Watertown, NY, USA . "Public Square" (vintage, date unknown) but the monument is honoring veterans of the American Civil War so the date of the image is late 1800s

Friday, March 31, 2006

What a weird day…will not go into the work weirdness but went to get into the car to take a trucker to the warehouse and my car is leaking gas…nice…called the auto dealer…car still on warrantee…told me to call the companies road side assistance as they would pay for the tow…so called…oops…leaking gas…they won’t authorize a tow unless the local fire department says it’s safe to tow…so I called the WFD…and they sent a pump truck and a 3 man crew…the crew chief was a very helpful individual…after assessing the problem deemed it safe and then handled the arrangements with the company…so I am car-less until I find out what the problem is…rats…got a ride home with the D-man…although it really is a fairly nice walk if I had to and a nice day…

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Work went…well work went…’nough said

Payday…ran some errands and got take out seafood…a gentile night…but tomorrow promises to be a nightmare…

Nite all

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

I hate workdays like the one I had today…orders are nil so there is a production shut down next week…which means of the down stairs folks only maintainace and the old trollie are working…and the upstairs folks who are all working are in their nitpicking mood…and those who are not working are in their…chicken little mood…(sorry if you need an explanation of the last I’m not in the mood)…

Decided to do grocery shopping tonight…a day early for the habitual me but then…ever so often I like to go out of the box…

Watched a little tube tonight…a little PC game…a gentile night but really am still p*ssed off about some of the work related crap that always seems to flow down hill and ends up in my lap…

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

A nice early spring day…still the possibility of snow but was nice today…a gentile evening…practice went pretty well but nothing on the tube tonight…

Nite all

Monday, March 27, 2006

Being of an age approaching 60 years old, I rarely sleep through the night…between the required early AM potty run and arthritis I usually wake up about four AM +/-, shift position, run…or rather stumble to the can …and then back in bed and off to dream land…except on early Monday AM…never can seem to get back to sleep…which makes Mondays difficult…but survived the day…

A gentle evening…a bit of the seafood salad for dinner, and a quick couple of slices of pizza for supper…but not in the best of shape physically tonight…aftermaths of well…a re-occurring problem but I’m over it for a while…

On the other hand today was the first real spring day we’ve had…and although the cold…nasty weather will probably return at least once more with a vengeance…there is hope…

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Not a good day…on any level…actually laid down and took a nap late afternoon, early evening…I never do that…feel a little better now but still…just not a good day

Saturday, March 25, 2006

With this post I have but 13 more to make the 2000th post to this blog…who would have every imagined that I would have held my interest for over 3 years and that many posts…I have always considered 13 as my lucky number…I worn that number in sport when it was available…I was irritated the last organized team I played for, slow pitch softball team I played for until well into my 40’s when I quit…not because my team mates wanted me to…but because I could no longer accept what demising skills had left me with…the manager insisted that I wear the number #1…hell…who ever would give a second baseman…and slap hitter that number…but he was the boss and I wore it…but I will always remember the years and the managers, coaches who allowed the little trollie to wear #13…I never had great ability…I just out worked and our “hustled” my opponents…not gifted physically…but gifted with the desire to compete…

A gentle day, a stress free day, a day when I did nothing I didn’t want to do, maybe I should have, there are or is a list of things I need to do, but not today…sufficient for the day are the troubles there of…but not today…the troubles there of are not pressing…are not over whelming so they can slide until the ‘morrow, or next week or next year for all I care…today was a gentile day…and will remain just that

Friday, March 24, 2006

The two cats have been in dead opposite “modes” tonight…smokey has been sleeping soundly most of the night…most of the day for that matter and snoring the siding off the house…how can an 8 lbs cat make that much noise sleeping…cat aggie has been in one of her moods where she is if I can’t sit in your lap and have you pet and pay attention to me right now I will die in the next 73 nanoseconds…

Had most of the day off and was watching the expanded cover on ESPN of the Players Championship…my man DL III started the day tied for the lead and barely made the cut…well I think he did anywho must go and check…dang…check that 65/83…148 and missed the cut by a ton…was one under the cut line with 2 holes to play when I turned the cover off…what the…went bogey 4 and then a quadruple bogey 9 on the last two holes to miss the cut by 4…nasty…dang…

