I got a J.O.B. - finally.

I got a job.

Well, two small jobs actually. I'm going to be working two night shifts and one day shift per week initially at my first job, and cleaning three times a week at my second job. Then after August 1, I can pick up more shifts at my first job. I'll still squeeze the cleaning job into my schedule - that pays an extra $60.00 per week. So, even though I'm late on my bills this month, I should be able to catch up soon.

My cellphone service may be interrupted again this month until I can get it caught up, but that's no big deal.

We've had a lot of rain this past week. The lawn took off growing like it's springtime. It's already nearly knee high and I just mowed last Friday. Crazy, man. I don't know when I'll get time to mow it down again. Maybe Saturday or Sunday? I was hoping to go to the thrift store on Saturday - I desperately need clothes that fit. Everything I have is too big and baggy. Even shirts that used to hug my tummy now look like I'm a kid playing dress-up in daddy's clothes. I've passed the 50 pounds mark. I don't have a scale to keep tabs on my weight loss, but the flat belly and the jeans that I just got (which are already baggy) are speaking volumes.

I was approached in the parking lot at Mel's diner and a guy gave me his phone number. Then at O'Reilly's auto parts, a guy followed me out and gave me his phone number. Then again at B's Poppa P's, a guy waited for me and gave me his phone number. Geez. Must be the blue jeans... or maybe somebody snuck up behind me and doused me with pheromones. I dunno, but it seems as though the bucks are in a rut this week.

Actually I'm kinda enjoying the attention. It seems a little weird to me to be approached and looked at like that. Partially I resent them, because I know this wouldn't be happening if I were still chubby. I know they are all just looking at my figure. They have no idea if I'm a psycho, or a drug-addict, or a welfare momma lookin' for my next "baby daddy". Well, maybe not the guy at O'Reilly's, he was intrigued by my automotive skills - and my butt.
I'm pretty sure at this point that it's not my sparkling personality and witty sense of humor that elicits their attentions.
Men. Go figure!

I'm going to have to adjust my sleep schedule. I'm so used to getting up early and going to bed early. Now my schedule will be more random. I go in to work at noon today and will get off at 8 p.m. I'm actually very relieved to know that I'm done searching for a job. Now maybe my stomach can settle down. I've been getting a little panicked watching deadlines sneak up and I can't make the obligations, and knowing that usually I have a two week holdover before I see a paycheck, etc. It's had my stomach in knots for a couple of weeks now. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch: but if hard work and enthusiasm can make a job fly, then mine should take off like a 747. I just need some cute clothes to cinch it.

Well, I need to take a shower and do the dishes. My cd player is on the fritz, so I may move the speakers back to the laptop so I can have some music up in here.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

Crush

My boyfriend Chad.

I feel like I've met my male-counterpart. He's very much like me in so many ways. A jack-of-all-trades, does the best he can, conservative, likes the old way of doing things, great work-ethic, and interested in survival skills. He's as anti-social as I am. I found someone who can take off with a backpack and know he'll be fine - just like me. He drinks as little as I do, no drugs, wakes up early, anti-television, disciplined, naturalistic, holistic, reads books, imaginative, physical, wide-eyed fascination with everything, interesting, philosophical, not hung up on the superficial, somewhat corny in his sense-of-humor, and open to changes. He's also only 3 1/2 months older than I. We've had enough difference in experiences to keep it interesting.

I've officially decided that I like him...

I avoid writing about boyfriends on my blog because I don't want to have to delete my blog when we've decided to break-up. I don't get attached very easily, and in typical Scorpio-fashion, I start compiling reasons why it won't work out from the very beginning. That's a terrible thing, I know, but in my life I've experienced shattering disillusionment and disappointments. Psychologically I'm right on par with Freudian expectation. I'm comfortable with Chad. I see and feel his vulnerabilities and empathize in the same way he sees, feels, and empathizes with mine. We are equals in so many ways - I feel as though I could trust him. Neither of us have the eternal sunshine of the spotless conscience, but we persevere anyway.

Just to be funny, we're both amateur nudists also. We are going to start nude hiking. Backpacks and boots. The first time I get arrested I'll let ya'll know. "I'll take that ticket, but you know officer, I have no pockets to put it in..."

He also thinks I'm beautiful, not only does he say it, but I can see it in his eyes. He doesn't care if I comb my hair and shave my pits, or if my clothes match. He doesn't like makeup and perfume, but he never fails to compliment me if I decide to wear it. He's unpretentious with his own appearance also. Grey t-shirts and jeans with work boots and his hair in a ponytail.

He calls me "onion butt" because every time he sees it, it brings a tear to his eye.

He has long hair and a goatee, broad shoulders, tanned arms and legs, hairy chest, and a very pleasant smile. He turns his shoulders sideways to walk through a doorway as a matter of habit. Rough carpenter's hands that can be both strong and gentle.

It's been only four months since we started dating, so I'm still a little sheepish that I put all this in writing, but for the first time in my life I can see into the future. Not an unrealistic pipe dream involving lots of money and a fairytale ending, but a practical evolution of us with our eclectic outlook and complementary sensibilities.

Ok. There it is. I've said it. Chad, you are now officially in my blog. Let the whole world know: MsAmber likes Chad - very much.

This ends my cheesy mushy post. Back to real-life next time.

Have a great week.
MsAmber

I found a little work...

The neighboring storage place asked me to clean out a climate-controlled warehouse. I spent most of the day on it yesterday and I need to finish today. It's a big dusty mess, but at least it's some work, and it pays cash.

I mowed the property on Friday, and I had to stop in one place because I found what I thought was a huge beehive. I called a guy named Rob, he's a beekeeper in the area to come get it. He showed up that evening and walked straight up to it. Put his nose within inches of it and took his sunglasses off, he stuck the arm of his sunglasses through it and said it's a swarm, no hive at all. It was about three feet long by about a foot-and-a-half in diameter. Thousands of honeybees. He went home and got a bee box and his equipment; a smudge pot, bee screen helmet, gloves, etc. He came back and cut the branch and dropped all the bees into his bee box and left it overnight. He returned Saturday evening and took them all away. It was really cool to watch him work. I learned a lot. He said that when a hive gets too populated, they will hatch another queen. She takes off and half the swarm accompanies her. Wherever she lands, the swarm covers her. That branch was just the temporary resting place. He thanked me for calling him, that was exactly what he was looking for. I was just glad I could save their lives, I just knew that somebody would get alarmed and spray them with insecticide, so I guarded the swarm until I could get somebody out to get them. It was really cool.

Well, I've got to go finish the warehouse this morning. You have a great day.
MsAmber

Wednesday Morning

Yeah, everything's peaceful around here so far. It rained all night Monday night, and all day Tuesday until about 2:00 p.m...
It's pretty soggy outside. I think we got 4 inches here.
I'm shampooing the carpets today, the dogs have tracked in a fair amount of mud and I can't let it set-in the carpets.
Spot has been acting particularly scared of the thunderstorms. He wouldn't go outside unless you essentially dragged him out. He never had an "accident" in the house, but I just knew he shouldn't be holding his pee that long. Poor dude, clung to my legs like a wet nightgown the whole time.

I dug out the demo cd from a friend's band "5th Wheel Avenue", and I've been listening to it on repeat. It's actually really good, it's a shame there's only 4 songs on it. They have a site on Myspace if anyone cares to check it out. Daniel is the drummer and Samuel is the bass player. They are a couple of good kids who worked on my crew in Shreveport last year. They have a good sound, I went and listened to them play a couple of times.

It seems as though someone has taken to commenting on my blog anonymously. They obviously don't know me well or they would realize that I have no misery, I'm a "roll with the punches" kind of girl. Does it seem as though the tone of my posts have been pessimistic of late? My apologies if that is so. I get a little frustrated every now and then, but otherwise I'm a pretty happy person. I enjoy life immensely, even when it presents challenges. I blog about current events as a way of documenting timelines so that I won't forget when things happen, but I've never claimed to be a victim of anything but my own decisions. Which I guess is exactly what the anonymous commentary said. I just feel it's a little creepy that someone won't at least sign their name or an alias to a comment directed at me.
Oh the intrigue...

Chad has decided that his side-work is getting busy enough that we may be able to step out on our own as independent contractors. I've always wanted to learn carpentry, he's been tutoring me a little on using the speed-square and the most common angles, marks, and terms. I'm ready to embark on a new adventure. It will be great to learn a new skill, especially one that I've dreamed of learning for a long time now. I'm psyched! He's really very good at it, I couldn't have aligned myself with a better teacher. I have my tool-belt already set up and ready to go. I dug out all my tools, cleaned and oiled everything and organized them. I even replaced all missing drill bits from my index, I'm just missing one 3/4" paddle bit. As a present: Chad bought me a set of chisels. Isn't that cool? I have a set of chisels!

Anyway, I need to get the carpets shampooed before it starts getting hot. You have a wonderful day.

MsAmber

P.S. Anonymous Poster: feel free to sign your comments with some alias or something. At least give me some sporting hint as to your identity. Please?

I smell trouble brewing...

