J_E_G.....From the land of OZ

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

 

The rain has found us again, which figures what with the holiday weekend rapidly approaching here. They say it's supposed to be out of here by Friday, I sure hope so. Although I don't see why it would matter since I don't really have any plans. Well, except maybe to go to the parade and watch the fireworks. Hey I guess I do have some plans after all.

Don't know if it's just because I'm tired or what but I just can't think of much to post tonight. So before this lame post becomes any lamer I think I'll just go have me a Haagen Dazs ice-cream bar before my eyelids become to heavy to hold them open any longer. And I can tell it won't be long till that happens.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 8:42 PM   

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

 

I almost forgot to tell you that as of yesterday things changed for me at work. Well actually not the work itself, just who I work for. Yep, as of yesterday I no longer work for manpower. Seems manpower has decided it is in their best interest not to staff anymore construction work. Some kind of bullshit about it costing them to much for workers comp claims. So I guess according to them it is no longer safe to work in the construction field. Somehow I don't think thats it, quite possibly the people working in the manpower offices don't send the right kinds of folks out on these construction assignments. The good news is manpower agreed to release us and Great Plains Asbestos Control picked us up on their payroll. So I now officially work for GPAC. The bad news is the benefits were just starting to kick in with manpower i.e. health insurance and holiday pay. So here I sit with no health coverage until I can determine if GPAC has health insurance and get enrolled in their plan. Ain't life grand, oh well it could have been worse at least I still have a job.

I had planned on incorporating a pic into part of this post, but alas seems my photo hosting site is down. I'll try again tomorrow.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 9:15 PM   

Monday, June 28, 2004

 

I was surfing around doing some blog reading when I came across a post on Error's blog that got me to thinking somewhat. In the post she brought up being normal and what might the definition of normal be. Now I've heard the saying the definition of someone being normal is a person whose story hasn't been told yet. Yeah, I admit it I used to go to those meetings. And no not the meetings intended for those who drank but the meetings for those whose life had become slight, uh moderately, oh ok very f**ked up by someone close to them who drank (father,girlfriend). But that's another story for another time....maybe. Getting back to my thoughts on the definition of being normal, must there, can there truly be a pat definition on what is normal. What's normal for one may not, could not and possibly should not be normal for others. Try this to determine your definition of normality. Take a look around you both near and far. Now shake your head just a little and forget them. Go look in a mirror and what you see looking back at you is normal....your normality defined by you. Therefore I believe we are as normal as we want or choose to be, and it should not be left up to others or society as a whole to determine it for us. By the same token what is seen as normal by myself may not seem normal to others. But it's not others who have to live our life.

I know this is straying from my normal type of post, but every now and then I get carried away. Or maybe its a little ounce of new found courage allowing me to open up a little finally. Will it last, I don't know only time will tell. Hell what I said may make no sense at all, but how will I know that if I don't put them down for others to see and judge.

BTW I did go to work today and it was one of those time stands still type days that seemed to last forever. But it's over now and a new and possibly better day awaits just on the horizon.

That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 8:56 PM   

Sunday, June 27, 2004

 

Today was one of those silly busy but don't get much done type of days. It started out with the heavens opening up shortly after I got out of bed and dumping a little over two inches of rain on us. And even though the rain stopped shortly before noon the sky remained a dull gray with the clouds hanging around.

About mid-morning came the phone call announcing the impending visit by my sister and her family, lovingly referred to as the wild bunch (for obvious reasons). In fact having them around the house for a few hours there's no need to have a tornado drop down from the sky. They are like four little tornadoes spinning through the house. I really enjoy having come and visit, but usually about four hours is all my nerves can handle of this relative excitement. After they left I decided to take a drive and ended up taking a short walk down by the river. There's something peaceful about walking down by the river. However that didn't last long as I was soon inundated with a buzzing noise all around me followed by tiny pinches as the skeeters finally realized I was there. Not wanting anything remotely resembling West Nile I decided to bail and headed for the house.

Its closing in on ten o'clock and I still have to get things ready for the new work week ahead of me. Hope everyone had a good weekend.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 9:26 PM   

Saturday, June 26, 2004

 

Woke up this morning with lots on my list of things to get done. But then about mid-morning somehow and for whatever reason I settled into a funk. All my energy and motivation seemed to drain from within me. So most of the day it's as though I've been wandering lost in the fog. I've had these types of days before and I know with a good nights sleep I'll be up and ready to face the day tomorrow. So till then.....that's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 6:55 PM   

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

 

I meant to do a post last night, honest I did. In fact I sat down in front of the computer at eight last night with the intentions of updating my site. While trying to figure out what to write I made a very big mistake. I decided to lean my head back in my chair close my eyes and think of something to write. Why was that a mistake? Well after a long day at work and you're tired the last thing you want to do is lean your head back and close your eyes for whatever reason. Because the only thing you will end up thinking about is the impending dream you are about to have as you slip off into slumber land. The next thing you know your eyes pop open and you look at the clock and it's one in the morning. And that's what happened to me last night, I had all the best intentions just poor judgment.

