Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

You may recall a few weeks ago when my phone/internet were down and I was wandering over to the mall to use their public wifi? I now have a beat-up old laptop (with a sticker on it bearing the name of Dr. Kristi's son - one of the twins) and it's a piece of crap but then so is any laptop, no matter how new and state of the art, especially if loaded with that bloated CrapOS from Redmond.  And I'm fiddling with it all weekend to try and make it a little more suitable. I'm doing this at home, so I set it up to access the net via my wifi.l and I have set up my folding table in the bedroom. But I also have to set it up to use the wifi at Mon Desir so I can use it at work and home. 

While researching the process for setting up a second network I looked at the networks available (a surprisingly large number) and there is one called 'DIB Guest' which is not secure. So clickety-click and I'm signing on as "Brian Ogus <bogus@example.com>" and surfing the net! Straight across the road from me is Do-It-Best and they leave the wifi up 24/7 and near the window in my bedroom is within range!

<Grrrrr!> How many times did I put in my clobber and walk through the snowy blizzard to check messages when the entire time I could have done so from the comfort of my very own bed with a puppy pouncing on my tummy or snuggling against my back?

"I don't believe in an interventionist god. But I know, darling, that you do."

So begins Into My Arms by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. I just got to give credit for having the balls to use "interventionist" in the first line of a song lyric. Surprisingly, the song is a well written declaration of love and admiration for his love, and his raspy  baritone voice is always a pleasure to hear. His musical choice of subject matter can be a little disconcerting though. For instance, the tracks of his album Murder Ballads do have gruesome lyrics but as usual they are flawlessly performed with that great sounding voice. 

Meanwhile, when it was time for Garden Patrol this evening I could only find one shoe. The other turned up out by the gate. I was not surprised, because it is the second time today that I have experienced UFM (Unanticipated Footwear Migration). Went looking for the shoes first thing this morning and found them out by the gate... full of rainwater.

Tomorrow morning I have to pull a large standby diesel genny out of the container, from under a mountain of crap I can't even identify. It must be checked for oil & fuel and test-run, before being put away again. Loads of stuff will have to be shifted out to free it up and this is another opportunity for me to reorganize a bit when it all gets packed back in again. They just dismantled a shed so there is a pile of scrap plywood sheet and two-by lumber to build any shelving needed (and my awning too, for that matter, and my counter/desk with access flap). So it just depends on whether a carpenter can be spared to do the carpenting. Getting the genny out will require laborers because I'm not lifting out all that crap myself and the genny itself is a big sucker. It might be on wheels but there is still a step it will have to be lifted over to get in and out. There is also a contractor's saw, a chop-saw and a bigg ShopVac as well. 

It is looking like the van is leaking fuel. This is my gauge when I parked it at Mon Desir on Saturday Morning:

And this one is approx. 10 hours later before l departed for home:

You can clearly see the gauge has gone down although the car has not been started of moved in the interim. I will keep checking to see whether the gauge falls observably while the vehicle is parked. Trouble is I have no time to go to mechanic and even I did, I have no money to pay him!

Sleep now.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Yesterday was Rum Drinking Kadooment day. So this morning, the foreman didn't show. The deputy didn't show either... Because they are brothers and they partied together. I have been hopping all morning.

Just testing that my phone.....

...and laptop are now firmly attached to the local net.

Which they are, so good because my data plan expires at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

[Netfoot]

Today was bad. Very bad. It was very sunny and hottern hell. Foreman & assistant foreman were away handling a hangover and the mice will play. 

The space I managed to clear on Saturday was almost completely filled up with junk again today. Half the wobble-lights were brought back for "reasons" and I did not handle doing multiple jobs simultaneously very well.

If I fail at this job it will be because of the heat. There is a complicated form I have to fill out every day, with colour-coding and hi-lighting, annotation of floor plans floor plans and a description of what work was done and how satisfactory it is. None of the pens, sharpies, hi-lighters, clipboard, paper clips, pencils and in fact nothing I've requested, has arrived although tomorrow is a week ago that I made the request. I'm not qualified to know if the work is satisfactory. I'm not familiar enough to know what is being done or why, and that form is the biggest PITA in the entire job. That form (and the heat) could scupper me if I'm unlucky. Don't know how I made it home, but lying in bed after removing my boots and trying to find the energy to go and cook something.

After that I will start the clerical work I was unable to do today because where ever I go and settle down with my laptop and my various books of scribbled notes (see below) I have about 2½ to 3 minutes before someone comes along and wants me to pack it all up and move.

The men (and Lattie) get 45 minutes for lunch. It used to be an hour but by giving up 45 minutes each day, they get to go 1¼ hours early on a Friday. I blow the lunch horn at 12 and again at 12:40 giving everyone 5 minutes warning everyone to finish their lunch and get back to work. As I blew the horn to start lunch today, the boss came up and gave me a number of tasks he wanted completed immediately. I did as he asked and when done he said, "Ok, you can go off to lunch, now!" There were less than 8.minutes left on my lunch break.

Scribbled notes. They want me to take start times on a printed sheet. The sheet had the names on them already, in random order. When a guy comes up and gives his name, I have to scan up & down until I find his name and write in the time from my cellphone as there is no clock. Since the names are in no particular order it actually takes me longer to note a time. So I write name & time in a book instead. Why wasn't the list alphabetized? Don't know. Can I just keep the list in an alphabetized spreadsheet, cursor down to the name and press a function key to record the time directly from the computer instead of having to look it up on my phone? No, keep scribbling on scraps of paper. 

Got to get some grub. Later!

[Spunkygal]

It’s no mystery why the previous employee left. Either he died of heatstroke (odds are 60/40) or he got sick of the insane bullish!t and quit (odds are 90/10). Please take care of yourself. I would give you more of my thoughts but I’m so mad at that job that I should just take a step back for a minute.

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I would give you more of my thoughts but I’m so mad at that job that I should just take a step back for a minute.