I got the landlady packed off to her daughter's house on Friday. I swept out her floorboards, loaded up her stuff, loaded the dogs and got her gone. She's been very grumpy and stressful since she got a phonecall from California on Tuesday or Wednesday. Some guy called her real early in the morning and asked if he could send her son home. (Oh boy.) She gave me a key to her house for emergencies (not to give to him), and left instructions to tell him that the back window was unlocked, and asked me to pay for the taxi cab if necessary when he gets here. Saturday morning about 10:00 a.m. he arrived. He had money to pay his own taxicab, and I gave him the instructions on how to get in. Then I called Ms. Doris at her daughter's house and told her that he looked real good. Sober, tan, and well-fed.
He knocked on the door as I was getting out of the shower and I'm sure he got a free peek because I was just wrapping up in a towel. Pissed me off already. He wanted a ride to Chase bank. I looked at the clock: it was 11:50. Everybody knows that the banks are closed on Saturday afternoon, plus it's July 4th. I told him I was tired, I had been moving the RV all morning and I wasn't planning on going anywhere.
A little bit later a green pickup truck pulled in, and left within about 15 minutes. Apparently he called somebody to bring him a 12 pack of beer. Within the hour he was drunk. He sat out on the porch facing my house and kept yammering on to anybody who would listen: "Hey, listen, when I bury my momma that's going to be a sad day, I'm going to kick my brother's ass, makes me cry just to think about it, that (expletive) hasn't called momma in over a year, hey listen, I'm gonna kick his ass. When I put my momma in the ground, everybody's gonna know...I'm the baby of the family...hey listen, when I bury momma..." blah blah blah. He was drunk and talking shit. I came into the house and closed the door so I wouldn't have to listen. Ms. Doris called me and told me that he called her and he was partying with Jason and he had $50, and she isn't coming home until he's broke. I was a little angry, she and I had agreed to set some house rules that this is an alcohol-free property and he will not be drinking if he is going to stay here. A little while later, I bathed Spot in the bathtub and took him outside to shake off, and Larry was still out there on the porch. He was still talking. He said he liked me, I'm just very direct, he thanked me for taking care of his momma, and started talking about kicking his brother's ass again. I wanted to say: At least your brother isn't coming around and sucking off the old lady's social security every month, but I didn't. Why pick a fight with a drunk. I came back inside and started bathing Megabyte in the tub. Chad said: "Next time he knocks, I'll get it." So, sure enough, Knock knock on the door. I just had Meg lathered up. Chad was working on a bid for a job and he got up and answered the door. I heard him tell Larry that Amber was busy. Then he told Larry that HE was busy. Then Larry started yelling "I've been traveling for three days and I just got home and ya'll are going to treat me like a fucking Nigger!" That's when I came out of the bathroom covered in suds and I stuck my soapy hand out the door and yelled "Larry, get out my door! Go home, don't you knock on my door anymore! You are supposed to leave me alone! I'm a tenant, not your fucking friend!" He said he was going to kick my ass, and I better get ready to pack my shit because as soon as momma gets home I'm getting kicked off the property. I told him I can move and I will move if I want, don't think I feel threatened, and I slammed my door in his face. Chad called the police. The officer showed up, and he said he's dealt with Larry before and he went over there and told Larry that I'm a tenant and he needs to stay away. When the police left, Larry shouted from the porch "How do you like them apples?" and he turned up the music as loud as it would go and proceeded to have a one-man party. All night long.
I heard a truck pull in at 3:30 in the morning on Sunday and it left at 4:00, so I got up and started the coffeepot. Larry was still partying with the music turned up and the door open facing me - just being creepy. I started working on the pile of garbage outside about 6:30, he shut his door but kept the volume up. He didn't turn it down until about 9:30 in the morning. That's when I figured he went to bed. Ms. Doris called me about 10:00 and was concerned that he was dead or overdosed or something because he wouldn't answer the phone. I just told her he was probably asleep. She called again that evening about 7:00 pm, I told her I hadn't heard anything or seen any signs of life from him all day. She was worried and wanting to come home. I told her don't worry, if I see him alive and well I will give her a call. He stayed hidden all day, all night, and now it's 1:15 pm on Monday and I just now see him walking down the driveway. I figure that he thinks if she's worried then she'll come home. I just now called her and told her that he's alive and she said she's coming home today. There's no food in the house and she's coming to put groceries in the house for him. Well, why didn't he buy food with his damn $50 instead of beer and whatever drugs he bought? Geez.
No freaking common sense. I do wish she would just stay at her daughter's and enjoy the visit.
Well, anyway. I don't give a shit what happens, just as long as he leaves me alone. And I'm not feeling too much like sympathizing with Ms. Doris right now either. She's creating her own misery.
I'm done with this post.

You have a great week.
MsAmber

Saturday Morning

Alright, it's only 9:00 a.m. and already I'm ducking for cover from the heat. It's 87 degrees in the house. Probably low 90's outside. I hate locking myself up, so I might just get out the hose and wash the truck. I feel claustrophobic when I close the doors. And, yes, I'm still drinking hot coffee. Probably should switch to lemonade.

Spot attacked Meg under the table the other night, so I whipped his butt and made him go lay down. He's been acting strangely since then. He doesn't listen, and insists on going out the door when I go, and coming back in when I do. He is clinging to me hard. Chad and I wrestled for a minute in the kitchen yesterday and Spot got very upset. He was snappy all evening. When Chad's daughter reached down to kiss Spot on the head, he snapped at her. Scared the daylights out of her. He's regressed to his aggressive behavior, which I thought I had cured. I probably shouldn't have raised a hand to him when he attacked Meg, but Meg was yelping and I overreacted. So, I need to reassure Spot that he's still my boy, and get him over his insecurities again. One step forward and two steps back. I can't show preferential treatment to Spot, though, or he'll assume the dominant stance over Meg again. Poor Meg. He wasn't hurt as far as I can tell, he's just a tender-hearted old man.

I have a little wart growing on my right-ring-finger knuckle. I need a razor blade to cut it out. I'll probably get to that today, so the tenderness will be gone by Monday. I just can't stand the thought of a wart. Ewww, disgusting.

Already I'm bored. Isn't there something I can do? Maybe I'll dig out all my mending and get that done. I know there are a couple of things missing buttons and my white sweater has a hole in the back...
I just don't want to sit around all day in the cool indoors.

You have a great day. I'm going to go find some mischief.
Speaking of mischief: I want to find my old boss's truck and saran-wrap it real good. Doesn't that sound like fun? Preferably in the evening when he's in a bar getting drunk. Harmless prank. A friend suggested that I pull an old-fashioned bologna fry - that's when you put a bunch of slices of bologna on the hood of a vehicle in this heat. I understand it peels the paint off in perfect circles. That's a little too hard-core for me, I don't want to do damage. Just a friendly reminder that I'm still offended and still around. That's the statement I want to make. I'll probably never get around to doing it, but I can't help fantasizing about it. Saran-wrap. Too funny.
I heard through the grapevine that Nate fired Penny. It will wind up being a good thing for Penny when she finds another job. She's a very good girl and sharp as a tack. Some company will be very lucky to get her. I'm glad in one way that she's free from his abuses, but sad for her because I'm sure she feels slighted. Just think of it like this: you've been ejected from the trash. Not because you're not good enough: but because you are too good.
I've worked for a lot of companies and I've never felt this hateful towards any of them. This will show up in a search engine someday: Atlantic Cable Services Incorporated in Lafayette is the worst company to work for. Abuse, dishonesty, crappy pay, broken promises, and hostile work environment. Nate Yancey is the sorry Manager of Lafayette ACSI. Wanna sue me for this? Go right ahead and try. I have documented these abuses, this is my blog, and I stand behind my words.
Now, if you have any questions about this company, just respond to this post.
MsAmber

Tuesday evening blog...

Yesterday morning I went and bought 5 gallons of gas. I put the Toyota and the Nissan nose-to-nose and hooked up the jumper cables, then I ran a piece of fuel line from the fuel pump on the Toyota directly into my 5 gallon gas-can and fired-that-mother-up.
It idles for a bit, then it loads up and burps through the carburetor and dies. Sometimes it works through the loading up and returns to normal idle, but it never idled for more than about 3 minutes at a time. But it sure was loud. With that catalytic converter removed, it was very noisy. I had the neighborhood's attention anyway. They all heard me working on the truck.
Mr. Wilton's grandson, Jason, came by and tried to tell me that he thinks it's the fuel pump, (even though I told him I changed it) and he wanted to stand over it and pour gas from a bottle directly into the throat. We did discover that I had gasoline in my oil. I just changed that oil and now it's about a quart overfull with gas. Sooo, Jason thinks he can finish the Toyota and he made me an offer of $250.00, (actually, he came up with $249.00) and I let him take it away. Boy do I feel relieved. It's Outta Here!
Mr. Wilton came with him to pick it up, and I tried to tell them what I've already done to the truck and he shushed me, he said he knows what all I've done. So at least they know what they're getting into.
I'll take my time and find another builder, but it will be at least a 3/4 ton.

I wasn't feeling all too energetic today. I had an interview this morning, and put my paycheck in the bank then came home. I stayed inside all day - I took a little nap under the air conditioner vent and woke up and I couldn't breathe. My lungs were totally seized up. I hate it when that happens.

This evening I cooked shrimp-n-grits. My specialty. I had Chad and his daughter over for dinner, and I fixed a plate for Ms. Doris. She never heard of serving shrimp with grits but she loves it. I'm still stuffed. There's a leftover brownie from Saturday in the fridge... maybe I'll eat that too. Mmmmm.

You have a great night.
MsAmber

I mowed yesterday.

I mowed the entire field, moved the Toyota and organized my stuff. It looks rather nice if I do say so myself. Got a little more tan. I'm really getting dark across my shoulders and arms. I have freckles that I never knew I had. It would seem also that I'm becoming impervious to the heat, or maybe it was just that pleasant outside yesterday... who knows. I have a tiny touch of a headache today, I think it was from breathing all that dirt and grass.

Man, I couldn't sleep a wink last night. I tossed and turned and tossed and turned. I was tired, but I just couldn't shut my mind off.

Why do ant bites always make a little white head? There's a mystery for you.

Yesterday, being Father's day, I was unable to get my Dad on the phone. It went straight to voicemail. So I left him a happy message.

My friend Nicky went back to work for ACSI. She was getting a little frustrated looking for another job, so she went back and asked to be reinstated. Not me, I'll dig ditches first. I feel as though some serious grovelling and apologies are due me before I would even consider it. Life is hard enough without having to hate your job. I'm naturally a cheerful employee, and some jobs bring out the best, some bring out the worst. I belong in a job that brings out the best in me.

Well, I got my jeans on, I think I'll head down to the grocery store and stock up on cheap-foods while I still have a little bit of money. Mmmmm, ramen noodles...

You have a great day.
MsAmber

I've been remiss.

OK, I was reading through some of my most recent posts and realized that I've left out some important stuff.