In theory I had a 3-day weekend, a vacation day today and then the weekend…but theories and what actually occurred seldom are the same thing…the trollie is by nature a creature of the night…but am forced to live as a creature of the day because of my job…but when I don’t need to attend to that I revert to norm…went to bed about 2 AM this morning…awoke just past nine…and the only thing necessary today was to write and post 3 checks…well had barely gotten up when there was a call from my boss (who also had the day off as production was not working today)…one of us needed to go in for an hour or so…the big guy needed something done…and either he or I were the man…rats…he’s 20 minutes +/- from the plant and I’m less then five…+ the fact my guy is working today…nuts…so I ran in for what should have been way less then an hour…but ended up an hour…and frankly could have spent more then that…

Rest of the day has been a blur…really have been in a fog today…

Nite all

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Work until noon and then have a day and a half vacation which means I don’t have to go in or even think about the job until Monday at 8AM…yahooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Today’s workday …was …well today’s workday…’nough said…as per usually did the weekly errands on the Westside of town…the majority of the retail outlets in old Watertown are on the westside and I avoid it when ever possible…but stopped at big lots for crackers and barbecue sauce, and found some chinese chili and garlic sauce…had it one of two polish sausage sandwiches for supper (mustard relish on the other with a side of seedless cucumber spears)…very nice…must return and buy a couple more bottles…you can never be sure that what you find today at big lots will be there tomorrow…

(A brief pause will ensue as I pet cat Aggie-Sue who is purring on my lap)

Watched “Top Chef” on bravo tonight…blow away by the result and the chef that was gone…two teams…team one had 5 of the top 10 remaining…team two had 3 of the bottom 3…guess which one won the challenge…you’ve got it team two…weird…not that team one’s food was worse…team two “sold” it better…

( must end this as cat requires attention)

nite all

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Got a decent night’s sleep but awoke feeling nasty. Fortunately a light work day and took the afternoon off (the last ½ day vac from ’05).

Worship team went great tonight although we did spend most of the night on one new song and trying to resolve the sound issues we’ve been having the last few weeks…have had an increase in numbers of vocalists so have divided into two teams…although as only male harmony singer, and the K-lady as keyboardist/descant vocalist we are on both teams…I will miss the K-lady when she goes….husband is military and they will be re-assigned in June…excellent keyboard player and we hear harmony the same way so she’s easy to work with…but in a church where a large part of the congregation in military…those exits from the group are common…

Nite all

Monday, March 20, 2006

Aggie the cat has been on my lap for the last little bit…I tried to put her down on the floor while I typed this but she was heartbroken…and she is the only cat I’ve every had that has allowed me to type a post without interference…ok so with minimal interference…

Awoke with a “start” a tad before 5 AM …and as often happens was unable to get back to a true sleep until the alarm went off…actually have been sleeping well of late and the mid-night wake ups have been to a minimal but when I awake suddenly…I never seem to be able to turn off the switch to conscience and get back to sleep…really felt pretty “grim” this AM and looked like I could take the afternoon off…day looked fairly calm and straight forward…(sound of loud nasty sounding buzzer)….trollie was wrong again…by quitting time I had a mild digestive issue and decided that the pizza idea for supper was a big mistake and opted for a simple omelet and toast with ice tea…has been a gentle night…

Nite all

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Today went really well, stopped off on the way home from church for a few things…had decided on making a pizza for lunch…had a shell in the freezer…but needed cheese and pepperoni…well while passing the meat case I heard this wee small voice speaking to me…and low and behold one of my fav meats…some very nice boneless pork country spare ribs were calling to me…my favorite cut of pork…you can use it in sundry ways…a bit of barbecue sauce, the broiler, with creamed corn, and coffee…the pizza will wait for another day…and a bowl from the beef pot I made yesterday for supper…all is well…well frankly not all but most anyhow…

Saturday, March 18, 2006

I’ve been really down emotionally for the last 6 weeks or so…I haven't really “cooked” a meal in weeks…had a sink full of dirty dishes that has been staring me in the face for longer then I want to admit…but after the couple of hours in to the plant this morning I finally looked in the mirror and said you got to get over this…did the dishes…cleaned out the frig…(another job that was long over due)…and went out and got some good things to eat…made a simple omelet on toasted pumpernickel …topped with a store bought generic sausage gravy with coffee for a late lunch at 3:30 PM…while my pot of a beautiful piece of shank beef, and numerous aromatic veggies, with a bit of turnip and red skinned potatoes were on a low simmer…had a bit of it after 6 PM…nice…