Don't be mad. The project is in its final phase with penalties for being late. It's important that productivity be maintained. I may need two labourers, a carpenter and an electrician, but I don't want to delay the project any more than the others do. 

I've also started work in the absolute hottest month of the year so yes, it is going to be hotter than hell. They can't cut into the skin of the container to provide ventilation because that would compromise the security of the expensive items inside - tools and supplies. The layout of the site limits placement because there are coconut trees on the slope down to the sea and there isn't much in the way of other flat land.

Just about the only thing I can see they might have done differently was place the container facing the other way. Then the cooler morning sun would be screened by the coconut trees. Later when the afternoon blowtorch blazes down with no trees to block it, the scorching rays would fall on the back of the container and not straight in to the open door and onto my 2nd hand skin and all other contents of the container.

Fell asleep taking off my boots again, but was up at eight and did paperwork until midnight. Wet from the shower, some scrambled eggs & cheese in the tummy and Jealous Guy by John Lennon on the gramaphone.

Eyes closing down, need to summon puppy inside and lock house. Going to do that and get my head down. Oh, the puppy has arrived on his own. Going to lock up, then.

[Netfoot]

Thanks to an overcast sky all day and occasional sprinkles, today was much easier to bear. The humidity was through the roof but the blowtorch in the sky was muted by the cloud cover.

Look back and you will see the absolute junk pile that was my working environment. The boss has promised several times to send labourers to help move out the crap and allow order to return to the store. We did a little on Saturday but while it was a great help, it still did not remove the biggest cork in the asshole of progress, and things started to go downhill again almost immediately.

Today, two laborers showed up of their own volition, told the foreman that they would not be available for other duties today. And immediately started shifting the contents outside. This photo was taken before it got bad:

Lots of things were located under the pile that had not been seen in weeks or even months. We found several boxes with broken items inside which were being retained for godnoze what reasons and were able to dispose of them. By way of example we must have thrown out between 30 and 40 dull circular saw blades. While these can be resharpened, in practice it is simpler and almost as cheap to just buy new ones. 

The boss was pleased that we located several boxes of fittings for the roof and insisted we transfer them to his office where he could dispatch them immediately onto the roof for installation. All I was happy about was that seven biggish boxes worth of space were freed up!

The men are a good sort, but mostly not well educated. The tradesmen are more with it than some of the laborers, but it doesn't take long to see that some of those laborers are just as smart as anyone else.

We have free education here up to and including university, but you have to earn your way. Everyone goes to primary school but you have to sit the Common Entrance Exams around 10 to decide which secondary school you attend. The better you do the better your chance of getting in to a good school and as a result, winning a position at uni. A clever child whose parents don't cajole them to study hard and do well in the exams can lead to that child not having the full opportunity that their innate IQ might allow.

One of the fun things about the gang is that I can't understand some of them. We have Trinis, Jamaicans, Guyanese, Grenadians, Vincies, Lucians and all sorts from around the region. Many are hard to understand, even for a regional guy like me. There is one pleasant Vincie that I literally have to get one of the others to translate for me. Or rely on sign language. 

My blood sugar on Sunday morning was 3.9 and it was down to 3.4 this morning. The BS test machine actually turned on a red light. Well, the heat and it's effects have not left me with much of an appetite. But tonight I will fashion a large meal out of what ever I find in the kitchen, and wash it down with cups of sweet tea.  In fact, I will go do that now.

PS: Just found a firefly wandering around on my nuts. I don't think many people could say that.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Netfoot

[Mr. Sparkle]

2 hours ago, Netfoot said:

PS: Just found a firefly wandering around on my nuts. I don't think many people could say that.

Not only can't I say that, but I don't think I've ever seen the words "firefly" and "nuts" in the same sentence. 

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Superclam said:

I don't think I've ever seen the words "firefly" and "nuts" in the same sentence.

Prezackly! I am a member of a very select group!

So, I was telling you about the clear out of the container. You can check back in the forum to view the Before. Here is the After:

A huge difference, and we're not done yet. 

There is my chair which on Saturday (I think) got so hot sitting in the sun that I singed my butt when I sat. Imagine a car from the early 70s with black vinyl seats left in the sun with the windows up. 

The two buckets and the other items were all stored away except for a huge pile in the back corner which houses certain pieces of equipment that are simply too big to fit somewhere else.

And we're not done. The two shelves on the left will be stripped completely and repacked in a more orderly fashion. And while I may not be able to make much in the way of huge improvements, at least I will have a better idea of what's in there and where it all is.

Now, unfortunately, I must whip out the laptop and try to get to the bottom of a couple bits of paperwork. I'd much rather get to sleep but these reports won't write themselves. 

[andidante]

44 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

So, I was telling you about the clear out of the container. You can check back in the forum to view the Before. Here is the After:

A huge difference, and we're not done yet. 

 

Gosh that looks so much better! At least you can walk in there now.

[Spunkygal]

Oh that looks so much more humane and functional! 

[b4pjoe]

Is there electricity in there? If so plenty of room for a fan now it seems.

[Netfoot]

14 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Oh that looks so much more humane and functional! 

Yes, it is certainly more bearable. And with the room available, I can retreat into the container to avoid the afternoon sun. As it penetrates more, I back my table up and stay in the shade. It's still sweltering and I have to take frequent trips outside to cool down, but sweltering is much better than scorching.

12 hours ago, b4pjoe said:

Is there electricity in there? If so plenty of room for a fan now it seems.

Mounted directly above me is the foreman's office. They are higher up in the coconut trees so they are more protected from the sun. And they have a window in each side with cross ventilation.

