping, got some more flannel pjs (same pattern different color so can mix and match with the ones I got last time).
On the way to town, I turned south on Stirrup Road to check out Rockhound State park and Spring Canyon State Park. About 6 miles in I saw a bunch of RVs etc parked on the foot of some low hills (Rockhound S.P.) and continued on toward Spring Canyon, which sounded more enticing. Then I saw a sign for a 17% grade, looked ahead and saw a narrow 2-lane road snaking up the side of a mountain and disappearing over a steep crest. Debated but thought not, so turned around. 4-cylinder engine towing 5000 lbs would probably do it but at a walking pace and working hard. Best not. So prudent of me.
On the way back, saw Rockhound Road, with a sign for Deming, so turned west and followed the straight and flat road to the south side of town and went north to Pine St., the main drag.
My great adventure for the day. Nothing I wanted to stop to photograph. Of course, it was midday so the light was all wrong for good shots in the desert. I hope to get out in the pecan orchard before I leave, and with the extra rest now, I may have the energy to do so. I did take a picture out my main window (looking north). Not a terrible view -- I could be looking at the back of the store or at I-10 and the trucks whizzing by.
Go to work at 2.30 today and have tomorrow off. Plan to walk down to the Apache Cafe. Thought about stopping on the way back, but decided not, just to give the pains a longer time to subside.
Instead of having today off, I have to work today and tomorrow and then have Friday off, work Sat., have Sunday off. I hate split days off. But, as of Fri. I go down to 5 hour shifts. Yah!
Had a big thunderstorm yesterday, first since I've been here. Rolled up from the southwest, moving northeast across the state. Expected to dump snow above the 9000ft level (we're at 4300 so no worries). Brought cooler weather in its wake, so we'll have about 70 day and 50 night -- not bad at all.
I wished I had my camera with me at work because there were some wonderful vistas with mountains limned against towering dark clouds with a small clear spot tinged with pink and orange and red from the setting sun. Very dramatic.
Won't be back online until Fri., I guess, when I'll walk down to the Apache Cafe. See y'all then.
Saturday 10-24 7am
Went to town yesterday and shipped some goodies and some books. Mary-Anne will take the books to DBN and sell them for me (it's one of the few that pays cash, reasonable cash; Bookman's in Tucson would give me $53 for credit or $11 cash, whereas DBN would give half the credit amount in cash).
Anyhow, went to town. Got my hairs cut. It's still really really short but at least it's all evened up now. Instead of looking like a fuzzy cueball, I look like a Roman senator (ala Richard Burton). I'll have to wear some makeup and jewelry to keep from looking like a stern male taskmaster or a retired football linebacker.
Did a little shopping, got some more flannel pjs (same pattern different color so can mix and match with the ones I got last time).
On the way to town, I turned south on Stirrup Road to check out Rockhound State park and Spring Canyon State Park. About 6 miles in I saw a bunch of RVs etc parked on the foot of some low hills (Rockhound S.P.) and continued on toward Spring Canyon, which sounded more enticing. Then I saw a sign for a 17% grade, looked ahead and saw a narrow 2-lane road snaking up the side of a mountain and disappearing over a steep crest. Debated but thought not, so turned around. 4-cylinder engine towing 5000 lbs would probably do it but at a walking pace and working hard. Best not. So prudent of me.
On the way back, saw Rockhound Road, with a sign for Deming, so turned west and followed the straight and flat road to the south side of town and went north to Pine St., the main drag.
My great adventure for the day. Nothing I wanted to stop to photograph. Of course, it was midday so the light was all wrong for good shots in the desert. I hope to get out in the pecan orchard before I leave, and with the extra rest now, I may have the energy to do so. I did take a picture out my main window (looking north). Not a terrible view -- I could be looking at the back of the store or at I-10 and the trucks whizzing by.
Go to work at 2.30 today and have tomorrow off. Plan to walk down to the Apache Cafe. Thought about stopping on the way back, but decided not, just to give the pains a longer time to subside.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Mon 10-19
Monday 10-19 6.30 am
Well, it's beginning to feel like Kansas (Toto). By which I mean, I'm feeling the same way I did at Amazon -- hurt. By the end of yesterday, I was not only limping but placing my feet carefully so they wouldn't buckle under me. Had a respectable day in sales, except for one fireworks sale of over $600, which took the day into the "really good" category.
Fortunately, today is OFF. I don't really feel like going to town but I want to go to the Apache Cafe and see whether I can get online and I'd like to treat myself to some ice cream and I need coffee soon, so I guess I'm going. I'll try to keep the shopping part (that is, the walking around in Walmart) really short to keep the stress down.