I went for an interview on a Friday (not yesterday, but the one before), and found a start-up company that installs root barrier systems. The gal is nice, and she's certainly a talker, but I'm pretty sure her mouth is writing checks that her ass can't cash. We'll see, the verdict is still out. Anyway, she wanted a website, so I came home and bought the domain (www.TLCProtectiveEdge.com) and directed it towards my hosting space at MsAmber.com. I threw down a simple three-page spread. She had my friend Nicky call me and ask for tri-fold brochures also. So I made a simple brochure. I'm pretty sure that I won't get paid for my efforts, but I am supportive of what she's trying to do, so I'll help out. But I did tell her that I can't afford to hemorrhage money, so unless she has work for me to do, I don't plan on driving to Rayne just to show up. She's offering $125.00/day to go put in barriers. The job primarily consists of digging and cutting roots.

Well, it dawned on me that I needed to solve my transportation problem pretty quick. If I am to take any decent job, I need wheels. Just so happened that Mark Crabtree called from Shreveport to see how I was doing. I told him about my lack-of-transportation and he offered to loan me his old red Nissan pickup. I said "Hell, yeah! I'll be there tomorrow." I joked that I would ride my bicycle to Shreveport if I needed.

Saturday morning I started hitchhiking to Shreveport. I got to Opelousas and the police stopped to check me. I discovered that I had left my stupid wallet on my desk. (Remember, I bought that domain name?) I had memorized my license number, but boy did I feel dumb. I didn't have any money or my debit card. How was I supposed to drive that truck back? Anyway, I was too far to turn back so I just kept on truckin'. I caught some good rides, I left at 8 a.m. and I got to Shreveport at 1:00 p.m. A strange coincidence of the day: Two different guys who picked me up were named Michael, and a couple pulling hay gave me a ride and they had two Archangel Michael medallions hanging from their rear-view mirror. I can't help but think that Michael was looking out for me. I had no incidences and I didn't walk too too much, but boy was it hot! The last ride practically forced me to take a $10.00 bill to buy something to drink. (I counted the change in the bottom of my purse and it came to exactly $.99 cents.)
Mark and Missie were glad to see me. They saw how skinny I am and they asked me what I did with Amber. I responded that I ate her. I had a nice visit. Missie handed down her small jeans to me, because I was lamenting the fact that I have no clothes that fit. I gave her the clothes I was wearing, and I left with a really cool pair of patched jeans and a low-cut black and pink polka dotted top. We dug out all the change to be found = $12.00. So, I left with $22.99 and I found a penny on the ground when I got to the gas station. That was just enough to get home on. I was worried that I was driving on fumes by the time I got here. I ran the whole way without air-conditioning to increase my gas mileage, glad I did.

So now I have transportation. I don't have any solid job prospects yet, but the main obstacle to progress has been removed. I washed the truck real good. It has a front license plate that says: "Stay Clear Bitch On Wheels", which I think I shall turn around. I like statements, but that's not exactly what I want to say.

So, I'm going to end this entry with a heartfelt shout-out and gratitude to Mark Crabtree and Missie. Thank you guys so very much.

MsAmber

Went out last night.

Two beer, two soda, three games of pool. Had a great time.

I'm sitting at my desk this morning, a little later than usual, drinking my coffee and responding to emails. I'm listening to some Bob Dylan, and the sound of the washer agitating my final load of whites. It's only 8 a.m. but it's starting to warm up a bit; my indoor thermometer says 82 degrees. I have the doors and windows open and a fan gently blowing my direction. Is this heaven or what?

I got the clothes all sorted and put away, so my closets and cupboards are completely organized. All my tools are safely stashed away. My only real chore left is to put air in the flat tire on the Toyota and push it around to the other side of my camper. I filled my air-tank for this occasion, but I really can't do it alone. It needs to be pushed AND steered, and it's unfortunately settled into some really deep grass. I'll wait until some unsuspecting victim comes by for a visit. Muwah ha ha ha haaaaa.

...Tangled Up In Blue.

I think I'll soft boil an egg and make toast.
You have a great Saturday (Sabbath).
MsAmber

Biting off more than I can chew.

Doesn't that seem like me?
I'm doing laundry right now and sorting out my clothes. I want to put away all cold-weather stuff, and bag up all the clothes that are too big. So far I have done the drawers, and now I'm pulling all the clothes out of the cupboards and closets and piling them on the bed.
I erected the cabin-tent to use as a shed, and I've stacked all my outdoor stuff inside. Bicycle, lawnmower, fishing poles and tacklebox, my tub of automotive liquids, extra stuff like that. I need the storage space under my bed cleaned out so that I can store my tools. I have tools in the back of the Toyota covered with a tarp, and all the tools that I just unloaded from the company truck. I need them in a safe place, so the storage compartment under the bed is being appropriated.
I may have undertaken too much of a task. It's only 10:45 and it's getting so hot out there that I'm soaking wet in 10 minutes. Whatever, I can finish tomorrow if I must.
I took a cool shower and shaved my legs and lotioned them. They are getting a little tan, my shoulders and back are splotchy from peeling, I'm a little self-conscious over that, but my chest, neck and arms look real good (IMO, of course).

I paid all my bills and I'm proud to announce that I am $84.00 in the positive!
Oh, I have to laugh at myself for some of the situations I put myself in.
It's only money. They'll print more, right?

OK, I'm cooled off enough to get back at it.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Got into a little "tiff" yesterday.

I went to the shop at 7:15 in the morning yesterday to get my tools and final paycheck. Nate was in a mood. He handed me the spare keys to the cab of the truck, but not the tool boxes. I hung around for an hour, expecting that the kid who was driving my truck might show up - by 8:15 he still wasn't there, so I asked Nate if the kid was coming in. He started yelling and gesticulating wildly with his arms: "I TOLD you that I have the keys, you can either wait until I'm not busy or come back LATER!" He screamed. So I mimicked him back and waved my arms around wildly and said: "I was fixin' to TELL you that I have some place to be and I will have to come back LATER!", and I stormed out. I went to Rayne and took care of that business and came back to the shop. I was back at 9:20. I received the Fed-Ex envelope which contains the paychecks and found out that I was not allowed to have mine. Penny called Nate to inquire whether I could have my check and he flew off the handle at her for putting him on speakerphone. She started crying. She's had enough of him yelling at her for everything and nothing. (Nate himself ALWAYS calls people on speakerphone.) He said I would just have to wait. I left, but I was once again outraged at his behavior towards Penny, so I called ACSI corporate and inquired if Nate had any justification for holding my check (and my tools, by the way). The receptionist put me on hold and called Nate. Apparently he was really rude to her also, she commented to me that he wasn't acting very "managerial". (There's the understatement of the year!) Later in the day when Nate came in, he called everyone but me to come pick up their checks. This morning I again showed up at 7:15, I was treated with a bit more courtesy. I was allowed to remove my tools. He almost tried to accuse me of taking a cell-phone charger, which I proved that I gave over to Jherric. I turned in the few company-issued tools and got them signed off and gathered the rest of my stuff. He tried to get the guys to corroborate with him that he handed out checks yesterday and I could have come in the evening and picked mine up - all I would have had to do was call and ask. I said "That's wrong, you're just trying to cover up the fact that you withheld my check deliberately yesterday." We almost engaged in another battle, but he was being cautious because his boss was there. I'm grateful that Barry was there because the transition went smoothly, but in a way I wish he wasn't because I was ready for another screaming match today. I'm not letting that bully push me around another second. He may make Penny cry, but I assure you he will not treat me with less than the respect or courtesy I deserve. I'm still daydreaming of slapping him soundly across the cheek for his past transgressions.
Well, I'm proud to say that my business there is wrapped up. I got my final check and I got my tools. I said my "goodbyes" to the boys. Each one confiding that they can't take much more of Nate themselves. It's a shame. That crew consisted of some good guys, I enjoyed working with them most of all. At least I made some solid friends while I was there.
Anyway, that's it for that little adventure. I'll keep you updated on what else comes down the pike for me.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Official Results:

I went to WalMart this morning, and I'm thrilled to report that I weigh 129 pounds, fully clothed. Yes, that's right. I have lost 41 pounds and I am now smaller than I've ever been. Previously my skinny weight was 137. I never dreamed I would get down smaller than that.
I rarely drink soda. No sugar or cream in my coffee. I eat one meal per day, with a little snacking if I'm absolutely starving-hungry. I've pretty much shut down the feeling of being hungry. I barely recognize it anymore. I would estimate my daily caloric intake to be around 500. I drink mainly water and coffee, but the other day I drank a whole gallon of apple juice, just couldn't help myself.
I sweat all day. I am out in the sun doing something every day. Whether it's mowing, laundry, or moving stuff around, I'm outside.
So, this is the secret to me being skinny, suntanned/burnt, and happy.

Just thought I'd share.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

I like this poem. I think I shall print and display it.

At the next vacancy for God, if I am elected,
I shall forgive last the delicately wounded who,
having been slugged no harder than anyone else,
never got up again, neither to fight back,
nor to finger their jaws in painful admiration.

They who are wholly broken, and they in whom mercy is understanding,
I shall embrace at once and lead to pillows in heaven.
But they who are the meek by trade, baiting the best of their betters with extortions of a mock-helplessness,
I shall take last to love, and never wholly.

Let them all in Heaven - I abolish Hell -
but let it be read over them as they enter:
Beware the calculations of the meek, who gambled nothing
gave nothing, and could never receive enough.

My charisma is failing me.

Never in my life have I had such a hard time finding a job. For those of you who are out of the loop, or are dependent on this blog to know what I'm doing, I quit ACSI.
The work was too physical, paid too little, and the bullshit/degradation was too hard to take. I've never had to tolerate being screamed at for no good reason, and I've always been enabled to take responsibility for crafting solutions to attain complete customer satisfaction. There, I was "merely" an installer. Too much bending of the rules, too little common-sense. So, yes, I sabotaged myself again. I am sitting here in Lafayette with no truck and no job. Am I crazy? Probably.
I have faith that I will get back on top again soon, I just dread the struggle sometimes. The last fight cost me 30 pounds. I don't have 30 more to spare. I have few clothes that fit, I'm recycling the same two pairs of pants. But I have plenty of dogfood for the dogs and plenty of rice and coffee for me. I bought a bicycle also. I can ride that bugger till the cows come home if I must.

This town is just so hard to break into. I feel like an outsider in a closed community. I guess if I drank, or hung out with the locals more, I might find a way in. Surely there's a job for me around here somewhere. I'm just starting to feel the burn of being without my truck. I feel a little trapped.

