The House Gods

 Another slow Sunday.  Outside, the temps are 18 (F) but they're predicted to warm up to 36 (F).  Looking at the long range forecast, a warming trend is on the horizon.  We are, after all, halfway through winter, give or take a day.  In fact, if we do give or take a day, we've got about six weeks left.  Damn!  That rodent was right!  Maybe.

I do get to work this afternoon.  7.5 hours, so they've given me a lunch break, which I may or may not take.  Two fifteen minute breaks spread throughout the day may do the trick.  This is because around 2 PM things are going to begin slowing down and I don't really see the point in taking a lunch when you're sitting around doing nothing.

The house gods must be happy.  Some time ago I replaced a ceiling light in my kitchen and... well, I must not have connected the wires correctly since it refused to turn on.  My friend Justin said I'd attached them backwards, and fixed them.  No light.  Two nights ago, a little after midnight, Biggie had to go out and... voila, the light was on.

Last evening I ordered a Stryd, a pod that attaches to your sneaker used for tracking your stride, and your pace.  Right now I'm relying on the Fenix 6 Pro which has proven to be rather unreliable because it depends upon an accelometer (their word) which uses arm movement to calculate stride.  Sometimes there is accuracy, mostly there is not.  Before I bought my treadmill, before I used the treadmill so extensively to help with my back, this information was not that important.  Perhaps the old accountant in me is raising his head, since I now want to record my almost daily jogs.

One of the problems I have with certain organized religions is that their theology was determined a long time ago, by men, who not only believed that the earth was flat, but that it was also the center of the universe.   The fact that these theologies fail to note these mistakes lead one to question their claim that they are divinely inspired.  Some night, when the stars are bright, go out and look up and understand you are not only looking at individual stars, but galaxies, too, and ask yourself how a deity who could create something so immense, could forget to impart that essential information to those theologians of long ago.

The faces of Evil

 My day off is chock full of plans.  Lucky me.  Of course, my shift to part-time was not done in a timely manner, my manager needed to email the HR person in order to get this accomplished.  As a result, this week's schedule was written before I had a chance to effectively change my availability.  Our HR has some problems with so many things.  As someone who was once in that position, I tend to keep my mouth shut.  Things are stirred up enough, my opinion would only make things worse.  However, this doesn't mean I'm not going to take a personal day this week in order to get 2 consecutive days off.

Weather wise, we're supposed to be hit by a weather bomb of sorts, rain and wind, however we're far enough inland we will mostly get showers and the occasional gust.  Things will be worse in Philly.  The states to the north are going to get slammed.

We have a new associate in my department, a woman from Texas... southern Texas, actually on the border between Texas and Mexico.  I made a terrible mistake.  I made an assumption.  She speaks with an accent, so I told someone she could speak Spanish.  Well, I was wrong.  She can speak Spanglish.  She told me she tried taking Spanish in school and failed the course.  I'm guilty of making a judgment call that was wrong, so I apologized.  The truth is I jumped to a conclusion based on a perceived stereotype.  Lesson learned.

And what about that Rolling Stone article in which several loud mouthed Republicans were said to have been helping the insurrectionists plan January 6?  Marjorie Tayler (the loser's wench), Mo Brooks, Louie Gohmert, to name a few?  I believe there were 6 names spit out, so they will hence forward be known as the Gang of 6 who planned for the 6th.  Truthfully, this would not surprise me in the least.  These 6 are virulently hateful of everyone who doesn't kiss the ass of Loser #45.  In case you didn't know, these people are the faces of evil.

The Good and the Funny

Okay, so today's Wednesday and supposedly it's the middle of the work week, however, that is rarely the case when you work in retail.  Being a part-timer in retail definitely takes that definition off of the table.  Perhaps, if I were a Republican, I might suggest a name change to Indictment Day, but I'm not, and I don't believe the indictment will come until tomorrow.  Of course, if I were Jeff Fortenberry, that would have been yesterday... ah, but more on that later.

For me?  Yesterday was a day of accomplishment, with getting my lawn mowed at the top of the list.  Also on that list is bread being baked, laundry laundered, and tapestry hung (that's right, I bought a tapestry.  There were other sundry things which achieved completion. 

Another cheery bit of news is that Rachel Levine has been promoted to the rank of a four star Admiral.  This woman is not only breaking records, she's making extreme history.  More power to her!

