Good things come to those who read the NYT book review

Remember when I was looking for that author duo that even Anne Rice thought was worth reading? Well, they showed up in the NYT this weekend, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I will pursue this as a cheap ebook to test out if they are my cup of tea.

Tomorrow I have a road trip from hell. We are only allowed to travel with a direct employee so we, the contract scum, do not incur any reimbursable expenses. Well this guy, my supe, thinks he is the best car driver in the world. Wrong. And he is that guy that "saves" his wipers only using them when he literally cannot see. The last trip was spent with me dodging bullets in the car and telling him he scared me. This and one more trip and then I am going to refuse to travel. It is no fun and I am tired of the bullshit. I need the information for my benefit, after that it is all a crap shoot and I don't need them.

That is what is hilarious about this company, they tell you up front--you will be contract forever. There will never be advancement. However, if I choose to go it alone I can triple my income in a heartbeat with no effort. And not much extra work. Talk about a company without a plan.

So I am taking bags of wine, don't judge-I went to the good wine store, and when we can escape from the asshat after dinner me and the Princess can sneak out like teenagers and drink and she can smoke.

I am hopeful Big Daddy and Sammy the Spanky Dog will be okay without me.

New adventures

Sammy Dog trying to convince us an empty bowl is a problem. He sits and softly grrs for attention, the he starts flipping and pushing the bowl all over the house. Then he gets the food, he takes a look and goes and snuggles in for a nap.  The orange safety vest is something I wear every day in the plants, isn't it attractive?

I received a text Saturday night asking me if I was prepared to transition to Car City this Tuesday. Will see how this is gonna work Monday and how current boss handles this change. It will be nice to say ta-ta to people that I like and have grown to appreciate.

Big Daddy printed off 2 different map routes for my trip, just in case there are backups and construction. It will be a longer drive-but as it is all freeway it won't take that much longer than what I am driving now on surface streets.

We are making chili for dinner, I finally finished and sent the recipe to Badger, and we are still fighting over how to make it. I taught Big Daddy how to cook the basics and then he soared as a fabulous cook. But I am still protective of my few recipes and how things taste. It is funny how this all worked out, and how Punkin Head takes after his dad in cooking. Good thing as it is not good to starve like I do when left alone.

Oh, it snowed again today and the crew came to clean the driveway again today.

Friday tidbits

Can you guess what it is? I am starting to like this category. I have been berating myself for not taking more pictures and this could solve my problem. Here is a hint-it is inside my car. Yes that is a crappy assembly plant parking lot that has been plowed over one hundred times. No, I don't think the people who take care of the lots are union.

I think I found one of the Slav's enterprises. There used to be a fabulous Italian restaurant in the Woods, Bucce-it is now a sad caricature of it's former self. And most of the people working there now seem to be Slavs. And the "horror of a server" at the Kitchen Counter spent most of her time (when she was not telling patrons they were stupid) trying to do the Chef right there in front of most of us. And she had really badly dyed trying to be 90's red hair. One less place to spend my money. And it was really expensive to be screwed over that badly.

By the way, I did dress up for our first night out since Christmas and it was enlightening to remember how cold it is wearing a dress, how hard it is trying to find a place to get out of the car without boots, how careful one must be not to fall on one's ass walking to the restaurant. This is the Grosse Pointes for all that is holy, we cannot afford a smidge of salt?

Last Friday I called my old boss and inquired if they had any plans for me after Valentines Day. That is when my hours would revert to 15 hours a week. I explained as that was not acceptable I would need to be seriously considering the "opportunities available in this short period of time".  Yesterday I got a call from my current boss, very curt by the way, asking what I knew about Car City. I played dumb, but it looks to me like I may be going to Car City and current boss may start having to work a full time job again.

Sammy Dog and I are so tired of this snow. There is no more room for the snow. I cannot make a left turn out of my lane without saying a prayer as you can no longer see if you are gonna get T-boned or not. And the tire spinning on trying to get going is hilarious. And we are supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Yippee.

Oh, speaking of Sammy the Spanky Dog, I bought him a new sweater on Amazon. It seemed a bit large but he was okay with it. Big Daddy came in a bit later and remarked on the strange attire Sammy was wearing. He had somehow squiggled the sweater down and now the turtleneck collar was under his front legs and his hind legs were in the front arm holes. Almost a strapless gown, but with pants.  And he seemed quite a bit happier.

Just a few last minute bits before The Big Trip

I got a manicure and pedicure.

Decorations on the lockers at the plant.

A random Christmas tree in the plant.

I have just one rant-able item for the year. Men with trendy facial hair that is gray. Gray hair on your face is not attractive, sexy, or in any way helpful to making old geezers look hot to younger women. Unless they use "Just for Men" but that is a whole 'nother ugly story.

