Scary Stuff

Winds, that is, gusting about 40 mph, sometimes shaking the rig and a couple of times making it feel light on its tires. I really don't want to go skittering across the Kansas landscape. What makes it worse is that the Lindas have gone to get work done on their rig, and I'm used to sheltering in their shadow. Now I'm out here in flatness all alone until Wednesday.

Roxanne and I did laundry today in the teeth of the winds. They pulled out for Texas this afternoon after quitting Amazon on Saturday. They'd had it, too.

So I'm sitting here reading, blogging, crossword puzzling, listening to music, but no TV, just waiting around until Sunday. Boring.

Am also checking the maps for routes and places. Have decided not to go to Quartzsite Arizona so am looking at eastern Texas for places to hang out for a while.

Bye Bye Amazon

Tonight was the last gathering of the Amazon workampers that I will attend. Pizza Hut, again. I went with Roxanne and George. Philip and Savannah were there from Amazon; Roxanne said they came because she asked them to; they were great ambassadors for Amazon, always pleasant and smiling and helpful. We liked them a lot, and they agreed with a lot of what we had to say about how the workampers were treated.

Others I will miss include Arzella and Glenda. They liked me and I liked them; we worked well together. Bill, while nice (Canadian, you know), would never like me for a regular employee -- I think too much and have too many ideas and don't always follow the rules (if they don't make sense to me).

Did I tell you about the lead guy I was discussing my scanner with? Well, I said, that won't work worth a damn. And he said, worth a darn, you mean. I almost laughed in his face. But it's all over now. I'm usually glad for new experiences, even if I don't like them, but this time it was all bad, at least right now. Maybe later I'll feel differently.

Planning to leave out of here on Sunday 12/14 and dawdle my way to Yuma Arizona. I'll find a place in the desert out there and wait for the Quartzsite rally to start on 1/15.

Happy holidays, y'all.

Books Read Nov 08

You didn't think I hadn't been reading, did you? It's a much shorter list than usual because of working. At least I'm not whining about my feet in this post (okay, maybe a little). Anyhoo--

Author, Title, Genre, Rating, Read All of It?, Comment
BROCKMANN, Suzanne, Kiss and Tell, romance, medium, yes, too ""romance-y"" -- early work"
-----, No Ordinary Man, romance, medium, no, formulaic and fairly slow; an early work.
CLARE, Pamela, Ride the Fire, romance, medium, yes, Amer. West historical.
GRIFFIN* W.E.B., Corps X: Retreat, Hell!, fiction, good, yes, Korean war cont.
----- Corps IX: Under Fire, fiction, good, yes, Korean war start.
HEINLEIN* Robert, Past Through Tomorrow, sf, medium, yes, Spider Robinson be damned, RAH is a closet misogynist and male chauvinist pig, and his later stuff doesn't change that.
-----, Expanded Universe, sf, medium, yes, lots of trademark polemics and early works.
JANCE, J.A., Hand of Evil, mystery, good, yes, Ali Reynolds series, new to me.
JOSS, Morag, Fruitful Bodies, mystery, medium, no, Sara Selkirk series. Too slow, too complicated w/messy people. Professional cellist said of main character, who's a prof. cellist, "when does she practice??!!"
LACKEY, Mercedes, Valdemar Companion, fantasy, good, yes, Reference book by Helfers & Little eds.
LOWELL, Elizabeth, Shadow and Silk, thriller/romance, good, yes, she's had a winning formula for some time: alpha men battling age-old natures to work with alpha women, instead of leaving them at home.
MASSEY, Sujata, Zen Attitude, mystery, good, no, Rei Shimura series; contemporary Japan. Realized had read it years ago.
MONING, Karen Marie, Bloodfever, pararomance, good, yes, complex but still full of alpha males who give the heroine nothing but orders.
ROBB* J.D., #30 Ritual in Death, cop/sf/romance, good, yes, in Suite 606 anthology
-----, #31 Salvation in Death, cop/sf/romance, good, yes, lots of stuff about faith/religion.
ROBERTS* Nora, Seven #3: Pagan Stone, pararomance, medium, yes, Sign of Seven 3/3. Tried & true formula, everything neatly tidied up.
ROSS, Kate, Devil in Music, mystery, good, no, Julian Kestrel series. Just a trifle too precious.
SALA, Sharon, Bad Penny, thriller/romance, good, yes, Cat Dupree
TEPPER, Sherri, Margarets, sf, good, yes, Excellent, more romantic than usual for her, high-flown philosophy, indictment of current Earth psychology and politics.
WAMBAUGH, Joseph, Hollywood Crows, mystery, good, yes, welcome back! funny and wry and grim.