Shane said as soon as Leeann gets back this Friday, my hours will plummet down to five a day. Hooray, hooray, cartwheels in the grass (metaphorically speaking, of course). And it should be no more than two weeks here before going to Alamogordo.
Have dragged out my DVDs. Watched "Hair" the other day, and I think I mentioned "The Gospel at Colonus." I only have about 20 movies, and they break down into just two categories: dance and martial arts, or maybe we should just call it one category "body movement." I'd forgotten I had "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," a classic of the Hong Kong style of the 1960s (from the Shaw Bros. studios).
The only exception is "My Name is Modesty," based on the Peter O'Donnell character that I have an extensive collection of; I suppose you could call it an action adventure movie. It's a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" movie, filmed in Romania. There are two main problems with it -- the woman playing Modesty Blaise (Alexandra Staden) had never done any action movies before, and it shows (she has sticklike arms and moves badly); and the guy playing the villain is very good but he's perfect for Willie Garvin, Modesty's partner all through the books. What a waste.
Pound pound pound on the door (7am). It's Shane. His wife just had a car accident and is being taken to the hospital (not life-threatening injuries) and can I come in and work 2pm to 7.30 today. Of course, I said yes. So much for going to town. A guy is coming from Butterfield Station to do the books this morning, and MaryLou and Diane can handle all else. I don't know who'll be closing with me, maybe Shane himself, as there isn't anybody else. At least, it's only 5.5 hours. He's working really long hours with Leeann gone.
All is well (9am). Shane's wife totaled the truck but she came out of it with just a few scratches. So he's back to work and so I can be OFF!!
Have gone to town and am now at the Apache Cafe, eating pumpkin pie and drinking iced tea. Soon I'll go back and get hooked up and collapse for the rest of the day and rest up.
Well, it's beginning to feel like Kansas (Toto). By which I mean, I'm feeling the same way I did at Amazon -- hurt. By the end of yesterday, I was not only limping but placing my feet carefully so they wouldn't buckle under me. Had a respectable day in sales, except for one fireworks sale of over $600, which took the day into the "really good" category.
Fortunately, today is OFF. I don't really feel like going to town but I want to go to the Apache Cafe and see whether I can get online and I'd like to treat myself to some ice cream and I need coffee soon, so I guess I'm going. I'll try to keep the shopping part (that is, the walking around in Walmart) really short to keep the stress down.
Shane said as soon as Leeann gets back this Friday, my hours will plummet down to five a day. Hooray, hooray, cartwheels in the grass (metaphorically speaking, of course). And it should be no more than two weeks here before going to Alamogordo.
Have dragged out my DVDs. Watched "Hair" the other day, and I think I mentioned "The Gospel at Colonus." I only have about 20 movies, and they break down into just two categories: dance and martial arts, or maybe we should just call it one category "body movement." I'd forgotten I had "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," a classic of the Hong Kong style of the 1960s (from the Shaw Bros. studios).
The only exception is "My Name is Modesty," based on the Peter O'Donnell character that I have an extensive collection of; I suppose you could call it an action adventure movie. It's a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" movie, filmed in Romania. There are two main problems with it -- the woman playing Modesty Blaise (Alexandra Staden) had never done any action movies before, and it shows (she has sticklike arms and moves badly); and the guy playing the villain is very good but he's perfect for Willie Garvin, Modesty's partner all through the books. What a waste.
Pound pound pound on the door (7am). It's Shane. His wife just had a car accident and is being taken to the hospital (not life-threatening injuries) and can I come in and work 2pm to 7.30 today. Of course, I said yes. So much for going to town. A guy is coming from Butterfield Station to do the books this morning, and MaryLou and Diane can handle all else. I don't know who'll be closing with me, maybe Shane himself, as there isn't anybody else. At least, it's only 5.5 hours. He's working really long hours with Leeann gone.
All is well (9am). Shane's wife totaled the truck but she came out of it with just a few scratches. So he's back to work and so I can be OFF!!
Have gone to town and am now at the Apache Cafe, eating pumpkin pie and drinking iced tea. Soon I'll go back and get hooked up and collapse for the rest of the day and rest up.
Sun 10-18
Sunday 10-18 7am
Same old same old. Haven't even had the energy to do any photography. When I get out at night, it's dark, and in the mornings the light is too flat. Besides, the legs need all the rest they can get at this point.