And then I got this laugh sent to me on Twitter.  Of course, I had to share.  These people are the primary reason Democrats and Independents need to vote in force, because these losers go to the polls, sometimes 2 or 3 times.  I loved the bit about the balloon plane.

I understand the Orange Anus was deposed for 4.5 hours yesterday.  I'm wondering how many time he spit out The Big Lie.    I understand they're going to go after in in Scotland, too, because he destroyed a protected natural habitat to build a golf club that's losing money.  He lied back when he got approval.  But then, do you really think he care about the environment?

And the investigating committee for January 6 voted for the Justice Department to go get Bannon.  Grab you popcorn, this should be entertaining.  

Oh, and that Cracker Jack Crazy, anti-abortion Senator Jeff Fortenberry?  A Grand Jury indicted him for taking money from an Algerian businessman... twice.  Jeffy lied about it because... well, he's Cracker Jack Crazy.  He will lie through his teeth and then ask for Forgiveness like a broken record, over, and over, and over again, because all you need to do is believe and ask for forgiveness.  This loser needs to go.

Explosive

 Off today, temps are supposed to be in the low 70's (F) and I need to mow the lawn.  Two years ago the summer was wet, the grass stayed green, and mowing was frequent, but not as frequent as this year.  Rather than the normal 4 -5 week stretch with out rain, the skies over Central PA have rained down upon us with almost consistent regularity.  I'm a little tired of the rain.  And, of course, people are wondering about what the winter's going to look like, and how frequently we'll be getting snow.

An interesting aspect of going part-time is the decreasing need for me to take my own lunch to work.  This was something that never occurred to me, but this detail turns out to be a bit of a savings.  Shopping at my local Giant always entailed buying the necessary ingredients to cook 5 lunches every week.  Now there's extra meat in my freezer and I'm saying "wow, I'd better start cooking."

Tonight was supposed to be movie night, but that's been changed to Thursday, so you'll have to wait for my comments.

One of the interesting things about this past summer was that the dahlias that I left winter outside have bloomed continuously week, after week, after week.  I just ran out and took this picture.  The roses are still blooming, too, but the explosive pink of the dahlias steals the show.

And, of course, Loser #45 has sued to keep the National Archives from releasing documents relating to January 6 because... well, he probably doesn't want Americans knowing how much he was cheering on the rioters and insurrectionists.  The funding for this lawsuit is not coming from his own pockets, however, nope. This thing's being paid for by MAGA money; all those dollars mini-losers sent his super-pac to 'stop the steal.'  That money can be used for just about anything he wants, and right now he's desperately trying to keep those explosive documents out the hands of the House investigating committee.

That's Fine With Me

Temperature wise, we have another cool one out there, with the high only supposed to hit 62 (F).  That's fine with me.  Seasons change.  Temps are going to warm up again, don't worry.  Starting tomorrow forecasters around here are expecting highs to be in the mid-70's again.  This means that on my day off there will a mowing of the lawn... and a movie tomorrow night.  Wednesday's a work day, but then Thursday and Friday are scheduled off.  That's fine with me.

Everything seemed fine yesterday when I got home from work, until I went upstairs to change out of my work clothes.  I found the remnants of a can of fish food (fish chips) lying on the bed.  Most of it had been consumed by one or two boxers who will remain nameless to protect the innocent.  The fish didn't like the food and often let it just sink to the bottom of the tank, so I was glad someone enjoyed it.

I had been going to use the lyrics from this song in the new book, a chapter in which Bobby Tussel hangs out at the PF on Pomfrete, but chose something else.  This is a really great Halloweeny update by Broken Peach.  Usually the guys stay silent, but not on this one and that's fine with me.  (oh, shit, I just saw Fearsome posted the same vid.  Hope you all love it!)

This is the week in which they vote to arrest Steve Bannon.  That smarmy assed sack of shit needs to be held accountable.  Of course, during that 4 year period when that disgraced degenerate, the Orange Anus, was in the White House, subpoenas were routinely ignored.  The Republicans in power were always singing a sour chorus of 'that's fine with me.'  Now floating around in a boat riddled with lies and holes and will have to pay the price.  I'm hoping Bannon gets taken into custody.  Honestly, he will shriek out more lies, but I don't care.  Having his ass behind bars is fine with me.
 

Danny, Say it's So

 Thunderstorms yesterday brought a change of temperature, so I turned the heat on before I went to bed rather than wait to see how cold it was going to get.  Good Thinking.  This morning it was a cool, chilly willy 43 (F) outside.  Inside?  A comfy 71 (F).  Getting older, that seems to be my 'go to' temp.  