A long extension from up there enters the back of my container via a small, rusty hole. It's use is supposedly to keep the battery packs for the site charging as they get drained and swapped out for fresh ones. The end of this extension has a 3-way plugged into it. One of the outlets on the 3-way has another 3-way plugged into it. Two of the outlets on the second 3-way have two more 3-ways plugged in to it. So we have nine physical outlets feeding off that one extension cord. The whole unholy mess is located at the back of the container in a rat's nest tangle of wires. All the bits are old and grungy. You only have to look at it sideways (far less walk past and brush against the pile) and parts of the "system" go dead. Worst of all, guys keep sneaking in and unplugging a charger to plug in their phone. So when I think I've got five charged battery packs, I go and find a bunch of still-flat packs and bunch of fully charged phones. Or worse, the idiot jiggled the rat's-nest when he sneaked his phone in so neither the packs or the phones are charged.

Now I'm still being promised a carpenter to build a counter across the entrance, with a flap-down barrier that should make it more difficult for power pirates to bring in their phones. And I want to relocate the entire set of chargers under that counter where I can keep an eye on my chargers and stop anyone messing with them. The boss seems to be fine with that and even suggested dumping the extension cord from upstairs and getting my own breaker in the panel and dropping power in from there. That way I can have all the power I need.

Tomorrow is payday. If I've computed it correctly, I will get three days pay: $360 which is good, because I want to fill the tank and she holds $175 total. The phone company wants $333..... but they aren't getting all of that because Mo needs food. Next week should be five days pay and six days a week thereafter.

Tried to arrange for a prescription.  Dr. Kristi Is travelling but Clauder promised to get Dr. Gabby to write it so someone would collect it before the office closes. Nobody would agree to collect it, not even those who drove past the place several times. I called Clauder back and she agreed to leave it with the staff in the office of the late-opening supermarket next door. When I went to collect it, nobody knew what the hell I was talking about. 

So meds run out tomorrow and if I don't get the prescription and have it filled the weekend is upon us. No chance to get more meds then, until Monday evening.

Tested blood sugar again this morning and after deliberately eating loads of pasta and drinking sugary tea, it is back up from 3.4 to 3.9 which is still considered dangerously low, but better than it was. Today I will....

Hold the phone! Just got a message to say where that prescription is! Gotta zoom or the pharmacy will.be closed.

BRB...

So one of the people I asked did go and collect the prescription. They just didn't think it was relevant to tell me this until 7:30 PM. So I rushed over to their house... but they were out. 

Eventually I was able to get it from them, went to the polyclinic and at a quarter to nine, I am finally home with meds. 

Speaking of food I think I will have a cross between bubble & squeak and corned beef & cabbage. 

Later: eyes shutting down. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm by the Crash Test Dummies. Dinner was a success. Added carrots and corn to the previously discussed ingredients. Mo is in so I'll lock up and crash.

No I won't, I have a water container to clean, meds to load into my key chain and I have to locate a selection of different coloured shrink wrap. My eyes are closing down so I have to go to that now!

 

[Netfoot]

Home from work. Beat. Lying in bed enjoying the breeze and drinking iced water. Got my first pay packet right here - not looked at it yet. Let's give it a butcher's.

Regular pay = $367.50, travel allowance = $30, bonus = $1.07 which comes to $398.55 in my pay packet. No, I have no clue what the bonus is for. Anyhow, it's more than I would normally expect to make at Brighton, even on a good week. And if I pro-rate that from 3 days to 5, it might be $660 next payday, and almost $800 the week after. 

I think what I need to do now is to have a shower, make & drink a large cup of tea (maybe two) and try to sort out some paperwork.

It feels like the end of the week and it is... but tomorrow is the start of next week.

Anyone spot the tiny error in the math?

[Spunkygal]

It’s Friday and I am enjoying a glass of wine, so, no, I’m not doing math tonight! 🤣 Glad you survived the week. Hope improvements to the container are made next week and you get the things you need.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Somebody put their two cents in. Or took it out, in this case. 

[Netfoot]

Just after midnight and I have just decided enough paperwork is enough. Mo and I are snuggling up together -whoops! He's off chasing a moth. No, he's back again. 

I'm developing a cough. And the lengthy process I went through yesterday to collect my meds? They forgot to dispense one. And they divided one into two bottles so when I counted up, it looked like they had dispensed the six I was expecting. So I run out on Sunday and have to go through the same process again but without a prescription. Destined to fail because they will never acknowledge they made a mistake.

The Rain Song off Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. One of my favourite LZ songs. Not the favourite, (which is Since I've Been Loving You from III). Once upon a time I was interested in a pretty girl whose name I now forget. I composed a lengthy, and completely coherent e-mail to her about some issue current at the time using 90% LZ song titles and very little other text. It went completely over her head. The infatuation came to an abrupt end right there. 

And so does this missive. I have to get my head down!

[Netfoot]

Today is Buddy's birthday. I still miss that lovable rascal! He would have been 10 years old today. Water still springs from my eyes when I think of him.

Nearly lost Molasses this morning. Set off for work earlier so I could print some check-in sheets. The exit procedure is to unlock the gate, pot Mo in the house, open the gate and drive out, close the gate, let Mo out, relock the gate from the outside and drive away. This morning I opened the gate and opened it wide without putting Mo in the house. Ten minutes later, I went looking for him and he was not to be found, but the wide open gate was explanation enough.

Drove around the neighborhood and quickly found him. He was happy to jump into the car and I took him home and incarcerated his little butt! I know he would come home eventually, but I don't know that as the roads get busier that he won't pick a fight with a mini-bus or something. Anyway, he is safe and sound at home, now.

I specifically asked for a wired USB mouse. Naturally, I got a wireless one and a single Duracell battery.

THe printer was out of paper so me arriving 30+ minutes was a waste of time. As soon as the printer-wrangler showed up I told him I wanted to print some sheets do he scurried away to load the printer. Four hours later, there is still no paper in the printer....