I did find out today at work that by the middle of next week we should be done with the lead removal and can turn our attention to the demolition of the walls on the floor we're working on. This is fine with me, that means no more wearing that funny suit and respirator. It just occurred to me I haven't told about those fine suits we wear to protect us from the so called lead hazards. Well one thing, for a suit that is supposed to protect us it is paper thin and tears extremely easy. So when it tears and it will tear you either have to decon yourself go out and get a new suit or do a rapid repair....patch the hole with duct tape. So by the time we come out of the area either for lunch r the end of the day we all look like walking rolls of duct tape. Another thing I like is how big they are. I don't know what the company was thinking of, but not everyone is a size XXL. I mean I'm not skinny but I'm sure as hell not a XXXL. Its so big on me I can take three steps before the suit even moves. It's so big I could keep my lunch box in there and still have room enough for a full entertainment center and Suzie should she decide to visit. Ok the Suzie part is out of the question, but only because there is no Suzie. But there would be room enough for her if she did exist. So I trudge on doing my work with legs and sleeves a dragging. There you have the low down of the great protective suits we wear.

Can't really think of anything else to write about. Besides it's time to jump into the shower, followed closely thereafter by jumping into bed.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 7:00 PM   

Monday, June 21, 2004

 

A death in the house...well sorta kinda.

This past weekend wasn't completely without some excitement. if that's what you want to call it. In fact there was a death in the house saturday morning. No no it's not what you're thinking, it was my coffee maker that died. I got up at around six saturday morning and stumbled into the kitchen in search of my first cup of coffee. Imagine my surprise when I grabbed the pot and poured and nothing came out. The light was on and it was making some noises so it still had some life in it, but I had to act fast. This called for emergency surgery, no time to waste. I pulled the filter and dumped the water and proceeded with the operation. As I popped its top off I could sense time was running out as I checked to see if it's pump was working or if it's arteries were plugged. I couldn't get to the pump and the artery tubes weren't plugged and after searching five more minutes trying to find what was wrong I decided to call it. And the coffee maker officially died at six-thirty saturday morning. Which meant a trip to Wal-Mart later that day to get a new one. The period of mourning came to an end sunday morning when the brand new coffee maker delivered it's first cup of coffee. The funeral this evening, though a lonely one, was not bad. It ended with me gently carrying the coffee maker neatly tucked away in the box the new one came in out to the curb to be picked up with the rest of the trash.

Ok, I've gotten this far but I can't seem to figure out how to end this post. Wait I've got it now......that's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 8:01 PM   

Sunday, June 20, 2004

 

Another weekend is fading away fast with the rapid onset of a brand new work week. And I know I didn't get done today what I had hoped to. Mostly because of impromptu changes in plans due to relatives showing up unexpectedly. Sometimes spontaneity is a good thing and sometimes it just drives me up a wall. I guess I should have done more yesterday. No, come to think of it no I don't. I did exactly as I wanted, exactly as I needed to do yesterday. There is always another day for what doesn't or didn't get done today.

I did manage to get out a little bit yesterday and take some new pictures. One day I will have the time to get away from this area to take some new and different pictures, someday.

Now I better get my things ready for work before time runs out on me completely.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 8:28 PM   

Saturday, June 19, 2004

 

So far the weather this weekend has been what I'll call lazy weather...cloudy and cool with some rain in the air. And that's kinda how my weekends been so far.

I haven't really done much with the exception of taking my mom to a routine doctors appointment. Although there is no such thing as a routine visit to the doctor. And from a recent post I read on Kat's site I'd say she just might agree with me. I don't know why but it seems these doctors think we have all day just to sit in their offices waiting on them. And yesterday was no exception. Here's how it went. Arrived at doctor's office at 3:15 for a 3:30 appointment. There was o one in the waiting room so I thought we might have gotten lucky and this wouldn't be a long visit. Well a half hour later at 4:00 I was starting to revise my thinking. Here's the kicker, after they took her back the doctor received a call and I'll be damned if this doctor didn't stay on the phone for another half an hour. So it was 4:30 before the doctor even got around to seeing my mom. Not bad for having a 3:30 appointment. Finally at close to five o'clock I see her coming back into the waiting room which usually signifies that the appointment is over and we can finally head for home. But not this time. Turns out the doctor decided mom needed to get a couple of x-rays so off to radiology we went. Of course you can't just walk in and say I need an x-ray, no first you have to go to the ER to register. After giving them you're life history then you can go get your x-ray. So after another half hour in x-ray we were finally headed out of there some two and a half hours later. Not bad for a ROUTINE doctors appointment huh. And people wonder why I don't like going to the doctor.

