Minnesota is weird in many ways. We have chain stores, but none of the chains here are national. Grocery stores, for example. We have Cub Foods and, until recently, Rainbow Foods. They are big, but they're only regional. There are no Albertson's or Kroger's around here.
Same thing with gas stations. When I was helping out a Twins game once I was tasked to fill up a car with gas at a Shell station because he had a Shell card. It took me two hours before I found one, and that ordeal ended when I realized that there was a Shell station relatively close by my house. Moreover there are no longer any Phillips 66s, or Conocos, or Mobils. (There are a lot of British Petroleum stations here, though.) What we have instead are two regional mega-chains that I'm sure are nowhere else in the country: Holiday and SuperAmerica. Those two chains alone probably comprise 70-80% of the gas stations in the state.
Several months ago SA, which I patronize because they have double-discount coupon Tuesdays, bought this independent station within walking distance to my house. It is also three or four blocks away from the SuperAmerica I usually get my gas from.
I am typing this at My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place. I'm here just after stopping at the old SA in order to fill up my tank and dump garbage into their garbage cans. With reward card discount and coupon, I paid $2.71 per gallon of gas. But when I drove past the new SuperAmerica on my way to eat, I see that the sign on this sign, with discount and coupon, $2.79. How in the hell can two stations from the same brand just four blocks apart have prices for gasoline eight cents apart? Do the managers talk to each other every day? Do they even step outside their stations to look at the price at the other's?
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Expenses Without Receipts
Starting from Friday, November 7:
- After what probably is the shittiest day at work (in a way that somehow puts all the other shitty days at work to shame) I went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version), which I have mentioned on WAF. Coffee and tips to the only two girls working this shift that take two bucks on-stage: $7.
- Thursday the 6th ... I had to do some things related to my parents' real estate holdings. After that I decided to treat myself to a Perfect Burger and Michelob Golden Light at Victory 44, probably the toniest restaurant in the Camden area of the Twin Cities. Really good; it's the second time I've had it, and the meal was probably better this time around. Paid cash for it this time. With tip: $12.50.
- Sunday, November 2 -- Went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition), per my usual routine after working the Vikings game. Was so tired from the day (plus the fact that Sunday was the end of Daylight Saving Time, where I always feel my body shut down now that sunset arrives a whole hour earlier) that I actually took a nap in my car in the parking lot for ten minutes. Afterward I got a dance from Haley alongside coffee and tips from six girls spanning shift change. So glad that all six women took two bucks: $35.
- Oh, while I was in My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) I picked up a quarter. An Infusion of: 25 cents.
- After fixing the washing machine and getting my daily blog post in I went out to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place to order the exact same thing (just a milkshake, no drink) that I did once in October so I would know the exact amount of money I spent that time and thus this time. And with tip it is: $3.75.
- On Saturday the 1st I started my spending at Wendy's. It was the last weekend I could use this pamphlet of coupons there. They have generous coupons, many of them where you can get a free fries and drink if you buy the sandwich. I used one of those for their Asiago Ranch Chicken sandwich. Too bad the sandwich is more then five bucks, specifically: $5.35
- Later in the afternoon I went to the Vice-President's house to watch the game. We got a lot of turnout there. So maybe it's the location? We were finally able to enact the 50/50 Raffle for the first time in a month, and I lost: $10.
- I made a night of it after the win: Went to Caffetto, mostly because I needed to write down my monthly expenses and do this. Got a pumpkin pie and hot chocolate. Gave up my table to a couple and volunteered to take a spot at the bar. The place is so busy that I should start automatically sitting up front. With tip: $7.25.
- I needed to go to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place because I didn't write down my bill one of the last times I went, so I'm going to order the exact same thing so I can jot the price down. Except that last time I didn't get a Coke with mozzarella sticks and chili, so I'm going to have to ask how much is tax and figure it out. Hopefully asking for tax won't freak her out, because I don't think she gets asked that question a lot. With tip: $11.
- Halloween ... my usual ritual of getting out and enjoying the night to avoid the trick-or-treaters. That the holiday fell on a Friday makes it even more apt for me to go to My Favorite Stripclub (Cover Version). And it was extremely weird to see the place ... dead. Half of the club was closed off, and there were only five girls working then. Apparently people want to party with friends instead of see tits for Halloween. At least one of the strippers working was my All-Time Favorite. Because the rotations were so short, however, we couldn't rip off ten dances in a row, which is what I usually get from her, because she would be called onstage so frequently. Plus she said she had other regulars she needed to dance for. So I stopped at eight dances, four before and four after she had to do a stage show. I still get to come in free because I bring a food donation. With Corona and tips: $103.
- Thursday, October 30: I waited until the day before to set up bill pay to pay for my health insurance. But I didn't know until after I signed up and set up everything that the bank "sends" a "check" that will get to the payee up to five business days after it's issued. I need to premium paid before the end of the month, so that wouldn't do the trick. Therefore, for the third month in a row, I drove all the way to St. Paul to pay for my health insurance in person: $50.
- I read a text after leaving work from my friend who gets Timberwolves tickets. It was last-minute, like a few hours before. Wanted to watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but I saw it once before this season, plus I can't pass up the chance to get a free ticket for a sporting event featuring a team that may be bad but has a lot of talent. And it was close, but the Timberwolves did win their home opener over Detroit. I'm heartened that if you get a complimentary ticket, prices for anything else you want to buy suddenly becomes reasonable. A hot dog and regular Coke at a T-Wolves game cost: $11.
- After the game, just because, even though I wasn't hungry, I went to Pizza Luce to eat a pizza, nothing else. With tip: $5.
- Tuesday, October 28 ... I threw up this date because some day around this time I picked up a nickel off the ground. An Infusion of: 5 cents.
- Sunday the 26th ... decided not to stay in and instead headed out to watch the University of Minnesota's final home game of the season, a 2-0 upset of Rutgers. Program, hot dog and Coke equal: $9.
- Afterward I felt so much guilt that I hadn't worked out that I made a beeline to the gym. Admission: $3.
- To Saturday the 25th, where, after the game, I had to go to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place ... not to eat, but to watch SportsCenter and Fox Sports Live to watch highlights of the World Series and college football. I totally wasn't hungry, at all, so I just asked for a chocolate milkshake. And because I went back about a week later to write down exactly how much I paid for just a chocolate milkshake, I now know how much I paid for it this, including tip: $3.75.
- On Friday, October 24, I had to meet my folks' property manager to collect rent checks. There was no reason to go back home because I wanted to see the Gopher women's soccer game (they beat Maryland 1-0), which was relatively close by. So I went to Glam Doll Donuts to bide my time. With coffee and tip: $11.
- The game was good, a Gopher victory (though the team probably didn't win enough to get into the NCAA Tournament). Program, hot dog and small regular Coke is still a very good bargain for an evening out: $9.