Thursday, March 16, 2006

I awoke in a really bad place this AM…mentally decent but physically forget about it…I felt all of my 58 years and a tad more…so I discover I got 3 loads and 4 truck orders for tomorrow…so go out on a scouting trip trying to ascertain where everything is and I can’t find a couple of pallets…2 sources say I got ‘um but I can find them…so I pulled the stair ladder on the transfer and crawled up on time…well I got what I need but I really hate it when whoever loads the transfer can’t log the pallets right…so I’m crawling off the top of the dang pallets feeling worse then I have all morning…boss wanders by on his way to lunch…J-man I say I think I might take the afternoon off…I feel like I’ve been drug through a knot hole backwards….you can’t says he…because I am…dang…

Stopped after work for the check thing and to gas the car…and decided to stop at the dollar store to get a few mirco-waveable meals for lunches…and spied some no name brands of sausage gravy…I love sausage gravy but up to this point really have not the skill to make homemade and haven’t found a store bought brand that was worth a fart in a wind storm…and although I did add a fair amount of pepper and freshly ground sea salt…really nice…must remember to go back tomorrow and buy what they have left…

A zombie night…just going through the motions and a heavy day tomorrow…dang…night all

I awoke in a really bad place this AM…mentally decent but physically forget about it…I felt all of my 58 years and a tad more…so I discover I got 3 loads and 4 truck orders for tomorrow…so go out on a scouting trip trying to ascertain where everything is and I can’t find a couple of pallets…2 sources say I got ‘um but I can find them…so I pulled the stair ladder on the transfer and crawled up on time…well I got what I need but I really hate it when whoever loads the transfer can’t log the pallets right…so I’m crawling off the top of the dang pallets feeling worse then I have all morning…boss wanders by on his way to lunch…J-man I say I think I might take the afternoon off…I feel like I’ve been drug through a knot hole backwards….you can’t says he…because I am…dang…

Stopped after work for the check thing and to gas the car…and decided to stop at the dollar store to get a few mirco-waveable meals for lunches…and spied some no name brands of sausage gravy…I love sausage gravy but up to this point really have not the skill to make homemade and haven’t found a store bought brand that was worth a fart in a wind storm…and although I did add a fair amount of pepper and freshly ground sea salt…really nice…must remember to go back tomorrow and buy what they have left…

A zombie night…just going through the motions and a heavy day tomorrow…dang…night all

I awoke in a really bad place this AM…mentally decent but physically forget about it…I felt all of my 58 years and a tad more…so I discover I got 3 loads and 4 truck orders for tomorrow…so go out on a scouting trip trying to ascertain where everything is and I can’t find a couple of pallets…2 sources say I got ‘um but I can find them…so I pulled the stair ladder on the transfer and crawled up on time…well I got what I need but I really hate it when whoever loads the transfer can’t log the pallets right…so I’m crawling off the top of the dang pallets feeling worse then I have all morning…boss wanders by on his way to lunch…J-man I say I think I might take the afternoon off…I feel like I’ve been drug through a knot hole backwards….you can’t says he…because I am…dang…

Stopped after work for the check thing and to gas the car…and decided to stop at the dollar store to get a few mirco-waveable meals for lunches…and spied some no name brands of sausage gravy…I love sausage gravy but up to this point really have not the skill to make homemade and haven’t found a store bought brand that was worth a fart in a wind storm…and although I did add a fair amount of pepper and freshly ground sea salt…really nice…must remember to go back tomorrow and buy what they have left…

A zombie night…just going through the motions and a heavy day tomorrow…dang…night all

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Today was whacked out and weird…first of all the container load to Portugal that was supposed to load tomorrow got moved into today because the “gate” on the ship closed tomorrow at 4 PM…marketing never asked shipping (I would have checked) or production whether it would be done or not…they just changed the date…. 11AM appointment…driver gets there at 9:30 AM…. the last roll for the load comes off the machine at 1:30 PM and the drivers speaks limited English…. plus it’s a load at this location…load at the second location and then come back to the first location…and wait for 2 hours…dang…

When the pallet was finally done I was at the other location finishing the Nogales/San Diego load that was supposed to be tomorrow but had to be loaded because of the drivers schedule…and the Wisner Idaho load that needs to be in the ‘Cuse tomorrow to connect with the long haul trucker…wasn’t picked up by the local guy…we’ve been trying for weeks to get a connection to Wisner, and if we miss this one I’m going to be p*ssed…

Have spent the night in an ugly mood…just haven’t been able to get rid of the “baggage” from work…have struggled with leaving work at work…have had a better time doing that lately…except for tonight…
Checked the old dashboard tonight and only 27 posts from the 2000th post to my blog…early April looks like the approximate date for the milestone…