Today I'm going to finish painting the wheels on the Toyota and take it down off the jack-stands. I haven't solved the fuel problem yet, but I will before the end of the week. I need to move my trailer away from the doublewide house that's being moved soon. I've been told that they are coming this week to haul that thing off so I'm not going to wait until I'm in a bind to get my rig moved out of the way temporarily.

I woke up around 1:00 a.m. with my hands itching like crazy. I got up and washed them, lotioned them, then grabbed the cold compress out of the refrigerator and slept with the cold compress on my hands. It was weird to have such horribly itching hands.

Well, I have a lot to do before it gets too hot. The days have been near 90 degrees around here. Noon is not the time to be riding my bicycle to town. I felt the heart-palpitations and faintness of over-exertion yesterday, came home and laid down (for just a minute), I crashed for 4 whole hours, complete and total unconsciousness. I need to be more careful in this heat. The good news is that I'm drinking a lot more water nowadays. I'm sure my kidneys appreciate it.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

I had a bad dream last night.

I threw the dogs in a pond. I noticed that neither dog was swimming, they went straight to the bottom. I jumped in, it was only waist deep. I pulled Spot out, he was just sitting on the bottom, holding his breath and his eyes were wide open. He was waiting patiently for me to pick him up. I grabbed him and tossed him onto land, then I looked for Megabyte. I couldn't find him anywhere. I was screaming for some light, the water was so murky and I was feeling around with my hands and feet. I lost Meg. I felt so bad because he trusted me to find him and I could not. I was panicking and heartbroken when I woke up.
I'm still sad and I'm awake now. Both dogs are just fine, though. Why didn't they swim? And I'll never forget the look on Spot's face, just holding his breath and looking up, waiting for me to get him. It was pure trust.

Shake it off MsAmber, it was just a dream.

I have today off. I'm going to do laundry.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

I defurred the house.

I never got around to working on the truck yesterday. I wound up taking all the furniture out of the house and I cleaned every inch. I even scrubbed the shower walls. I rearranged the furniture a little bit, and Windexed the windows. It was overdue for a thorough cleaning. I feel so much better now.
RVs should never have carpet. I would like to remove all the carpet and just lay linoleum on the floors and a few scatter-rugs. Easier to clean. I shampoo'd the carpets and they are good and clean for the time being, but with my muddy boots and the dogs' muddy paws, it won't last long.
I really don't have anything else to say this morning, so I'm just going to hit "publish" and call it good.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

...so glad it's Sunday.

I had a good day yesterday. I knocked out my three 10-12's in record time and they put another job on me at the end of the day. I did 6 jobs total yesterday. All of them were ladder jobs. I had to put the ladder on the span once, and when it was time to bring it down, I hesitated. I actually had a weird feeling about it, after hitting myself on the head last time, I wanted to just leave the stupid ladder up there. This time I was surrounded by parked cars and the wind was blowing. I was worried about dropping it on a car. I unhooked it from the span, then got it vertical, collapsed it, then I pushed it over sideways in the only safe direction and let it fall. Problem solved.

I had a job to do over in the money neighborhood by Girard Park. The customer is a corporate pilot. He just purchased this old house and has plans to renovate. I told him that I thought the '60s wallpaper was adorable and some of the '60s styles are coming back. Then I told him about my favorite stove: a 1961 Frigidaire Flair Custom Imperial and all that it could do. I was just raving over it. I walked into the kitchen and guess what I saw? Yep. A 1961 Frigidaire Flair. It wasn't as big as my old one, it only had one oven, but there it was. He says he's going to remodel the kitchen and put in new appliances. I told him all about the stove - the temperature controlled burner, the meat thermometer, the oven being stainless steel runs a little hot like a convection oven, etc. He said he would call me if he decides to sell it. He doesn't care for antique appliances. Man, does he even know what he's got? That's a professional cookstove, they don't build them like that anymore. I hope he calls someday, even though I don't have a place to put it yet, I would certainly take it off his hands.

Ahhh, sunrise is beautiful this morning. I'm so happy to be home today. I'm also glad that my desk faces the East. Such a beautiful color in the morning - golden light through the water condensation on my window. It looks awesome. I bet even I look good in this lighting. (har har)

Well, I'm going to put on some shorts and tame my hair a little, maybe brush my teeth... Then again: who am I going to kiss? Kidding.
I'm on my third cup'o'java and I might just get back to working on the truck today.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

It's Saturday...

Yesterday I was working when I got a call from Ms. Doris. She asked if I was in the area, I said no, she had popped a breaker and she couldn't reach it and didn't have electricity. Luckily Chad was nearby so he ran over here during his lunch break to take care of it. Then when I got home she called me and asked for me to come look at something. The dern dogs got into a big fight and it scared her so she tried to break it up. She wound up getting bit or scratched on her foot and she pulled some back muscles heaving the biggest dog out the door. I got her sitting up in bed and I Shanghai'd the new dog Lucky. Lucky is over at my house now.
Megabyte and Spot have told Lucky where he stands in the pecking order. He slept all night with no accidents (Ms. Doris says he's not housebroken). It may be because I get up real early that the dog didn't have to try and hold his pee. But there are no messes this morning. I think I'm going to hold on to this little bugger until arrangements can be made to give him back to his owner. He's a cute little guy, but I really don't care much for small dogs. It is a quick and dirty solution to her dog-fighting problem, though. Just remove the antagonist.

Last job of the day I had to extend that stupid ladder as high as it would go and lay it on the span. That wasn't too bad until it was time to take it down. I got it unhooked and standing vertically, then I released the catches and let it collapse down. Then I went to walk it down. You have to move fast at this point because it is a controlled fall. You have to get to it's balance point quickly or the feet will kick up and it will see-saw over your head. I was walking on treacherous ground so I didn't get to the balance point quickly enough and it started to fall into the road. I bent myself backwards to reach for the balance point and control it down but it hit me on top of the head and my arms were too tired to physically lift it off my head. I think I'm about an inch shorter than I was before. It hurt my back, elbow, wrist, and my head. I didn't drop the ladder though.
That stupid ladder is going to give me gray hairs. I was sore yesterday evening, but I feel ok now, my wrist is the only thing that hurts. Stupid ladder!

I've got one more day of work before I get a day off. Shoot, by the time a day off comes around I need it. I got a 100% on image inspection yesterday. I found out that my hardhat expires in a month. I said "Hardhats have an expiration date?" The inspector said it was good right now, but I won't pass the next inspection with it. Apparently they are only good for 5 years. Who knew? So, I'm going to buy a new hardhat this month. White, with no stickers or embellishments. Gee, they take away all the fun. I was wanting to glue dreadlocks underneath my next one so it's like a wig and a hardhat all in one...

That same last job that I fought with the ladder wound up being fairly labor-intensive. I had to relocate the aerial to a place on the house that was closer to electricity and it had it's cabling painted over on the side of the house and it was very messy. I pulled it all off the side of the house and left scarring in the paint but I changed everything around to the way it should be. The verdict is still out - will the customer try to put a damage claim on me for pulling paint off the house or will she accept it and just have it touched up? The house had been recently painted, but they gobbed the paint over the cables and connectors and I had to peel them off. Some of the cables were cut underneath the house and had to be pulled out, really it was the only way to sort out which cables were good and needed to be made live and which were dead-ends. I spent 'way too much time trying to do a proper job.

Anyway, gotta run through the shower now and go knock down another day.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

So, yesterday was hard but fun.

On Sunday morning I saw the landlady's three dogs headed for the road. Here she came, hobbling down the driveway, tears streaming down both cheeks, trying to chase them down. I went and gathered them up for her and spent some time with her to try and calm her down. We drank coffee while I did my laundry and I started formulating a plan. She has pain medication that she takes in the morning, and it takes her a couple of hours to start getting mobile, meanwhile the dogs need to go out. Also, her first step beneath her door is dangerously low - I mean nearly 18 inches below the threshold and she's had a stroke. I've worried about her falling out the door but didn't know what I could do about it.
Well, I thought I'd tackle what I could, so I bought some treated 2x4's and vinyl lattice and worked all day building her a little fenced-in yard. I skirted one side of her house and fenced across the front and I even made a cool little gate. I had asked Chad to look at the stair-problem. When he got off work I was just finishing the fence and he jumped in and moved the stairs away from the house and built a deck at the perfect height beneath her door. Now she has a transition point between her door and the steps. That solution is perfect, and I don't have to worry about her falling. You should have seen the old lady dancing with joy on her little deck. She was so thrilled with the deck and the fence. Now this morning, all she has to do is let the dogs out the door and forget about them while she makes her coffee and lets her pain medication take effect.
I'm not a fence builder, but I think I did a pretty cool job. It looks good. But mainly I'm impressed with Chad's solution. I would have never thought to do it that way. Ms. Doris and I were both flabbergasted that he pulled such a great solution out of thin air. Pretty efficiently too. It took him all of an hour to get it done. I struggled all day with my fence project.

It was all worth it, now I don't have to worry about the old lady during the day.

I gotta go to work now, you have a great day.
MsAmber

Some Days...

Some days I think my job is easy-cheesy. Othertimes I'm so aggravated I could just spit.

Some days I like who I am and am happy. Othertimes I feel like an alien gypsy who nobody understands.

Some days I'm tired or subdued. Othertimes I'm overly cheerful and chatty and I drive people buggy (especially if they are not "morning people").

Some days I like my house freakishly spotlessly clean and organized. Othertimes the dishes may go a week in the sink or until something green starts growing, and the doghair is so thick around here that you could knit a sock with it.

Some days I feel feminine and paint my nails and shave my legs and put on makeup and stockings. Othertimes I look like I'm trying to be a messy skateboarding mechanic.

Some days I wake up and I'm not in pain. Othertimes my lower back and hips ache or I have a perpetual pinched nerve, usually in the left leg.

Some days I'm confident and cocky. Othertimes I'm so riddled with insecurities and acute remembrances of mistakes past that I more than pass for humble.

Some days are like today.
Wish it would rain some more, since I'm home now.

I have a sore throat and I'm feeling kinda blah. I'll probably go to bed early, I promised to fix a little fence tomorrow. Landlady needs it done, and her wish is my command.