- After the match I went to the movies. I racked up enough points for a free movie ticket, but it was going to expire that Monday. I waited until the weekend because I wanted to be comped for a showing that would otherwise have been the most expensive ticket at that theater. Unfortunately there was no other time to use it on the weekend (which obviously is the time of the week where prices for admission are the highest) than after the game on Friday, when I wasn't exactly at my hungriest. I know, I know, eating isn't the first thing I should think of when I go to the movies. But that was my mindset when I went to see The Equalizer, which, by the way, isn't that good besides the fact that Denzel Washington once again plays an invincible loner who kicks ass. By the way, regular prices for popcorn and pop I think cost more than those two items plus a ticket at another theater on Tuesdays: $11.
- I have been so preoccupied with other shit that I see a huge gap all the way back to Saturday the 18th. After going through all my blog posts I think I'm right, but it's been so far ago that I'm not sure. We start the day with my ATF ***e* coming to my place to give me a well-deserved handie: $80.
- I then went to Billy's On Grand to watch my alma mater's game. One fan/member of the club reserved (or should I say "reserved") the big TV at this place in St. Paul the day of. Not the greatest of timing, but good to see that the club still "scheduled" this. To thank Billy's On Grand I ordered a pricey entree. With tip: $35.
- Afterwards (I think, maybe after I went home, I don't remember) I went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division). No coffee, just tips and a dance from this woman I've "known" for a long time, Savannah: $28.
- I then went to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place. Ate at Billy's, so I didn't have much of an appetite, but I still mustered enough stomach to stomach mozzarella sticks and chili. Didn't jot down the price of this meal, so I ordered those two same items (with a Coke) a later time there to figure out how much I paid, with tip: $8.75.
- I think/guess the previous EWR came on Tuesday the 14th, when I also visited the property manager. I also went to Glam Doll, mostly to wait till the traffic died down. Love the donuts, but they're so expensive! With tip: $14.
- Sunday, October 12 ... went to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) after working the Vikes game. Coffee and tips equal: $11.
- Saturday the 11th ... woke up in the morning for my city's semi-annual appliance and electronics drop-off "event." Finally had to say goodbye to the TV I had since, I think, the 6th grade. Just didn't work, and I tried to turn it on one final time the night before -- nothing. Had to pay to get it dumped, but it was time. I wasn't going to be a hoarded over a heavy, old-style cathode ray tube TV: $5.
- Went to our regular bar to watch my alma mater that evening. It was the night of the Zombie Pub Crawl, but the owner was nice enough to give us a TV in the corner (with the sound turned up) so we could watch. The only other person to come was the VIP. I thanked him by buying a beer for him. With tip: $11.
- Friday the 10th I started my weekend by stopping by My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version) for coffee and tips: $11.
- I then went to this new are close to home that suddenly has turned into a shopping hub. Went to McDonald's to play Monopoly. Don't know why, though, since the game's rigged and I never win. Thought I had a receipt for my meal, but I can't find it anywhere, so this amount I pulled out of my ass: $8.09.
- Think the previous EWR to this is afternoon of Sunday, October 5, at the Gopher women's soccer match against Ohio St. (I think it was the Buckeyes; if so it was a scoreless tie). Program, hot dog and Coke -- you know, the usual: $9.
- Back to Saturday the 4th, where, after I watched my alma mater's football game I went to My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place for spaghetti. With tip: $13.50.
Friday, November 7, 2014
My Boss' Sudden, Spontaneous Hatchet Man
Holy shit, the ax fell quick! Not on me, others. But my time's now coming.
It was at the end of the shift today, and my boss, who's on vacation, calls me to see how much work is left. I had noticed that the envelopes have slowed to just a trickle, to the point that I suddenly had to worry that we would be running out of work. (I'm not out of work, by the way -- for yet another day I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.) So I told him. "OK," he said, "Who should I keep? I have to start cutting people."
Goddamn you, what a blindside. What could I say? Over these weeks I made small assessments about who was good and who wasn't, and from there I quickly answered his questions. He then said he will make the call to the temp agency. From there, the agency will tell those guys that they will no longer be needed.
Despite the workload, I am shocked, completely shocked, that he has decided to let people go now. On the first meeting, he said it would be until mid-November, if not later, before the project ends. I guess we've been too good, or there've been too many people working for the workload to stretch past the first week of the month. I just didn't think when I woke up this morning that I would be making the calls to fire people.
And oh yeah, that is what I'm doing, making the calls. Despite what my boss has said, and he may be willing to take the heat, he is basing his decisions on input from me. He had to. He wasn't around these guys, I was. So the guys whom I said to let go know that I had a part in this decision, a big one -- maybe the only one. So I'm scared -- fuck it, I know -- that one or more of those people are going to take a swing at me Monday.
I don't appreciate, then, that he's out of town. It's a hell of a lot easier to take the heat when you're not in the building. Who is? Me. And I don't like being put in this position, especially when I didn't get a head's-up about it. He may think that he's saving money by making this decision now. After all, we're all temps. But I just find it kind of funny that bad news comes when he's away, but I'm around. That really is a dick move.
---
I immediately regret my decision on who to cut and who to keep. I should have totally based it on tenure, but I didn't. In particular I decided to keep one guy over people who had been there weeks before. That will be a very difficult decision to defend. Fuck it, I can't defend it, even though he does good work.
Why did I have to make a mental pecking order, and why did I blurt that out to my boss? Now all the temps (those who stay as well as those who go) are going to wonder, "Why is s/he leaving but s/he is staying?" And if they start to ask questions, what the fuck am I going to say to them? They're not going to accept that it was my boss' decision, because they know that he based that on what I fucking told him! That's why I should have just kept those that have been there the longest. Everybody would understand that. But I decided to put my own flavor on the firings instead, and if there's any blowback (or physical blows) I've got no one who's got my back.
Nice move, boss!
Honestly, if I had my way I would've taken out The Two (who, I must say, have been friendlier to me as of late, but too much has come between us to put them ahead of most of the others). But it's not my call, it's his. I just get to reap the consequences.
---
I may have tipped my hand during my conversation with him. Once he told me he was going to make the call to the temp agency, I kind of hemmed and hawed. I didn't say, "No, don't fire these people!" but I think it was too late. He heard the weakness in my voice. And I don't think he liked that.
And that means only one thing: I'm getting fired next. I know he doesn't like what I told him, and he thinks of me as a weak link. He also sees me as his former employer's guy. So why not cut me? He's got two people -- The Two -- either of whom can replace me. And he has shaped them to his specifications, while I'm a defective relic from a previous year. Plus, they're cheaper.
