6 days to go-Bye Bye Detroit

I leave next Saturday for FC and need one more day to get everything right. Normally on vacation, although this really is not a vacation, I don't worry about a thing or two missing or not done or that I might have to buy something when I am there. Well, not this time. Do not know for sure what I need, what I can buy, or when I may have an opportunity to look for anything.

I will be travelling to towns where Big Daddy does business and does not shop. He gets picked up at the hotel and driven back at the end of the day. And some of the FC citizens don't take kindly the Americans. Don't hurt you or anything, they just refuse to communicate or sell you items. Go home Yankees.

And I need to make sure I have stuff here in case I fly back into a snow storm or worse. Get home at midnight and having visions of my roof caved in. Big Daddy says buy smokes at Duty Free, don't know how to do that. Change money at airport but no one knows if FC money is available. Curb check-in I hope or I have to find one of those cart guys. And I need a ton of Dramamine. Don't know if I can buy that over there and will be flying on a lot of suspect airlines.

Plant Loco finally got the yard clean Saturday without my help. I was out there Friday at 34 degrees with high winds and it was a mess. No help, me and Jim trying to check 2000 vehicles and write down VIN numbers. Then they wanted us to repair the vehicles as we found them with alcohol wipes. I told them not happening dude. That was crazy. Then at 1:30 after they ate lunch they all appeared and told me I was not doing it right. At that point I explained I was frozen to death and did not give a shit. I said 4 more vehicles and I am outta here. That is when they offered to drive me around in a car. And you wonder why they went bankrupt. WTF. Keep in mind this was a National holiday and I had to work on a corporate holiday with no compensation other than my boss saying he would take care of it next year.

Well thanks to their poor management and labor practices, as exhibited in this latest yard hold, I am going to FC to check out my new home and job opportunities. And I am seeing no improvement to think I can move back to the US in the near future. Looks like I will move permanently in the winter or spring of 2010.

I think I have the flu

Fever, chills, aches, cough and snuffy nose and popping ears. Called in sick yesterday and spent the entire day up to 6:30 on the phone due to Plant Loco crazies. They put the yard on hold and now they can't quite justify what the problem is.

So on Friday, my company holiday I will be a Plant Loco with the whacko people trying to do who knows what. Outside. In the rain. WTF. With my bag of used tissues and of course my box of tissues. Wet tissues. Shit.

Then asshole dishwasher repair guy gets here with the long awaited part. First he asks to pee. Then he needs to turn off the circuit breaker. Then he is on the phone telling the company it is the wrong part. He then tells me he will have the right part sometime on Friday. I said, "Wait a minute-you told me it takes 10 days to order this part from the factory." Then he tells me the part is in Cleveland as if that makes sense. So I asked him to go turn the circuit breaker back on and he tells me that he never found it. WTF. So I called his boss and requested an explanation. Hmmm, she will call me back.

Oh yea, I asked my boss if I was getting my holiday back and he said yes. I said good I will need it next week. He said not til next year. I said you are firing me the first of the year. He said no, not really, we will talk the first of the year.

4 more days of work, one of which is free, and 8 days to FC.

Me and the dishwasher repair guy

This is getting to the point of ridiculus. Calls me begging for the second time today to come early. I said to him, dude I work for a living. How does he think I am paying this 300.00 repair bill. I will never use him again. Phooey. So he is coming tomorrow and I am gritting my teeth.

Going in the morning to pick up my Visa and then I will see how long I can stay and visit in FC.

Plant Loco is worse than ever. I cannot even get a conversation with these dudes. I am just doing what needs done without an authority. And they better not question me or I might just get a little nasty. World Class my ass. These guys can't find their ass with both hands.

Well due to the Dishwasher guy I did not get my pants hemmed and can't do it tomorrow so for sure on Wednesday gotta get to the hemmer dude or I will have no pants to wear in FC. And I still gotta check out the luggage situation.

5 more work days and 11 days until I leave. And Big Daddy bought balcony chairs and flatware. Help me.

I thought I was done crying

Gosh 2 blogs in one day.

My big wood closets door are off the track. Goodness. And maybe the Scary Guy who does yard work can fix them sometime next week. I need more wine.

There is mysterious water coming from underneath my washer, which is next to my newly fixed dryer. I need more wine.

Just so you know, other people have a lot worse problems. However this sucks for me.

I finally have a minute to chat

Been a busy month. Plant Loco crazy, people in general are crazy and I am trying to stay on a schedule. I don't know how some people do it. People are telling me they sleep 4 or 5 hours and so do their kids. That is not right.

I still have the title of Garbage Queen, 5 bags this week. How do I have so much garbage?

Went shopping for clothes for visit to FC. I have worn out so many clothes I am throwing things out with holes instead of donating "gently used items". Everything I looked at was made in FC. WTF, I won't have time to shop there and am paying triple prices here. And I need to dress casual. That is the worn out work clothes. And there are no black jeans in my size. You gotta be kidding me. And I have to go to a party with Big Daddy's bosses in casual clothes. Who knows what casual is in FC.