Shane has been browbeating Ryan to actually get some work done. Said he was going to staple the list to his chest for emphasis. Ryan still finds lots of time to stand around and chit chat. He's 17, tall (maybe 6'1"), not bad-looking but has terrible acne. His brother William (whom I replaced) has now gone to auto-tech school in Waxahachie TX and he's thrilled as the brothers "hate" each other. I expect that situation will change as they age.
But if I had inherited Ryan as a worker he'd be fired already. His title is maintenance, and the jobs aren't onerous. But the whole store is filthy except where the customers can see. He'll drag out the mop bucket, for instance, and mop half the store, saying he doesn't have time to do the rest of the floor tonight (it's 5:45 and he's on till 7:30) as he has to stock the coolers (should take about 20 minutes) and fill the soda fountain ice chest (20 minutes) and do the bathrooms (about 40 minutes if he does a good job, which he never does). So he had 105 minutes minus 90, leaving him 15 minutes to fiddlefart around. Mind you, he'd been on since 4:30 but none of those jobs had gotten done. I had dustmopped the entire store in 15 minutes (also one of his jobs but I was bored).
He's talking about joining the army. I think it'd be a big shock after being coddled by his mama all these years. Gossip from Rose and Diane is that Leeann is one of those managers who gets away with lots of stuff that the company would come down hard on if it were a different manager. She's been "written up" several times but nothing ever comes of it. Managers are not supposed to take more than a week of vacation at a time but she's gone for three weeks; won't be back until this coming Friday.
Rose was doing a lot of inventory counting in certain categories yesterday but refused any help -- "oh, thanks, but I'm so used to doing it." Well, yeah, but I'm supposed to be learning this stuff and she gets so stressed out you'd think she'd welcome the help. But she may be one of those people who needs to feel over-burdened and underappreciated so she can moan about it.
Company policy is to check the bathrooms once an hour, and at Picacho Peak we did. Here, it may get done once a day, or not. The store is supposed to be mopped every day, with an occasional lapse. At PK it was, but not here. Ryan also leaves the mop bucket with the dirty water in it sitting in back (mop in it) for days at a time. This is next to the back door, you understand, where it would take two minutes to trundle it out and empty it outside.
I expect the situation to be much different at Alamogordo, first because it's so slow so there's plenty of time to do stuff, and second because Kenn and Carol aren't so jaded yet with the corporate bullshit. We won't have a "maintenance" person so we'll get to pass the jobs around. It's a tiny store, too, about a third the size of this one, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Same old same old. Haven't even had the energy to do any photography. When I get out at night, it's dark, and in the mornings the light is too flat. Besides, the legs need all the rest they can get at this point.
Shane has been browbeating Ryan to actually get some work done. Said he was going to staple the list to his chest for emphasis. Ryan still finds lots of time to stand around and chit chat. He's 17, tall (maybe 6'1"), not bad-looking but has terrible acne. His brother William (whom I replaced) has now gone to auto-tech school in Waxahachie TX and he's thrilled as the brothers "hate" each other. I expect that situation will change as they age.
But if I had inherited Ryan as a worker he'd be fired already. His title is maintenance, and the jobs aren't onerous. But the whole store is filthy except where the customers can see. He'll drag out the mop bucket, for instance, and mop half the store, saying he doesn't have time to do the rest of the floor tonight (it's 5:45 and he's on till 7:30) as he has to stock the coolers (should take about 20 minutes) and fill the soda fountain ice chest (20 minutes) and do the bathrooms (about 40 minutes if he does a good job, which he never does). So he had 105 minutes minus 90, leaving him 15 minutes to fiddlefart around. Mind you, he'd been on since 4:30 but none of those jobs had gotten done. I had dustmopped the entire store in 15 minutes (also one of his jobs but I was bored).
He's talking about joining the army. I think it'd be a big shock after being coddled by his mama all these years. Gossip from Rose and Diane is that Leeann is one of those managers who gets away with lots of stuff that the company would come down hard on if it were a different manager. She's been "written up" several times but nothing ever comes of it. Managers are not supposed to take more than a week of vacation at a time but she's gone for three weeks; won't be back until this coming Friday.
Rose was doing a lot of inventory counting in certain categories yesterday but refused any help -- "oh, thanks, but I'm so used to doing it." Well, yeah, but I'm supposed to be learning this stuff and she gets so stressed out you'd think she'd welcome the help. But she may be one of those people who needs to feel over-burdened and underappreciated so she can moan about it.
Company policy is to check the bathrooms once an hour, and at Picacho Peak we did. Here, it may get done once a day, or not. The store is supposed to be mopped every day, with an occasional lapse. At PK it was, but not here. Ryan also leaves the mop bucket with the dirty water in it sitting in back (mop in it) for days at a time. This is next to the back door, you understand, where it would take two minutes to trundle it out and empty it outside.