Have a good Wednesday.
MsAmber

Happy Friday.

Ok. So I worked all day yesterday with a big ol' price tag hanging off the back of my khakis. $29.99 original price marked down to $9.88 it said. I did not discover this until I stopped at a gas station to use the restroom around 3. Now I'm wondering why nobody said anything. Lol.

Landlady's son is back. Dern Tweaker. Bummed three bucks off me again. He told his mother that he doesn't know why she likes me, I'm so rude. He's been borrowing my gas can to mow the lawn, but when I'm home he's too afraid to come get it. Yeah, that's right, you just keep on truckin' buddy boy. I'm glad he thinks I'm mean and rude. That will keep him at bay. He was irritating me by knocking on my door every evening to borrow something: Advil, cigarettes, money, etc. And borrow isn't the word, it's not like he's made any effort to repay. No job, lives with his mom, gets drunk and talks random shit. His only redeeming value is that he mows the lawn. Dern tweaker.

Met a customer and his son yesterday. The son reminded me so much of Benjamin at that age. Cub scout, curious and well-mannered, athletic. He showed me his pine-derby carvings and they were magnificent. He made one look just like his Dad's bucket truck, complete with bucket. It was very cool. The kid's name was Austin. It's rare to meet a boy who is so much like Benjamin, it made my heart ache. I wish I could see Ben again someday. I'm sure I will.

I slept like a log last night. I crashed at 9, after I ate a pb&j sandwich with a glass of milk.

I wrestled with Chad in the yard yesterday evening. Now I'm a little sore, think I tweaked my elbow and bruised my hip. But I almost had him... yeah right.

Mock Scarlett O'Hara voice:
"Ah will neva... eat turnips again!!!"

Ha ha ha ha haaaa.
You have a groovy day.
MsAmber

Back to a 5 day workweek.

Yep. Now we're off on Sunday and Wednesday. As much as I regret not having two days off in a row, I'm kinda glad that it's two days on, one day off, three days on, one day off. This will help keep me from getting so tired. This job takes so much energy that I can't imagine I have the stamina to keep it up for 5 days straight without killing myself.

I had a banner day yesterday. I put on my new size 6 polka-dotted skirt with pink blouse and pink shoes and went and had breakfast at Mel's diner. I was a people-magnet. Everywhere I looked there were people looking at me or smiling at me. Everyone said hello, or good morning, or nice to meet you. I went to Alty campers to get the screws put in the ladder rack and the guys there were falling all over themselves to help me, I even caught a couple of them out of the corner of my eyes checking me out. I went to Perry to check my mail and I had a $10 gift certificate for Target sitting in my mailbox. Then I went to Daiquiries Supreme and shot a few games of pool and totally kicked ass. Everyone - ladies included - told me they loved my dress. I did not clean house or work on my truck yesterday. I just went out and looked around. I had a great day.

Well, it's back to work and reality today. But I'm still glowing about yesterday.
I should have bought a lottery ticket.

You have a groovy day.
MsAmber

Tuesday already.

Good morning Hyper. Yes, I cleaned every part of that carb. I used 5 cans of carb cleaner and toothpicks and I think I got every orifice, journal, and hidden air-flow pocket I could find. I'm pretty confident that I got it all clean. Another thing: When I dropped the fuel tank it was full of rust chunks so I cleaned it with water and dumped it over and over again until nothing rattled. I got a bucket-full of rust chunks out of it. I cleaned out the screen with gasoline and a toothbrush, and changed the fuel filter. I set the tank out in the sun until it dried completely before I put it back on. Then I replaced all the fuel hoses. It may be that I didn't clean the fuel tank well enough?

I had a good weekend. I'm going to stop bragging about my weight loss after this one note: I went to Goodwill to buy khaki pants for work. I was thrilled to find that I am a size 6. I can fit into size 5, but they are a little too tight for work. But I'm definitely a comfortable size 6. I've gone from size 12 to size 6. Wooo Hooo! Hard work is paying off. My guess is that I've lost 30 pounds of fat and put on 8 pounds of muscle. Damn, I look good naked. Even my ankles and wrists look different. I had no idea that there was a good body hiding under that.

Well, I have to get off to work now. You have a groovy day, daddy-o.

MsAmber

Saturday again?

The carb rebuild:
I got it all put together and installed on the truck, but when I cranked the truck it filled up with gas - and I do mean filled. So I figured that I might have screwed up the float adjustment. I took it back off and re-set the floats. Put it back on the truck and now it seems as though it doesn't get enough gas. Aaargh.
Besides, I was interrupted several times during the rebuild. I got mad.
As far as I can tell the carb is good. But something is hosed up and I don't know what the problem is. I'm taking a couple days' break from it while I work at my job and I'll tackle it again when I'm fresh. Sure was a lot of springs, valves, and orifices.

Had a nice little phone call from Trans-Tel. Mr. Samples and Mr. Duncan called me and inquired how I was doing and asked when I'll be ready to come back to work because good help is hard to find. That totally made my day! I needed a pick-me-up at the time and it was good to feel wanted. They also want me to send a bag of crawfish to Trans-Tel.

I got very, very mad at Nate and went into the office to tell him to his face that he's a jackass! I said my piece and he listened. Then he sat back in his chair and started laughing. He told me not to worry about being mad at him. He's a big boy and he can take it, that he's not upset about it, and he knows he's a jackass.
Alrighty then.

Otherwise, all is groovy. Speaking of groovy:
I installed cable for an old man - a WWII submariner. I said the word "groovy" a few times without even thinking about it. After the install when I asked him if he was satisfied, he said "Yep, everything's groovy." I laughed and told him I've been waiting all day to hear those words from him. It was funny, situational humor. He had quite the cool collection of hard hats from all over the world. Impressive man.

You have a groovy day!
MsAmber

Carbuerettor Rebuild today.

Work has picked up. It's getting harder to keep up. Six or seven jobs a day, on the run the whole time.
Gosh I feel old.

The official number is 22. Yep, I lost 22 pounds on the "work like a horse and eat once a day" diet. I really need some new pants, all of mine are too baggy. My shoulders, arms, and face are very tan, but my legs are white as a ghost. Also, I am so chewed up by mosquitoes. I betcha I have 20 bites. After I shower, I'm going to get out the anti-itch cream and count them. It's my own fault, really. I leave the door open a lot at dusk and dawn and that's like an open invitation with a neon sign to come in and dine.

I went to bed at 9:00 last night so I automatically woke at 3:30 this morning. I have a lot to get done today. I already started doing the dishes which have been piling up in the sink for a week. I was out of clean coffee cups this morning.

I have to change my bed, run a load of laundry, finish the dishes, and rebuild the carbuerettor. I should probably shower and brush my teeth first.

Well, I gotta get moving.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

I bought a truck. Well, sort of...

I got a good deal on a "fixer-upper". It's a little 1989-1990 Toyota pickup, baby teal blue, five-speed manual transmission. Soon I'll need taillights, windshield, passenger window, and a tire. A little bit of re-assembly to get it running, then one little project at a time to fix it up. I'm hopeful about it - the dash is fine, headliner, floor mats. It's got a couple of little dingers in the body, but the cool part is the odometer says 030000.3. Yeah, seriously. It has not rolled over a million, which is what it would take to get that leading zero. Toyotas are famous for going 250,000 or better. This has a little 6 cyl, and it ran before it was parked. It has a carburettor instead of fuel-injection. I am going to buy the repair manual first thing. I don't really know much about Toyota, but it doesn't look that complicated.
It will be delivered here (towed) by the end of the week.

I got my wringer washer, and scraped it down with a wire brush and hit it with a sanding block. Then I painted it with two coats of rustoleum white primer, then two coats of rustoleum antique white gloss. It's gorgeous and functional.
I've done two loads of laundry in it already.

My little garden is sprouting. I have beans, lettuce, chives, and radishes. In the little starter cups I have 36 banana peppers and 36 cantaloupe. That's only the stuff I have sprouted... Will let you know as I go.

I'm cooking a little dinner right now and kinda watching the news, so this is brief.

You have a great week.
MsAmber

Sunday, May 3, 2009

News Update:
Angelina went belly-up last night. Alpha is still doing fine though.

I've had a freakin' hitch in my neck and shoulder for two days. I'm so stove up I can hardly move and I keep having sharp, painful muscle spasms behind my shoulder.
My handsome, long-haired, shirtless, carpenter friend came over and moved some heavy stuff around for me and put my arm in a sling (looks cool!), and put a wet washcloth in a ziplock baggie in the freezer for me. He told me to alternate cold compress and warm compress. Maybe I'll be able to move my neck by the end of the day.
Handling that stupid ladder yesterday with a hitch in my neck and a weak arm was freakin' dangerous. I'm lucky I made it through work yesterday - I felt like crying a couple of times. I had a fairly bad day yesterday, glad it's over and I have two days to get my arm back working before I have to do it again.

A cool weather front is moving in today. I'm glad. I have both doors open and the windows, to allow some cool breezes through here. It feels to be about 68 or so.

The dogs are doing wonderful. I worked 14 hours yesterday, and both boys managed to hold-it. I hate to make them go that long, but some days just keep on draggin' on. I worked until 9:00 p.m. yesterday. I love my boys.

Dang, the cold compress has worked wonders already, in just 10 minutes I can move my head to the right. The left still needs some work.

I'm finally buying a wringer washer. The laundry around here is getting out of hand. The fella is going to deliver it this afternoon. I'm so excited!
I can't wait.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

It's Thursday Morning at 6:00 am

I'm ready for work. I've been sleeping real heavy and waking up with a headache for the past 3 mornings. I think it's sinuses. Still, it's aggravating to wake up with a headache. I'm going to try turning off the fan tonight.

Image inspection this morning. I have to be to work at 6:30. I'm ready, got the truck organized and washed and I'm wearing khaki pants and company shirt (two sizes too big).

Speaking of two sizes too big: I've lost a lot of weight in the past couple of months. All my pants are falling off and when I put the belt on to hold them up, they pucker all around. I look like I'm wearing a circus tent. I need new jeans soon. It's uncomfortable wearing baggy (I mean really really baggy) pants.

