Useless Observations

Graveyard Time Dimension

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Hey Kids,

Is it today or yesterday?

Working graveyard shifts, what day to call the day you’re on isn’t as easy as you might think.

I started yesterday, but I’m still at work and when I leave, is it then tomorrow? Or is it today? Yet I finished yesterday’s shift.

When we leave, we can’t say “see you tomorrow” like normal shift people. Or even swing shift people. Our next shift is today, later today, and usually after having some shut-eye, which is what people usually do when the days transition and should feel like tomorrow. Instead you say, “see you later” or “see you tonight”.

What’s weird is that I don’t see these people any more than the people on my day job, but it feels like I work with these people two times a day, which is how often people usually see their familes.

I guess there’s a reason why people say Graveyard messes with your head. You never really belong to either today or tomorrow, and yet you experience them together every day, err, night.

 

Day 303

Good for Me

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Hey Kids,

Mixed day today.

We got our first real snowstorm in Salt Lake. The storm that we all knew was coming hit just as predicted and had all traffic and life wrapped up in a thick white blanket as everyone tried to start the new week.

dnews SnowStorm

Traffic times extended their units of measurement to hours instead of minutes and all schools and places of employment had to learn to deal with late or no-arrivals. I heard there were about 350 reported auto accidents.

For me, I escaped most snowy road involvement. I ran to the grocery store at 5 this morning but after slipping around mostly empty roads, I retired from my traveling. I planned on taking the bus to work but my well being held me home today. So in an unexpected and fortuitous series of events, I received 48 hours of no work required.

The rest has been welcomed and I feel much better this evening for it. I know it will not be for a while before I get to repeat so many days off of both jobs, but I sure needed it.

I’m not sure of my status for tomorrow, it’ll be a game time decision. But suffice to say, the motorcycles are grounded for a few days now.

This bad day for so many other people, work out well for me. Go figure.

 

Day 294

So Many

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Hey Kids,

Working at the Big Grocery Store, I’ve noticed that everything sure has a lot of options nowadays.

Remember when there was just creamy or crunchy?aisle

Now there’s Creamy, Crunchy, reduced fat of each, no fat, less salt, not salt, a little less salt than that other guy, natural, gluten-free, extra peanuts, extra creamy, super chunky, some with all of the above , and one with Farfegnugen. And each in the Family, Super Family, economy, and on the go sizes.

I don’t mean to complain about choice, but maybe we’ve hit a little bit of an over kill.

 

Day 291

You Get One Shot

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Hey Kids,

Thanksgiving 2015.

Turkey is a wonderful meal. Who in their right mind would think that such a unsightly bird would taste so good? Who took the first try? As difficult as it is to cook a turkey, yet knowing how it can be, how many tries did it take to figure out it was good?

If I try something once and it doesn’t take taste good, I’m not trying it again.

The odds that someone cooked turkey right the first time seems too unlikely. My hat’s off to whoever had the vision and kept trying.

There’s a danger in first impressions. If I have a good experience in some place or product, I’ll keep coming back, even if I end up having a bad experience later. That first experience, in my mind is the norm and if I suffer through an occasional low, it’ll work itself back out.

However, if I have an initial bad experience, the chances are that I won’t give it a second try. How many things have I denied myself just because my first experience was bad? 

I feel it’s important to keep in mind that others might judge in the same way but it might be me that is the new experience. Would I be one and done or always have the benefit of the doubt? 

Make any first impression a good one; it’s the only way to garner future engagement.

 

NaNoWriMo: 38,801/50,000

Day 276

Snow?

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Hey Kids,

Will it snow or will it not?112415 weather

That’s the big question on everyone’s mind tonight.

The snow plow operators hope for a big one. It means work. Overtime for most.

The commuters hope it won’t. It means slow going, loss of hours, loss of pay, possible accidents.

For me it means the halt of motorcycling and the beginning of riding the bus to work. It means longer commutes, longer days. But it also means reading time, maybe short naps, more writing, and no gas money spent.

It seems that for many the coming of the snow means different things to different people. But the one person that seems to benefit the most and yet has the most to lose, is the weatherman. Everyone is tuning in to see if the storm will split or not, he’s in the limelight, a star. Eventually he’ll have to make his forecast and depending if he’s right or not, half of us will curse him and the other will be too busy enjoying it, we’ll never give him another thought.

I figure it matters very little what I wish. I find the weather does what it will regardless.

We’ll see in the morning.

 

NaNoWriMo: 36,724/50,000

Day 274

Security?

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Hey Kids,

A little paper cut out. That’s all it is.