I am so fucked. And you know what? It's probably deserved, too. I have assumed most of the responsibilities of my former boss. My current boss did to him what he potentially could do to me. So if I came back to take my former boss' duties, what right do I have to complain about another temp taking mine? I don't. If I wanted to take the high road, I wouldn't have come back. But I did, and therefore I put myself in the crosshairs of any whim my current boss has percolating in his brain.
Hell, I deserve all the bad fucking karma I get. I'm the one firing these people. I'm a temp, and I don't like it when I get fired, and I feel like punching people when I do. So I totally understand if someone wants to punch me in the face. We're talking about employment here -- money, the ability to get by, dignity. I took that away from them. So despite my fear of getting assaulted (the possibility of which increases the more I think about it), I really believe that I deserve everything that's coming to me, whether it's questions, anger, or violence.
---
I didn't plan on spending any money today. I have to pick up my car from the shop, and then I was going to go out and have coffee, but I was going to use my credit card. But now that all this shit has been thrown onto my lap, I decided I deserved a trip to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division). As I type this I'm scarfing down potato chips with dip. God I'm going to be so goddamn fat from all the stress eating.
Meanwhile I now feel as if I have to conserve money. All this news about firing people has me thinking about the time I lose this job (which, by the way, really could come any day now, regardless of whether the project ends quickly or if he thinks I'm too weak to keep around). Now the bank account doesn't seem so huge, and the lifestyle I enjoyed now feels a little too extravagant. I have spent a lot of money on my car, a lot on eating, and a lot on strippers. There was always going to be a time when the paychecks stop coming, but now I am frightened that it's coming a lot sooner. Then what?
I don't know. Never have.
---
I noted that I was at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) when the temp agency probably called them. It's also a dick move, letting a third party tell them you're losing your job after the workday's over, but that's how it's done with the corporation I work for. I got fired from Xcel Energy a few hours after I wished everyone a Happy New Year, and that firing came through a call from the agency.
I wonder what those guys felt when they heard the news. So informal, so heartless, so ... cold. Did they get angry and throw things? Did they cry? Did they go into panic mode and start searching the want ads? Worst of all, they're not done yet. They actually slouch back to work for several more days. Now that I think about it, it's probably better if today were their last day. No chance to retaliate against me.
Nevertheless I still feel for them. And now I have to face them come Monday. I was hoping this weekend would be a respite from all the bullshit at work. But, yet again, I have to worry for the next two days about going back to work. Not gonna be pleasant. And all because my boss decided to drop a bomb on me while he's on vacation so I have to clean up his mess.
It was at the end of the shift today, and my boss, who's on vacation, calls me to see how much work is left. I had noticed that the envelopes have slowed to just a trickle, to the point that I suddenly had to worry that we would be running out of work. (I'm not out of work, by the way -- for yet another day I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.) So I told him. "OK," he said, "Who should I keep? I have to start cutting people."
Goddamn you, what a blindside. What could I say? Over these weeks I made small assessments about who was good and who wasn't, and from there I quickly answered his questions. He then said he will make the call to the temp agency. From there, the agency will tell those guys that they will no longer be needed.
Despite the workload, I am shocked, completely shocked, that he has decided to let people go now. On the first meeting, he said it would be until mid-November, if not later, before the project ends. I guess we've been too good, or there've been too many people working for the workload to stretch past the first week of the month. I just didn't think when I woke up this morning that I would be making the calls to fire people.
And oh yeah, that is what I'm doing, making the calls. Despite what my boss has said, and he may be willing to take the heat, he is basing his decisions on input from me. He had to. He wasn't around these guys, I was. So the guys whom I said to let go know that I had a part in this decision, a big one -- maybe the only one. So I'm scared -- fuck it, I know -- that one or more of those people are going to take a swing at me Monday.
I don't appreciate, then, that he's out of town. It's a hell of a lot easier to take the heat when you're not in the building. Who is? Me. And I don't like being put in this position, especially when I didn't get a head's-up about it. He may think that he's saving money by making this decision now. After all, we're all temps. But I just find it kind of funny that bad news comes when he's away, but I'm around. That really is a dick move.
---
I immediately regret my decision on who to cut and who to keep. I should have totally based it on tenure, but I didn't. In particular I decided to keep one guy over people who had been there weeks before. That will be a very difficult decision to defend. Fuck it, I can't defend it, even though he does good work.
Why did I have to make a mental pecking order, and why did I blurt that out to my boss? Now all the temps (those who stay as well as those who go) are going to wonder, "Why is s/he leaving but s/he is staying?" And if they start to ask questions, what the fuck am I going to say to them? They're not going to accept that it was my boss' decision, because they know that he based that on what I fucking told him! That's why I should have just kept those that have been there the longest. Everybody would understand that. But I decided to put my own flavor on the firings instead, and if there's any blowback (or physical blows) I've got no one who's got my back.
Nice move, boss!
Honestly, if I had my way I would've taken out The Two (who, I must say, have been friendlier to me as of late, but too much has come between us to put them ahead of most of the others). But it's not my call, it's his. I just get to reap the consequences.
---
I may have tipped my hand during my conversation with him. Once he told me he was going to make the call to the temp agency, I kind of hemmed and hawed. I didn't say, "No, don't fire these people!" but I think it was too late. He heard the weakness in my voice. And I don't think he liked that.
And that means only one thing: I'm getting fired next. I know he doesn't like what I told him, and he thinks of me as a weak link. He also sees me as his former employer's guy. So why not cut me? He's got two people -- The Two -- either of whom can replace me. And he has shaped them to his specifications, while I'm a defective relic from a previous year. Plus, they're cheaper.
I am so fucked. And you know what? It's probably deserved, too. I have assumed most of the responsibilities of my former boss. My current boss did to him what he potentially could do to me. So if I came back to take my former boss' duties, what right do I have to complain about another temp taking mine? I don't. If I wanted to take the high road, I wouldn't have come back. But I did, and therefore I put myself in the crosshairs of any whim my current boss has percolating in his brain.
Hell, I deserve all the bad fucking karma I get. I'm the one firing these people. I'm a temp, and I don't like it when I get fired, and I feel like punching people when I do. So I totally understand if someone wants to punch me in the face. We're talking about employment here -- money, the ability to get by, dignity. I took that away from them. So despite my fear of getting assaulted (the possibility of which increases the more I think about it), I really believe that I deserve everything that's coming to me, whether it's questions, anger, or violence.
---
I didn't plan on spending any money today. I have to pick up my car from the shop, and then I was going to go out and have coffee, but I was going to use my credit card. But now that all this shit has been thrown onto my lap, I decided I deserved a trip to My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division). As I type this I'm scarfing down potato chips with dip. God I'm going to be so goddamn fat from all the stress eating.
