Monday, February 21, 2011

Monday 2/21/2011

Monday

I actually wrote almost an entire entry yesterday but never got around to finishing it, much less publishing it.

Oh well. I found my cellphone where I had left it on Friday: in the semi. I figured it was in there but didn't bother to drive all the way over here to get it - I have my home phone as back up.

It rained a long time yesterday, very nice ground-drenching type of rain. I was out there in between rain stop and start looking at my dead Sissoo trees. The leaves are all dead, no green anything.

But wait, something caught my eye. I started to inspect one of the smaller ones much closer. Little, tiny green buds popping out all over the thing!! I rushed around the property, inspecting all of them, large and small: same thing!! Hootin'NannyHoller! They aren't dead!

I don't know which thought was more depressing about the idea that ALL of them were dead: the time it took to acquire them and plant them or the time spent in having them grow, especially the larger ones that are upwards of 15 feet tall now.

Oh, the hummingbirds showed back up. Inexplicably, they disappeared over a week ago and now - here they are again. No clue on that one. I just keep the feeders filled with fresh liquid.

Wisconsin. Fascinating stuff going on there. Republicans are stating that if the dems don't come back, they are just going to start passing other bills that don't need anything but a simple majority present. The weather in Wisconsin - anywhere in Wisconsin - is anything but pleasant. I have been there in the winter, it's usually very cold and a lot of snow everywhere if memory serves me correct.

You will see wedges of cheese walking down the street on their owner's heads........

Again, there must be some way to either force them back or find some ancient law in the books that deals with this kind of problem - or just recall the whole lot of them - them being the democratic senators who have fled the state - and start fresh. And one more thing while we're at it, those teachers BETTER get their hineys back in school tomorrow - I'm assuming today is pretty much a nationwide school free day considering it's President's Day - and start teaching those kids again.

If they don't, they should be fired. Period. They made their statement, now it's time to get back to teaching kids.

And if those "doctors" out there are actually real doctors that were handing out notes/prescriptions/whatever they were to get teachers "legally" out of work, without even checking the person over, they should lose their right to practice medicine anywhere.

I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these people. I don't have "collective bargaining rights". I collect all my brain cells together, think of how I might go about asking for more money and do it. But not NOW, in this economic chaos. I don't have guaranteed rights to raises and I definitely don't have a pension plan that will last forever a day and a half that I barely have to pay anything into like those people do. LET THEM PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE - just like the rest of us are being FORCED to do. Government employees should not be granted an out simply because they work for the government. Why do they get a free pass and people like me get hours cut, but still have to pay into health care and 401k's at MUCH higher rates? If times were good, it might be different. I live in a right to work state, unions don't have much grip here. There are some around, but mostly, you have to push for your own self and get as much money as you can per hour.

This is the 5th stop in a series of moves I made to get to higher pay. I restarted trucking in - 2004 I think it was - got a job paying low, got another job paying more, etc etc etc to the point where I'm at now. I will be happy when I'm making another $5 per hour above what I am currently making. That will bring me up to where I should be in my level of experience. Will I ever get it? I don't know - but I have to do it on my own.

Well, whatever, work day is here. I don't know that there's going to be a lot to do, the construction sites are probably muddy and probably general contractors will shut them down if city inspectors force them to, they don't want that stuff tracked all over the streets everywhere.

G'day.

ben

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