There is an ongoing joke. A friend told me I have an "onion butt". I said "What?" He said "Onion Butt. Because every time I see it, it brings a tear to my eyes." I laughed about that. Then I told the boss about it and we had a good laugh. He told me yesterday that I need to eat more, that I'm losing my onion butt.
Okay, so it's a corny joke. I thought it was one of the most unique complements I have ever gotten.
Miss Penny came out to the shop and announced that she had to leave early that day and asked the guys if they all had their "big girl panties on" today.
I guess my little euphemisms are contagious. It's funny to hear that coming from somebody else's mouth.

Well, I gotta go get inspected.
Have a great day!
MsAmber

My new attempt to keep fish

The little fishbowl had started growing algae along the walls, and the water-lily is growing fine, so I thought I should try again at fish-keeping. I bought a Betta and named him Alpha, and I bought a rubber-lipped baby plecostomus named Angelina. Alpha and Angelina have been here for 4 days and appear to be doing just fine. So far....

I have to clean out and organize my company truck today. Image inspection again tomorrow. I have to attend a 9:00 meeting this morning and gather any materials I'm missing, then I'm going to come home and organize and wash the truck. I've already made lists of what I'm needing, so I should be fairly efficient:
Ground wire
fast connect kits
HD cables
2-way splitters
purple tags
expanded filters
RG11 strippers
compression tool
and put my 4 cones back on the truck.

I took the boys for a walk when I got home yesterday. They've both lost their minds: they don't remember how to walk together. Good grief. I need to practice with them more. This is a busy road with no shoulder and 6' deep ditches. No place to dive out of the way if a car was going to hit you and the dogs have forgotten how to heel. I guess it's my fault - I haven't taken them both for a walk in about a month. I'm supposed to get a little fence built around soon so that we have a perimeter and a yard. I'm daydreaming of a little 4' picket fence, but I'll probably end up with t-posts and some wire fencing. It'll look good though, I'm planning on decorating up my little plot of land and making it look real homey. All the kitsch I can stand.

Well, I need to take a shower and get ready for the meeting.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Had a gully washer last night

and I slept like a baby through it.
It's still raining now, and I hope it doesn't do it all day while I'm working. It's a bear to set up the ladder in mushy mud and keep my feet clean when I go in and out of people's houses.

I have a tad-bit of a headache this morning. I woke up early, but I think I want to go lay down for another hour. That will only make me rush to get ready, so I'm debating it.

Yep, I'm going to lay back down.

Have a great day.
MsAmber

What's happening to my app?

Just a couple of months ago I celebrated my 14,000th day of life. I see today that it says I have been alive for 14,362 days. What????
It has not been 362 days since I rolled over 14k.
Now I have to go find the darned app site and see what went wrong. Did something change my birthdate?
Oh fuss and bother.

I got the electricity on today. Yayy! Then I turned and tilled up a little cold garden patch by the fence. That little garden is for lettuce, radishes, chives, and green beans on the fence. I got four rows about 10 feet long and two feet apart. It may be a little crowded, but it'll be good and shady for my cool-weather plants. I started the banana peppers and cantaloupe in a little greenhouse. 72 plants. I still have cucumber and squash to plant also. I need to make mounds for them. Yeah,a gazillion of them, one foot high by three feet across. It's going to look like an alien landing pad around here until the plants cover the mounds and it looks like a garden... (chuckle).
Mounds!

Boy, the wind is something else today. Really glad I'm not working on that ladder today. It gives me the willies when the wind is blowing.
I'm also thrilled to be back on my blog. I missed it.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

Good Morning.

It's Monday.
Hopefully today I can get the electricity turned on. I'm not driving up to the shop unless I'm needed by the buyer of the truck to go and get the campershell. I have gardening to do on my day off.

I've been looking through the Auto Trader and I don't see any hopefuls yet. Since my routes take me around to all the different towns and neighborhoods, I'll just keep my eyes peeled for a good deal. I'm not ready to jump into another vehicle yet anyway. I need to take my time and find the best truck I can for the little money I have.

I see a bad wreck on Talladega Racetrack is on the news. Apparently an airborne racecar hit the fence and shrapnel hit the crowd and injured quite a few people.

I need to put an ad on Craigslist to rent out the other RV spots near me. I told the landlady we would get this place filled so she can afford to live here and not need to sell the place.
Speaking of my landlady: Ms Doris is such a cool old gal. She used to be quite the looker in her day, and we seem to have a lot of sensibilities in common. I threw down a little extra for getting the lawn (field) mowed and I think she and I will be great partners in keeping this place looking great and keeping the new tenants from trashing out the place. I'm going to hate having neighbors, but I'll deal with it.
I'm getting used to seeing a green field with clover flowers out my window.

It appears as though I've picked up a new reader. Welcome.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

Okay, I kicked butt this week.

I sat down with my calculator and set some numbers in stone. I decided my bank account needed a blood-transfusion, so I got a piece of posterboard and I wrote:
FOR SALE
DARN GOOD TRUCK
'84 SILVERADO C-20
BIG BLOCK 454

And I went and stood on the side of the road off Johnston St with the truck parked behind me picturesquely.
Day 1:
First place I parked at and stood for a while I had three inquiries, then the manager of the lot told me I had to move on (nicely, though). The second place was an old gas station that now hosts a computer repair business. That guy didn't mind. I had a lot of hopeful inquiries, but no serious bites.

Day 2:
I got up early and had my coffee so I went to the Home Depot parking lot off of Ambassador Caffery and held up my sign for a few hours, got a lot of inquiries and people took my number. Then Nate called and asked what I was doing, I told him I was selling my truck. He asked if I wanted lunch, I said yes, and he told me to meet him at the Golden Corral buffet at 12:30. I got there at 11:30 and went out to the street with my sign. I sold the truck AND had a good meal.

So, I'm making April's RV payment, May's RV payment, cellphone/internet payment, electricity deposit, loan repayment, May's rent, and RV insurance for the year. I set X amount aside for buying another old "project" truck. I would really like to find an old Chevy Suburban with air-conditioning. Now that I'm caught up, I can live off my income. Getting caught up was a bear, I was in emergency mode! But I pulled it off in just 2 days. I celebrated with an Arby's roast beef sandwich, curly fries, and a Dr. Pepper.

A friend just gave me a bicycle, so I'm going to spend a little bit of money to fix the tires and make it road-worthy. I have the company-truck as my transportation, but hey, like my friend says: "If you've got the time, isn't everywhere walking distance?"

Then my work-week started and I worked some big ugly jobs, so I know my paychecks are going to start looking better. Thursday was big, Friday was hell, Saturday went good.

I slept 9 whole hours last night without even trying. I went to bed at 9:30 and woke up at 6:30. I went to Wal-Mart and got dogfood, shower gel, garden seeds, dish rags, soy milk, lotion, bratwurst, hot-dog buns, and a two-liter of Welch's Grape Soda.
The two days that I was standing by the side of the road, I got such a sunburn on my face, neck and a really obvious farmer's tan stripe on my arm. The burn on my neck/shoulder curve is really blistery, brown, leathery and hideous: thus, the lotion.

All in all, it's been a good week since last I blogged. I'm minus one truck, but it's ok. I'll build me another one. The important thing is: I have my internet back on.

Have a great week.
MsAmber

I know it's been a while...

Yeah, it's been over a week since last I blogged.

Money is still real tight. I had to replace the starter in the truck yesterday, that pretty much ate up my gas money for the coming week. Getting the electricity turned on may just have to wait another couple of weeks. I'm racing to see which happens first: that my cellphone gets shut off or that I can make a payment on the trailer. If the money comes up for the trailer first, then I'll pay it and my cellphone (and internet) will get shut off for a little while. Ya'll just bear with me. More bills than money, but I'll get caught up eventually. I sure could use a winning lottery ticket right about now, but I understand you have to play to win and I can't even afford that.

Food or gas? The neverending dilemma.

Freakin' truck!

Have a great week.

MsAmber

Yesterday was rough.

I had two jobs to start out: a 10-12 and a 1-3 (that's the service window, the time I must show up). So I waited around the office for a while, then I went and put some gas in the truck. Since my jobs were in Kaplan and Abbeville, I decided to start driving toward those towns. Nate called me back to the shop. He put two 8-10's on me at a quarter to nine, and they were 37 miles away in Jeanerette. I raced down there and started my first job. It required a wall-fish. Really, I should have replaced the whole aerial drop because it had two barrel-connectors on it. Then the phone calls started: "Are you done yet?", "Are you going to make your next appointment?", "When are you going to be done?". I'm in a hot 3-foot tall attic, drilling and fishing, and my phone just kept on ringing. So I got a little snippy with Penny. I was late to every single appointment yesterday. My whole schedule was off and there was no room to breathe. I got a lot of points yesterday. I had new aerial install, a wall fish, a transfer of service with data/phone, and a data/phone install. One of my customers had a bad computer and wasn't home to instruct on his new connectivity so I opened a browser and put it on google.com and just left it. I'm sure he'll call for service because he won't know how it works.

I've asked Nate not to give me two 8-10 jobs at freaking 9:00. It sets off my whole day. I can't catch up afterwards. He said I should have rescheduled my first job because it was a wall-fish. I'm used to just doing the job until it's done, then move on to the next. What's the point of rescheduling? I have to climb the pole on each job to put new fittings and tags, that takes me a few minutes with the extension ladder. The company thinks it should take 20 minutes to install phone. Let's see:

Drive up and make contact with the customer.
Look over the job to determine where to put it - with cable/phone/electricity nearby.
Call dispatch to put equipment serial number on account.
Climb pole and check signal level, change tags and fitting.
Open house box and change fittings, check ground and tag it.
Install MTA and backfeed dialtone to jacks.
Disconnect house from Ma-Bell at demarc.
Call Dispatch again to check signal levels and receive call-back.
Do paperwork, customer education and signature.
Pack up ladder and close out job on phone.

...And you want all that in 20 minutes? Just calling dispatch takes sometimes upwards of 5 minutes. I go through all my dispatcher's phone numbers, then I may sit in queue for 10 minutes, which doesn't leave my hands free to do the ladder work.

This is one job where I'm not going to be a Superstar. My jobs will be done to the best of my ability, but it won't be blazingly fast. There should never be the kind of pressure put on me like there was yesterday. I am a short-old-woman. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

Anyway - I may be PMS'ing also. I just don't want any more repeats of yesterday's schedule. That was rude. And my back aches this morning.