Meanwhile I now feel as if I have to conserve money. All this news about firing people has me thinking about the time I lose this job (which, by the way, really could come any day now, regardless of whether the project ends quickly or if he thinks I'm too weak to keep around). Now the bank account doesn't seem so huge, and the lifestyle I enjoyed now feels a little too extravagant. I have spent a lot of money on my car, a lot on eating, and a lot on strippers. There was always going to be a time when the paychecks stop coming, but now I am frightened that it's coming a lot sooner. Then what?
I don't know. Never have.
---
I noted that I was at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition) when the temp agency probably called them. It's also a dick move, letting a third party tell them you're losing your job after the workday's over, but that's how it's done with the corporation I work for. I got fired from Xcel Energy a few hours after I wished everyone a Happy New Year, and that firing came through a call from the agency.
I wonder what those guys felt when they heard the news. So informal, so heartless, so ... cold. Did they get angry and throw things? Did they cry? Did they go into panic mode and start searching the want ads? Worst of all, they're not done yet. They actually slouch back to work for several more days. Now that I think about it, it's probably better if today were their last day. No chance to retaliate against me.
Nevertheless I still feel for them. And now I have to face them come Monday. I was hoping this weekend would be a respite from all the bullshit at work. But, yet again, I have to worry for the next two days about going back to work. Not gonna be pleasant. And all because my boss decided to drop a bomb on me while he's on vacation so I have to clean up his mess.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
I've Been A Money Mule
Once a month I have to talk to my parents' property manager to pick up the rental checks for the properties they own. I've been so busy with work lately that I did not store the checks I got from her for October. Instead, I have kept them in my bookbag, the one I take with me everywhere.
I finally got around to depositing it at the bank Monday. I headed home from work beforehand to sort through exactly how much money in cash I've been carrying with me for about a week, and the amount floored me: $5,750! Shit, I was hauling that much money around me?! Man, I would've been so fucked if I somehow left it out in public somewhere! And if someone knew I as lugging around almost six grand, they would've mugged me!
I pulled off a similar handle today. I had to pay this contractor for work on a couple of my parents' houses. I was going to meet him today, so yesterday I put into my bag two separate envelopes my folks prepared for me when the contractor finished both jobs. One was for three grand, the other a grand. So at my desk today was four-thousand dollars in cash, just waiting to be stolen by someone if they knew and were so bold.
Maybe I should be a little more careful with money.
I finally got around to depositing it at the bank Monday. I headed home from work beforehand to sort through exactly how much money in cash I've been carrying with me for about a week, and the amount floored me: $5,750! Shit, I was hauling that much money around me?! Man, I would've been so fucked if I somehow left it out in public somewhere! And if someone knew I as lugging around almost six grand, they would've mugged me!
I pulled off a similar handle today. I had to pay this contractor for work on a couple of my parents' houses. I was going to meet him today, so yesterday I put into my bag two separate envelopes my folks prepared for me when the contractor finished both jobs. One was for three grand, the other a grand. So at my desk today was four-thousand dollars in cash, just waiting to be stolen by someone if they knew and were so bold.
Maybe I should be a little more careful with money.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey
#-1: Vikings (Last Week: -2). This was a woofer of a week. (Crazy one, too; the Timberwolves started their season this screening week and the Twins finally decided upon a new Manager. Thank goodness the Gopher football team dropped out of the WMNSS because they had a bye last week or this would've been hella insane.) With so many teams getting dinged, I decided to shake it up a little bit. I am going by results less than usual.
But for the top spot, I really had no choice but to give it, albeit tepidly, to the Vikings. They were the only team, after all, to go through the week undefeated. But unlike the rest of the teams in the survey, there was something ... well, resilient to the Vikes' 29-26 win over Washington. They gave up the first ten points of the game but were able to come back against a team that, frankly, isn't good, but for a club that's rebuilding like the Vikings, a victory over a squad like this is a good thing.
The Education of Teddy Bridgewater continues. He was running for his life against blitz-happy Washington (I know he had double-digit hurries because I was paid to count them), but he was still able to pick his spots when he had time and, for the most part hit his receivers. Meanwhile, Matt Asiata scored three touchdowns for the third game in his career. He has ten total. Whodathunkit? He and Jerrick McKinnon have become a low-rent one-two punch in the backfield. With Adrian Peterson having plead out without any jail time (and not knowing what Roger Goddell is going to do now that the opportunity to make an example out of Peterson now falls on the Commissioner of the NFL), the possibility grows that the team is going to have to make a choice between trading Peterson, letting him go, or allowing him to come back, possibly before the end of this season.
What works for this club the most is that the expectations are very low. Every loss is expected; any win is a pleasant surprise. Neither will come this Sunday, for the Vikings get their annual bye.
#-2: Twins (Re-Entry!). Quick story about Paul Molitor, assuming that I haven't already told you on Wailing And Failing. It was the inaugural year of The New Siebert Field (which I guess would be 2013). I'm taking in a game that featured Molitor in some pre-game ceremony. He's sitting by himself in a row right behind home plate, although what looked to be a friend of his was sitting in the row in front. I sit in the section next to him, a few rows down.
After a half-inning was over I get up to stretch. Unbeknownst to me, there was a hole in one of my back pants pockets, probably the right one because that's where I keep all my loose change, and over time the metals rub away the fabric every time I sit on them. As soon as I stand up I hear the clanging of coins falling into the new Siebert concrete. So both Molitor and his friend took the occasion to comment. The guy who wasn't famous said something; Molitor, who was leaning back against his chair with a pop in his hand and his legs draped over the seat in front of him, just started to sing the nursery rhyme, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. ..."
What I'm trying to say is, Molitor seemed like a jock who liked to beat up nerds like me in high school. So does that color my opinion of Tuesday's press conference naming him the new Manager of the Twinks? Yeah, sort of. But I am more negative of the fact that this provincial franchise once again refuses to go outside the box and instead promotes someone who is One Of Us. He has held unofficial positions with the organization in the past, so there's a familiarity with Molitor that probably endeared him to General Manager Terry Ryan and the Pohlads. Unfortunately for long-suffering fans, that familiarity breeds contempt. Was Torey Lovullo (Bench Coach for the Boston Red Sox) seriously considered? And did the Twinks reach out to Joe Maddon once he resigned as Manager of the Tampa Bay Rays or not?
One other thing: This makes Paul Molitor yet another Manager I remember watching as a player, joining the likes of Don Mattingly, Mike Sciosia, the now-fired Kirk Gibson, the resigned Ron Washington, Mike Metheny and Mike Redmond. Did any of them work their way up from the managerial minor leagues? It seems as if you automatically get to coach in The Show if you played for a long time in the majors. If that's true, I don't like the fact that Molitor hasn't cut his teeth under lesser-leveraged situations. Or maybe that's just me.
#-3: Timberwolves (Re-Entry!). Yes, they have begun the season 1-2. But like the Vikings they are headed by a Coach in his first season. (Yeah, yeah, Flip Saunders has coached this franchise before, but not for a long while, so it's like he's in his first year.) This year does not matter; it's the years after that count.