Big Daddy moved into our new apartment today and he is ecstatic. Except he is thinking of decorating it. NO NO NO. And it does not have an adequate hair dryer so I have to lug that thing across the world. Great. However I can get an at home massage for 7US dollars. I don't think so. I will go across the garden and get my massage. Oh and we have regular heat and internet now. And the washer/dryer works properly.

Big Daddy finds out tomorrow if he gets his residency permit and passport back. This is after he picks up his shoes he forgot to pack at the hovel. His HR manager did not understand the word hovel, but agreed to send the driver for the shoe pick-up prior to the passport meeting. And Big Daddy may find out tomorrow if he actually has insurance or not. They are not real big on that over there. Explaining things and having meetings.

Plant Loco is still in disarray. Some days they work 10 hours and some days they work 4 hours. So on Saturday they worked some straight time and this does make for happy campers. Defective parts from suppliers usually incur huge charge backs, not when you set yourself up to own said supplier. Hard lesson to learn, especially on my dime since the taxpayers are fronting the money for this experiment. 6 more work days and then I am done for the year. I am also getting the impression my boss may let me go the first of the year. I have some feelers out as FC has some problems at Plant Loco. Wonder if they could use my help? I would do it on the short term, as I am finding out I may get college tuition from the state to go back to school for a better degree. Hmmm. Lots to think about.

Less than 2 weeks until I leave for FC. Getting anxious, nervous and excited at the same time.

Busy week for some reason

Nothing in particular just seemed like there is a lot to do. Got my dryer fixed. $254.00. Glad it is an original Maytag. Haven't heard from the dishwasher guy, he said a week or more. Bosch parts are hard to find. That's another couple hundred. Mercy. Thought the icemaker was broken too but it is making cubes again. Not a clue what happened there. Saw the neighbor kid yesterday and reminded him about the light fixture. Then I remembered I need to go to the hardware store and ask if the storm window might be done this year.

Made the appointment for my Visa application and have to fill out the forms. Once I send in my passport I cannot leave the country until I get it back. No more Canada trips.

Plant Loco is still loco. Can't make their builds, can't get parts to the line, still damaging my parts and now the problems they never fixed are coming back to haunt them. Two people were walked out of the plant for having a traffic incident after work. Drama to the max, involved a rear ender and then a brick through the window. Ouch.

Is it ESP?

Just as I predicted all the shit we owned decided to break when Big Daddy left. Dishwasher on the fritz, dryer on the fritz and I think I need to do something to the drain in tub as I think my hair is falling out. Thought the repair guy died in the basement when I found him on the floor (he was only listening to the dryer) but when he started coughing I figured he only had swine flu. Although after listening to the news tonight at his advanced age it think it is Whooping Cough. Great.

Plant Loco wants to know how I am going to stop someone from not doing their job. Shoot them? Then I would have to know who they are, and people that fuck shit up don't sign their name to it. I know I wouldn't. My question to Plant Loco is since you can't figure that out why do you think I am smarter than you. Maybe because we did not go bankrupt?

Really old dryer repairman told me I have real Maytag washer and dryer and don't ever get rid of them. They don't make them like that anymore. Hmmm.

Detroit is crazy

Snippets:

Kwame came back to tell us all why he can't make his payments-he does not know who pays his rent or if his wife works. Yea right. Is this like don't ask, don't tell?

Plant Loco cannot make the build schedule due to many issues but my favorite is that they have no parts. Got a call that they were out of 2 of my parts. Went to count them with the cycle checker. He could not find the parts. He did not know that they were moved 10 days ago. I found the hi-lo driver to find the parts and she told me she counted them all yesterday and gave me the bay locations. There were over 5000 of both part. WTF. And this is why Production Control is driving to the service warehouse for parts? You need to fix it again, Tony.

Getting the shopping under control but now the housework and yard work is falling behind. Had to get out my Leatherman to fix a loose doorknob and now I have to change all the clocks and watches. Great. Did not buy the rotisserie chicken because everyone told me $8.99 is too much. Have not had real food in a week. Punkin Head tells me Blueberrys are out of season so what am I supposed to put in the Greek Yogurt? I do not frozen berries are going to work. How many do you defrost a day?

This week I have to fill out all the Medical Insurance papers and drop them off, fill out the Visa and make an appointment, and look over my performance review. Also do my expense report and I forgot to tell my boss I am taking someone to lunch. Yikes. Oh and I gotta go pay the water bill, they fixed the entrance to the city offices.

Big Daddy posted pictures of our new apartment and it looks small. And this is not the current apartment he hates. I mean small. Good thing I don't like to cook because 2 of us are not fitting in that kitchen.

Still averaging 4 bags of garbage a week for one person. This is still a mystery to me---why do I have the most garbage. Cookie Lady has still not cleaned up her yard, and she has no garbage debacle. Hmmm.