Quitting vs. Giving Up

Thanks to commiserating friends. For some reason this decision has messed up my head. I had really thought I could stand anything for two months. My pride demanded it. My good sense said not at the expense of your health, current and future. So far, the pride is winning.

My last day of work was Wednesday 5.30pm to Thursday 4am. It's now late Friday afternoon. I've slept a lot, rubbed Aspercream into my aching feet (especially the instep bone). The feet are still sore to the touch but getting better. The knees still take careful straightening when standing up. Is this physical condition enough of a reason to quit? My good sense said yes. My pride says wimp.

I'm by no means the first workamper to have quit, many of whom are younger than I. But I still feel wimpish and sensible at the same time. Unsettling.

Maybe I haven't quit; maybe I've given up. Semantics is powerful. Quit = decide not to do something for good reason, after having tried to succeed. Give up = decide it's not possible to do something, after having tried it once.

These are possible definitions but there's more nuances than can be gleaned. One can quit something in a fit of pique; one can give up after battering one's head against a stone wall. So which have I done?

Enjoyed As Much As I Can Stand

so I quit.

During my shift last night, I hurt as much as I did the first week, so things are not getting better or easier. My feet are sore to the touch, the knees are reluctant and not inclined to be tolerant, and the poor ankle is getting less stable all the time. The money isn't worth it.

I'll be here until the 12th to get the last paycheck and then who knows. When I know, you will.

Enough is Enough

I had signed up to work today (voluntary overtime) but it got to be 3.30pm and I just couldn't make myself get up and get ready. So I decided that my knee needed more rest and called in "sick." No more overtime for these last three weeks; 40 hours is enough. So I'll have three days off. Yes!

Now, if I could just figure out why my TV doesn't have a picture, I'd be fat and happy. It has sound but a black screen that just happened all of a sudden. I've checked everything inside and all is fine. So I need to check the antenna connections, which means a ladder, which means I wait until it's not gusting 40mph (which is what it's doing right now).

Bought 10 paperbacks yesterday, mostly authors who are only medium-level or are new to me, so have plenty to read, even though I expect most to be only fair.

Got an email from Accent on Books in Asheville, celebrating 25 years in business. I wrote to tell them that the new JK Rowling book, Beedle the Bard, is being held here at the Amazon plant in semi-trucks with armed guards. Silly, no?

Real Food!

Persuaded the Lindas to go out to dinner last night. Downtown Coffeyville boasts Lanning's Grill & Bar (across the street from the Mexican restaurant the workampers went to a few weeks ago). I had the ribeye steak special with grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and green beans, with a glass of cabernet (house). The steak was rare and nicely peppered and good. I wanted a gimlet before dinner (full bar, they advertised) but (a) the waitress had never heard of this drink, and (b) they didn't have Rose's Lime Juice. So I had a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream for after dinner.

All in all, I felt replete. The Lindas (nominal vegetarians) had the fantail shimp dinner. Linda B got a local side dish, battered and fried corn on the cob. Spicy batter but overall pretty good, she said. My treat to them in thanks for all their help and friendship.

Then I came home and slept nine hours. Today is bright and blustery, warmer than yesterday was and tomorrow will be (about 58 deg.). Tonight it's back to the rabbit warren, the dirty warren, I might add. Last Sat. I wore a white t-shirt, got sweaty and wiped my face on the hem, leaving icky stains of dirt on the shirt. That's how nasty the place is. Three weeks to go.