I was given a ticket to the home opener Thursday, the one against The Bastard Fort Wayne Pistons. And although the players looked out of sorts, you could see the potential there. Ricky Rubio, now one of the more-grizzled veterans on the squad (and coming off signing a four-year extension to stay with the Woofs), is growing into his playmaker role now that Kevin Love and his talent have been shipped off to Cleveland. Still can't nail a jump shot to save his life, but he has the Point Guard duties down cold. He didn't show any flashy passes in the team's 97-91 win, but that's probably because he didn't have Love abandoning his defensive duties as soon as the ball left an opposing player's hands so he could receive the rock after Rubio flings it down the court.
Moreover, I was able to see what the new people did. Thaddeus Young, who I was surprised to learn has been in the league seven years, can score, and I can see the potential of him hooking up with Rubio. And finally there's Andrew Wiggins. He already has the body to play defense, but he also showed flashes of brilliance and downright beastly play on the offensive end. Like a tweeter said, if he can hone in his aggression while on offense, watch out.
The game was close at the half. The Timberwolves were able to make adjustments and led in the third quarter by as much as 17 points. But the Pistons fought their way back and it was tied in the middle of the fourth quarter. Thank God, then, for, of all people, Mo Williams. The erstwhile second banana to LeBron James in his first stint with Cleveland bailed the club out time and again with his midrange jumpers. Dude, this guy can score, and that scoring touch is what the T-Wolves will probably need.
Sure, they lost the season opener at Memphis. And the Chicago Bulls were able to eke out a 106-105 win on Saturday. But the margin of victory came from the second of two free throws from the Bulls' Jimmy Butler, who faked a jumper and induced Wiggins to jump into him and foul. That's called a lesson, rook. The Education of Andrew Wiggins continues tonight (Wednesday night) at Brooklyn, followed by road games against Orlando and LeBron-less Miami.
#-4: Wild (Last Week: -5). The Mild beat San Jose in a shootout, so that's good. And it's always a good day when Minnesota beats The Team That Was Stolen From Us. But Tuesday night brought a chance to see very early in the season how good of a club they could be, for the Pittsburgh Penguins, possibly the best team in the Eastern Conference, finished the team's three-game homestand. And they got their asses kicked, 4-1. The destruction of the buzz surrounding this team is the reason I put them this low, even though they went 2-1.
Moreover, Zach Parise is hurt with, in the maddeningly vague terminology of the NHL, an "upper-body injury." You mean he had his tonsils taken out? This (Wednesday) morning Head Coach Mike Yeo could not say what the extent of Parise's injury is or how long he'll be out. Next man up; let's see how deep the Wild's young talent goes. As the past week was three home games, this week upcoming is three road games: Ottawa, Montreal, New Jersey.
#-5: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -4). This is the rare occasion -- maybe even the first occasion ever -- where all Twin Cities professional teams rank above all University of Minnesota teams. Trust me, usually it's the other way around.
The best of the Gophs teams is the penis icers, even though the #1-ranked team in the country got drubbed at St. Cloud St. Halloween Night 4-1 and had to go to overtime before beating the Huskies at Mariucci the next night, 4-3. The OT tally completed a hat trick for the U.'s Justin Kloos, who received the Big Ten's Second Star Of The Week. Somehow, through the Goofs' struggles, they retain the top spot in the USCHO Top 20, even though the first-place votes the squad collected unanimously the week prior has now been dispersed to #2 North Dakota, #3 Boston College, and in a pity vote, #9 (and 6-0-0, and longtime doormat) Michigan Tech.
The U.'s athletics site is crowing about the club's unbeaten streak at home. You can't say they're unbeaten period because of the loss at St. Cloud St., so they shade the streak to exclude road games. Yeah, talk about ignoring the facts. They host Notre Dame for games Friday and Sunday.
#-6: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -3). If the men didn't do well, the women did worse. They got swept at home to Bemidji St. OK, technically they didn't lose two games. Halloween Night's game goes down officially as a 2-all tie with a shootout loss, then they got shut out Saturday, 1-0. Since it is the Beavers we're talking about, the vagina icers did lose their #1 spot, finishing runner-up this week to Boston College. They are off this screening week.
#-7: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -1). This is not the momentum I was talking about last week. They lost their regular season finale at Northwestern (which, by the way, qualified for the B1G Tournament as the eight-seed and, this [Wednesday] afternoon was able to upset top-seeded Penn St. 1-0), and, as we speak, is headed to a second overtime in their quarterfinal match against Michigan. If the ten minutes in the second OT go without a score from either team, they got to penalty kicks. And according to women's soccer website All White Kit, they need to beat the Wolverines to retain their faint chances of making the NCAA Tournament. If they somehow win, the semifinals are Friday. And if they somehow make it to Sunday afternoon's final, there's a chance they could win the tourney and grab the conference auto-bid; 4-seed Rutgers also got upset in the quarterfinal, losing to Iowa 1-0.
#-8: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -6). The cavalcade of disaster for the Goofers volleyball program continues as they lost at Indiana in four sets and got swept in Purdue. If you didn't know, this is a year where Minnesota is supposed to host a regional. And to cut down on expenses, any team that hosts a regional will also host a sub-regional. However, with the Goofs in freefall (they have now lost five-of-six), there's a chance that the NCAA won't be able to even look past their mediocre record and force them to play the first two games of the tourney away from the Sports Pavilion. Would be deserved.
They slouch to Gomorrah this weekend, aka Michigan and Michigan St.
But for the top spot, I really had no choice but to give it, albeit tepidly, to the Vikings. They were the only team, after all, to go through the week undefeated. But unlike the rest of the teams in the survey, there was something ... well, resilient to the Vikes' 29-26 win over Washington. They gave up the first ten points of the game but were able to come back against a team that, frankly, isn't good, but for a club that's rebuilding like the Vikings, a victory over a squad like this is a good thing.
The Education of Teddy Bridgewater continues. He was running for his life against blitz-happy Washington (I know he had double-digit hurries because I was paid to count them), but he was still able to pick his spots when he had time and, for the most part hit his receivers. Meanwhile, Matt Asiata scored three touchdowns for the third game in his career. He has ten total. Whodathunkit? He and Jerrick McKinnon have become a low-rent one-two punch in the backfield. With Adrian Peterson having plead out without any jail time (and not knowing what Roger Goddell is going to do now that the opportunity to make an example out of Peterson now falls on the Commissioner of the NFL), the possibility grows that the team is going to have to make a choice between trading Peterson, letting him go, or allowing him to come back, possibly before the end of this season.
What works for this club the most is that the expectations are very low. Every loss is expected; any win is a pleasant surprise. Neither will come this Sunday, for the Vikings get their annual bye.
