In the catacombs

Okay, so it's Thursday.  The temperature is supposed to go up to 35 (F) today.  That's almost balmy. 
This is also our inventory day.  Normally they bring in food for everyone, I was told this year they're only bringing it in for those helping with the inventory so I'm going to be taking some fried chicken just in case my lunch is not going to be provided.
Also, my new schedule was posted yesterday and the new scheduler made some mistakes.  She used my 'days off' to cover my Jury Duty.  We do not do that.  I will need to have a sit down with her tomorrow to revise my schedule. 
And I see that the Trade Deficit, one of those 'major problems' the Idiot Jerk in the White House was going to fix is... getting worse.  He said he would bring that deficit down, which is why we have those silly little tariffs, and actually it's going up.  The idea was for foreign products to go up in price, therefore making American products more competitive.  Well, 'made in America' is still 'made more expensive.'  Giving people a bit of a tax break in the paychecks is no incentive to buy the more expensive 'made in America,' which is something Republicans just don't get.
And little Stevie Mnuchin has asked Congress to increase the debt limit ASAP because we need to be able to pay off our creditors.  You see that great tax break the Republican congress gave to corporations and the very wealthy is costing the United States buckets of buckos.  Yeah, they had to borrow money to pay for it.  You see, in the Republican drone state of mind corporations will use those to tax breaks to pop up employee pay rates and those employees will compensate for the tax breaks.  That's right, your average American is going to foot the bill.  Republicans have always been stupid about economics.
And finally, I thought I'd write a little about the catacombs of Paris.  They're big, and some of them are deep and only a small section is open to Tourists.  Of particular interest to us are those around the Arc de Triomphe which are not open to the General Public.

When bones were being moved from cemeteries they were put in a number of locations, depending upon the arrondissement where the cemetery was located.  Over the years cataphiles have done much with graffiti.. and the bones... and the little alters they built for their ancestors.  Oh, and except for certain areas, there is on lighting.  What illumination you have is that which you carry, be it a headlamp... or flashlight.  Without either of those you are walking in pitch black darkness.  If you ever venture down into the catacombs make sure you have a reliable guide.

Tell me Everything

So, it's Sunday morning and a lot of you are sleeping in, or have already slept in and may be just getting up... and I don't doubt there are some who are still sleeping.  Ain't it great!  This is my first of 2 days off. 
After finishing The Body on the Lawn, I told myself I was going to wait 3 - 4 months before beginning another project.  Of course, that didn't mean I couldn't make some notes about characters and plot lines and motives for murder.  Then, yesterday when I gave Cori her personalized copy, I told her I'd been reading it and found 3 typos.  She smiled at me and said, "Dave, let it go.  It's time to move on.  Start something new."  When I got home, I began looking through my notes.  Then, booting up the writing laptop downstairs, I wrote the first 3 words:  "Dis moi tout."  For those who don't speak French, that translates to "Tell me everything."

It's time for the cardio to begin.
I saw the approval rating for the Idiot Jerk in the White House has gone up to 41%... that's his second highest rating.  That's funny.  His disapproval rating hasn't gone done, that's still high.  Some of those fence sitters are just falling off in his direction.  They cite the economy as the reason.  This is even funnier.  They point to low unemployment numbers, ignoring Obama in order to give the Idiot Jerk all the credit.  What they don't point to is personal debt.  Consumer debt will hit $4 trillion by the end of 2018.  Americans are wallowing in debt.  The retail industry loves it.  Economists greedily smile about how good things are...   They don't mention that in about 2 years those extra buckos the average American has in his / her paycheck are going to disappear.  Most don't understand that when they go away, those debts are still going to be there.  They will have to make those credit card and mortgage payments with less money.  Wait... that can't be true, can it?  They don't realize the extra $50 a week they get in their paychecks is going to vanish.  Their debt will not.  Holy Shit!  And you can bet corporations are not going to suddenly give out big raises to compensate for that loss.  No Way!
And you can bet the GOP, especially the Idiot Jerk in the White House is not going to tell you everything.  No, they slyly smile.  "Ain't it great!" they say out of the side of their grin, thinking not about you, or your family, but about your vote and only your vote.