Work was steady yesterday - I got 3 measures.  Not bad.  They still have not flipped the button making my part-time status official.  This does 2 things I don't like: keeps me from tweaking my schedule ( work until 7 this evening and back in at 0800 tomorrow morning), it also keeps my metrics high; part-timers have lower goals since they have less hours to meet them.

Social Security is giving me a nice increase, a 5.9% raise to keep up with the cost of living.  That's a nice increase.  Interestingly enough, I had just mentioned to Bathwater that I couldn't remember the last I got a 5% increase.  Well, now I can.

I'm going ahead with the new roofs.  The expected start date is towards the end of November.  That's fine with me.  After that, I'm planning on having some electrical work done, which I suspect will be just as pricey.  

Daniel Craig says he used to go to gay bars for 2 reasons, to keep from getting into fights, and to meet women...   To be honest, the only time I saw a fight was at the Strawberry on 2nd Street during the crush to get to the bar for last call.  As for the women...  only the occasional, usually showing up with their bestie gay guy and not looking for romance.

I understand GOP donors are handing money over to Sinema, this from the Insider.  This would not surprise me.

Finally, it seems as though 22% of Republicans believe the Orange Anus is going to be reinstated before the end of the year.  Who could ask for more conclusive evidence of their stupidity?  Will they turn out to vote?  Don't know.  What I do know is that Democrats and Independence need to turn out in droves for every election possible.  This should be a chilling thought: you can't even imagine the damage Republicans would do to this country if they were to regain control of either the House or the Senate.  Vote Blue

Goodbye Full Time!

Today is Sunday.  Today is also my last day as a full-time associate.  I will celebrate this evening by stopping off on the way home and picking up a small bottle of wine (I don't do the large bottles anymore).  People ask me, "are you retiring?" Then I tell them I'm still working part-time.  Some understand, some don't.  Personally, I think retirement is a bad word, to me it implies being put out to pasture: you retire something that is no longer useful.  That's a terrible thing to tell a human being, that they're no longer useful.  The opposite of useful is useless.  Sadly, there are some who don't understand this.  Friends have told me "I've worked all of my life, I don't want to work anymore."  Not me, and not for many other retirees.  Some travel, some take courses, they go to they gym, they get involved with causes.  Retirees volunteer.  Many still work part-time jobs because no one wants to spend their last years sitting on their and slowly feeling more and more useless.

Rain is in the forecast for today.  This means should be slow at the store.  Yesterday we were busy until mid-afternoon, and then things slowed down.  I was not bothered at all.  In fact, the lack of business allowed me time to walk.  I got in over 7500 steps.  Back when my disc issue erupted, I was lucky if I managed to walk 2000 steps.  This is a sign of improvement.  Walking is always good for back issues if you can get past the pain.  I have this sneaking feeling that by the time they get around to giving me my shot, I won't need it.  That's fine with me.

Maureen Dowd has an interesting piece in today's New York Times about the Supreme Court.  They are going to be making decisions supporting a minority viewpoint, and for some reason that's not sitting too well with them.  They don't want to be branded as hacks, yet they are running head first into the branding iron.  She's dead on when she makes a point about the Bush / Gore election, when they chose to stop a recount.  That was the moment when they first started eyeing up that branding iron.  The sad truth is that like most Conservatives, they don't give a shit about America.  They're too selfish.  They don't care that a large majority of Americans thinks they're hacks, and losers.  They have that "we're in charge, so shut up mentality."  America is Centrist.  America is diverse.  And they hate those two words because they take the control they crave out of their hands.  Vote the Blues out.  Vote them into oblivion.

Puritanical Hell

 I'm not really official yet, not until the end of this week, however the thought of working and 40 hour week was not what I wanted, so I scheduled a vacation day - 3 days off, four  on.  My new part-time schedules are interesting so far.  Two weeks out, I'm scheduled for 29.5 hours, which is my book is bordering on full-time.  This may have to be changed.

People keep asking me what I'm going to do now that I'm part-time.  Why is that so important to them?  There is no specific agenda, in case you're wondering.  More free time to do what ever I want, what ever that is.

Tis the season of mice, and since they're not likely to stop breeding, mousetraps were picked up yesterday.  I used to buy white plastic ones, however, they barely survived a season, so this year they have been replaced by wooden ones.