#-2: Twins (Re-Entry!). Quick story about Paul Molitor, assuming that I haven't already told you on Wailing And Failing. It was the inaugural year of The New Siebert Field (which I guess would be 2013). I'm taking in a game that featured Molitor in some pre-game ceremony. He's sitting by himself in a row right behind home plate, although what looked to be a friend of his was sitting in the row in front. I sit in the section next to him, a few rows down.
After a half-inning was over I get up to stretch. Unbeknownst to me, there was a hole in one of my back pants pockets, probably the right one because that's where I keep all my loose change, and over time the metals rub away the fabric every time I sit on them. As soon as I stand up I hear the clanging of coins falling into the new Siebert concrete. So both Molitor and his friend took the occasion to comment. The guy who wasn't famous said something; Molitor, who was leaning back against his chair with a pop in his hand and his legs draped over the seat in front of him, just started to sing the nursery rhyme, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza. ..."
What I'm trying to say is, Molitor seemed like a jock who liked to beat up nerds like me in high school. So does that color my opinion of Tuesday's press conference naming him the new Manager of the Twinks? Yeah, sort of. But I am more negative of the fact that this provincial franchise once again refuses to go outside the box and instead promotes someone who is One Of Us. He has held unofficial positions with the organization in the past, so there's a familiarity with Molitor that probably endeared him to General Manager Terry Ryan and the Pohlads. Unfortunately for long-suffering fans, that familiarity breeds contempt. Was Torey Lovullo (Bench Coach for the Boston Red Sox) seriously considered? And did the Twinks reach out to Joe Maddon once he resigned as Manager of the Tampa Bay Rays or not?
One other thing: This makes Paul Molitor yet another Manager I remember watching as a player, joining the likes of Don Mattingly, Mike Sciosia, the now-fired Kirk Gibson, the resigned Ron Washington, Mike Metheny and Mike Redmond. Did any of them work their way up from the managerial minor leagues? It seems as if you automatically get to coach in The Show if you played for a long time in the majors. If that's true, I don't like the fact that Molitor hasn't cut his teeth under lesser-leveraged situations. Or maybe that's just me.
#-3: Timberwolves (Re-Entry!). Yes, they have begun the season 1-2. But like the Vikings they are headed by a Coach in his first season. (Yeah, yeah, Flip Saunders has coached this franchise before, but not for a long while, so it's like he's in his first year.) This year does not matter; it's the years after that count.
I was given a ticket to the home opener Thursday, the one against The Bastard Fort Wayne Pistons. And although the players looked out of sorts, you could see the potential there. Ricky Rubio, now one of the more-grizzled veterans on the squad (and coming off signing a four-year extension to stay with the Woofs), is growing into his playmaker role now that Kevin Love and his talent have been shipped off to Cleveland. Still can't nail a jump shot to save his life, but he has the Point Guard duties down cold. He didn't show any flashy passes in the team's 97-91 win, but that's probably because he didn't have Love abandoning his defensive duties as soon as the ball left an opposing player's hands so he could receive the rock after Rubio flings it down the court.
Moreover, I was able to see what the new people did. Thaddeus Young, who I was surprised to learn has been in the league seven years, can score, and I can see the potential of him hooking up with Rubio. And finally there's Andrew Wiggins. He already has the body to play defense, but he also showed flashes of brilliance and downright beastly play on the offensive end. Like a tweeter said, if he can hone in his aggression while on offense, watch out.
The game was close at the half. The Timberwolves were able to make adjustments and led in the third quarter by as much as 17 points. But the Pistons fought their way back and it was tied in the middle of the fourth quarter. Thank God, then, for, of all people, Mo Williams. The erstwhile second banana to LeBron James in his first stint with Cleveland bailed the club out time and again with his midrange jumpers. Dude, this guy can score, and that scoring touch is what the T-Wolves will probably need.
Sure, they lost the season opener at Memphis. And the Chicago Bulls were able to eke out a 106-105 win on Saturday. But the margin of victory came from the second of two free throws from the Bulls' Jimmy Butler, who faked a jumper and induced Wiggins to jump into him and foul. That's called a lesson, rook. The Education of Andrew Wiggins continues tonight (Wednesday night) at Brooklyn, followed by road games against Orlando and LeBron-less Miami.
#-4: Wild (Last Week: -5). The Mild beat San Jose in a shootout, so that's good. And it's always a good day when Minnesota beats The Team That Was Stolen From Us. But Tuesday night brought a chance to see very early in the season how good of a club they could be, for the Pittsburgh Penguins, possibly the best team in the Eastern Conference, finished the team's three-game homestand. And they got their asses kicked, 4-1. The destruction of the buzz surrounding this team is the reason I put them this low, even though they went 2-1.
Moreover, Zach Parise is hurt with, in the maddeningly vague terminology of the NHL, an "upper-body injury." You mean he had his tonsils taken out? This (Wednesday) morning Head Coach Mike Yeo could not say what the extent of Parise's injury is or how long he'll be out. Next man up; let's see how deep the Wild's young talent goes. As the past week was three home games, this week upcoming is three road games: Ottawa, Montreal, New Jersey.
#-5: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -4). This is the rare occasion -- maybe even the first occasion ever -- where all Twin Cities professional teams rank above all University of Minnesota teams. Trust me, usually it's the other way around.
The best of the Gophs teams is the penis icers, even though the #1-ranked team in the country got drubbed at St. Cloud St. Halloween Night 4-1 and had to go to overtime before beating the Huskies at Mariucci the next night, 4-3. The OT tally completed a hat trick for the U.'s Justin Kloos, who received the Big Ten's Second Star Of The Week. Somehow, through the Goofs' struggles, they retain the top spot in the USCHO Top 20, even though the first-place votes the squad collected unanimously the week prior has now been dispersed to #2 North Dakota, #3 Boston College, and in a pity vote, #9 (and 6-0-0, and longtime doormat) Michigan Tech.
The U.'s athletics site is crowing about the club's unbeaten streak at home. You can't say they're unbeaten period because of the loss at St. Cloud St., so they shade the streak to exclude road games. Yeah, talk about ignoring the facts. They host Notre Dame for games Friday and Sunday.
#-6: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -3). If the men didn't do well, the women did worse. They got swept at home to Bemidji St. OK, technically they didn't lose two games. Halloween Night's game goes down officially as a 2-all tie with a shootout loss, then they got shut out Saturday, 1-0. Since it is the Beavers we're talking about, the vagina icers did lose their #1 spot, finishing runner-up this week to Boston College. They are off this screening week.