I have been trying to take a half day vacation this week some things to attend to…plus it would finish off last years vacation…had a load yesterday that I thought would occur in the morning…yeah half day vac…which got pushed back several times until it ended up today at 8 AM…looking good…but to many other issues plied up so maybe Wednesday PM…now a load I knew about…+ a load added…+ a load we’ve been having great difficulty finding some one willing to take…we’ve had a load sitting ready to ship to Wisner, Idaho for almost 2 weeks and no takers…so tomorrow is not only out but means most of the day for the old trollie on the forklift…

Worship team practice tonight ended up a wash…we had a bunch of technical problems and after an hour of trying to resolve them, we left without singing a note…what ever has become of unplugged…but spent most of the night chatting with my peeps…despite the lost practice was a good night…well almost…found out tonight that our keyboardist and descant vocalist is leaving the area in June, her hubby is military…will miss the abilities of the K-lady…but have also missed the abilities of several other members of the group who are either military or military related…

Monday, March 13, 2006

Today was not a difficult work day just a frustrating one…I had a mid morning load and nothing else shaking so intended to take the afternoon off, a few things to do that I’ve been putting off, and a ½ day left from last year…well by the time the day was done the load kept getting pushed back all the way to tomorrow morning…nuts…rats and that’s the reason they call it work and not fun…

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Dang, this week end has been a drag…a very down time for me physically…ah nuts…I was very pleased with the ‘cuse getting a 5 deed in the NCAA’s but quite frankly can’t understand why Seton Hall got in and Cincinnati didn’t…once I saw that SH was in I was saying to myself…dang… the Big East got 9 bids…was shocked when Cinncy didn’t get a bid…I guess that only proves that I don’t have a voice in the seeding…

Saturday, March 11, 2006

I can’t believe it…the ‘cuse went into the big east tournament playing quite frankly very poorly…and end up winning 4 games by a total of eight points…and in the process knocking off the top ranked team in the country…before the tournament I figured they had missed the NCAA’s

And where headed for the NIT’s, now no one can deny their slot in the big dance…they have the automatic conference bid…amazing…there have been stories floating around that G-mac is over rated…lets see what those stories say now…

I had a very bad day physically…just didn’t get done what I wanted, needed to get done…dang…

Friday, March 10, 2006

Work was work, move to the next subject

I have tomorrow off…yip, yip, yippee…

Had a special service at church where the worship team was involved…went well…

Got home and the ‘cuse was down 15 to G-town in the opening minutes of the second half…almost didn’t watch…but as Matt-G was getting some quality minutes (he’s a local kid) decided to watch…the ‘cuse never lead in the game until Eric-D got a lay up off a pretty feed from G-Mac with 13 seconds to go…they won by 1…they that is the ‘cuse have had an amazing run in the big east tournament…not only have the won 3 games by a total of 4 points...and knocked off the #1 ranked team in the country... but they were probably on the outside looking in for the big dance going into the tournament and now they should be a solid in…

Thursday, March 9, 2006

I just had a horrid day, I got too little sleep last night, was awakened by the alarm clock (I hate it when that happens (I am a night person who by the requirements of what I am beat at is forced to work days)), and although felt physically decent this AM was in a very bad place emotionally…work was a total bitch…. but at 4:30 PM all changed (quitting time).

Pay day, cashed check and went to the grocery store, with intent. I knew what I wanted for supper, have been in a takeout mood of late…haven’t wanted to be bothered by cooking and planning meals…but tonight maybe I’ve turned the corner on that…

Among other purchases I acquired tonight some baby greens, an English cucumber, some nice roma tomatoes, a bottle of California French dressing, and some store made seafood salad…which were combined and highlighted with a very generous grinding of fresh sea salt on the veggies…a very nice dinner…

Have relaxed and just chilled the rest of the night…night all…

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

Dang what a day, the out bound to sunny California was already there when I got in, and the paper work was snafu’d, and the customer service rep who had control had a day off…dang…and the driver spoke limited English…I explained that the load was light, I explained to him that I understood the need to load so he could scale his weight in accordance with the California bridge law, and that I had loaded several 100 trailers to old California with no problems…first he was the maiden aunt type of driver who was all over me during the load…and then I was almost done he had a hissy fit and insisted that I re-arrange it…it as loaded righteous…with the light load and my load pattern he could have scaled easy…but he just won’t let it rest…plus he got in my face…I rarely lose my cool with a driver but I did this time…I told him to back off…get out of my face right now…which he did…I re-arranged as he wanted…after all he’s pulling the load but he should have told me from the beginning…and the absolute truth is that he has less chance of scaling the load the way he wanted it loaded then the way I wanted to load it…but screw him…if he gets a fine it’s his arse not mine…and I will have a conversation with the rep who arranged the load and telling her I don’t want to see that driver again…in 26 years I’ve only made that request…heck…demand once before…