I was told to do an inventory of the basement yesterday. Foreman said the steps were blocked by scaffolding and I should do it today. Twice now, I've asked about it and was told "Monday.". It will be unblocked then. Twice I tried to clamber up, over, thru the scaffold and was told not to do that. So instead of doing Friday's work on a relatively quiet Saturday, I will have to do it on a very busy Monday with the boss cussing my ass for not having done it Friday...

Some rain sprinkling, now. Hopefully that will cool down the rest of the day. I am looking forward to a day off (tomorrow, Sunday) to just veg. out with little Mo. 

[Spunkygal]

Poor little Buddy taken too soon. 😥😥😥😥 We miss him too. 

I admire your patience at the job site! Two steps forward and one step back.

[Netfoot]

1 hour ago, Spunkygal said:

I admire your patience at the job site! Two steps forward and one step back.

Still no paper in the printer. 

 

[Netfoot]

It's 6:20 in the morning and I'm lying in bed. Don't plan to get out until 8:00 st the earliest.

Got back last night and stopped at the mall to deposit my pay via a machine. I was so nackered I was stumbling and bumbling and bumping into things all over. Next to the little market near me to buy some staples - bread, milk, cheese, and a big bag of chow for Mo. 

We did our Garden Patrol early, before eight, and I went to bed immediately. When it was time to lock up I just couldn't face getting up so the door has been open all night.

My body aches all over, especially my back. I also have a persistent headache. What I don't have is Panadol. I will have to go out and get some so I can't lie here all day. Which I would like to do.

The cough has gotten worse, too. A deep, liquidy rumble from high in my chest. My voice has taken on a bassy note. I will have to get something for the cough as well. 

Mo has been very attentive all night. He really is a sweet boy in a naughty-suit.

Honestly, if I am going to feel like this every day I go off to the job, it will make the whole experience quite unpleasant. 

Anyway, today is my weekend (one whole day of it) and I need to try to get myself ready for tomorrow morning, back at work.

[Netfoot]

Feeling a lot better. Popped out and got a couple boxes of Panadol and a bottle of cough syrup. They really helped. Still tired; my eyes are closing down. Will take a short nap and wake up later this afternoon. Got to drop off my laundry and buy gas for the car.

[Netfoot]

Went to the pharmacy and (of course) the missing Verap is not their fault. "There was no Verap.on the prescription!" 

Ok, I get six different medications. And Dr. K's prescription forms have six lines. But this time I asked for diabetic test strips, so there would have been seven items, requiring a two-page prescription. And it was two pages. If Verap has not been on there, there would be no need for a second page! Anyhow, I have to contact the doctor again (I think Dr. K. Is still travelling so it will be Dr. Gabby again) to get another prescription for the Verap. And if I'm lucky, they will also let me have a photo of the file copy of the last one, so I can see for sure if there was Verap on it.

Meanwhile, my boots have disintegrated. Dangerously do. It happened on the way home and I nearly fell several times. When reached home I did fall, fortunately only dropping my water bottles and catching myself on my hands. I think this means I will have to purchase a pair of boots from the company because they will stop the payments out of my paycheques. Unfortunately they won't be good Timberland boots like I have been using. Sorry to see them go. They were very comfortable, easy to get into and back out of, and I walked them all over Great Britain back in '17.

Put Mo in the house to get the car in the yard. Once the gate was locked again I let him out. But by then he'd washed down my pillows with pee. I smacked his bottom twice with a bamboo back scratcher and I've not seen him since. I'm sleeping on wooden planks because he couldn't stop peeing on the mattress and now I'm not allowed pillows either?

I am absolutely destroyed. I sat at my little folding table around 7:00 and didn't have a chance to move untill about a quarter to four, with a single exception: I was finally allowed down into the basement to see/count what was there. A sweet Atlantic breeze blowing past my door the whole day long and I never felt it until it was time to go home.

I'm hungry but too tired to cook. May have porridge and/or cheese & crackers and/or cheese cutters. But I can't face cooking. I can't face getting out of this bed right now, but I guess I gotta, so.....

[Netfoot]

Fainting tired, here are my.boot:

Should not be allowed on site in these. Can't even walk across my own yard without having an accident. Company boots at cost range from$250 to $350 which pretty much wipes out my next paycheque.

Must. Sleep.

[Netfoot]

A gift from the lads!

Stolen, of course. From the trees on the property - which doesn't matter because nobody is in residence. But also from the trees on the neighboring properties. 

When I look out and see them bending a hook into the end of a piece of rebar, I know the coconut trees are about to be pillaged.

I think I'll take it home and have it with a couple blocks of ice. When I eventually get home.

Later: Not quite as sweet as I like but there was no sloshing when I shook it. As time passes the coconut water gets absorbed and coconut jelly is formed. They are good when there is a ¼" or so of jelly - if you want the jelly. Translucent, wobbly jelly! Yum! If you want hard, white coconut meat to grate you have to leave it much later. Until the green skin is brown and the fiber turns to coir. But there will be hardly any water. For max water get it early The earlier it is the more water you will get but the less sweet & more woody it will taste.  

[Netfoot]

In bed having eaten a bowl of porridge for dinner and (of course) I have The Belly again. Will just have to stop eating altogether, I guess.

Do You Know Where You're Going To? By Diana Ross & The Supremes. It's a real pity that there is so much enmity between Ross and Gladys Knight. What a duet they would make, if they could be persuaded not to throttle each other.

Still no Verap. Phoned to ask for a.replacement prescription. Clauder promised to leave it at the customer service desk at the market next door. Got there around six and nobody knows wtf I'm on about. Now I will have to call her again tomorrow and try to make it tomorrow instead of today.

Going to try and grab some sleep. Will shut the door and stars start sawing wood.

PS: So groggy I just broke one of my major rules: Never leave the house without trousers. Poor Mo had stolen a Croc and was ready for a game of Catch-Me-If-You-Can but I just gave such a bellow he relinquished the show shoe without an attempt to play any games. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Holy jeebus. I finally get the prescription for the Verap. I rush down to the one polyclinic with a late night pharmacy. Woman says, "I told you on Monday we were out of stock and we don't know when we will get more!" No, you didn't. You told me you were out of stock of diabetic test strips, and that you didn't dispense the Verap because it wasn't on the prescription. "I told you all-two both!" No. You. Didn't. 