I expect the situation to be much different at Alamogordo, first because it's so slow so there's plenty of time to do stuff, and second because Kenn and Carol aren't so jaded yet with the corporate bullshit. We won't have a "maintenance" person so we'll get to pass the jobs around. It's a tiny store, too, about a third the size of this one, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Thu 10-15
Thu 10-15
Well, did I get an earful of gossip today! Rose has transferred here from Butterfield Station, and Diane is the traveling gold inventory person. Rose is now here at Akela permanently and Diane is filling in. Both are big talkers and have been with Bowlin for some years. They proceeded to trash everybody they've ever worked with, including Leeann. Seems Rose used to work at Akela and she and Leeann had a "personality conflict." So there are strict guidelines from Alfred about what she's to do and not to do. Lots of what they had to say made no sense to me as they were talking about people I don't know. But they sure had a lot to say.
The unrelenting gossip is another aspect of corporate culture I don't care for.
Diane said at one point that she might want to stop traveling and manage a store again; I said okay, you and I can swap job. She travels I-10 to each store at least once a month to inventory the gold jewelry. Now, you understand that it get counted every night (at least it does at Picacho but not at Akela), every sale is written down and a running count is kept. There are items in the store that cost more than some of the gold so why isn't it counted and inventoried? We do have to record every AQ (indian-made) sale and do a running count, but it doesn't seem to be as critical to the company as the gold stuff. Go figure.
Diane also has a really loud voice, and has a verbal tic that is in every sentence (...and what have you...), sometimes twice. She's 60, stout, and fair, maybe 5'7". Rose is fairly short--5'5" or so, short gray hair, age 63, stresses easily, has a husband in really bad health. They mostly hung out and talked. Diane left at 4pm, forgetting to close out her register (Rose did it for her). So then Rose turned her attention to me as audience and talked and talked. I now know her whole family history. Neither of them know anything about me, not even where I'm from -- no curiosity.
When it came time to close, Shane dropped in just to check but basically she did it herself, with me helping. I could hear her breathing getting fast and raspy -- Rose, I said, it's not the end of the world, you know. But she's a self-confessed worrier and fretter.
Tomorrow at the Apache Homelands Cafe, there's a big meeting of many Apache bigwigs to discuss what's happening with the plan to make it a casino. One of the guys who was working on the computer system yesterday was in the store and said we should drop by to show our support. Somehow the guy and I got to talking about birthdays and he was very surprised to hear how old I am -- said he found it very hard to believe. Wasn't that nice? Of course, he bought a straw sombrero to wear while mowing his lawn, so maybe his judgment is a little suspect. On the other hand, it's a practical choice, wide enough to shade both shoulders, so maybe he's very clever. On the other other hand, having a lawn you have to mow is not smart, especially out here.
Am looking forward to Alamogordo. Hope it happens soon. The legs are not happy being stood on for seven hours a day.
Well, did I get an earful of gossip today! Rose has transferred here from Butterfield Station, and Diane is the traveling gold inventory person. Rose is now here at Akela permanently and Diane is filling in. Both are big talkers and have been with Bowlin for some years. They proceeded to trash everybody they've ever worked with, including Leeann. Seems Rose used to work at Akela and she and Leeann had a "personality conflict." So there are strict guidelines from Alfred about what she's to do and not to do. Lots of what they had to say made no sense to me as they were talking about people I don't know. But they sure had a lot to say.
The unrelenting gossip is another aspect of corporate culture I don't care for.
Diane said at one point that she might want to stop traveling and manage a store again; I said okay, you and I can swap job. She travels I-10 to each store at least once a month to inventory the gold jewelry. Now, you understand that it get counted every night (at least it does at Picacho but not at Akela), every sale is written down and a running count is kept. There are items in the store that cost more than some of the gold so why isn't it counted and inventoried? We do have to record every AQ (indian-made) sale and do a running count, but it doesn't seem to be as critical to the company as the gold stuff. Go figure.
Diane also has a really loud voice, and has a verbal tic that is in every sentence (...and what have you...), sometimes twice. She's 60, stout, and fair, maybe 5'7". Rose is fairly short--5'5" or so, short gray hair, age 63, stresses easily, has a husband in really bad health. They mostly hung out and talked. Diane left at 4pm, forgetting to close out her register (Rose did it for her). So then Rose turned her attention to me as audience and talked and talked. I now know her whole family history. Neither of them know anything about me, not even where I'm from -- no curiosity.
