Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours.
May you have an enjoyable and safe holiday.

New Blog

An online friend of mine has decided to start a new blog. Politics from the view of a student. If you're looking for a new point of view, pop on over and say hi. Tell him CW sent you :D His blog can be found here

45's

The last couple of weeks I have been helping my daughter move to her new place. I had a couple of bookshelves she wanted, so I was busy unloading all my stuff off of them. And let me tell you, I had a LOT of stuff on them. I was on the last shelf of the second bookcase, I moved a bag and it made a weird noise. My daughter asked me what was in the bag. I said 45's. Her response.. bullets? (guess you can't tell we have a few weapons around the house :P) I laughed so hard as I explained no, not bullets, records. ( At least I didn't have to explain what records were. Thank God.)

Deal with it

Stress. We all deal with it in our own way. When something extremely stressful happens in my life I go through a certain process. I call it the first 72 hours. During this time it is best (not to mention safest), for everyone concerned, to just leave me the heck alone. Tuesday night was the start of a new 72 hours. Something that should have stayed long dead and buried reared it's ugly head. And so starts "The Process". In the last 2 days I have been called quiet, antisocial, verbally violent and a few others names that I won't post here, as I try to keep cussing to a minimum. So I will briefly post the process here and see how many others go through something similar.

First day: Raging bear. The first few hours are the worst. It is in everyone's best interest to keep a distant, or you will end up missing parts. Everyone and anyone is free game. Deer in the headlights look is a good indication.

Day two: Whipped puppy. Resignation has started setting in, but don't think the wounded look is any indication that it is safe to approach. Snapping at people is still a distinct possibility.

Day three: I have had time to digest the information and the chance of getting your head bitten off has lessened dramatically.

Is this normal? I don't particularly care. It is how I am. Should I be made to wear a hazmat or explosives sign during the first few hours? Heck no. When people know something is bothering you, they seem to come out of the woodwork offering useless advice and an ear to listen. Those that truly care know the process and just give you space. My brother is one such person. He knows when something is off kilter, and does the one thing he knows is the most helpful. He makes himself scarce. I could do with a world filled with people like him some days.

Quote of the day

Sometimes life just really sucks.

Stanley

For your viewing pleasure, I give you the King of yellow Labs. Stanley :D

He is, of course, reclining on his favorite chair throne .

(A chair which is now more or less his. No one wants to battle the yellow and white hairs.)

update

It's been a while since I wrote anything, so I figured it was time. Work has slowed way down. We are back to Monday - Thursday 6-4:30. A normal 40 hour week. All the extra temps they brought in, to work on the boom line, have been let go. (all 240 of them) They have finally moved our department to the plant across town. So now instead of a 40-45 minute drive, it takes less then 30. And it is a direct shot to the highway. (thank gawd)

The summer here has been fairly warm for our area, ranging in the mid to high 80's for weeks on end. And it was wet, wet, wet. The hay crops will be sparse for the year. So the cost will probably be sky high. Which is a bad thing for beef raisers, and will more than likely force the cost of meat up in the near future.

Not really a whole lot else to say. I found a site that has a bunch of words of wisdom, so I will leave you with a few today.....

The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes. - Winston Churchill

We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles. - Jimmy Carter

There is nothing evil save that which perverts the mind and shackles the conscience. - St. Ambrose

More words of wisdom can be found here.

Tolerance

Tolerance - Natalie Merchant

the still and silence is torn with violence
a loud breaking sound in the night is made
hear it grow, hear it fade
the sound you're hearing
the sound you're fearing
is the hate that parades up and down our streets
coming within bounds and within reach

now, inside the place we hide away
we hear it near and hope it turns away
turn away

there's something seething
in the air we're breathing
we learn slash and burn is the method to use
set a flame, burn it new
we're overpowered
we kneel, we cower, we cover our heads
feel the threat of blows that will come
and the damage that will be done in its wake

now, inside this place we hide away
we hear it near although it's miles away
we hear it near and hope it turns away
turn away

this house divided, we live inside it
hate's dwelling place is behind our doors in fitful nights
hear it walk the floor and hear it rave as it
moans and drags along its ball and chain
as it moves through this house it can't escape

now inside this place we hide away
we hear it near and hope it turns away
turn away

Supervise only

Are you an overachiever? Do you like being in the thick of things at work. Pushing the totals higher and higher, as a sort of challenge to yourself and to others. When someone says it isn't possible, do you not only prove them wrong, but do it spectacularly? Well that is how I am. I dislike lazy people at work, and underachievers drive me batty. So today, when the company owner came in, to check on how we were doing on the oil boom orders, I was a little upset when he told me he didn't want me working on the line. I was to supervise only. Ummmmmmmm excuseeeeeeeeeee me? You want me to stand around for 12 hours and do Nothing but babysit 15 people??? OMG. Talk about sheer torture! So now I have to motivate people to work at my speed, without working alongside them. It is extremely frustrating. Today I checked how the other groups were doing on the orders. Yellow days did 209, yellow nights did 219, green nights did 227, and my team, green days, did 261. I guess we aren't doing too badly against the other groups. But we could do even better if people would work more and yap less. I'll see how they do this week, and may the best team win :D

Only in Oconto County

This seems to be catch phrase around here. If you want to get away with murder, do it in Oconto County. The travesty I am referring to this time, can be found here.

