I love a convertible car. We have now owned two. The first one was a PT Cruiser, red and cool and cute. Boy hated every minute of riding in the back seat with Chubs still having to ride in a car seat. We only had the car for a year and a half. Of course we had a hard time trading it in because in that short time Wife put +43,000 miles. We eventually went and traded it for a much cooler, slightly gangster Chrysler 300C. Beautiful big heavy car with tons of horsepower. Too bad it was a Chrysler.
Anyways, about a year ago, I was able to get my hands on my mothers VW Beetle, which was a convertible. She was fixing to trade it in, my dad did not like riding around in it, declaring it was too low and rough a ride for him. He was used to tractor trailers, so maybe he had a valid point. I knew going into it there were going to be some problems to fix. The car was nine years old, and it had not been driven much. It actually needed a new battery to get it going. After a few visits to a few repair shops, car has been solid. Wife took it to Kansas City a couple months ago, and many times to Corpus Christi last summer it ran in the 85-90 range. Little car can scoot along.
With the top up, it is a little clumsy, wind chirps in, it is not as secure or solid as a hardtop, but that is not the point. When you open the top on a perfect afternoon, there is no better thrill on the road. Maybe a motorcycle, but I would be afraid of dying the whole time, and how are you going to include the family, have Chubs ride on the handlebars? A convertible is the perfect car for cruising. Nothing better than driving through Dairy Queen or Sonic, getting a drink and cruising, specially when we'd do it down on the coast, by the shore, looking out at the boats and the water in that muggy but cool evening weather.
In the front, it's all good, riding in the back, the boys would complain that the wind would hit their face, too bad, was my thought, cruising with them was never longer than an hour. Wife and I will leave the boys behind, sometimes, so we can cruise without having to hear their whining, now we know why parents go out without their kids, it's quiet...
Growing up, I think I got the urge of a convertible because my dad had a friend who owned a gas station and in the gas station they always had a green Midget convertible car. I remember I always wanted to drive that car, as a kid, it was perfectly sized for me, I thought. I see The BMW Z3/Z4 2-seater cars and they remind me a lot of those cars. I always tell my wife I'm gonna get one of those when the kids are out of the house, she just says "your big butt would never even fit in one of those". It hurts, but while looking at cars for my boy, I stood next to one with the door open and could not do the math where my body would fit in that small a space that close to the ground.
Maybe the sporty 2-seaters have passed me by, or maybe that just means I'll have to look into a convertible Corvette or even a convertible Jaguar, full sized cars for the full sized man. We'll see, first I gots to get my two hatchlings employed and out of the house. Who's hiring fourth graders?
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
1/30/15 I'm A Kill You?
My first job out of college was at a warehouse, I've mentioned this, but not given much detail. It was actually a great time, other than I was not doing what I had set in my mind to do, which was figure out a way to make a six figure salary. That was my only concern in high school.
On my first day, the manager told me she was going to put me in charge of the warehouse, learn as much as you can from the current warehouseman. He apparently had dropped a forklift out one of the big warehouse doors, luckily he didn't hurt anyone, but I guess he had to go. Being warehouseman was fine. I kept the floor clean of pallets, learned to drive forklifts quickly, then gradually I was even given charge of supervising the day laborers we would bring in when we got more work than the normal crew could handle. The normal crew was about ten people, but there were about 3-4 teams of two that would deliver goods to local businesses in those big trucks you see all over town. We had a large contract with IBM at the time, and they were constantly bringing in truckloads of monitors, old cables in pallets, old mainframe computers. All this kind of stuff we would store for a week to a couple months then they would come take to dispose of or take to next holding area.
Most of the day laborers were glad to come in and work. They'd do the simplest task, clean, sweep, maybe use that clear plastic to stack old monitors on a pallet to keep them together. Most just needed to be given direction, so I did. I was never trying to be pushy, but I couldn't have guys just hanging out all day either. One day, a new older black guy came in with the crew of laborers. I don't think he was all there, mentally. I would go in earlier than everybody and by the time people walked in and had coffee, I would already have been moving stuff for an hour or two. I told the guy in particular, while slowing down from forklift, grab a broom and give the front of the warehouse a sweep or something as generic as that. The guy acted like I insulted his mother. Told me "hey Guy, Fuck you, I'm gonna kill you and your fucking family." This was like 8am, I drove off thinking what the hell do I do now? I certainly don't want this clown here hiding in the racks, maybe he jumps me. I stayed on the forklift for awhile, then gladly saw him jump off one of the warehouse doors and walk off into the fields. Never came back, but that sucked.