When it came time to close, Shane dropped in just to check but basically she did it herself, with me helping. I could hear her breathing getting fast and raspy -- Rose, I said, it's not the end of the world, you know. But she's a self-confessed worrier and fretter.
Tomorrow at the Apache Homelands Cafe, there's a big meeting of many Apache bigwigs to discuss what's happening with the plan to make it a casino. One of the guys who was working on the computer system yesterday was in the store and said we should drop by to show our support. Somehow the guy and I got to talking about birthdays and he was very surprised to hear how old I am -- said he found it very hard to believe. Wasn't that nice? Of course, he bought a straw sombrero to wear while mowing his lawn, so maybe his judgment is a little suspect. On the other hand, it's a practical choice, wide enough to shade both shoulders, so maybe he's very clever. On the other other hand, having a lawn you have to mow is not smart, especially out here.
Am looking forward to Alamogordo. Hope it happens soon. The legs are not happy being stood on for seven hours a day.
Wed 10-14
Wed 10-14
So I hie myself off to town because it will be four days before I can go again. Did laundry, got new wipers, got some flannel pjs, some tp -- you know, the fun stuff.
Came to the Apache Cafe to get lunch and do email and blog. BUT it turns out they're either installing a new system or updating the old system. I'm sitting at the same table, using the same plug, but no connection. So far, they've told me to refresh my browser twice. Nada. Can't hang out here too long or the ice cream in my freezer bag will melt (it's mid-80s today).
Guess I'll see y'all in a few days.
So I hie myself off to town because it will be four days before I can go again. Did laundry, got new wipers, got some flannel pjs, some tp -- you know, the fun stuff.
Came to the Apache Cafe to get lunch and do email and blog. BUT it turns out they're either installing a new system or updating the old system. I'm sitting at the same table, using the same plug, but no connection. So far, they've told me to refresh my browser twice. Nada. Can't hang out here too long or the ice cream in my freezer bag will melt (it's mid-80s today).
Guess I'll see y'all in a few days.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sat 10 Oct
Sat 10-10 10.30pm
I was really spacy today. Not sure why. Allergies are kicking up some and I only got five hours of sleep. It was slow at the store today so I got to leave a couple of hours early. Came home, ate a sandwich, took an antihistamine and an aleve and crashed for two hours. Still feel a little groggy.
Am still feeling okay with my decision to stay with Bowlin and transfer to Alamogordo. A town nearby is Ruidoso which has the Ruidoso Downs with quarter-horse racing. There's also a huge performing arts center. So there'll be some things to do. And there's an air force base just outside of Alamagordo, Holliwell AFB (which I've never heard of).
Thursday I did over $600 on my register, and Friday I did over $700. We have four registers (plus the fuel sales register). I've been told that some days at the A'gordo store, the day's total might be $200. Talk about being a slower store!
Am looking forward to Monday off. I'll go down to the Apache Cafe and do some internet stuff, posting to the blog, etc., while having a meal. Think I'll walk (heresy in The West).
UPDATE
Mon 1pm
Did walk down to the Apache Cafe. Had a meatloaf dinner with roasted red potatoes and iced tea. Good. And as you can see, am getting caught up again. Am supposed to be off Wed., but with Kenn and Carol leaving that day, don't know what my schedule is going to be.
I was really spacy today. Not sure why. Allergies are kicking up some and I only got five hours of sleep. It was slow at the store today so I got to leave a couple of hours early. Came home, ate a sandwich, took an antihistamine and an aleve and crashed for two hours. Still feel a little groggy.
Am still feeling okay with my decision to stay with Bowlin and transfer to Alamogordo. A town nearby is Ruidoso which has the Ruidoso Downs with quarter-horse racing. There's also a huge performing arts center. So there'll be some things to do. And there's an air force base just outside of Alamagordo, Holliwell AFB (which I've never heard of).
Thursday I did over $600 on my register, and Friday I did over $700. We have four registers (plus the fuel sales register). I've been told that some days at the A'gordo store, the day's total might be $200. Talk about being a slower store!
Am looking forward to Monday off. I'll go down to the Apache Cafe and do some internet stuff, posting to the blog, etc., while having a meal. Think I'll walk (heresy in The West).
UPDATE
Mon 1pm
Did walk down to the Apache Cafe. Had a meatloaf dinner with roasted red potatoes and iced tea. Good. And as you can see, am getting caught up again. Am supposed to be off Wed., but with Kenn and Carol leaving that day, don't know what my schedule is going to be.
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