And, of course, the Supreme Court's new session begins today, and the justices are being scrutinized... and they don't like it one bit.  They claim they're not using the 'shadow docket,' even though there's no way for them to hide how often they are using... the 'shadow docket.'  This court was loaded for one purpose, to give the religious zealots in the country the power they're dirty hearts have been craving for so very, very long.  What kind of life do these Cracker Jack Crazies want for America?  Look to the Puritans if you want am idea.  Yep, they wants to live a life of prayer, and worship, and Puritanical Hell.  The voters of American need to stand up for their personal rights and put these crazies out to pasture.  Shut them up.  Shut them out.  Shut them down.

  

Cough, Cough

 And here it is, Sunday morning.  After today, I'm going to have 3 consecutive days off as I move into my part-time status.  One thing that's going to change is the way I do laundry: all in one day.  That doesn't need to be the case anymore.  I can do a load one day, a load the next, and so on and so forth, if the mood strikes me.  Will I?  Nah,  I like getting it out of the way.

Yesterday was rather busy at work... in the morning and early afternoon, and then the customers thinned out.  Evidently there was Penn State football on TV last evening.  Being an hour and 15 minutes south of the university, just about everybody in the area is a fan.  At one time, when I was growing up, they were one of the winningest teams in college sports.  I don't think they're so much now-a-days.  Too many controversies.  The god Paterno turned out to be much less than a demi-god.  One thing, and many of you may find this difficult to believe but traffic is always terrible when there's a home game, even this far south.  Before Covid, (cough, cough) this is what Beaver Stadium looked like, and yes, it is called Beaver Stadium.

There are at least 2 associates out with Covid at the store.  One of them called off for 2 days, and then came back to work before being diagnosed (cough, cough).  An anti-vaxxer Republican, if you had any doubts.  Nationally, the infection rate is declining, however, that's only the case when you look at the entire country, and those states with a high vaccination rate.  Those states, like Alaska, and Wyoming, and Texas, and other Red States, where the anti-vaxxers dominate, people are still dying.  Over 3000 a day, and mostly anti-vaxxing Republicans.  I was talking to a fellow associate yesterday pointed out that this was a lot like watching Judgment (Cough Cough).  And I had to agree, this is like watching Slow-Mo Judgement.

Here I Go

Well, here we go.  Friday, October 1 has arrived and I have a doctor's appointment this morning.  This is actually a preliminary visit in order to set up a second appointment with an orthopedic specialist.  I actually have pictures of my MRI from 6 years ago to take along.  Always be prepared.

My next part-time schedule was posted and they have me working 29.5 hours, four days.  Once October 11 rolls around and everything is 'official,' I'm going to take Monday, Wednesday and Friday out of my availability.  I want to insure that part-time truly is part-time.  Supposedly they're going to replace my fulltime position, however we will be heading into winter hours after Black Friday, so that will probably not happen until sometime in late February or early March.

For those interested in my writing process, I made this short video.  That's right, you'll get to hear me speaking in my 1950's documentary voice.

I saw where Justice Samuel Alito spit out some sort of tripe about those claiming the Court has become horrifically biased towards the Right.  What surprised me most was this belief he has that the Supreme Court is above judgement.  You can almost hear him saying we are stupid, they are not.  I thought his use of the word 'nefarious' was sadly poetic, as he attempted to justify what they do behind closed doors.  Doesn't it seem like some of the justices are going overboard in an attempt to cover up their bias?  Amy Coney Phony claims their not political hacks.  Thomas rails that Americans will destroy the institution.  Now Alito is saying that 'what happens in the dark, stays in the dark,' but that they're not being nefarious.  Doesn't it seem as thought they've become very defensive about their shift to the Right?  Unfortunately, just like pad prophets interpreting the scriptures, they will interpret the Constitution in a way that tickles their jolly button the best.

 

All the Daves

 Well, here it is Sunday.  This isn't going to be a day of rest for me.  Eight hours of work have been scheduled.  My last full work week is upon me, starting tomorrow.  I am satisfied.

At work we're going through our Bonus Celebration.  My last full time bonus will be my best ever.  That's nice, too.  Today they're brining in the ice cream truck.  Home made ice cream.  We can get to choose what we want.  Yummy.  Yesterday we had personal pan pizzas made by a local Mom & Pop, they were delicious.