Regardless, I have a prescription that has taken from last Thursday to today (what, a full week?) To acquire, and no way to fill it. Unless I want to wait until after payday and go pay for it at some other pharmacy and pay. 

Since my boots fell apart the company insisted I buy a new pair. I'm 99% sure that with $21.95 I could have bought a tube of Shoe Goo which will repair the boots like magic. But again, it would have meant waiting until Friday, so I was forced to sign up for a pair of boots and pay $60/week for the next 4 weeks. Yes, the cheapest boots I could find. But they just didn't me to be wearing dangerous boots patched with duct tape from Tuesday all the way up to the weekend. After I signed up, it turned out there would be a delay in delivery of the boots so I might just have to wear boots with duct tape up to the weekend anyhow!

I had three bad attacks of cramp last night. With muscles locked solid from my groin, down the inner and rear thigh, down the calf and shin, through the heel and ankle to the instep and on to the toes. In both legs at once. All locked solid and hurting so bad I couldn't help but cry out. Ten minutes of this while trying to walk it off using non-functional legs before it eased and I was able to get back off to sleep. Forty five minutes later, it happened all over again; 10

more minutes of majorly painful cramps. And an hour after that, a third bout.

I would eat a salt-heavy dinner but since I don't want  to get diarrhoea again, I'm not having a meal at all so......

I could fall asleep that easy right now, but I have a small pack of peanuts with raisins and I want to have that for dinner and see if that gives me the belly like everything else does!7

[Netfoot]

Raisins & peanuts did cause a little of the trots but (so far) not too bad. Mo now snuggling up very close along my hip, thigh & knee. We've just returned from Early Patrol during which I discovered a full box of Panadol lying on the grass.

Waitress by Live. I first encountered this band when I heard Lightning Crashes on the radio as I drove home in traffic. Was so impressed I pulled the car over and gave the song my full attention. This lead to the purchase of the album Throwing Copper which is choc-a-bloc full of great tracks. 

My container which was neat and clear last Saturday is packed with crap again. Still hoping to get my drop flap, my awning and my rewired power.

[Netfoot]

"Ah wan' dubba dee farty!" 

What?!??

"Dubba dee farty! Lookit ri' day!"

Oh, I see. WD-40. There you go!

[Netfoot]

I got work to do in the container but I can't stand the heat in there for more than a few minutes at a time. 

[Spunkygal]

That’s truly horrendous and inhumane. I’m so angry that I can’t see straight. Isn’t there anyone in charge who can alleviate this situation? It is not unreasonable to demand relief. You are doing a good job and they’d be fools to terminate you. Show your supervisor that screenshot!

[andidante]

3 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

That’s truly horrendous and inhumane. I’m so angry that I can’t see straight. Isn’t there anyone in charge who can alleviate this situation? It is not unreasonable to demand relief. You are doing a good job and they’d be fools to terminate you. Show your supervisor that screenshot!

I agree! There has got to be a better way to do this job. I don't think I could have lasted this long.

[Spunkygal]

4 hours ago, andidante said:

I agree! There has got to be a better way to do this job. I don't think I could have lasted this long.

Listen, if you think that having your supervisor talk to a sassy little Texan will help, you have my number.

sorry!this was meant for Netfoot! 🤣🤣

Edited August 18, 2023 by Spunkygal

[Netfoot]

You are a fun bunch but no calling my boss! 😃

There are issues here that I can't seem to get my head around. I understand the project has the highest priority, but their scheduling algorithm is broken.

In computer science, when you have a priority queue, processes often get passed over so higher priority processes can be run. But in order for low priority processes to ever get execution time, each time they are passed over their priority must be bumped up a little bit. In this way they will eventually be high priority enough so they won't get passed over and will finally get some CPU cycles. But the low priority stuff I ask for never makes it to the point where it gets action. 

I started on 2nd August. So 16 days ago tomorrow. One of my jobs is to cajole workers into wearing their hard hats, hi-viz vests, etc. But my hard hat & vest still have not been issued. Which more than one worker has pointed out. Now, from tomorrow, I'm told I have to refuse to sign in any worker not equipped with safety gear and tell them they are banned from the property. While still not wearing safety gear myself! How do you suppose that will go down with the men I work with?

A couple days ago, we took delivery of about 10 five gallon tubs of paint (various) and 25 one gallon buckets of SBR (a concrete additive) and instead of them being delivered into the basement they were placed into my container. Those 5-gal. Tubs must way 50+ lbs. each and the SBR at least 10 lbs. each. They get in the way of everything in the container and I have been requesting that they get moved into the basement ever since. No action. Well, I am not lugging those things from one end of the property to the next, down a treacherous flight of stairs and over a quagmire of mud, broken glass and rusty nails by myself. But when messages on the management group chat like "I would like the excess SBR, paint, etc moved to the basement today." get completely ignored...

We keep a small quantity of work shirts available for purchase (via payroll deduction - the prices are pretty good) a tiny quantity are available in my container but the majority are across the road at the site office. I have repeatedly asked for a refresh. I am out of small and medium and only have two large left. Request ignored. And people from site office come our way all the time. But I will prolly have to make a special trip over there for the sole purpose of collecting them. 

The pens, clipboard, sharpies, etc, that I requested two weeks ago have not yet arrived. The small box fan I was told would be available is conspicuous in it's absence. The awning that I was told would be erected is pie in the sky. 

We had a rats nest nest of wires consisting of multiple worn out 3-ways and extension cords into which our battery chargers were plugged. As well as an extension that leads to the front of the container. That is for testing tools  and to plug in my laptop. People were habitually going back there, unplugging a charger and plugging in their phone, so batteries would not get charged when they were out into a charger that nobody recognized was unplugged. 