Now, I understand that police can only go on what the evidence and witnesses tell them. I understand also, that when it comes to youngsters, their first inclination is to CTOA. (cover their own a$$es, and many at the party were drinking and underage) And this is going to be a tragedy for the family.

According to a person that was at the party, the shooter had actually threatened the victim, several times, throughout the night. The victim was shot at close range, in the head. (I refuse to call it point blank, until evidence says so) Don't try to snow the community, and call this accidental. You don't "accidentally" shoot someone in the head, while standing right next to them. The weapon must first be loaded, raised up and aimed, and the trigger pulled.

Officers originally said it was under investigation as a homicide, but it is now being considered "accidental". Get your heads out of the sand, man up and do your job RIGHT!!!!!! Push the party goers a little harder, get the truth out of them. Without that, someone walks free, and a family will get NO justice.
(rant over)

Always wear seatbelts!!!

The following are pictures, of what is left of my daughter's car, after she rolled it this morning. The car landed on it's roof.












Believe it or not, she walked away from it with a big knot on her head, a couple of stitches, and a whole lot of minor cuts and bruises.
But she walked away ALIVE!!!

Days!!!

My boss called me at home today. After asking pretty much everyone at work for my cell number. (Except, of course, the person who had it.) Apparently, he had heard I was about to blow a gasket over being kept in the dark about why I was still on nights, after being told it would only be a couple of weeks to train up a crew. So I will work Friday and Saturday night, then have Sunday and Monday off. Then starting Tuesday I will be back on days. Where I belong. I get to stay on the rotating schedule, which I have become accustom to and actually like.

I do have to admit, I will miss the night shift people. They are loadssssss more fun then the stuffed shirts on days. You didn't have to worry about watching your choice of words. And god knows the nights flew by, because even while working our tails off, we were having a blast teasing each other.

And talk about helpful people, wowza! They actually did their jobs like they were suppose to. And you didn't have to wait 2 hours for material.

So, hats off to the night shift workers. I will miss you. Just not the shift itself.

Quote of the Day

" Yet not for a moment did I suppose myself actually dead. Such a supposition, notwithstanding what we read in fiction, is altogether inconsistent with real existence; -- but where and in what state was I? The condemned to death"

- from "The Pit and the Pendulum"

Tuckered out

You have all heard the phrase "tuckered out". Well, this is what it looks like. My daughter took this picture tonight, of the pup we have, who just happens to be named Tucker.

3 o'clock in the morning

It's 3 a.m and here I sit writing a blog post. I wish I could sleep normal hours on my day off, but that would really screw me up.
The following is what I worked last week.
Monday 5a.m. - 5p.m.
Tuesday 5a.m. - 5p.m.
Wednesday 5p.m. - 5a.m.
Thursday 5p.m. - 5a.m.
Friday 5p.m. - 5a.m.
Saturday 5p.m. - 5a.m.
Sunday OFF
If you add those wonderful shifts up, I worked 72 hours last week. And this week isn't looking any better. Although, I know I will have Friday off, because the kids and I are going to the Chris Daughtry concert in Green Bay.
They figure we will be super busy like this for at least 3-4 weeks. Until the Gulf Coast spill is under control and cleaned up.

See ya on the other side....

Night Shift

Night shift, here I come. Today the supervisor pulled 3 of us aside, to tell us we would officially start running the boom line 24/7. Starting TOMORROW. And because of my ability to get things done in a timely manner (yick, knew that would come back and bite me on the a$$), I got picked to lead the night shift crew. I worked 5a.m.-5p.m. today, and tomorrow I will be flip flopping that to 5p.m.-5a.m. No chance of an adjustment period, just WHAM night shift. No extra pay, but the chance to pick up overtime. (don't I already pick up enough????) So I am valiantly trying to stay awake as late as possible tonight, to unsure I can sleep later tomorrow. Which is dayem hard, seeing as how I have been up since 3:30 this morning. Just the thought of driving TO work in rush hour traffic while 1/2 asleep is daunting. Hope all the good Coppers out there look the other way :P
Anyhow, thought I would give y'all a quick update.
See ya on the other side....

shoot me, do it NOW

I can't take anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From Meteorologist Tom Mahoney:

It is unusual but not out of the question. Snow in Wisconsin in May.

A Winter Weather Advisory will go into effect tonight in Northern Wisconsin from Oconto County northward. It will last until 7am tomorrow. While there may be 2"-4" of snow in the advisory area, there could also be up to 2" possible in Green Bay and the Fox Cities. The storm will exit tomorrow morning and will be followed by a sunny Mother's Day.

