Me and Marvin got a second date

Yepper, laid off again next week. Boss man bitching cuz he can't get me on the new corporate cell phone I told him would not work 4 months ago. WTF.

More tomorrow when I am rested.

Safety Issues

Guess what? It us against union rules to pull up a small tote (think plastic milk crate) and check installation issues on the line, actually between 2 tight lines. Oh well, wonder if this engineer is going to get time off. You just do not check someones work within 5 feet of their job standing on a crate. WTF, are these people just nuts. Why not put up a sign-I don't do not think this dude is performing his job? Standing on a blue crate?

18 degrees F here, dog shit is frozen to the porch, Grrdog is bitchy, Ex-mayor wants to seek jobs out of state-no, really, and California and the senate wants to make their own rules for car emissions. Why don't they just make it illegal to buy certain cars? Do we care what they drive in California? Do we think Julia Roberts and George Clooney are in the same buying public that we belong to? Or are all the illegals driving used Prius vehicles? How many heads of lettuce can you fit in a Prius? WTF

Sunday Newspapers

This is GrrDog and Big Daddy reading the Sunday papers. Doesn't he look sweet. He just got a bath and a blow dry. I had a great blog write-up that somehow disappeared when trying to attach the pictures. Lost the writing and maybe learned how to post pictures.


This next picture is Big Daddy's helpful hint at posting the picture of Grrdog. This is actually Turtle Soup from the Rib Room at the Omni Royal Orleans in New Orleans. I could post more if anyone is interested. The duck livers at NOLA are fabulous.
The automotive connection, the book on the table "Victorine" by Frances Parkinson Keyes tells of the recession in the rice production in Louisiana and how the formerly well off were forced to drive older cars and could not afford to replace them. However there were many purchases of gold slippers in what I would consider a back woods town. Fancy cars, fancy shoes, blind-pigs, jealousy, and stalking. In the 1920's. WTF

This is a DISASTER

The phone rang at 8AM on a Saturday. This is a bad sign, no one would call me at 8AM on a Saturday unless they believe I need to buy something from them or they have BAD NEWS. It was BAD NEWS. My toe and finger lady cancelled my pedicure. She cut her cornea. WTF. Do I try to do my own toes-try to live two more weeks with these toes-what if I have to find a new toe lady-I just bought new pedi socks last month, I can't waste them by doing my own toes-besides I can't see that well and I am used to perfect polish. Damn. There are days my toes are my only moment of happiness. Everyone wants something from me. Grrdog wants to pee/poop/get a cookie/and most importantly grr at me. Big Daddy expects me to listen to his babble. My boss wants me to talk to him. The Worm, Gregory, wants me to let him lecture me on how smart he is. DAMN. This is a serious dilemma. What if she is permanently out of the toe business? Damn.

Now what do I do, learn to use my new Blackberry so I don't look a fool at work or make the TOE decision? This is just too much for a Saturday morning. Okay, now I feel better, Obama also has to learn how to use a new phone. I won't be the only one fumblin and stumblin in front of the customer. Wonder if he gets his toes done? I saw a picture of him in sandals and you know sandals on a man can be sketchy. Bad cuticles and ragged nails and rough patches and hairy, hairy, toes.

I have made an executive decision. The toes win.

Exhausted

Really just whipped or whupped or rode hard and put away wet. This has been a dreadful week. Working and worrying about Marvin. When I got back to Plant Loco and told them of my Marvin troubles everyone had advice. However the best advice came from my faux union steward who asked if I got my debit card. Of course not, I thought this came after I talked to Marvin. HUGE PROBLEM. Then I spent the next day and a half calling the state unemployment people, finally got someone late Wednesday that told me I was DENIED. How could that be? I have worked for like forever!!! Company filed the papers wrong (which they deny) anyway it got fixed but this took a lot of time and energy for the week.

Next the reorg at the three headed doggie company gave me Gregory as my new customer contact, he hates women, he hates suppliers, he hates his boss and he hates himself. Oh joy. Then I have an ISSUE. The worm then does everything in his power to do nothing and blame me (me being my company). This is one of those guys you would throw your lit cigarette on if he was on fire. Guess what, the worm who could not root cause the damn problem is now laying low. Fie on you worm.

Funny of the day, the plant did not run for about 3 1/2 hours because a chain broke. Normally you would replace the chain and good to go but when you don't pay your chain people, well fuck, they won't give you no more chain. Life is a bitch.

Back to work rant

Whew, don't know if I can survive this frenzy. Got up and dressed and make-up applied, damn I even blew out my hair beautifully. I mean this hair is great.