Here's a little known fact:  There are approximately 180 associates in my store.  Thirteen of them (13) are named Dave.  Whether we are all 'Beloved' is difficult to say.  Yesterday, while I was eating my personal pan pizza, I was talking to Dave K.  He's 87 years old and works part-time for something to do during the week.  Another associate, sitting at another table asked me about my back, and Dave K asked what's wrong.  I replied, "arthritis."  He looked at me for a surprised second and then said, "you, you're too young for arthritis."  When I told him how old I was he made a face and said, "well, you look good for your age, I thought you were around 55."  I'll take that.

And it's not only my dahlias that are blooming.  There are still roses on more than a few of bushes, too.

I did read an odd opinion regarding the Republican run states which provided a supposition as to why their governors should be so against masking and vaccines.  Personally, I'll have to qualify this as fringe writing, the thesis being that hospitals filled with sick and dying Covid patients are breaking the economy, and Republicans see a broken economy as a win, win situation when it comes to the mid-terms.  There are 2 problems with this rationale:  1, the economy is slowing down, not breaking, because this is not a national occurrence; 2, the governors of the states where this is happening, are spouting the same dribble as the Orange Anus, and this is the same dribble his base voters want to here.  Most likely, these governors believe, and possibly rightly so, that the MAGA base will ignore these hospitalizations and deaths.  Honestly, that seems to be a more likely possibility.  I say, more power to them, and if you're still alive by the time the mid-terms roll around vote blue.

Gravely Disappointed

 Evidently Fall arrived during the night.  The temp this morning is a cool 52 (F).  How happy I am not to be disappointed.  I've checked several temperature readings, both online and in my house, and I'm pleased to say there is no evidence of temperature fraud.  That 52 (F) is accurate.

My schedule has been posted for my first week of part-time employment.  I work 3 eight hour days, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.  Thursday and Saturday I start at 0900, so I may be the opener.  Total hours?  24.  I don't find that disappointing in the least.  That was my goal.  Timely hours that allow me to have more 'me' time at home.

We did receive another couple of inches of rain yesterday.  Some found its way into my basement, not much.  In some places, maybe 1/4 of an inch, while other areas stayed bone dry.  I'm not disappointed by that at all.  Hopefully, I will be wrong and Climate Change will not turn us into a Tropical Rain Forest.  Personally, I think that would be a winning situation.

Oh, and remember that Arizona Audit, the one in Maricopa County?  The results are going to be published today.  A draft of the report has been circulating.  Fasten your seatbelts people, the results are going to be devastating...

for Republicans.  You see, the truth is the Orange Anus lost by even more votes than previously recorded. That squishy sound you hear in the background?  That's what 130+ congressmen in the House squirming around as they shit in their shorts.  One of the articles I ready said "Republicans are going to be Gravely Disappointed."  That's an understatement.  But don't worry, they will try to obfuscate The Big Lie.  They will start to shriek that 'inconsistencies' found mean they need to overhaul the voting laws.  Nope.  The time has come to hold this liars accountable for their actions.  Take the power of their lie away from them.  Vote them out of offices.

Submarined

 And the weekend has begun.  For me, that's a working weekend.

Yesterday, I set up the hours I'm available to work.  There are only 2 days in which I cannot be scheduled.  Being a part-timer means I will never have to work on Tuesday and Friday.  For the rest of the days of the week I'm open between 8 am to 8 pm.  Remember, I can only work around 25 hours a week.  Since there are 2 other full time Flooring specialists, I will probably be covering their days off, so I'm figuring I'll be working 3 days a week to cover their days off.  

Today is the last day they are forecasting to be in the 80's (F).  The autumn equinox is upon us.  Last year we had fairly warm fall season. Not much rain.  That's fine.  We really don't need anymore rain, though they're calling for showers today.  

And what about the brouhaha between France and America.  They had a deal with Australia who it seems pretty much reneged on it.  Submarines.  68 Billion dollars worth of subs.  That's a lot.  I'd be pissed off as hell, too.  But if I read correctly, the deal is actually between the US, Australia, and the UK. And I don't hear them shrieking at Boris Johnson's government.  So, now we're selling Australia the subs (ours are nuclear), but it's not like Americans in general are going to make any money.  Really, I think they should blame China.

Oh, I almost forgot, today's the day they gather in Washington to celebrate their failed coup.  Losers all around.  The fact that so many Republicans have jumped aboard the Big Lie train tells you quite a bit about them and none of it is good.  They began selling off their souls a long time ago.  They really have no concern for human life.  They deny climate change.  They focus on greed.  They cite religion and then side step it constantly.  They have no problem walking over the downtrodden.  They idealized their own image and turned it into a deity.  They are a dead end and nothing more.  And the culmination of all of these traits is to die off because they turned the idea of being safe into a political position from which there is no escape.