(click to enlarge)

Enough already!!

After posting that second captcha, I went blog hopping, to catch up on all the blogs I read. When I got to JD's, I read the couple of posts I had missed there. Imagine my complete and utter shock, when I found this video, at the bottom of one of them!!



I am NOT finding this funny!

captcha 2

And yet another one. I am sensing something in my future that probably shouldn't be there :D

Captcha of the day

I thought I would share this captcha I got today with you.
(cuffs and a nightstick, oh my)

lol of the day

sooo what's up

Hi there. How you been? What have you been up to? How's life treating you?
I've been fine, thanks. Been up to a whole lot of nothing but work and playing an online game. Life is treating me just fine. Everyone is still alive and kicking, or in some cases smaxing. (some will get that reference others won't)

Mother Nature decided to have a little fun at out expense last week. She dropped 6 inches of that frozen white chit on the ground. It was not fun to drive in. It was wet and slushy, so of course the jeep wanted to go every which way. It was mostly gone the next day, but still. No snow, what so ever in March, then that.

Work has been hectic as usual. We are off mandatory overtime for now, but I still work 48-60 hours a week. The move to the plant on the other side of town is going along well. Our department should start moving next month. That will shorten my drive quite a bit time wise.

I guess that is all for now, until next time, watch your back America, someone is always watching.

wet

It's been unseasonably warm lately, with a lot of rain. I have heard it will be a very active tornado season, and I can believe it. We don't normally get temps in the mid 40's for this long in March.


Work is still busy as heck, and the overtime keeps coming. Within the next few weeks they will start moving our department, over to the plant, on the other side of town. It will cut about 15 minutes off my commute to and from work. The only issue there is, we have heard that the supervisor is an asshat. He treats the sole female worker over there right now, like trash. I hate to tell him, but he has 14 more women, on the way :D And at least one of them (me), has NO intentions of being anyone's whipping post. Any one that knows me, knows I don't ever back down, no matter the rank of the person involved. I will fight for what is right, and I will take his sorry, woman hating a$$ to court, if need be.

My daughter takes her LPN board test the 19th of March. I will be taking off Thursday and she and I will drive down to Brookfield Thursday afternoon. I hate trying to navigate an unknown city at night, and there was no way I wanted to work 12 hours then drive down afterward. She has to be there at 7:30 Friday morning and it is almost a 3 hour drive from here.

I started a new physical therapy for my shoulder this week. Two hours a day, five days a week. It is something I could be doing at home, and not lose two hours worth of work each day. (what a waste) I did the circuit they had mapped out, that was suppose to last 2 hours, in under 90 minutes. (and never broke a sweat) The therapist was not a happy camper. And to all those that are thinking I should be enjoying the two hour break from work, buzz off. Some of us happen to love our jobs. Not to mention, we are so busy right now, that I just have to work twice as fast when I get back.

Other than that, I don't have a whole lot to say.
Stay safe out there America, it's a wicked world we live in.

Waves and stuff

Yes, I am still alive. I have been darn busy lately. We're still on mandatory OT, and I have been fitting in physical therapy besides. The vet says, hopefully this coming Friday, I should be off light duty and back to regular work. (whatever that is nowadays)
Other than that, it's been a whole lot of same old, same old, for me and mine.
The world continues to turn, slowly, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.

Good bye OT?

The moving of machinery down to North Carolina is moving along nicely. We have 4 new people in our department, relocated to us when their machines were taken out. There is a slim chance we will be coming off mandatory overtime in the next couple weeks. Having been on overtime since last July, and mandatory OT since November, and being on light duty the last 3 weeks (2-4 more weeks to go :| ) I am actually looking forward to working a normal 40 hour week for a while. There is also a rumor going around that all departments will be going to a 12 hour swing shift. It would consist of 12 hour days 2/2/3. Which means never working more than 3 days in a row. I think I could get to like that. Not to mention every paycheck would have an automatic 8 hours of OT in it.

My new job

This is what I will be looking like for the next few weeks.

It's Friday!!!!

Yet another long week done and over with. The last two days sucked. They are removing the machines and in order to do that they need to have the big overhead doors open. Where do I work?? Directly across from them. I haven't been warm for two friggin days :(

Edgar Allan Poe

It's been a while since I posted a Poe quote, so here you go.

"And then there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave."

- from "The Pit and the Pendulum"

nights

As you know, I have been putting in 12 hour shifts for many, many months now. This past week our boss dropped another bomb shell on a few of us. Due to the location of our machines, in relation to the machines they are moving out of the plant and down to the new mill in North Carolina, (our machines won't have power during the day while they are disassembling the other ones) we are being asked to work a week of 12 hour nights. From 5p.m. to 5a.m. One week of having our sleep patterns screwed up, one week of not knowing if we are coming or going. I couldn't even stay up to bring in the new year, this night stuff may be the end of me. So if during the week of January 11th I don't comment on your blogs, or post anything here, you'll know why.