I finally went nuts, disconnected everything and threw it all out, rebuilt the entire system so it wasn't a heap on the floor, and plugged the whole system back together with good 3-ways and left it all in perfect working order. It is still horrible but it is so much better than it was! Then the foreman walks in and unplugs a charger so he can test a tool, ignoring the testing outlet that I offered him when he came in. And walks back out, leaving the charger unplugged!

Site manager walks in for a quick visit to reinforce that nobody must be allowed on site without a hard hat. I said something like "It's so hot I can't think straight and my vision is blurred!" To which he replies, "Yes, it can get a little warm in here!" I whip out my screen grab of the 90°+ temperature reading and he's all "Yes, but it isn't that hot now..." True. But it was that hot when I sat here and baked while he enjoyed the cool aircon in his site office.

I am expecting cramps again tonight. My hands were cramping earlier as I tried to sort out my medication. The Verap issue has been resolved. By the simple expediency of Heidi going to a regular pharmacy and (armed with a photo of the script plus my ID card) paying full price for the stuff. That was not an option open to me.

You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac. Christine McVie sings the vocals for this song from their smash album Rumours. Apparently inspired by an affaire she was having with one of the band's crew. Honestly, between herself and Stevie Nicks, I wonder how the band had any time between affaires for music!

Mo is taking a page out of Buddy's book and eating a coke bottle. I just don't know where he got it!

Anyway, tomorrow may be an hour and a quarter shorter than usual, but it is payday and I have to get the paysheets ready. So I need to crash out now and try for a good sleep - cramp free, please - before work tomorrow. Mo is now burying his bottle. By pushing it under my back.....

 

[andidante]

8 hours ago, Netfoot said:

 

You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac. Christine McVie sings the vocals for this song from their smash album Rumours. Apparently inspired by an affaire she was having with one of the band's crew. Honestly, between herself and Stevie Nicks, I wonder how the band had any time between affaires for music!

 

 

I love Fleetwood Mac! My son told me that some of the songs on the Rumours album were about Stevie and Lindsay breaking up. They did have a lot going on between all of the band members and still managed to stay together as a band. I was so sad when Christine passed away. Her voice was so beautiful.

[Netfoot]

3 hours ago, andidante said:

I was so sad when Christine passed away. Her voice was so beautiful.

Sometimes it's hard to accept that the music happened decades ago. Those voices will live on for ever... so long as people continue to listen.

[Netfoot]

Had some fun on my way to work. Down Horse Hill is the last leg of the journey there (and up the first leg of the journey home). It is a longish, badly maintained, winding road with lots of steep sections and plenty of turns left and right. I always select 2nd gear when I start down from the top because if I relied on brakes alone I'd overheat the brakes and boil the brake fluid before I got to the bottom. 

The hill was wet this morning from an earlier sprinkle of rain so I was going down in 2nd gear as usual but I seemed to be going a mite faster than usual. To save the brakes I decided to try 1st gear instead of 2nd. 

The moment I selected 1st the rear wheels locked up for a second and in that second the van whipped 90° right and began sliding down the hill sideways. It was quite a steep section and I expected the van to start rolling over and over but it simply slid sideways. I then noticed that it was moving across the face of the road (thankfully nobody coming up) and heading to the cut-rock at the side of the road. 

There was about two feet of muddy ground between the edge of the road and the cut-rock, overgrown with bushes. As soon as my front wheels hit this mud, the back end swung down the hill, leaving me parked in the mud facing up the hill, about 1" from the cut-rock.

I took a few cleansing breaths while another motorist who had been coming down behind me went past slowly and looked at me like I was mad. Because obviously I did that whole maneuver on purpose. Presumably for fun.

With him gone and the road clear I was able to drive up the hill a ways until I found a flattish spot to turn around and proceed downwards for a second attempt. I started in second and made my way down perfectly well the second time. 

Scared the living daylights out of myself with that particular maneuver but no harm done other than a muddy front bumper.

People look at Horse Hill and say "Ok, it's a hill. It's just a hill." But it is one of those hills that can bite you when you least expect it. I've known multiple times people fall afoul of it. I've known cars start at the bottom and just can't muster the power to get up. 

Long ago I discovered a family in an old Morris that simply could not make it. I told them to put the kids out, and I hitched Mom & Dad to my hot (well, lukewarm) mini and gave them an assist to the top. Then I went back down and ferried the kids up in two batches.

I've remember one of my dad's huge trucks with a 25 ton articulated load get halfway and the driver try to change from 2nd to 1st. As they pressed the clutch to change gear the load stopped dead and would not get moving again, not even in 1st. We had to inch it all the way back down the hill in reverse, and when it got to the bottom the driver selected 1st from the start and ran easily to the top in that gear. 

I can tell you I didn't crap myself this morning but I'm pretty sure I puckered the vinyl seat, though...

[Netfoot]

Off to work via Brighton to drop off the rope (and a couple props) for Austin. Toni was there and offered me a Cinnamon Roll but I couldn't face it.

The hill was exactly the same as the day before but I was careful not to change gear or suddenly turn, brake or speed up, and made it safely to the bottom without any issue.

It pissed with rain and the wind off the ocean howled through the site, as lightning flashed in the sky. Less than ten workers showed up, and the boss shut the day down at about 8:30, but agreed to pay the men until 9:30 to compensate them for their bus fare expenditure. So I got most of the day off, and I am very grateful for it despite the fact that it cost me $90! I was able to get home before the heat stroke set in, and was able to eat some deli lasagna for lunch. I have a nice batch of groceries and some packets of electrolyte replacement powder - but I have to say this last is not what I expected.  I have two types and one says I have to make up the powder and drink twenty glasses of the stuff. The other says to make up 1 liter and drink that. I thought I'd chuck the powder into a glass of water, drink that, and I'd be done for the day!

