Rave: Blood donors. If you donate blood - thank you. I got a transfusion a couple of weeks ago and just...y’all when they call it the gift of life they aren’t kidding. Rant: Complications are kicking my ass.
RANT: About 6 months ago my company bought out our biggest competitor, which merged a couple of $1B+ companies. We were told a few weeks ago that in early November about 15% of the employees were going to be let go because of the merger. This would eliminate redundant positions. I figured my job was safe since my position is not redundant in any way, shape, or form. Add to this the fact that my department just hired 5 temps, I've got seniority on everyone in the department, and I've never missed any of the benchmarks that were set for us, and I thought I could breathe easy. Now I'm not so sure. A couple little incidents this week have me worried. The first was when we ran out of Hazelnut coffee creamer. Usually as soon as our office finishes off a creamer, it's replaced. It wasn't replaced. Then we ran out of French Vanilla. It wasn't replaced. First world issues, I know. But it's a strange deviation from the normal. Then today one of the office maids was talking to a friend of mine. They were babbling away in Spanish right next to me and I could tell it was something, but I don't know enough Spanish to pick up on what was going on. My friend filled me in that the maid had told her today was the last day she was going to empty our desk trash cans during the middle of the day, it was going to be handled by the night time crew from now on. The maid was worried that someone had complained about her. Anyways, it was another deviation from the norm. Then there's the fact that the Chinese tariffs have put a pretty big dent in our business and that some of our departments are running at 75% strength and being told to tighten their belts.... Now I'm fucking worried.
RANT: Who decided to make the toilet cistern inlet washer fit in upside down? Worked great until the first flush and sprouted water upto the ceiling. RAVE: New inlet washer works much better when fitted the right way up.
Rant/rave: mom went into the hospital Monday night and is about to be discharged this morning. She had a total loss of short term memory that night....didn't remember I moved away, didn't know the year, was acting strange. My brother got his ass in gear and took her to the hospital. She didn't have a stroke or heart issue, all testing normal. It was probably a combo of stress, lack of sleep, physical exhaustion, low blood sugar, dehydration, possibly something to Do with the unusual bacteria they found in her urine. Temporary episodic amnesia or some shit. Basically a fluke and probably won't happen again. On the plus side, this has been a wakeup call for her and my parents and my little brother. My brother is actually helping out proactively with the rental properties. She is talking about getting her will taken care of. I am one of 6 kids and the last will was written when they had 3 and does not mention any of their current assets. She is communicating with my sister about writing down bank account numbers and safe combos. I have had this conversation with her, urging her to consider finding a lawyer, but only now is she making stronger statements and specific plans. This has been scary as shit but I hope it leads to a better lifestyle for my mom. She works so hard and does so much for everyone. But she is getting older and needs a break, damnit.
RANT: I FUCKING HATE WORKING ON LAWN MOWERS. Any sort of "small engine" power equipment, for that matter. They're supposed to be simpler, but for me, I can never seem to get them to run right. Right now, I've got my dad's John Deere D105, and one day it stalled and wouldn't start up again. It turns out the carburetor was flooding. BADLY. Actually blowing fuel out of the intake. So I ordered a rebuild kit, installed it, and it immediately started doing THE SAME FUCKING SHIT. I took everything apart, double checked all of my work, reinstalled it, and BAM. Gas blowing out of the carb vent, same as before. I've had that carburetor on and off of that engine about ten times by now, and I can't find a damn thing wrong with it. One of the things that makes this so aggravating is the fact that I'm part of a dying breed of mechanics who know how to work on carburetors; automotive, anyway. Want to change the metering rods on a GM Quadrajet? I'm your man. Want to figure out what the proper power valve rating is for your Holley 4-Barrel? I can do that shit in my sleep (I've done it while drunk off my ass, if that counts.). But these little carburetors don't have the adjustments that the big ones do (ex: there is no way to adjust float level), and that seems to be what fucks things up for me. Don't even get me started on their electrical systems. Completely Mickey Mouse bullshit. Yeah, automotive systems might be more complex, but at least they use better switches and connections (usually). This is really pissing me off because the grass around my shop is just getting out of control, and has been for awhile. I've got a goddam John Deere lawn mower, supposedly the Cadillac of mowers, and it won't run because of the piece of shit Nikki carburetor that Briggs and Stratton put on the engine. What's more is that now I've got Jungle Julia on my ass, saying that I should just buy a new/ used lawn mower because this one is giving me so much grief. I FIX MACHINES FOR A LIVING. I don't tell people to buy a new car when their fuel pump is bad. I should be able to fix this, but I'm out of ideas.
Thanks for the kind words y'all. RAVE: I was given a pretty large severance package, which certainly helps. It wasn't a simple "Fuck you, you have no job" deal. But.... RANT: I was told my position had been eliminated. That was not technically correct. It was MY position that was eliminated, my job still exists.It is now being performed by temps that I helped train. They also kept most of my department including many that have a long track record of missing time and not doing their job. I know as of last Friday I led my department in every metric we are judged by, as I have for the past 4 1/2 years. The whole thing boils down to the boss that was put in charge of the department 2 years ago. She has made it her mission to purge everyone that she didn't hire. The last two of us remaining were let go yesterday, leaving her with a department that is completely her own....and probably a bigger bonus for eliminating high payed individuals. I was nothing more then a line item on a ledger.
Rave: Back in my home state of Florida, it's 8:30am, I'm sitting on the patio and it's 76*. Why again do people live where it's cold?