#-7: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -1). This is not the momentum I was talking about last week. They lost their regular season finale at Northwestern (which, by the way, qualified for the B1G Tournament as the eight-seed and, this [Wednesday] afternoon was able to upset top-seeded Penn St. 1-0), and, as we speak, is headed to a second overtime in their quarterfinal match against Michigan. If the ten minutes in the second OT go without a score from either team, they got to penalty kicks. And according to women's soccer website All White Kit, they need to beat the Wolverines to retain their faint chances of making the NCAA Tournament. If they somehow win, the semifinals are Friday. And if they somehow make it to Sunday afternoon's final, there's a chance they could win the tourney and grab the conference auto-bid; 4-seed Rutgers also got upset in the quarterfinal, losing to Iowa 1-0.
#-8: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -6). The cavalcade of disaster for the Goofers volleyball program continues as they lost at Indiana in four sets and got swept in Purdue. If you didn't know, this is a year where Minnesota is supposed to host a regional. And to cut down on expenses, any team that hosts a regional will also host a sub-regional. However, with the Goofs in freefall (they have now lost five-of-six), there's a chance that the NCAA won't be able to even look past their mediocre record and force them to play the first two games of the tourney away from the Sports Pavilion. Would be deserved.
They slouch to Gomorrah this weekend, aka Michigan and Michigan St.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
For A Minute There I Thought About Asking For A New Ballot
I generally vote Democratic because Republicans have gone off the deep end since 2000. Back then I voted for Nader over Gore. I remember talking to a guy, an older gentleman, who voted for Gore and thinking he was just a "pragmatist." Well then you know what happened, Bush was elected President and we got eight years of our country going down the toilet. Now I'm a pragmatist.
But now and again I want to send a flare up into the sky at how unnerved I am over two-party rule. I do understand the need to vote Democratic, but oftentimes they listen to the same big-money folks who control our economy and thus our democracy that Republicans listen to. They're just less successful at it. So, from time to time, I vote for a third-party candidate. It's always in a race where the Democratic (actually the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party) candidate is going to coast to a win, so I don't feel any pressure that my vote will cost the DFL an important seat. (And by the way, I just checked Twitter; both Al Franken and Mark Dayton have been re-elected to the Senate and the Governor's house. Such routs that they were declared after the polls closed here in Minnesota at 8. Thank Buddha, God, Allah, and your choice of deity that Minnesota remains a blue state!) Yet I don't want to totally fall lock-step in with them. It may be narcissism, but I want to zag a bit, be a little unpredictable.
Because I'm so busy with work I haven't checked out the candidates as much as I would have liked. But this interesting tidbit from the Star Tribune gave me the third-party candidate to fill in: Andy Dawkins was running for Attorney General under the Green Party. It was the Green Party's best hope to attain five percent of the election results; if he did, the Greens would achieve major-party status in the state. And that's not a bad thing, even though I don't remember if I ever voted for someone from the Independence Party, Jesse Ventura's party that is about to go extinct because no one's voting for their party.
So I went to my polling place to vote for Dawkins just to mix things up a little. But as I was going through my ballot and skipping all the judges that were running unopposed, I realized that I had filled in the bubble next to Lori Swanson, the DFL candidate, for AG. Oh, crap.
And for a minute I thought I was going to invoke my right to get a new ballot. But then I thought that that would raise suspicion. Like a polling judge would write my name down and the note, "Decided to change his mind." And that would lead to scrutiny from some shadowy people in the government, and that would somehow lead to me losing my right to vote. Or something. Yeah, I really thought about this while I was resting my arms in the voting privacy stand. So in the end I decided not to ask for another ballot. I went straight DFL this year, including Swanson.
I just now went through the Dawkins Twitter feed and I found this:
Holy crap, is this true? Swanson's a gun nut?? Now I'm really upset that I didn't get a new ballot. Well, I'm also pretty upset that I didn't do my research. Sigh.
But now and again I want to send a flare up into the sky at how unnerved I am over two-party rule. I do understand the need to vote Democratic, but oftentimes they listen to the same big-money folks who control our economy and thus our democracy that Republicans listen to. They're just less successful at it. So, from time to time, I vote for a third-party candidate. It's always in a race where the Democratic (actually the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party) candidate is going to coast to a win, so I don't feel any pressure that my vote will cost the DFL an important seat. (And by the way, I just checked Twitter; both Al Franken and Mark Dayton have been re-elected to the Senate and the Governor's house. Such routs that they were declared after the polls closed here in Minnesota at 8. Thank Buddha, God, Allah, and your choice of deity that Minnesota remains a blue state!) Yet I don't want to totally fall lock-step in with them. It may be narcissism, but I want to zag a bit, be a little unpredictable.
Because I'm so busy with work I haven't checked out the candidates as much as I would have liked. But this interesting tidbit from the Star Tribune gave me the third-party candidate to fill in: Andy Dawkins was running for Attorney General under the Green Party. It was the Green Party's best hope to attain five percent of the election results; if he did, the Greens would achieve major-party status in the state. And that's not a bad thing, even though I don't remember if I ever voted for someone from the Independence Party, Jesse Ventura's party that is about to go extinct because no one's voting for their party.
So I went to my polling place to vote for Dawkins just to mix things up a little. But as I was going through my ballot and skipping all the judges that were running unopposed, I realized that I had filled in the bubble next to Lori Swanson, the DFL candidate, for AG. Oh, crap.
And for a minute I thought I was going to invoke my right to get a new ballot. But then I thought that that would raise suspicion. Like a polling judge would write my name down and the note, "Decided to change his mind." And that would lead to scrutiny from some shadowy people in the government, and that would somehow lead to me losing my right to vote. Or something. Yeah, I really thought about this while I was resting my arms in the voting privacy stand. So in the end I decided not to ask for another ballot. I went straight DFL this year, including Swanson.
I just now went through the Dawkins Twitter feed and I found this:
Don't forget there's only one real #progressive choice for MN AG- #VoteDawkins today #TicketExceptAG pic.twitter.com/lysmZ2O8l8
— Dawkins for AG (@ADforAG) November 4, 2014
Holy crap, is this true? Swanson's a gun nut?? Now I'm really upset that I didn't get a new ballot. Well, I'm also pretty upset that I didn't do my research. Sigh.
What The Hell Are You Talking About? And Why You Not Mad At Me Anymore?
On Monday my boss just blew up on me. Once again with this guy I don't know what for. We had talked about this thing, but according to him he said I said one thing when the opposite happened and now he has to do something. I still don't quite understand what this thing is, but I definitely know we didn't have this conversation he's talking about.
His false accusations of me are really starting to piss me off. Why can't you articulate what you're saying? Maybe then I can tell you that that was going to happen. It's gotten to the point where I stopped saying sorry. I'm not sorry, mostly because I don't think I did what you think I did. How could I if 1) I don't know what the fuck you're saying and 2) if I'm right about my hunch (and I have a feeling that at the very least you're wrong), you never asked?
I am really, really starting to resent this asshole. I am really starting to chafe tolerating his bullshit. So I will no longer be contrite for things I didn't do, and if he wants to fire me for my sullen insubordination ... well, I'm sticking to my guns. I'm doing the best I can, and he has the right to find someone else if he disagrees.