Feeling cold and feverish

Well, it's Saturday.  At least that is what my calendar says, not that my calendar talks much.  I do look at it daily.  Some times more than once a day, because retail screw with your head.  Really.  Today seems like it should be Sunday and it isn't.
Since Tuesday I've been dealing with a rhinovirus.  I don't get them normally.  When I do, they usually last about a day.  Good immune system here.  About every 3 or 4 years I'll get one which is more intense.  I don't just get a nuisance runny nose.  Nope, sinus headaches, a sore throat, and a cough are all added into the symptom mix.  Oh, and there's the low grade fever.  These colds last about a week.  I have one of them now.  I went to work yesterday, not so today.  I have some chest congestion.  As a result, I'm going to call off work.  This will leave them short handed.  On a Saturday, normally the busiest day of the week, my department is not fully staffed. You are going to have these problems when your scheduling system relies on last year's sales figures.  Supposedly trending sales data is also used, but rarely is there evidence of that.  Yesterday one person was scheduled in Hardware until 1:00 PM.  Ooops.
There was a heated debate in Texas last night.  Lying Ted Cruz against Beto O'Rourke.  All the headlines say "they clashed."  Lying Ted, however, has spent most of his political career... well, lying, and misdirecting.  Beto pointed this out.  Lying Ted is in trouble.  He has gone from a "sure thing," to a toss-up, finally moving into the "too close to call stage," and he's got to struggle through another month and a half, and another 2 debates, until he loses....  Oh, did I just say that?  Bet he's feelin' rather feverish right now, pattin' himself on the back, and lyin' to himself about winning the debate.
And evidently most Americans are now seeing the great Tax Bill the Republicans passed for what it really is: a gift to the wealthy and big business.  Sure, right after the bill was first passed corporations pissed a little cash around, set-decorations, nothing more.  The truth is they're simply not coughing up the new jobs this bill promised.  And their revenue is increasing because of lower taxes.  Those $$$ are nothing to sneeze at.  Wall Street is joyous.  But, where are the pay increases?  Oh, wait, payroll is an expense.  Corporations don't like expenses, especially payroll.  So, what do they do?  In retail they rely on bare-bones scheduling, giving customer service the cold shoulder.  This is how it goes when your economy is based solely on greed.

Crossing the line

Well, I survived yesterday, of course, there were never any doubts.  Instead of repairing the hernia orthoscopically, my Dr did the old slice and dice which means I now have a 3" incision.  The bandage won't come off until tomorrow morning so I haven't had the chance to look at it yet.  They did paint me with betadine from side to side so my important parts are now Home Depot proud.  They also gave me a Tap Block which wore off around 0630, that's when I took my first Vicodin - they gave me 40 of the little white suckers, so I now have a bit of buzz.  Translation:  if I go to Amazon, I'm going to buy a couple of thousand dollars of shit I don't need.  I also got to where a cute, little bracelet with my picture on it.

I saw they ripped Jeff Sessions a new ass yesterday... and he didn't like it one bit mostly because he lied... no... wait... he didn't like... he forgot until yesterday.  You have to remember that this fool is a Social Conservative, not only does he lie and then ask forgiveness from his deity, he will excuse his lies saying they were done for his deity, to show his love and devotion to his deity.  The truth is that Sessions hates everything that falls outside of the narrow vision he allows himself.
And what about Roy Moore's women issues?  Evidently there have been rumors for years.  He's another one of those Social Conservatives who thinks that he's special.  While he's judged people for years, he, himself, hates to be judged.  Can't you hear him saying "I will be judged by a Higher Authority than you?"  This is because, like a professional scam artist, he sees nothing wrong with his behavior.  I mean, with faith as strong as his how could he do anything wrong?  Shit head.
Another funny bit this AM was John Schnatter's sudden about face.  You know who I'm talking about - he owns Papa Johns and blamed kneeling football players for lackluster sales.  That was until the Alt-Right said "yippee skippy, he's our guy," at which point he realized that Neo-Nazis buy a lot less pizza than... oh, say, political Centrists, or Liberals, or... black people, and changed his tune.  Will it help?  I doubt it.  This is what happens when you buy a house on Dick Head Way.
Then I saw this on Bloomberg this morning:  how those great Middle-Class tax cuts are only going to be temporary.   Corporate tax cuts are going to be permanent, however, as will the tax cut that John Schnatter's going to be getting.  Oh and their hatred for the Affordable Care Act has surfaced again.  Now, isn't that amazing.  Once again the 'Do Nothing Party' is going to do... nothing, mostly because they're doing it for themselves, not for America, and most assuredly not for Americans.
Finally, I can't wait to get back to the gym.  I need to get back to the gym... soon.  You see, I just realized that this scar is going to be above my Speedo line.

I don't know if that's a line I want to cross.