So, I am getting my appetite back, I will get a little extra rest, I have some things Mo and I can share (like current slices) and I bought some veggies to make soup with a couple pieces of chicken and a couple lamb necks to tweak the flavour. 

I hope we are on the up-tick here, and with some good nutrition I might be able to do this job without ending up in hospital.

[Netfoot]

After a day relaxing at home and actually eating and enjoying some food, I feel like a different man!

Mo and I are here in bed trying to dry off. We started our Garden Patrol and almost immediately the heavens opened and down came the deluge. So the patrol was brief but we did (hurriedly) cover the entire garden, and then scamper back inside, soaking and chilly.

After lasagne for lunch I had mashed potato and curried beef with melted cheese for dinner. From the deli. I have to say that I don't usually associate melted cheddar with curried meats, but it tasted good to me. Mind you, pure hunger probably has something to do with that. 

I also mixed up one of the electrolyte replacement packets. I have two types. One says mix the packet with enough water to make 10-20 glasses. Not something I can see myself forcing down in the course of a day, or even two! The other type of packet purports to be orange flavoured. It says mix up one liter so I did this. The result looked like plain water, no orange colour or odor. And it tasted like sea water.

(Continuing...)

I had to add brown sugar to makes it drinkable and eventually got through about half the bottle. 

I'm tired and am looking forward to a good night's rest and a relaxed day tomorrow with a variety of grub to enjoy.

Easy To Be Hard by Three Dog Night. Good band with a wide repertoire of styles to entertain. 

It's damp outside - as mentioned earlier - and I am tired enough that I can turn the light off and cuddle with a most fuzzy puppy. So I will do that now!1

Edited August 20, 2023 by Netfoot

[Spunkygal]

Wish you could send that deluge to north Texas. We are suffering.

[Netfoot]

Happy Birthday Molasses!

Two (or fourteen) years old today! I wish I could take him for a nice run in the country but gas money is still short. And alas, it is still very damp and drizzly.

But he has been snuggling and cuddling all morning from about first light and he's a real sweetheart. Stopped with the cuddles right now, he is chewing on his coke bottle while I rub his butt with my foot. 

I had a great night's sleep and feel good. Only just 7:30 and I'm already considering cooking maybe a pot of soup or perhaps some rice or pasta. 

I hope work tomorrow does not turn out to be terrible and drag me back into the pit. Now I only need to beat this cough, which does appear to be on the decline.

18 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

Wish you could send that deluge to north Texas. We are suffering.

So sorry to hear. I would send some weather for you if I could, but alas! And since I don't have a spare room I can't even offer you a place to come visit the wetness! 

My bright-eyed birthday boy is right here lat at my elbow, looking at me as he chews his bottle! Actually, now he is lying across my tummy playing a sort of Tummy Trampoline with Bottle!

And the rain is down again...

Edited August 20, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Here is the birthday boy!

Like all youths he is a little unhappy about the continued rainfall, but I'm trying to keep his spirits up by coming into the bedroom and playing with him in the bed.

(By the way, what about that horrible old mattress? You can see why I threw it out months ago, but my aching back forced me to bring it back.)

Puppy has now departed, leaving me here typing. Every so often he goes out as if to defy the rain, but he is soon back drying off on my pillow.

Kevin's glider is still stranded on the cliff. I leant lent them my Glider Recovery Safety Rope to help them get it, but then the rain set in and I'm urging them not to attempt a recovery, rope or no rope!

Yep, he's back, soaked, and drying off in bed.

I think I will join him for a while!

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Now here is a site I've not seen in well over a year!

Unfortunately, most of this will go to get me to and from work for the next week. Still suspect the car of having a gas leak especially when the tank is fuller (hole near the top of the tank?). I will try to remember to take another shot in the morning before departing for work. This should show if anything leaked out between parking it there this afternoon and moving off in the morning.

In practice I would like to complete the week (six days - Monday to Saturday) and still have a quarter of a tank or so left over. 

I cooked some soup this afternoon. Chicken, beef and lamb with potatoes, carrots, cucumber, brussel sprouts & pumpkin. Not tried it yet. Have onion, dumplings & sweet potato to add in when it's depleted a bit. 

Now, though, I will take a short nap. Mo comes and goes so I will enjoy his company off & on. 

[Netfoot]

Off to bed. Garden Patrol under an almost clear sky indicates tomorrow might be a scorcher. Which the soil could use after a two-day drenching, but which will be as uncomfortable as ever, for me. And honestly, after most of Saturday and all of Sunday off, I am not looking forward to working tomorrow.

Listening to Tori Amos sing Horses. I enjoy her singing, although some of her tracks can be a little unusual, such as essentially all of her Strange Little Girls concept album. Her song Me And A Gun which mentions this island by name leaves me feeling distressed due to the cruel & distressing event described by the lyrics. 

When I watched Mona Lisa Smile (20 years ago, now!) I was thrilled by the completely unexpected appearance of Tori as an unheralded wedding singer.

I've been experiencing what I can only describe as "reflux" this evening, and have taken a Nexium to combat it. I have not eaten much in the way of spicy food. I ate some sausages in bread with mayo and ketchup for lunch (hotdogs, all but for the type and shape of the bread) with no spices or seasoning. Dinner was a modest bowl of my soup which again had little in the way of spices. And besides, I was suffering from the "reflux" before I sampled that soup. I hope the Nexium does it's job - wouldn't want this to get worse when I lay down and close my eyes!

Mo just came and sat beside me and I thought this was a perfect opportunity to get a selfie with the birthday boy. Before I could get the camera deployed, he had shot off again. All day I've been trying to get an unforced selfie of the two of us but it seems it isn't to be.

Well, up at 5:30 in the morning, so better shut it all down now.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Off to bed after a very quiet Garden Patrol. The air was dead still without so much as a twitch from a leaf anywhere.