Despite the fact that the rest of the day went…well not great but normal…which is to say messed up…I was in a very narrow…very ugly place tonight…and the chores I had intended…the practice I had intended to go to…well just not in the right frame of mind to attend to…

(/rant)

Nite all

Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Work today went…well…at work I seem to be caught in a vortex of time and space that makes me constantly repeat the same problems…answer the same questions…and feel the same frustration…despite the fact that I felt like I had been drug through a knothole backwards I did go to worship team practice…and I was he best of days and the worst of days…although by enlarge I always enjoy practice…tonight was not my fav…we were working on a new song which was coming along pretty well but not to the leaders approval…now we have no intend of using this one anytime quick…but rather then leave it go …we beat the snot out of it…came to a righteous conclusion…but really over worked it…have a special service to attend to Friday as well as 2 on Sunday…and I think the time could have been better spent…honing what we need to do now rather then what we might do later… but had a good time none the less…watched big break V…a weird show…not one of my favs but a player went out more because of an injury rather then lack of skill…and my fav went out on king of Vegas…ah a long shot to be sure…but there you go…

Monday, March 6, 2006

Weird…cat Aggie Sue has never been much of a lap cat… which is a good thing she is part Maine Coon and is very large bodied and weighs about 20 LBS. But since the passing of her archrival the diminutive Lilly Bell (maybe 5 LBS> wringing wet) she has turned into a lap cat…she just wanders around with no purpose at all…and although she has tried to create a rivalry with cat Smoky…Smoky the lover cat isn’t interested…must consider going to the ASPCA and getting a cat that Aggie Sue can hate…(hehe)

I really had a bad weekend physically…and although I felt better today…and work went fairly smooth…I was in a very strange place tonight…just didn’t have the resolve to do what I should have…well tomorrow is another day…

Nite all

Sunday, March 5, 2006

Not a good day, went to bed last night before 9 and got a good night’s sleep but it didn’t seem to matter…awoke very shaky and commitments to church although went well were a real struggle…some noodles and polish sausage for lunch…and have just snacked for supper…just not hungry…but more just not interested…feel better of late but still way below par…

Nite all

Saturday, March 4, 2006

39 posts to go for 2000...should happen some time in april...can't believe i've actually stayed interested enough in this blog deal to post for 3+ years and this mant entries

Dang…slept in this AM…needed to appear at work and managed to get in just before ten…felt okay but just crashed out this afternoon…have things to do but no energy or direction to do them…not in a good place tonight…headed for bed…

Nite all

Friday, March 3, 2006

Dang I am a total idiot, I always write my posts in word and then copy and paste them into my blog…problem tonight was I published without pasting…bad trollie…

Things that shouldn’t have happened at work today did happen, and things that should have didn’t…a typical workday but then it drives me nuts nonetheless. I really wish that some of the peeps at work would use the intelligence that GD gave them, or at least do what they say they will when the say they’ll do it…

Pickup on some of the errands that didn’t get done last night as I was too wasted to care…just leftovers and a sandwich for supper…must to work tomorrow to do month end numbers…and have several household chores begging to be done…

But have just chilled tonight…

Nite all

Thursday, March 2, 2006

Although today was not a bad day work wise I ended up at the end of the day in a bad place physically…and just cashed the check, got take out seafood and wrote checks to be posted tomorrow…will take care of the rest of the Thursday routine…probably Saturday…need to put in a few hours Saturday AM for inventory…but not down with much tonight

The tribal council vote tonight might have been the dumbest one ever…why vote off arguably your best athlete and keep a old lady who gives you nothing in challenges…makes no sense…but historically on survivor black males have never done well…

Before survivor cat smoky and I watched the replay of the “cuse beat army at lacrosse in the season opener for both squads…both starting their 87th season playing the sport…I love the game…I never had the opportunity to play the game as my HS didn’t offer it…but I would have loved the chance to play…

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

It was one of those days where I would have stayed in bed until noon if I could have, obviously from that first statement I couldn’t have…I have a 7 day schedule that forces me to be out of the house by at least 7:35 every morning…and by nature I am a night person…not a bad day at work…except for the early hours which, while not bad…were…well…annoying…

Have avoided the internet tonight and the computer in general…just did a little channel surfing on the tube…

Nite all