Welcome to Season #2

I miss my Prix

Tonight when I was coming home I was surrounded by not just one red corolla but three... It was kinda creepy to say the least and made me miss my Grand Prix because I have never meet another 81 Beige Grand Prix on the road...

I want one...

Today I think I'm grateful...

It seemed every hour today we heard of more and more people that were laid off/let go/fired how ever you choose to say it.. but the more and more I kept hearing about it has made me grateful of the skills and education I have, that even if/when this job ends, I won't be starting from nothing.. One story in particular that got me thinking was one who started with the company on the college program and never left (and never finished school) who worked their way through Attractions to become a manager where they have spent the last 6-8 years. They have been with the company over 17 years total until today when they were let go. They were good at their job but now what. In the outside world they really have no "marketable skills."

I also think I am grateful that this company became "a company" to me before its now become "just another company" because while I hate the reality we are living in, I understand it better and its not how dare this "wonderful, magical place" do that. It may be a great place but at the end of the day all that matters is dollars and cents.

Sigh- I am ready for the tension and fear to be over with...

Simple pleasures

So one of my all time fav things here in Orlando is the (&%# car wash... I know its lame but Its super cool as its one of those pull-the-car-through ones...

Where else can you get such a thrill for 3 bucks (+ free vacuum)

I need to figure out a way to make it pic of the day sometime...

So is it a bad thing

when it takes almost 24 hours from being away from work and a 2 liter diet dew bottle later to finally feel free from work? I am so tired of it its not even funny.. Its almost down to the point of bribing myself to work 3 days a week (2 days are just fine as Capt isn't there..) which I haven't done since working at La Quinta (and that was only for the first 2 months..)

Since our new "schedule bid" it has become a comical nightmare. He thinks he is now "the most powerful oz" and has started to pick and choose WHAT calls he'll respond to and which he will not, yet things are NOT getting done... When I asked 2 days ago if he had walked the rooms and he replied he did, I did not walk the rooms only to have a group leader find a huge mess inside one of the rooms (and yours truely was the one who got THAT issue...)

I do know this is the only chance for us to see him "hang himself" figuratively not literally but its a lllooonnnngggg process, and I don't know if there is enough dt dew in the world...

Flower and Garden

Beautiful!

Not as good as being there but no traffic...

So far so good...

Its not as good as being there but getting minute by minute updates rocks :)

So

the layoffs/firings are starting to have names and faces to me and I don't like it very much...

The sad part is I don't think its over yet :(

Why am I convinced its Sunday?

for some bizarre reason I keep thinking its Sunday and not Thursday so I guess itll be a surprise when I get ER and Ace of Cakes tonight instead of Newhart...


Long week? yes why do you ask

Will they ever fly?

So I think I figured it out... Its a ploy to get the Shuttle program extended past '10 by not launching what they have, itll force the program to fly longer- I am a HUGE fan of NASA but I am starting to wonder why its taking so long to get a shuttle up between Atlantis's issues with Hubble (which okay is not really Atlantis's problem) and now another delay with Discovery... It should be 2 for the year and so far its 0...

So today I wanted to go see the shuttle launch "up close" and had been debating on if/where to go. When I heard Kennedy were selling tickets for todays launch I decided to go and was impressed to learn that it was not a special ticket for visitor complex (so free! since I have an AP) and I had fun seeing things I hadnt before (though the kids show is about 25 min longer than it should be..) until the launch was scrubbed about 3:00... Course I had just bought the refillable "mug" so that was a waste of 5 bucks... but it was still a fun day (though I *really* wanted to see the launch but if it gets pushed till Mon/Tues Ill prob try to go back...) I did buy the pin...


I did like the special maps they did...



but not a fan of the card..


but here is Discovery hiding from view...


and 39B is getting upgraded to support Orion and the Constellation program

It feels like spring

Ya know...

Food cooks so much better IN the oven instead of on top... and I even set the timer


Long day? Yes why do you ask...

Today was a good day..

Simply because when I went and deposited 2 checks and saw the balance, I figured none of the bills had cleared yet... I checked tonight and ALL had cleared including the 120 from Toyota AND car insurance...

Its a nice feeling.. I may be able to afford juice AND milk this week (and maybe a box of Mac n Cheese)

Oh wait I did splurge at Property Control and spend 1.33 on a reusable grocery bag and a pair of sunglasses... Scratch the mac n cheese ;)

The guise of accommodation...

So we have a schedule bid coming up next week and its become a joke (IMO) as the bid lines have changed so much its become painfully obvious that its been adjusted for Capt Awesome's preference and doesn't look anything like the schedule lines we've had for over a year... I know I don't get a true say as I am the low man on the totem but its just pathetic.

Yet the guise is that "its to accommodate ALL our preferences.." ummm not so much... I think the only "preference" we got was that we'll all keep our days off (which wasn't a preference anyway) We were JUST fine with the bid lines the way they were, even with getting a new one...

Don't even get me started on that it could be union grieved already due to the fact its been altered twice since it was posted without any notation it was updated...

But what do I know, I was just trained by prob the best scheduler there was.

Pics from today

another piece of irony

So today on my road trip to the Wilderness Preserve everywhere you hear about it it has the phone number to call to check if its open (as it can close due to a variety of reasons) so when I called this morning and was listening to the recording it listed its operating hours and then proceeded to tell me to call to check if it was open and gave the same number I had dialed...

so I should hang up dial again and listen to the same recording again? and again and again...

Yes it was open (and no I didnt hang up- I pressed 0)

When creative goes wrong...

So today I wanted poppy seed cake and thought I had pudding at home... Well I didn't but I did have Banana Cream and figured to be a bit creative (cause I didn't want to go to the store...) figured itd be the same.. Um apparently there is something magical about French Vanilla (the kind I shouldve used..) because it came out NOTHING like it should... Tastes actually pretty good but is nothing to show to others...

Some signs are informative..

others not so much.. Now this one would be completely informative if we were NOT standing AT Riverside and wanting to go to French Quarter (which was the next stop.. which ironically had the exact same (correct for them) sign..)

Apparently

I didn't have much to say last month...

Alas today I spent 3 hours at the Toyota dealership getting an oil and filters changed and then a new belt of some kind all while learning about the MIT Blackjack team and Counterfeit Currency (thats what was showing on the TV at the dealership..) I do have to say Im grateful for extended warranties as apparently the belt had major issues (besides the annoying squeak) but instead of it costing 550 it was only 50... That I can do 550 not so much... Total out the door was 120 and that included the 40,000 mile checkup.. More than I wanted to spend but less than it could've been...

I can tell its hard times at Toyota as there is no longer free water and snacks and their coffee machine was severely downgraded (used to be a fancy gizmo now its no classier than 7-11) and no more hot chocolate, and it seemed everyone there was for service and not shopping and sadly I could tell how hard they were trying to make money off repairs...

Sad times yet Mart was packed which us unusual for Tues mornings...