Just one last Comcast report before Christmas, last night they called Big Daddy at 8:30 PM on his cell phone (the home phone does not work) and asked him if he was satisfied with his exemplary service. Well, you know Big Daddy is much more calm than I am and he kinda went off on them. The hilarious part was when they told Big Daddy he could not talk to them that way. You make the call and you roll the dice on whether the recipient of your glad tidings wants to converse with your sorry ass.

We are packing and trying on clothes and talking with Punkin Head and in general getting ready. We might have a trip to some falls in the Columbia Gorge so I am guessing some appropriate clothes are in order for that segue from town.

The kids are picking us up at the Portland airport, the reservations for dinner are made, Sammy the Spanky Dog is at the Heartbreak Hotel. Oh, we had to tell them about cooking his dinner. They said he did not eat well last time and then we remembered. Did we tell them to add hot water to his food? Did we tell them to stand there as he is watching and tell him it is cooking?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all and I will report on the trip if possible. If not a bunch of pics when we get back.

Monday minutiae

We have not had any Sammy reporting for awhile now. Sammy's new thing-when he gets out of the prison bathroom he goes outside and takes care of business. When he is done he barks and I go let him in. He grabs his toy and runs to his bed in the family room as if the devil himself is chasing him. This is his family room bed, his prison bed is much smaller and not as cushy.

I went to the dermatologist for the huge red thing that appears, fades, reappears and wouldn't you know it faded away and on the day of my appointment my skin looked better than it had in years. WTF. She gave me Metrogel and a coupon.

We had Faux Veteran's Day on Friday, really the start of firearm hunting here in Michigan, so everything is fairly quiet at the plants. Wonder how the hunters fared in the terrible winds we had. I saw 2 horrible accidents on the way home. Don't know why they happened but both were nasty. I think I need flares for my car, never had them before. Don't think I have my shovel anymore either.

I cannot find boots and I hate how all the shoes are differently sized now. Used to be a 7 was a 7, not anymore. Kinda ticks me off.

We are taking the seasonal payment for snow removal this year. Last year we paid by the push and got whacked on the costs. They were in the street waiting to plow before the sun could melt the snow. This year we figure if there is no snow it is a small price to pay.

I went with Big Daddy to Trader Joes on Saturday. First I had to get a dress hemmed, needed over a foot taken off then on to the grocery store. Bugger was not there so I was disappointed and we spent a fortune. But we stocked up and have dinner for the week plus backup food and wine. I got some Candy Cane Green Tea not realizing it is extremely minty. Punkin Head said it is horrible so I am not looking forward to trying it. I also got chocolate chip scones, I know they are not on the diet, and he said they were horrible-and he was right.

Blech.

A very hard week

I only clocked in 16.5 hours and it feels like I worked one hundred.

Yesterday I walked 3+ miles and today 4.15 miles and it was not a busy day. Those are only work miles by the way.

My new plants are okay and I think this will work for a while. I think the Big Boss guy is looking for more opportunity and new plants, maybe I can be the Jack of All Trades, it could happen.

Everyone at my old plant is telling my old boss how much they like me and think I got screwed, that is very nice to hear. The  new people seem fine and I just need to remember it takes time to feel comfortable. I remember at the old place after a month or so people just got used to seeing you and started talking and that is how you learn the flavor of the plant and get some people to talk to all day long.

The traffic is much worse in this direction. Sammy is starting to act like a Diva in the mornings.

I need a haircut and getting one in the morning and if it all turns out horrible again, I just might have to take JoAnnes advice and cut the cord. And the vain part of my being wonders if I had blown out and worked on my hair if I would still be there. I no longer go to work with the witchy curly hair do.

Odd happenings

I looked outside and there were about 50 or 60 people that I had never seen before milling about in the middle of the street. The men were all in suits and the women in all different outfits from casual to dressy. There was a woman standing in the middle of this gathering hold shiny green beads in her hands as if to pass them out, but she never did. They stood around for awhile and took some pictures and everyone got back in the cars and left. Maybe 15 minutes tops for this gathering. WTF.

Big Daddy and I were having a before dinner drink and some wonderful almonds coated in olive oil and rosemary. I left the room for a moment and when I came back Sammy dog was noshing along with us. This has never happened before. As my drink was non-alcoholic (lent) I was not worried there but I was not too sure about him digesting the nuts. I was also pretty pissed as I had to toss out the rest of the very expensive nuts due to dog slobber.

I went shopping yesterday for Punkin Head's birthday present and wouldn't you know it stores had everything but the one exact item I was looking for. Phooey. But it was good to know that Ace Hardware moved the broken ass cart to the new store so I felt comfortable in wrassling the crappy cart all over the store.

I traveling to other end of town on Mack Ave and I almost fell over when I saw a McDonald's store on the corner. There used to be car dealerships all over this section of Mack and when the bad times came and they all shut down, well now a Micky D is there in case Esby ever visits. It is on the Detroit side of the street as this would never be allowed in Grosse Pointe proper. They don't want to attract the riff raff ya know.