Got my boots today and they look like what they are: the cheapest boots I can find that are compliant with safety standards. I have not tried them on yet, but I have two pairs of socks laid out to wear with them in the morning.

Also got my hard hat. It's broken, or so it seems to.me. not the bell of the hat itself, but the insert; the adjustable part that goes inside. It's taken them nearly a month - I hope it doesn't have to go back. They could just send me a replacement insert.

Went to work this morning not feeling sick to my stomach and returned home not dazed & confused. Some food and electrolyte replacement has done me some good. The electrolyte solution is supposed to be orange flavoured but it looks like plain water and tastes like ditch water. I've made up a liter of lime squash and added an electrolyte packet to it. Hopefully it will not be nauseating to drink, as the plain solution was.

Listening to I Think I'm Paranoid by Garbage. From their Version 2.0 album. I love, love, love Shirley Manson! My cousin who lives in Glasgow met her once, the lucky sod. He went round to a mate's place early one morning and she was there, having crashed the night. And heathen that he is, he did not know to be impressed! 

Came to bed with a large glass of milk. Puppy stuck his snout in it, and...

That little man takes liberties, sometimes!. (It's a bright red, plastic, Coco-cola glass that I use when I want something unbreakable that a puppy or a daddy can accidentally knock over without glass splinters going everywhere.

Heidi insists I take something to work to eat at 10 in the morning and something else at lunchtime. So I have bought some bananas and some apples. I will take one of each. We will assess at the end of the week whether to continue this practice. She also wants me to eat breakfast as well, before leaving home. A Granola bar, she suggests. Since they can be two bucks plus, I think I will have to pay off my outstanding electric, phone and water bills and get a little more expendable cash in hand before go that route. A cup of tea on a morning would be nice, but it would take too long to boil the kettle, draw the tea and then have the time to drink it. I have 35 minutes from alarm to departure and yes, I could make and drink a cup in that time, but not so easily given all else that has to get done in that time.

Anyway, it is probably time for me to douse the lights and get some shut-eye.

Oh! Dr. Kristi has gone and broken her foot! Did it while on vacation. I mean, what was she doing on a trampoline? But she says it is a simple break with no complications to worry about. I wish I could go and chat with her, but there is no way. Unless rain washed out work on a weekday morning. Which would just mean less hours worked for me.

Anyway, bedtime!

[Netfoot]

New rule: Coconuts only to be picked at lunchtime. Shells to be cleared away before the end of lunch.

Here is a nice tree with plenty of nuts:

Wait, what is that red thing up in there?!??

Holy crap! FFS, don't notify Health & Safety! 

And bring one of those nuts to me! For quality control inspection...

[Spunkygal]

What about a boiled egg for brekkie or an egg sandwich? Could easily be made the night before and grabbed on the way out the door.

[b4pjoe]

What was the red thing in the tree?

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, b4pjoe said:

What was the red thing in the tree?

I think it was a guy picking coconuts.

[Netfoot]

I have typed this post three times now, and each time a finger-fumble has erased the entire post. So if yoy you don't ever see this, you will understand why!

6 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

What about a boiled egg for brekkie or an egg sandwich? Could easily be made the night before and grabbed on the way out the door.

An eggcellent idea! Right now I am still spending most of my poay pay to clear the arrears on electricity, water and phone/internet, and to keep the car full of fuel. But I do think there is room in the budget for a dozen eggs.

3 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

I think it was a guy picking coconuts.

That's just what it was. He walked up there like it was a pavement and sent down three bunches of coconuts. I didn't get any today, but literally everyone used my knife to cut in to theirs. We have a new cutlass but as they usually do, this one came as dull as a stick.

More later.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

It's another unusually still night, with not a breath stirring during Garden Patrol and the leaves all still & motionless. 

I have a few hotspots on my feet from the new boots. One on each leg right above the bow. I think I will tie the laces differently tomorrow, leaving the last two holes unused. This may help. Also got a very squashed feeling on a couple of small toes on the right foot for some reason. No visible sign when the boot came off. 

I wore two pairs of socks and I will do so again tomorrow. The inner pair from today can go into the laundry, while the outer pair can become the inner pair for tomorrow, with a new pair being added to be the outers.

Today was stinking hot and after about 1:30 I had to abandon the container. Not that there was any shade to retreat into. I literally had to take my chair and find a shadow to sit in. And I had to keep moving to accommodate the bobcat, the guys shifting around BRC sheets, the men casting Wallaba posts in concrete in plastic drums, the trucks delivering copper sheeting and cedar shingles, and essentially everyone. But it was worth it to keep getting moved around, if it meant I didn't have to sit in the oven.

Had a banana around ten and an apple at lunchtime. Brought s pack of Eclipse crackers with me as well, but forgot about them until I was on the way home. Also gad a liter of frozen lime squash made with electrolyte replacement water. It tasted vile, but not as vile as the electrolyte replacement water does on its own. Anyway, despite the heat, I did not feel dazed & confused on my way home. I felt weak and tired but in full control of my mental faculties.

It's Oh So Quiet by Björk. This is from her Post album. I do like Debut best of all, but there are a few good tracks here and there in Post as well. This song is actually a cover of a song from the early 50s. The song has been covered by many artists but Björk did a rather unusual interpretation with some big-band sections and a vocal that went from low crooning to high pitched shrieking that leaves you thinking 'vintage'. The music video was supposed to be special but I've never seen it. Maybe I should search YT and see if I can find it... Ok, just did that and the video seemed styled after the same 50s type production as the song itself. If you are not averse to Björk, give it a watch and tell me what you think. About the track and about the video.

Well, better go lock up and grab some shut-eye. Mozie does not like me locking up early but if I leave the house open and aim to lock up later I inevitably fail to do so and the house is open all night. Which suits my little nocturnal part-panther, part-ridgeback puppy to a tee but leaves the house open to burglars.

So will try to lock up now then crash out.