RANT: FUCKING LAWNMOWER STILL ISN'T RUNNNG. Before I get into this rant, I want to thank everyone who sent me their advice and sympathies. I got the flooding problem solved: the rebuild kit that I bought didn't come with a fuel inlet O-ring, so I reused the old one - it looked okay. That was a big mistake. After trying a few other o-rings that I had in my spare parts bin, I finally found one that did the trick. This got the mower running, BUT IT WOULD ONLY RUN WITH THE CHOKE ON. That's a clear-cut case of the engine not getting enough fuel. This must mean that a passageway in the carb is clogged. So I tore the damn thing apart again, AND THERE WASN'T A DAMN THING CLOGGED. On top of that, the welch plug (small, press-fit plug) that came with the kit didn't fit, so I can't even mow the light sections of grass with the choke on. FUCK LAWNMOWERS. RAVE: I took the advice of a fellow board member and ordered a new carburetor. I found one for only $21 on Amazon, with great reviews. RANT: It's being shipped directly from Japan, and takes about 3 weeks.
Rant: I've been having pain in my right leg, from my hip, groin and into my leg that's getting worse. So bad I can't cross my leg, and even putting socks and shoes on hurts like a motherfucker until I straighten it out. Rant: I have a gig tomorrow night, and I don't want to do it. Two hours there, two hours home, and and 3-4 hour set. Bleh. Rave: I passed my CDL road test yesterday and according to my supervisor who went with me, finished it faster than anyone he's ever seen before. All that studying paid off!
Rant: I’ve got to go to a funeral today. It’s about an hour out of town and the friends I’m riding with refuse to go 20 minutes out of the way to see a gypsy town. As if we’re ever going to get this close to Murphy Village again.
Rants and Raves: This year has been a big one for me in terms of growth and moving forward with life while dealing with the various issues that have held me back. Been plenty of up and down but mostly up thankfully. I'm both physically but more importantly mentally in probably the best shape of my life, a shame it took me until 35 to get there but depression is a bitch so I'm just happy I'm dealing with it. Work, while busy has been mostly amazing this year and my performance report should hopefully get me on the next promotion lists. I've got a kick ass road trip planned around a good chunk of Australia during Christmas holidays and an attractive Dutch lady coming to visit as well. On the other side I've had to stump up a fair amount of money for house repairs, a new laptop and I missed seeing my grandfather before he passed away by three days immediately after my birthday earlier in the year. Overall though it's been a mostly positive year now bring on the holidays.
Rave: I have good news. It's old, but whatever, I haven't posted here in awhile. My wife is dealing with another parasite. It's a boy this time, due at the end of February. I'm a hair over 6 feet and my wife is 5'10" and is Scandanavian, so I'm guessing this kid will either be a 5 tool outfielder, or a literal gigantic nerd. There really is no in-between. Rave: I've accepted a job offer that will give me a nearly 20% salary increase, provide way better benefits and I get to work with a friend of mine that I've known for years. Rant: The commute will mean I'll get less time with the family, which blows. My current boss is being a turd, considering I gave an extra week's notice so I could wind my projects down/hand them off. I guess it hasn't occurred to him yet that I wouldn't have looked for a job if he didn't do a shitty job of running the company and bothered to listen to me. Rave: The commute will be crappy because I also closed on a house last week. We moved over the weekend. I am so sore I feel like I've been in a car crash. The new house is literally double the size of the old one and is in walking distance to the top rated STEM focused elementary school. Rant: Holy shit, my mortgage now. Also, needing to buy all of the shit we need for this place that you sort of take for granted until you don't have it. Like towel racks and outdoor storage. I'm hanging my towel over the shower stall and praying it doesn't rain until I can get a shed. Rant: The good news is that our first mortgage payment isn't going to be until January. The bad news is that if the old house doesn't sell by then, I think I'm going to wither up and die.
Rant: I'd ask what else could possibly break down next around here, but I know that's just an invitation for something to do so. Replacing a circulator pump on my boiler that shit the bed yesterday and then seeing if I can fix the vent fan in the bathroom that crapped out this morning. I've had to fix or replace so many things over the past few months I've lost count.
Rant: One of the new hires starting today broke the spacebar on his MacBook 10 minutes after he was onboarded.
Rant: Found out a old buddy from college was killed in a car accident the other night. The world is shorter one guy that brought nothing but happiness to everyone he met. Suck that it always seems to be this type that go early.
Rave: I have been fascinated for the last couple months with resin projects such as river tables, wood/resin pendants, etc, and have been reading about it like crazy, but was offput by the price of materials (specifically the ArtResin epoxy I was looking at). Well, I happened upon a second hand shop that is part thrift, part vintage, part workshop for handmade artistic furniture and wood furniture with resin detailing. I got a chance to talk to 1 of the 3 owners who a total open book and invited me to come back. So I did today and am so glad I did. He's an older man who used to be a logger and has a sawmill out back with a drying rack inside. He showed me all the live edge wood he already cut for future projects. So many types of wood and so flipping gorgeous! He gave me a ton of different pieces to take home and work on myself. He ordered 2gal marine grade epoxy for me at less than half the cost of ArtResin. And he said I could come and work in his shop whenever! He is an absolute book full of useful knowledge and is so excited to share with me. And it wasn't weird or anything....the work area is open and just roped off, another woman came in and talked to both of us about some projects she had going at her house, and his 2 shop pups were here at our heels the whole time. I don't know if it was the size of the city I was from, or how it is in the South? But goddamn. I never felt like I was able to connect with people as easily back home. It is so nice here.
RAVE: After accumulating parts for months, I finally got started on Jungle Julia's LS engine swap! RANT: Jungle Julia is kinda funny when it comes to me working on her car: she wants it fixed, but she also wants me to spend all my time with her , and doesn't want to give me the time to work on it . My original plan was to put in a couple hours a day after work (shit, I'd stay over there all night if I could), but she thinks that's too much. We'll see.