So that's been the excitement of my weekend so far. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Oh yeah, going to try and get out to snap a few pics sometime before the weekend is over.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 11:35 AM   

Thursday, June 17, 2004

 

Once again my week ends on Thursday. But is it really a three day weekend when one of those days is used to recover from the week of work? As tired as I feel I think I could sleep most of the day away tomorrow. But I won't. I'll probably be busy again trying to get this house ready to sell. That in itself can be a pain.

That's it for now. I'm going to hop into the shower and then crawwwl into bed. Hopefully a better post tomorrow. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 7:22 PM   

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

 

It was an early and rocky start to the day this morning. It was about three when the flash of lightening followed by the ensuing clap of thunder just outside my bedroom window not only rudely awakened me but damned near bounced me out of bed. This was followed shortly thereafter by what sounded like someone dumping marbles on the roof of the house as the heavy wind blown rain started coming down. I lay in bed listening to the storm as it crashed its way through. Just as I was about to fall back asleep at four this morning another bright flash of lightening caught my attention, and as I opened my eyes again I noticed the usually lit numbers on my alarm clock were no longer visible. Yep, it had knocked out the electricity. I lay there awhile waiting to see if it came back on so I could reset my clock. It didn't. Now I knew I didn't dare go back to sleep fearing I wouldn't wake up again in time to go to work. So about four fifteen I crawled out of bed. Needless to say my ass was dragging a little at work today.

The rain and storms had been going around us lately which was ok with me. But after last night's nearly nine inches of rain with some flooding I'd say mother nature finally remembered where we are.

My eyelids are already starting to get heavy so I better get the few things done I need to while I still can.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 8:35 PM   

Monday, June 14, 2004

 

Posted by J_E_G 8:04 PM   

Friday, June 11, 2004

 

Sitting here enjoying one of the perks of the new job for th first time. Since we work four ten hour days we end up with a three day weekend. But along with the good comes the not so good. Working such long days has thrown me into a little spin. With the things I need to get done colliding with the things I want to do or get done, combined with the shortened amount of time in which to do these things. Yet try as I might to do these things, I usually discover I'm to tired to do anything anyway. But after thinking about it today I've decided I will get done what I get done. And if I can't keep up during the week that's what these three day weekends are for.

Time now to go and fix some supper. Everybody have a good weekend.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 5:17 PM   

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

 

Got home from work a little later tonight and the evening is slipping away from me rapidly. Of course that's not hard to happen since I don't get off till six to begin with. So I'm sitting here tired and wondering what to post. I even thought of maybe, now I said maybe, doing another audio post. I must tell you that some of the crazy ideas running through my mind for said post led me to believe I'm not only tired but bordering on exhausted. Alas I decided against an audio and instead opted to share with you a couple more pic's from my little outing at the lake in Topeka.

And with that I bid you all a good night as I prepare to crawl into bed.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 9:25 PM   

Monday, June 07, 2004

 

It's June, it's 85 degrees out and it's snowing. Go figure. Oh alright, so it's not snowing, instead it's the dreaded cottonwood season. Yes, the time where those fuzzy cotton like seeds get blown out of the cottonwood trees. Dreaded because if you happen to have allergies its a sign of impending misery for days to come. Thankfully I'm not one of those unlucky people. Although I still have to put up with the other unwanted blessings the cottonwood shares with everybody. Like how that cottony stuff can manage to blow into everywhere you don't want it to, coating everything with a fuzzy whiteness. Not to mention getting sucked into air-conditioner compressors wherein if you don't catch it and clean it out it has a tendency to burn out said compressors. Thankfully this summer snow season won't last to long.