Have you seen your Social Security Card lately?

I haven’t but I thought I knew where I put it: right next to my birth certificate.

Now I can’t find either.social-security-card

I’m picking up a second job and to work, I need my SS card. I have the number. I would think if I can prove my identity, and provide the number that matches that identity, in the age of computers, it should be real simple.

But no. They must see this paper cutout that has my name and number printed on it.

Not a laminated card. Or some embossed sealed paper. Or secret hologram image. It is just a piece of stock paper.

Sometimes I wonder how we ever get out of our own way.

 

 

NaNoWriMo: 36,724/50,000

Day 273

Holiday Tradition

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Hey Kids,

One of my favorite Broadway originated productions is Fiddler on the Roof. I own the movie and have seen it on stage.1250014196topol_380

One of my favorite songs from that production is “Tradition”.

Tavi struggles throughout the production with Tradition vs. On the other hand. Each time he finds tradition challenged he looks and finds that on the other hand, it might make a little more sense to alter the tradition a little to fit the current situation. Time changes things and against the understanding of tradition, on the other hand can still serve the same purpose.

The Holidays, including Thanksgiving, screams tradition. What a family does each year is greatly determined by what they determine as tradition. Alternative activities, different venues, or even swapped dates can set people into a frenzy and decry that the “Holiday was ruined!”

Tradition also can hurt. I loved the things I used to do every year with the family. When it was denied to me, I felt a huge emptiness. The holiday wasn’t denied to me, but the way I felt it had to be celebrated made me feel like I no longer could enjoy it.

On the other hand, I’ve learned to incorporate new traditions with the family of my new wife. I can still fondly recall the old traditions and enjoy those memories, and look forward to new traditions as the family grows.

These upcoming holidays, stick to tradition, but on the other hand, roll with what works for everyone.

 

NaNoWriMo: 36,724/50,000

Day 272

Paging the 90’s

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Hey Kids,

You know the place where you work is struggling when any amount of time is spent within a management meeting to discuss whether pagers need to be mandated in today’s age of smart phones and wifi.

I used a pager and I used it religiously when, in 1998, pagers were relevant.

Can an argument be made that pagers work when other things don’t? Sure. But so is the case of a pencil and Microsoft Word.

I’m happy to report, the department has allowed the masses to decide which way each may choose.

And now, on to making that space shuttle we’ve all been working on.

 

NaNoWriMo: 30,270/50,000

Day 268

Born Free

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Hey Kids,

I attended a naturalization ceremony for a staff member today.

It’s the second time that I’ve had the pleasure to do so.

I remember having similar thoughts the last time but this time my thoughts were a little more defined and specific.

The group of new Americans numbered around 120. They represented 47 countries and every continent but Antarctica.American-Flag-in-the-Sun (1)

The main speaker was a well-known local news anchor and reporter. She has left television news to pursue her own on-line magazine. She only went through the naturalization process just last year. She shared the story of her family coming from Iraq to Sweden and then eventually landing in the US. Her father is now an engineer and runs his own business.

The MC also welcomed five of the new citizens to speak. A few of them struggled to express themselves in English but they were each proud to try. All five told of their happiness to now be a citizen and the feeling of having endless opportunities and possibilities for them and their families.

I take so much of this for granted. It made me feel like a slacker for not trying harder. And yet pleased and relieved that I live in a place where at forty-nine years of age, my future is still nearly limitless.

An employee used to tell me a saying his daddy taught him.

“I used to complain about having no shoes, until the day I saw the man with no feet.”

I realized today, I have feet and shoes. And always have.

Now get to stepping.

 

NaNoWriMo: 26,909/50,000

Day 266

My Way of Thinking

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Hey Kids,

Watching football tonight, a scenario presented itself.

1:03 left in the game. Seattle, down 10 points to Arizona, drives deep into Arizona’s side of the field. It’s third down. The field goal unit trots out on the field and kicks a field goal.3stooges

What?

According to mathematics, they needed a touchdown and a field goal. In my thinking, you push until you get the 7 points from the Touchdown and then go for an on-sides kick and kick the field goal as time expires.

That was my thinking, my expectations; not that of the professionals.

In reality, it doesn’t matter what order you get the 10 points. To kick the field goal early, it gives you more time to work on the touchdown. Never thought of that.

How many times is my thinking just my thinking and not always the best thinking? Probably more than I would care to know.

That being said, Seattle made the field goal but failed to recover the kick off and lost the game.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter.

 

 

NaNoWriMo: 25,125/50,000 (Caught up!)

Day 256