Gotta go get ready for another day of fun, fun, fun!
You have a great day.
MsAmber

I didn't just hit snooze.. I turned it off.

It was cold in here this morning. So, instead of hitting snooze, I turned the alarm clock off. Now it's 6:30 and I'm late. I haven't even showered yet and I'm usually out the door at 6:45...

It rained all day yesterday. Especially while I was up the ladder. I'm getting better with the ladder. Not shaky at all. Still not fond of the derned thing though.

Stupid dog has half an acre to run around in and still he goes straight for the street. I had to run out there and kick his ass back home. Dummy.

Well, gotta get moving.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

I got moved into the country.

Yesterday I pulled out of Rinea's yard. It was a little tricky backing out of her backyard. I found a place in the country for $125.00/mo but I have to turn on the electricity. I called Swepco and there is a $165.00 meter deposit. Urgh. So I guess I'll do without for a week. They ran me an extension cord so I can have electricity at night. During the day she'll unplug me so she can do laundry. At least I'll have my coffeepot for in the mornings. Talk about timing: I ran out of propane last night. Must get it filled today.

I got a 100% on my image inspection yesterday. Nate is pissed off because everybody was given a whole day to get ready and still they weren't in compliance. So, I have to attend an ass-chewing meeting this morning. Total waste of gasoline.

Last night I went to bed when it got dark. The dogs started barking and then: knock knock knock on my door. So I answered it. My landlady's son wanted to know if I had $7.00 for a pack of cigarettes for his mother. I said no, I don't carry cash. He told me not to mention it to his mom that he'd asked. I went back to bed. My phone rang. It was my Dad. I spoke with him for a few minutes, and knock knock knock. The landlady's son wanted to know if I would roll them a few cigarettes for tonight. 4 for his mother and 1 for him. I let him in while I got out my can of tobacco. He was grinding his teeth and jabbering on and on about dogs he found, the death of his dad, going to jail, being a model in California, being an offshore worker, etc. I told him I could hear his teeth grinding and that he better cut out the "shit". He knew exactly what I meant and swore that he hasn't done any drugs in 6 years, and he's only done coke twice in the past 8 months. (Yeah, right.) He told me he usually dipped copenhagen and he's jonesing, so I gave him my spare can (I like to dip sometimes...) I ushered him out the door then called my Dad back to finish the conversation. I'm going to run into him every day that I'm here, so I will be sure and establish with the boy that it's inappropriate to knock on a lady's door after dark. He's a little on the rough side so I need to tread lightly with him until he respects me. It's a little ooky trying to stay friendly (but not too friendly) with a tweaker. I don't want to come home and find all my stuff stolen and my dogs hurt, which is a distinct possibility if I establish enmity with him, he will feel justified in stealing from me to meet his needs.
I understand now why the rent is so cheap and the lots are vacant.

Don't worry, I've handled worse. I just have to be courteous but stand-offish. I've established my safety-net and if things get too rough, I'll simply move again.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

I went to bed early

I have to go to work early this morning. 6:30. It's really not a stretch for me, I go early every day, but I do need to get moving.

I heard it was supposed to rain today.

Have a great day.
MsAmber

Sparkle sparkle...

It's a Monday again. I made it to another payday. Any day now I should start seeing the fruits of my labors. Any day now...
Gosh I hope it's today.

First off: I'm going to buy milk, bread, cheese, dogfood, and toilet paper. Then I'll see what's left over for bills and gasoline and portion that appropriately.

My tummy is acting all crazy today. Howling and moving around. I feel like I have two ferrets in there fighting. A little bit of a tummyache. I have to go to work today just to get ready for an image inspection tomorrow morning. It shouldn't take too long, I've already cleaned and organized my truck. They are supposed to have the rest of my company issued tools today and some company shirts for me.

I got most of my laundry done, so I have plenty of clean clothes. Everything is coming along just fine. Slowly, but fine.

Oh yeah, and the truck's starter acted up for the first time Saturday. I crawled under the truck and tapped it a couple times and then it worked. If I remember correctly, that's evidence of the bendix sticking. The good news is that it didn't just go out completely: I'll still be able to convince it to work and that buys me enough time to save up for a new one. Starters aren't very difficult to replace, and fortunately aren't all that expensive either. This will be a brand new truck someday at this rate.

Well, I'm going to get dressed for work. If it works out that I have a little time at the shop, I'm going to wash the truck today. If not, it will wait until Wednesday.

This coffee sure does taste good this morning. Mmmmm.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

Rain.

Experienced some intense gully-washers for the last two nights. Good hard rains accompanied by thunder and lightning. So wonderful for sleeping. I slept like a log last night.

Gosh I'm getting tired of fish-n-rice or beans-n-rice, or peanut butter sandwiches. I need some real food in my gizzard. Like a pork chop with green beans and mashed potatoes... mmmm. After my peanut butter sandwich last night, I dug around and found a can of peaches. I opened that and ate the whole thing. It was a nice surprise.

I got my first 360 yesterday. My inspection report said I didn't change the fittings, change the tag, and the grounding tag was painted over.
I pulled my work order and remembered: Oh Yeah. I was rushed through this job by the customer because she had to go pick a kid up from school, so I checked her signal levels and they were +10.7, and I installed her MTA and phone. She already had HD cable installed. I did not have access to her backyard, it was padlocked.
I got busted for taking a shortcut, so I will be backcharged.

Oh well.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Yayy. The truck really does run good.

Now we'll see if I improved my gas mileage with that little repair.

I finished my three work orders timely yesterday, so I was given two more troubleshooting tickets. Those were really cute. An elderly lady plugged her phone into the wrong jack in the back of the modem. Easy to fix. She was so embarrassed about it. I like troubleshooting tickets. Give me more, please.

This morning looks beautiful, but I know (or hear tell) that it's going to rain today. I might just have to open up the house and turn off everything electrical and just enjoy the rain. Maybe it will rinse the pine-tree pollen off my truck. I have a layer of green pollen all over the truck and can't afford to wash it right now. Besides, it's fixin' to rain, right?

I'm soaking a pot of red beans for supper. I have no meat to go in them, but that's ok. Red beans and rice. Mmmm mmmm good.

Besides the cacophony of the blackbirds swinging on rusty swingsets, there is an owl around here who I guess is practicing his hooting. He sounds so cute, kinda like a baby rooster practicing to crow. One thing about this place: there are plenty of birds. Four blackbirds are perched in the fig tree right outside my window. I think they feel sorry for me in my cage, they are looking at me through my window. Very curious about me, I think.

My back aches a little this morning. I'm glad to have the day off. My tummy is rumbling, it's making a lot of noise like a thunderstorm in the distance.

Well, I gotta go.
Have a great day.
MsAmber

The truck runs just fine

Whew!
I looked at the vacuum schematics and found where some important (I think...) vacuum hoses had been sealed off. I bought some tubing and re-ran most of the hoses, and replaced the base gasket. She fired right up. What a relief. I drove around the block a few times. Here's to hoping she fires up this morning. Well, actually, I won't know until this evening. I have the company truck to return.

I bought coffee yesterday, so to celebrate I made a pot yesterday evening. Like a dunderhead: I drank it all. So I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling.
Think I'll learn my lesson? Probably not.
It's funny being me.

Well, the house is clean, the truck is fixed, I have coffee, the company truck is organized. It looks like I'm ready for another week of work. The only thing missing is clean laundry. Oh well. I'll live.

You have a great day.
MsAmber

Monday - workin' on the truck

Saturday was a long hard day. I loved it. I did 5 good jobs on Saturday (or was it 8? maybe 10?) I cleaned out and completely organized my company truck yesterday. That took most of the day.

Today I get to finish the carburettor on my truck. Yayyy.
Here's to hoping I get it done right the first time!
Wish me luck.

MsAmber

Is it really the First Day of Spring?

I had jobs to do yesterday. I crawled under a trailer and did a full rewire. Laying on my back in the gravel reminded me of my sunburn. Thanks. Nah, it really wasn't bad. I enjoyed my day yesterday.
I finished my early jobs so I called my 5-7 job and asked if I could do it earlier. The guy said he'd meet me there after noon. Cool. I got there and did the pole work and tagging before the guy showed up, then I wired up his whole trailer. It was groovy, and I got done and was back at the shop by 2:30.
Since there was no-one else around the shop to ask for a ride, I started walking. It was sunny and the birds were singing. Traffic was a bear. I stopped at Autozone and asked about the part. Couldn't be found in their automotive bible, so therefor it must not exist, even though I have it in my hand...
I stopped off at a brake shop and asked if they could flare the tubing. The first guy was clueless and tried to tell me that he doesn't know anybody who can flare tubing. I gave him my famous one-brow-up look and said: "..and you do brakes?!" So he went back into the shop and asked the mechanic. Yes, the mechanic said he would do it for me, so I left it with him. Man, I can't believe how many people have no freaking clue! I've been told three times that nobody knows anybody who can flare tubing. So I went to a brake shop where I KNOW they flare tubing, and the front desk guy tries to tell me no. UnFrackingBelievable.
Maybe I'll buy the tools and advertise myself as "The Only Tubing Flarer In Lafayette (Apparently)" That'll get some attention.

Ah, what a hoot!

You have a great day.
MsAmber

C'mon Coffee!

My computer has been doing weird things lately. Like when I'm logging in to a secure page and I get my password halfway typed and the cursor jumps back to the username field and I finish typing my password in the username field. Not just once, but every time I go to my online banking it does this. I have to backspace out the extra characters and start all over on the password. Then, just a moment ago I hit enter and it told me that my blog had published correctly. I had to edit my post to finish this entry.
Sometimes left shift key doesn't work. I try to capitalize a letter and I have to do it three or four times before it takes. It's a USB keyboard plugged into a docking station, so I kinda understand if it hiccups now and then. I'm not tempted to believe that the keyboard is causing all these problems, although I do use my keyboard almost exclusively, I rarely use the mouse. I'm old school. I learned computing when we had no mouses and Wordperfect had four-level function keys. I am determined to find the keyboard shortcut for almost everything.
Maybe... I just type too much and I've used it up. Yeah, that's it.