Time now to get some things done and get to bed early. The way it sounds the honeymoon on the new job is over. We were informed this afternoon that after two days on the job we are now going to be expected to perform as seasoned veterans with this company. Seems we are behind and have to step up the pace by like 100%. Oh well I'm not afraid of a little hard work, besides it makes the day go by quicker. Still, I better be rested up for this new surge.
That's it for now. Later

Posted by J_E_G 7:59 PM   

Sunday, June 06, 2004

 

The weekend is rapidly winding to a close with the new work week rapidly approaching. This weekend has been what I would call somewhat uneventful yet eventful. For me it was uneventful as I just kinda rested up getting ready to go back to chiselling ceramic tile off walls again. The eventful, yet sad part of the weekend was the passing of ex-president Ronald Reagan. You hate to see this, but I can't help but think both he and his wife are better off now. After suffering for ten years with Alzheimer's he is at peace now. And I imagine it was no easy chore looking after him fr his wife Nancy Reagan.

The picture below is one I found on the web. I won't be taking my camera to work with me for a while. However this pic does depict how we are dressed while taking the ceramic tile off the walls of this hospital.

Hope everyone has a good week, I know I'm going to try to.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 3:57 PM   

Thursday, June 03, 2004

 

So I've got my first day on the new job behind me. Right now we're going through that awkward period that comes with starting most new jobs. You know getting the feel of the place, how and what is expected of you. Kind of like dipping your toes in and testing the water. I'm sure as time goes by and I get used to it things will be ok.

Anyhow we are involved in ripping out the interior of a wing of the hospital so it can be renovated. I did find out that the lead thing is not going to be as big a deal as first thought. I was under the impression it was lead paint we would have to look out for. Not so, where the lead is located is in the glazing on the ceramic tiles we will have to remove. Picture this if you will. We have to wear a respirator, special suit with hoods cover everything in plastic just to remove some ceramic tile. Yep, the kind most of us have in our bathrooms and kitchens. I don't know, I guess they are making such a big deal because it is a hospital. You ought to see all the filtered exhaust fans going, blowing all the filtered air outside. And we have to traverse through three layers of hanging plastic at every exit. You'd think we located asbestos and lead central instead of a hospital. Oh well, it's a job. And as long as they are signing and handing out the pay checks we'll do it their way.

Time to kick back and chill a little. It's gonna take me a little time getting used to getting home from work at six-thirty. Who knows maybe I'll even crash early tonight. Well, maybe.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 7:43 PM   

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

 

Oh what a day, one that I'm glad it's over. In fact my day seemed as though it was an episode right off the tv show The Amazing Race or whatever that show is called.

You and the other three teams (applicants) will depart your local residence traveling about sixty miles east to Topeka. However if you remember I've cheated, since I'm already in Topeka. And following the crude map provided locate the Occupational Health Services of America building where you will be administered a pulmonary function test. Word of info they are not the fastest in the world so you will have to make up the time somehow. Upon completion of this stress test, it's back to your car where you will travel west fifty five miles to the city of Manhattan. Once there locate the Peterson Lab in the Manhattan medical arts plaza (no map this time). Once there you will submit to a drug screening and blood test to test for lead present in your blood. Be aware the receptionist there has been instructed to try and throw you off by claiming not to have any knowledge of or paperwork needed to complete these tests. It is up to you to convince her you are indeed in the right place at the right time. After these tests are done and making sure the band-aid is in place so you don't bleed all over the place, get back in your car and head for your home residence. The winner will be the team (applicant) who gets home first. The good news is I completed all the tests, bad news no winner. It was a four way tie.

Seriously, I did get all the tests done and yes ended up putting about 150 miles on the car. Although the pulmonary stress test did take a little longer then usual. Seems my years of smoking have left it's mark on my lungs and I just about didn't pass their test. Had to have the doctor look at me. He did clear me to be able to do the job. And yes we did have to argue with and convince the receptionist at the lab that we were indeed to have these test done.

I just realized that in all my running around getting poked and prodded I haven't eaten anything all day. Damn, no wonder my stomach is grumbling. Ok, I'm off to fix me some supper.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 5:17 PM   

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

 

As I said yesterday I do have another job lined up. It's removing dry wall at the hospital on base. Again as I said, if I survive the application process. I got a good start today by making it through a four hour lead awareness class, but that was the easy part I think. Tomorrow I have to go to Topeka and get a pulmonary stress test, then drive back to Manhattan to do a UA and a blood test. The UA is a drug screen obviously and the blood test is to determine the amount of lead in my blood as I start the job. Seems the paint on the dry wall and trim we'll be removing contains lead. The only drawback to this job is I'll have to wear a respirator and extra clothing because of the lead. So now I'm off to Topeka now to spend the night with my sister and keep from having to get up extra early to make the hour drive since my appointment is at 8:15.
That's it for now. Later.

Posted by J_E_G 4:46 PM