But then the weirdest thing happened just before I left for the day. He checked up on me while I was packing things up. And he did it without any outward resentment or disdain, not as far as I could tell. Maybe it's still true that he lets things wash off his back, or maybe he understands that he can't be yelling at me all the time, or maybe he knows that I'm a temp whom he threw into an impossible situation. But he didn't seem to have any lingering bitterness towards me. Maybe it's a ruse. Maybe it's for real.
Fuck if I know. The stress of the job is hard to take, and now I can't even fuckin' read this guy. Maybe I should move on after this.
His false accusations of me are really starting to piss me off. Why can't you articulate what you're saying? Maybe then I can tell you that that was going to happen. It's gotten to the point where I stopped saying sorry. I'm not sorry, mostly because I don't think I did what you think I did. How could I if 1) I don't know what the fuck you're saying and 2) if I'm right about my hunch (and I have a feeling that at the very least you're wrong), you never asked?
I am really, really starting to resent this asshole. I am really starting to chafe tolerating his bullshit. So I will no longer be contrite for things I didn't do, and if he wants to fire me for my sullen insubordination ... well, I'm sticking to my guns. I'm doing the best I can, and he has the right to find someone else if he disagrees.
But then the weirdest thing happened just before I left for the day. He checked up on me while I was packing things up. And he did it without any outward resentment or disdain, not as far as I could tell. Maybe it's still true that he lets things wash off his back, or maybe he understands that he can't be yelling at me all the time, or maybe he knows that I'm a temp whom he threw into an impossible situation. But he didn't seem to have any lingering bitterness towards me. Maybe it's a ruse. Maybe it's for real.
Fuck if I know. The stress of the job is hard to take, and now I can't even fuckin' read this guy. Maybe I should move on after this.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Can't Anticipate, Don't Want To Anticipate (Scheduled Post)
You know what really galls me about work? I don't know what's going to happen. I am continually assaulted by things, none of which I can anticipate. Who's going to ask me something? What fires will I have to put out this day? How will the temps fuck up?
So there's no use to worrying about the next day because how in the hell are you going to prepare for it when you have no idea what to prepare for? But on the other hand, I don't like waking up with a blank slate of what is going to happen, because then I feel totally unprepared. Like tonight; I'm so damn tired that after I put this to bed (I'm writing this Sunday night, scheduled to go live for early Monday morning) at My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place I'm going to go home and immediately go to bed, where I, um, anticipate having a full night's sleep. I know that when I'm going to wake up I'll immediately hate going to work and say to myself, "What the fuck is going to happen today?" Not that I care at this moment; again, I'm really tired. But all I have is this day ahead of me that will be filled with problems, I just don't know in what form. And I will continue to resent all these curveballs that ruin my day.
So there's no use to worrying about the next day because how in the hell are you going to prepare for it when you have no idea what to prepare for? But on the other hand, I don't like waking up with a blank slate of what is going to happen, because then I feel totally unprepared. Like tonight; I'm so damn tired that after I put this to bed (I'm writing this Sunday night, scheduled to go live for early Monday morning) at My Favorite Late-Night Italian Place I'm going to go home and immediately go to bed, where I, um, anticipate having a full night's sleep. I know that when I'm going to wake up I'll immediately hate going to work and say to myself, "What the fuck is going to happen today?" Not that I care at this moment; again, I'm really tired. But all I have is this day ahead of me that will be filled with problems, I just don't know in what form. And I will continue to resent all these curveballs that ruin my day.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Shitting Through The Weekend
Ever since I got home on Friday, I have spent more than an inordinate time sitting on toilets taking dumps. It's as if I've been storing all my feces up my butt because I've been too busy during the workweek, then too tired and/or angry and/or depressed after leaving work every day, to eliminate these bowels until the coast is clear, so to speak. Of course the coast is never clear; the weekends have never seemed shorter than they do now. They really are there only to separate Friday from Monday.
So at least I've been able to rid myself of this feces so my colon won't get infected and I won't get chubby. But now I'll have to store five days' worth of shit because I just don't have the time and the security to let it all go.
So at least I've been able to rid myself of this feces so my colon won't get infected and I won't get chubby. But now I'll have to store five days' worth of shit because I just don't have the time and the security to let it all go.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Addendum To: I Might (Will?) Be Fired Friday
OK, so I wasn't fired Friday. If I were, the last possible situation in which I would be canned is from the temp agency, and even though they work late often, I didn't hear anything from them. So I'm safe, at least for Monday.
I just can't believe that by sticking a label on a box and crossing that box past the threshold into a room, I have to enter that -- like, immediately. I mean, I was totally going to go back to those boxes to make one last check ... right after I compiled all those invoices. What's the big deal? And no, I'm not upset at myself. I'm not really upset at you, because I kind of understand what you're getting at. But I had it handled, and now other things are going to get fucked up because you want this done straight away.
I really was afraid my boss wanted them done yesterday, but that was impossible, because there were half a dozen of them I needed to do. Shit, I wasn't going to do them even if he wanted them all day yesterday. I've hated going to work for the past several weeks now, but this week I entered an even more infuriated level. I'm starting to insist that I don't work past my eight hours, so I've been coming in later and trying to pack up earlier. I'm really starting not to care.
So after the afternoon grinded away and I could see the end of the workweek, the dead throb of "work" gave way to the usual anxiety of missing invoices and undone envelopes. In particular I'm kind of losing my mind because I gave one of the temps (one of The Two, actually) a folder that was supposed to go back into one of the boxes and is instead ... lost.
Don't fucking know what's going to happen fuckin' Monday.
I just can't believe that by sticking a label on a box and crossing that box past the threshold into a room, I have to enter that -- like, immediately. I mean, I was totally going to go back to those boxes to make one last check ... right after I compiled all those invoices. What's the big deal? And no, I'm not upset at myself. I'm not really upset at you, because I kind of understand what you're getting at. But I had it handled, and now other things are going to get fucked up because you want this done straight away.
I really was afraid my boss wanted them done yesterday, but that was impossible, because there were half a dozen of them I needed to do. Shit, I wasn't going to do them even if he wanted them all day yesterday. I've hated going to work for the past several weeks now, but this week I entered an even more infuriated level. I'm starting to insist that I don't work past my eight hours, so I've been coming in later and trying to pack up earlier. I'm really starting not to care.
So after the afternoon grinded away and I could see the end of the workweek, the dead throb of "work" gave way to the usual anxiety of missing invoices and undone envelopes. In particular I'm kind of losing my mind because I gave one of the temps (one of The Two, actually) a folder that was supposed to go back into one of the boxes and is instead ... lost.
Don't fucking know what's going to happen fuckin' Monday.
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