Futures Evolving

Friday!  Payday, also, which is always nice.  After today I will only get 2 (count 'em) more full time pay deposits into my bank.  Some might find the idea of having their income halved rather daunting.  Not me.  While I don't want you to think I'm an old hand at this, I do have experience.  Think of it as my 'early pandemic, essential associate hours during a lockdown' trial run from last year when I voluntarily cut my hours down to 25 per week.  Back then I had a brief  'oh, shit' moment until I realized with my finances I had nothing to worry about as long as I cut back on those $40 bottles of wine (just kidding).

Yesterday was slow at work.  Really.  One of my fellow Specialists suggested it was the time of year, which might be the case.  I'm not really concerned.  In a few weeks, my sales goals are going to change, not that I have ever felt pressured or desperate.  

The dogs were down playing around with Lily's 6 foot squeaky snake and now she has a bit of a booboo paw, or to be more specific since her anatomy is somewhat different to that of a human, a booboo wrist.

The only thing I like about my free SiriusXM subscription is that I get to hear more new alternative music.  These guys are great.  Three brothers.  AJR.  Their lyrics are more than a little OK.

At least 7 conservative radio hosts and anti-vaxxers have died from something.

They like living dangerously up in Idaho. The state has approved rationing of health care because of all the Covid patients in the hospitals, and what do they do?  They put someone who spews misinformation about the disease in charge.  He thinks it's fake.  What a shame he's not a radio host.

There's supposed to be some sort of assemblage of protestors in Washington tomorrow, losers upset that people involved in the January 6 coup attempt have been arrested.  However, to assemble, they need bodies, something organizers are concerned about.  Right Wing groups are telling their members not to go... they're worried about getting arrested, and photographed, and... well, doing anything incriminating.  The Orange Anus is going to be far, far away and, in fact, has rarely mentioned this gathering of Republicans, out of fear, I don't doubt.  His future does not look bright.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/09/16/idaho-covid-gop-ryan-cole/

Conservative Mantra

 Today's my Hump Day.  My schedule was updated, so I now know how I'll be working during the 2nd last week of my fulltime employment.  It is not good.  Six days in a row.  A bit of a frown slipped across my face.  I have personal time on the books, so I may have to break up that stretch.

The portable heating pad I bought didn't work as well as I was hoping because it creates this superficial feeling that everything is fine.  Bending too quickly will still trigger a spasm, I learned that yesterday reaching down for a faux wood blind.  Heat relieves the symptoms, but not the problem.  In fact heat does a really good job.  I have heating pads upstairs and downstairs.  Days off are fine.  Work days, however, even with the portable pad, are not, and I'm wondering how much of that might actually be short-timer's attitude.  Is the discomfort worse at work because I know in a few weeks I'm only going to be working about 25 hours a week?  Honestly, I think about that when there are no customers, writing out different schedules for myself.

We had another thunderstorm last evening.  There was still a drizzle this morning when I left the dogs out.  This is how we transition into a rain forest.  Climate change, you know?  I find it rather sad that there is a certain group out there who don't believe our weather patterns are changing.  Not surprisingly, these are the same people who think Covid is like the flu, they are the anti-vaxxers, and, as you might expect, the ones who treasure their little red hats, and worship the orange anus.  They are the ones, who, on their way to being intubated, will claim they don't have Covid, only bad allergies.  Cough.  Cough.

The unfortunate truth is that these people are having an allergic reaction to reality.  They will never be able to comprehend the actuality of the situation.  Denial is their daily bread.  For them, everything revolves around their conservative mantra:  Me, Myself, Mine.

Oh, and I saw where Kellyanne Conway had her ass fired.  What a sorry situation that a human being with that low an IQ should make it into any position of government or power.  She will always be, and never anything more, than the bottled blond from Hell.

The Snitch site

 Well, a week of workdays will begin today.  The thought of calling off is strong... however, policy stipulates the loss of holiday pay if you call off on your next scheduled work day after.  That's a bit of a bite.  This is one of the last holidays I will be paid for 48 hours and only work 40.  After Black Friday, full-timers will be scheduled 32 hours + 8 holiday to get them to 40 hours.  In a little over a month, all of these hours will come to an end.  I can't wait.