I'm still cold-turkey off the cigarettes. I felt like having a meltdown yesterday. I turned in the old truck battery for the core charge and bought the base gasket for the carburettor. As I was removing the carburettor from the truck, I twisted off a metal vacuum line. It goes from the back of the carb to the brake booster. I called around to see if there was a co-worker in the area to take me to the parts' store. No luck there. So, the truck is down. I called Nicole for a ride to work this morning. Gonna try to get to take the company truck home today, since I can't walk to the damn parts store every time I need something. I also mowed the lawn yesterday and got quite a sunburn on my shoulders on top of being aggravated at my truck.
I never wanted a cigarette so badly in my life.
I turned on my air conditioner to cool down, fed the dogs, and put Pirates Of The Caribbean in my DVD player (I figured something funny would help?). I wound up going to bed halfway through the movie. I just wasn't that into it.

Well, I gotta run through the shower now.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

The chill has subsided

and the rain has stopped.

I don't think I took my jacket off once yesterday.
I found a lady who will dye my hair back pink... when I can afford to get my hair done again. That's going to be a while, though.

Yesterday's paycheck was disappointing. It's my last "training" paycheck, then I will start getting "production" paychecks. Only one day of training on it. Damn. I nearly had a cow. It won't even cover my gas this week, much less smoking or eating. (see where my priorities lie?) I put $5 in the truck, and I suppose I'll just limp along like that this week.

Incredible that a person can work so hard and yet still struggle to pay her tiny little bills. If people don't believe we're in a recession - just send them to me. I'll smack them around a little bit and make them believe it. Heck, just send anyone to me to smack around a little bit. Maybe I'll feel better afterwards.

Smacker for hire! Cheap! Just $5 per smack!
bulk discounts available, some restrictions may apply, author is not responsible for location of smacks, offer not valid in Alaska or Hawaii

At least I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That's good. My money situation should be set straight by the end of April with all back debts paid. I can see it on the horizon - I just have to get there.

The lead tech with the bad attitude stepped-down yesterday. I was sympathetic, but happy inside. He really didn't have the "wit" (Whatever It Takes) mentality to be a good lead tech. I was hoping Nate wouldn't ask me, and I'm glad he didn't. I just want to be a technician. I've had enough stress and responsibility to last me a while, and it doesn't pay well enough to embrace the stressful lifestyle again. Besides, my crews were usually put together for me and I already had the position of authority. It would be very difficult indeed to get hired and rise to the position within an already established crew. These guys are a little rough around the edges and they like to buck authority at every turn. Wearing improper clothing and neglecting company property is just the beginning of the issues(drive it like it's rented). I'd have to break my foot off in some asses right off the bat! Not a position I want to be in. Nope, I'm happy to be a flunkie right now. Easy cheesy, go home and don't worry about a thing. I sleep very well at night, thank-you-very-much.

Crap! It's after 6 and I still need to shower.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Still raining.

Can you believe it's still raining?
It rained Saturday, Sunday, and it's raining right now. A full downpour.
Gosh I'm gonna get wet today!

I have a raincoat - somewhere. I need to find it. I thought it was behind the seat in my truck, but it's not. I'm seriously gonna need that bugger today.

I didn't want to watch anything on television last night, so I got out my Foxfire book and read about animal care and hide tanning. I find it interesting how the old people used to turn their hogs out to run wild in the woods. I also read some old hunting stories and stories about hunting dogs. I got a kick out of one:

"...And Oscar said he had a dog one time that you could just blow your horn and he'd come up. He'd know you was going a'huntin' when he heard the horn blow. Said he'd come up, and you could take your board (to stretch the hide on) and just hold it out there and let him look at it, and said he'd go off into th'woods and he'd catch you a possum that'ud just fit that board.
"But said he lost th'dog one day, and he didn't know what in the world come of his dog. He never had done that before, and he always come back home; but he said this time he hadn't come back and he didn't quite understand.
"And he heard his wife a'talkin' in there tellin' about so'n'so that had come over t'their house t'borry an ironin' board. And said she went and got th'ironin' board and brought it out there, and they'uz standin' at th'door talkin' - she had th'ironin' board up on her hip just standin' there talkin' t'th'lady - and said she looked out in th' yard there and that dog'uz actin' kinda funny. Said he'd look around, and look around. then finally after awhile she said he just went off up thataway. Said she didn't think anything about it. But he never did come back.
"And Oscar said, 'you know, only way I ever figgered out - that dog never could find a possum'uz big enough t'fit that ironin' board and he's still a'huntin'."


This story just tickled me. I stopped reading and had a good laugh. My next chapter is on Summer and Fall wild plant foods. Canning and preserving.
I do love my Foxfire books.

It was nice to sit and read while listening to a rainstorm last night. I really enjoyed it.

You have a great day. I gotta get ready for work.
MsAmber

What a week.

It's rainy and cold here. Man, I thought spring had sprung and I was getting used to the warmth.
I've learned that guppies are cannibalistic. I had bought a yellow one, orange one, yellow with spots, and orange with spots. They all ganged up on the yellow with spots and I kept seeing his tail fins getting shorter and shorter. Finally they chewed away his entire tail fin and he laid on the bottom, unable to swim, for a whole day until he died. I scooped him out and threw him unceremoniously away. Damn Cannibals! The little pigs are getting plenty to eat: shoot, I feed them twice a day. I'm so distraught now, I don't know how I'm ever going to look at them the same way again.
Damn cannibals!

Seriously.

I got an invite to be Jas Rutherford Miller's friend on facebook a long time ago and since I didn't recognize him or have a facebook account at the time, I just deleted it. Then the other day I got an invite from my niece to facebook, so I signed up. There was a pending invite from Jas Rutherford Miller, so I accepted. I read his profile - he's a musician in California and he has over 800 "friends". I browsed through and saw a lot of cool names like Will Smith; Arlo Guthrie; Liv Tyler; Bruce Willis; etc. I thanked him for the invite and he responded with a thanks for helping him with his cable.
I've been racking my brain trying to remember if I ever met this person. He has friends in Oklahoma, as do I. Where do I know this person from? When did I help him with his cable? Strange. I do have a tendency to purge things from my brain, so it's not a complete surprise to me that I might have completely forgotten someone, but he doesn't look familiar at all to me.
Oh well.

A Bluejay just stopped on a branch outside my window and gave me a full appraisal. He cocked his head and looked me up and down for a few minutes before flying away. Or maybe he just saw his own reflection... looked like curiosity to me.

Yesterday Leon called me and asked if I had a tow rope. I said yes, so he told me that the new kid, Travis, had slid into a ditch and would I go pull him out. I drove up Ambassador Caffery to I-10 and got lined up to pull him out and a police officer pulled up and told us he couldn't let me tow him out. It is the interstate. I tried to argue a little, that this was the entrance ramp, not really the interstate, but the officer insisted. So we waited for an hour in the rain. The tow truck finally showed and the charge for pulling Travis out was $140.00. If Travis didn't come up with the money before it was done, the driver was going to take the car. Yeah, that's the purest definition of highway robbery I've ever seen. Travis called his brother and got the money, but the tow truck driver totally screwed up his exhaust. Plowed the tailpipe into the dirt by about 4 feet and bent it completely under the car. So, Travis has to pay for a new exhaust also. In retrospect: I'm glad I didn't attempt the tow myself because I wouldn't want to be responsible for the exhaust pipe plowing into the dirt like it did. But come on, $140 to pull someone out of a ditch?

I was cold and soaked to the bones when I got home, so I took a hot 3-minute shower (which is how much hot water I have) and made a cup of hot cocoa and snuggled up on the couch with a plush blanket. I tried to watch a DVD but started yawning about halfway through and went to sleep. It's cold in here now, but I don't want to waste the propane. I have my little electric heater on low to bust the chill out. I can't turn it up too high or I'll pop the breaker. I'm running off a 20 amp breaker on the same circuit as a deep freezer. Even my hairdryer pops the breaker if the deep freeze decides to kick on.

Well, I've got dishes to do and a floor to sweep.
You have a great day.
MsAmber

Why I haven't blogged

I had nothing good to say for the last couple of days. Frustration.

I FINALLY got my company truck yesterday and I went out and did three jobs. By myself! Wonderful. I had a good day yesterday. All of my jobs required work on the pole, I hoisted that ladder like a professional. It wasn't so bad, and I'm not too sore today.

I am, however, getting ready to start my period. Based on how my back feels, it will probably be today. Congratulations everyone: for surviving me during a fierce case of PMS. And kudos to me: for not getting a gun and going postal this week. Yayyy.

After my last Tetra committed suicide and leaped to his death from the fishbowl, I decided to try Guppies. I'm happy to report that all 4 guppies have survived this week. No suicide attempts. I have decided that I am a guppy girl. They look pretty, have tolerance for temperature fluctuations, eat like pigs, and stay in the bowl. Yep. I like guppies.

The house is a mess. Mainly the floor and some dirty dishes in the sink and dust on the desk, but still, it's a horrible mess. My back aches and my tummy is cramping, and I wish I could just close my eyes and have it all clean itself up. I have yet to find a way to dump my blackwater. I called a porta-potty place, and I may just have to pay to have them empty it this once, that will buy me a couple more weeks until I have to purchase a 30 gallon dump tank or manufacture something that will do the job.

Well, I gotta run through the shower. You have a great day.
MsAmber

Yesterday was so obtuse.

It was one of those days where nothing goes right.
I was rushed through my jobs, every job had difficulties built right in. My co-worker was a panic-monster and she played brain-rattling music at an earsplitting volume whilst driving like a maniac - constant quick lane changes and acceleration/braking. I'm feeling quite belligerent today. It was a long day yesterday. I put in a full 12 hours. I will not - repeat - will not have another day like yesterday. I feel like my experiences yesterday put me in "kill" mode. If there is such a thing as setting the mood to switch people into aggressive kill mode, I found it. I'm downright homicidal this morning. Katie, lock up the guns!

Then, this morning, I looked at my finances. They are quite morbid also.
Is this a conspiracy to drive me insane?

Well, I gotta run through the shower and go to work.
Joy, joy.
You have a great day.
MsAmber