Got on the phone, land line only as advised, to call Marvin. The great Marvin, who spoken about with the same reverence as the Wizard of Oz. Well, never spoke to ole Marvin as the "circuits are busy, please try again" mantra filled my ear for the hour I was allowed to call Marvin. Fie on Marvin and the state of Michigan. Thanks Jenny for the great service.

After taking care of business (not allowed during Marvin call, all efforts to Marvin only) I started up the company email only to find that HR decided I was off today, either vacation or you just don't get paid---you pick---and call me tomorrow when you return to work to let me know what you decided. WTF.

So....then I called the admin to say, "You know I'm on vacation right" (no clue as HR did not tell the department) and after the holiday bullshit was over I asked the SEMINAL question (highly creative or unique) "You gotta an idea what the plans are for my new company cell phone that I will be needing tomorrow morning at 6AM?" Well guess what, after 3 and 1/2 months of discussing and planning this new corporate policy and canceling my service as corporate will no longer pay for expensed phones, I get to go to work tomorrow with no phone. Please understand, I am a guest in assembly plants. I do not have a desk, or a desk phone, or a computer (Blackberry died last month) nor do I house homing pigeons. In other words, when I leave my house there is absolutely no way to reach me. Just how is the customer supposed to get my attention tomorrow? And God forbid my boss or my own company wants to impart some wisdom or ask me to find out why they are being charged for an air expedite. Don't even talk to me about "We were written up for bad parts", well yea that happens every day and if my pigeon and I would get the coop set up on the roof of my car maybe we could help you. And I will bet you any money that whoever is charge of this project gets promoted.

Oh yes, the best is yet to come, this afternoon on my vacation, I have a 1:30 conference call to discuss everything I am supposed to tell the customer tomorrow. Livin the dream in autoville.

I am trying to contain myself

I go back to work Monday and to Plant Loco on Tuesday-Martin Luther King day is UAW holiday. Still don't have a work cell phone, last paycheck is wrong, gossip is that I get the wacko for my engineer, and I haven't started my car this month. I love this industry. This is why I make the big bucks, figure it out on the fly and don't fuck up. Thank you God I am good at what I do.

Punkin Head said he read my blog and would sign on as a follower, no evidence of this yet but Punkin Head is busy. He is supplying bread, eggs, and milk to all of Brooklyn for the upcoming deep freeze. Maybe also some wine and cheese which reminds me no hints on new foods from Punkin Head.

Big Daddy had a huge manly day on Friday, fixed the mail slot and the ice maker with only 2 trips to the hardware store. This is a record.

Funny of the day, well reading other blogs-Waiter Rant and Well Done Fillet I remembered some incidents from the past about New Orleans. Great story on Waiter Rant about conversations with our elders I remember the wonderful conversations I had with Miss Verita, Verita Thompson, aka Humphrey Bogart's mistress. Hilarious insights into daily interaction and wonderful memories of Hollywood where shared and appreciated by all. Her best response was when I asked her "Miss Verita, how was Humphrey Bogart?" Her response "Not too shabby." Who still uses the word shabby. Sadly Miss Verita passed and now I need another funny.

Read a story today on the Drudge Report about D.C. having prostitute free zones for the inaugeration. Now how exactly do you have prostitute free zones? Surely they don't mean the prositutes are working for free? Or are they just trying to point the David Vitter type Senators in the right direction? Reminds me of a visit to my favorite place where we went to a very upscale cigar bar on a Wednesday evening. The bar was attached to a famous restaurant and they had just published a cookbook. Now Big Daddy and I collect restaurant cookbooks, so Big Daddy was in heaven with the sample cookbook to read and I had a wine and a cigarette in the beautiful bar so I was reasonably happy. Big Daddy's reading and I am observing. I note the two beautiful women in very expensive clothing and accessories hanging on the every word of two elderly gentlemen. Beautiful women in their 30's, elderly gentlemen discussing WWI and WWII. Get the picture. These women are swooning with interest. I mean swooning. So I look around, and I swear this looked like an upscale version of the movie Pretty Baby. I told Big Daddy, "Dearest, I am the only woman in this place that is not a hooker." He, still reading the cookbook, says something along the lines of yea, right . . . they have a different shrimp remoulade recipe than I use. I continue to peruse the crowd and continue making hooker comments, like "asshole, I am serious this is a hooker haven and they think I am the loser hooker in the joint." Big Daddy finally finishes the cookbook looks around and says "Geez, you're right all these women are hookers. Want another wine?" WTF