My new keyboard arrived yesterday.  Not only is it wireless, it has a rechargeable battery.  It'll be interesting to find out how long the charge lasts for me since I'm not constantly writing.  I did have to set it up, which was one of the many labors I accomplished on Labor Day.  That, many loads of laundry, as well as setting up an Echo +.  That's right, Alexa has entered my house.  Does this mean the silence, other than barking dogs, present in my house will disappear?  Who knows.  Change is good.

I've learned all sorts of things while researching The Body in Repose.  One of the most startling has to do with the music of New Orleans.  Everybody thinks Jazz.  However, in the French Quarter, while there are a few bars that play jazz, most play classic rock.  This has to do with the tourists, many of whom, not familiar with jazz prefer to listen to something recognizable.

On Sunday, I did get together with my sister and brother at his farm.  These little gatherings are fun since we all remember things differently.  For those interested, here we are.

I saw where that whistleblower snitch site in Texas was taken down... again.  This is what happens when a group of zealots write a piece of fascist legislation that seems to have been taken straight from the playbook used by a group of Germans in the mid 1930's.  Anonymous tips were welcome when it came to reporting not only Jews, but those who might be sheltering them.  And so the snitch site is down again.  We have rights to privacy in this country, thank you American Constitution.  This legislation is an attempt to rip those rights away.  They want you to secretly point a finger, and are encouraging spineless cowards to blame others.  This is so horrifically un-American.

Bigge at the Vet

 Well, Biggie went to the Vet yesterday.  He was so well behaved.   They kept calling him handsome, which no doubt helped.  He's lost 3 pounds, and is down to 114 lbs. and has full mobility in his back legs.  The Vet did give him meds, a mild pain reliever that needs to be used only when necessary.  They also did bloodwork just in case his dosage needs to be increased.  I gave him 2 when we got home because and he slept the rest of the afternoon, except for dinner. 

And I'm back to work today for just one day, and then for one of my Sunday / Monday weekends.  I'm only working 32 hours this week, since I've an eye appointment scheduled for the 2nd.  One of the odd things about going part-time is going to be my reduction in hours.  Part-time hours handily cover all of my living expenses, 

I'm back on my oatmeal breakfast again.  The cholesterol doesn't bother me, but evidently eggs are not one of the best foods around for those of us who have arthritis, at least not the egg yolk.  I guess I could always start eating egg white omelets.

Sitting here, looking at all of the warnings flashing all over the internet telling people to NOT INGEST worming meds to fight Covid, I couldn't help but wonder if people are dumber then I think... or you think... or we think.  So, I did a little search and found this wonderful article in the BBC!  The more inept people are, the smarter they think they are... now tell me, isn't that a very succinct definition of the Republican party?  That's also a perfect description of their leader, Loser #45, who was blustery as hell but set new heights on the Ineptitude Scale.  I suspect this is also a very accurate definition of Conservatives.  They're all mouth.  Any action they do manage to achieve only benefits themselves, and no one else.  Personally, I have no problem with them divesting themselves of parasites on their way to a cozy Covid health crisis.  If they survive, I guess this means they can graze any pasture they want until their next deworming.

 

Changes

 Well, it's Friday, or I guess I could call today my almost middle of the week Hump Day since I will still have 3 days to go when I clock out this evening.  After that, I'll have 2 days off, 3 days on, and then 6 days off.  I really wouldn't having a 3 day work week.  

Yesterday, I gave management the day I will go part-time.  October 11.  I even handed in a tentative schedule.  Of course my availability will change.  I just wanted to give them something to go on.  Amusingly, when my manager asked why, I replied honestly.  "I can afford it."  Believe me, those are four very nice words to be able to say.  For those who are interested, here it is.  And it is subject to change.

I was checking out the news from the Mediterranean.  Hot temps over there.  Greece is having scorching heat 107 (F)  The hottest it's been in 30 years.  That means at one point the temperature cranked even higher.  Here in Central PA, we're heading into some higher temps, but nothing that high.  For us, last summer was hotter, but so far this summer has been wetter.

Climate change is upon us and you can bet the Cracker Jacks will be going crazy.  You see, they don't believe Climate Change.  They don't believe in Evolution either, yet homosapiens have been changing.  We are getting browner by the day.  These two challenges, Climate Change and Evolution are creating horrific challenges for the Cracker Jacks because their belief system does not allow for either.  Unfortunately for them, there is nothing they can do to stop the changes.  We might be able to slow the climate down, perhaps burnt the severity, but nothing is going to stop it.  The same is true about evolution.  They don't understand the changes will make us stronger.  Creativity explodes during stressful times like these.  The future is:  the ice in Antarctica will melt and Florida will be underwater, for the most part, so you can say goodbye to The Villages.

Blame

 Well, hello Mr. Weekend!

Today is the last of my 3 sequential workdays.  Beginning tomorrow, I have 3 sequential days off.  Now isn't that nice.  One of these days I'm will need to sit down with a calendar and decide just when I'm going to go part-time.  Let me be honest, I do like the extra money coming in, so part-time for me might actually be working 24 hours a week.  At the onset of Lockdown, I worked 5 hour days and that was simply fine.  I will have to set up a little spreadsheet to calculate income vs expenses.

And yesterday, things were a bit skewed.  I had ordered one of the Xbox gaming consoles, the Series S version.  With the Series S, you download your games rather then purchase a 'hard' copy.   While I like purchasing a disc you can insert into the console, I took a long look at all of the games I had purchased and realized many were never going to be played again.  Besides, the series S was $200 less then the Series X.  Initially, the console was supposed to be delivered yesterday, how I changed the deliver date to Monday since I was scheduled off, (that cost me almost $6).  Yesterday morning, around 0800, I get an email telling me my console is out for delivery.  So I ended up going into work late.  Last evening, I set it up.  The blame for this mini-fiasco goes to FedEx, and I will be getting a credit since they charged me for nothing.

And what about that sorry sack of shit governor Kay Ivey?  So like a Republican, right?  They sure do like to point their fingers.  What surprises me is that she didn't some how manage to blame Biden as well.  Maybe tie in The Big Lie, a variation on the theme 'these people aren't getting vaccinated because Democrats are phony socialists.'  In conservative states, where the conservative media and conservative politicians have been working in conjunction to spread rumors about the invalidity of vaccines, counts are going up among Republican voters.  Isn't this ripe?  Ivey's been one of those reinforcing the falsehoods about vaccinations... until she realizes it's too late.  The one person she needs to blame more then anyone else is herself, of course she won't.  That would mean she's nothing more then a loser.

On Anniversaries

Yesterday the temp here in Central PA hit 94 (F).  I'd call that warm.  We have 2 more days (not quite a heatwave) until the temp drops back into the 80's.  Gordon will be raining his way up through the center of the country for a while.  At some point he's going to slowly fritter his way east - which means we'll be getting more rain.
Today is my anniversary with that large, orange, home improvement retailer I work for - ten years.  Very, very important, you know?  Three more weeks of vacation load today.  That's nice.  Many view anniversaries as milestones in their lives.  For me, they are more of a gauge.  You see, the longest I have ever worked for one specific company has been eleven years.  I will enjoy using that vacation, but at the same time it's impossible for me to deny the itch.  I'm a strong believer in change.  So many people are terrified of change.  They want to stack anniversary on anniversary on anniversary.  The longer they go without change, the safer they feel.  Believe me, no one is safe.  Regularity brings them comfort.  Don't get yourselves to comfortable.  Look at the load of shit we have in the White House.  The time has come for a big change.
I'll be honest, I do like the income.  I would go part-time (32 hours) in a heartbeat if I could be guaranteed 32 hours.  With the retailer I work for, there are 3 months where that is not certain.  The only thing which would help me is my ability to work in multiple departments, but that would mean opening up my schedule.  Meh.  I want my cake, and I want to eat it, too.
While I'm sitting here thinking about that, Gordon is preparing to dump inches of rain on states that voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And the Idiot Jerk is lying to himself.  He's telling himself he's one safe fuck.  Well, he isn't.  Odds are growing daily he may not celebrate a 2nd anniversary in the White House.  Not that he'll spend time in jail.  Nah, he's a coward with a Twitter account.  He'll shriek "bone spurs" and run off to Moscow for treatment.
And all of those Executive Order?  The ones he think demonstrate he has unlimited power?  The ones that make the evil hearts of his base sing with joy?  Well, there anniversary days are numbered.  The same thing goes for helmet head Betsy. 
There will be 'wet clean-ups' in every aisle of this store, as we begin to take back control.  A year from now another anniversary is set to begin.  That minority group which is the GOP will be schooled, and already they are terrified.  Lessons can be very painful, and they've not been very apt at learning.