Told my manager about it, he just kinda chuckled, "yeah, sometimes they're not all there. Come on, you're a big guy, you could take him." Took awhile but I walked it off. That place really helped me grow up.
I once pulled a 23 hour shift there. Apart from the warehouse, we were also a moving company, and it happened regularly, on any given weekend after finishing the regular workweek, we would be invited to go to an office and move the furniture. This was kind of fun, usually it was a race with dollies and pallet jacks. Move move move was the game, nobody stopped until work was done. There is no way I would do that job now.
Then there was the Friday night express. We were part of a chain of warehouses throughout Texas. A truck would set out Monday and bring stuff down from Dallas all the way to Brownsville, then gradually make its way back up. Every week, someone was assigned waiting for the guy, sometimes at 5pm, sometimes at 1am. He was a nice older man, who talked to himself, just interjected your name and kept talking. He moved a lot of Kodak printers, large office sized ones. He may have spent too much time around those inks and toners, but he was a good guy.
I'm glad I worked there, did a solid year. I was also glad I did not get the raise I demanded, causing me to quit. I imagine I might have stayed there much longer had they given me a little more money. Other than the death threat, it was a fun time all around.
On my first day, the manager told me she was going to put me in charge of the warehouse, learn as much as you can from the current warehouseman. He apparently had dropped a forklift out one of the big warehouse doors, luckily he didn't hurt anyone, but I guess he had to go. Being warehouseman was fine. I kept the floor clean of pallets, learned to drive forklifts quickly, then gradually I was even given charge of supervising the day laborers we would bring in when we got more work than the normal crew could handle. The normal crew was about ten people, but there were about 3-4 teams of two that would deliver goods to local businesses in those big trucks you see all over town. We had a large contract with IBM at the time, and they were constantly bringing in truckloads of monitors, old cables in pallets, old mainframe computers. All this kind of stuff we would store for a week to a couple months then they would come take to dispose of or take to next holding area.
Most of the day laborers were glad to come in and work. They'd do the simplest task, clean, sweep, maybe use that clear plastic to stack old monitors on a pallet to keep them together. Most just needed to be given direction, so I did. I was never trying to be pushy, but I couldn't have guys just hanging out all day either. One day, a new older black guy came in with the crew of laborers. I don't think he was all there, mentally. I would go in earlier than everybody and by the time people walked in and had coffee, I would already have been moving stuff for an hour or two. I told the guy in particular, while slowing down from forklift, grab a broom and give the front of the warehouse a sweep or something as generic as that. The guy acted like I insulted his mother. Told me "hey Guy, Fuck you, I'm gonna kill you and your fucking family." This was like 8am, I drove off thinking what the hell do I do now? I certainly don't want this clown here hiding in the racks, maybe he jumps me. I stayed on the forklift for awhile, then gladly saw him jump off one of the warehouse doors and walk off into the fields. Never came back, but that sucked.
Told my manager about it, he just kinda chuckled, "yeah, sometimes they're not all there. Come on, you're a big guy, you could take him." Took awhile but I walked it off. That place really helped me grow up.
I once pulled a 23 hour shift there. Apart from the warehouse, we were also a moving company, and it happened regularly, on any given weekend after finishing the regular workweek, we would be invited to go to an office and move the furniture. This was kind of fun, usually it was a race with dollies and pallet jacks. Move move move was the game, nobody stopped until work was done. There is no way I would do that job now.
Then there was the Friday night express. We were part of a chain of warehouses throughout Texas. A truck would set out Monday and bring stuff down from Dallas all the way to Brownsville, then gradually make its way back up. Every week, someone was assigned waiting for the guy, sometimes at 5pm, sometimes at 1am. He was a nice older man, who talked to himself, just interjected your name and kept talking. He moved a lot of Kodak printers, large office sized ones. He may have spent too much time around those inks and toners, but he was a good guy.
I'm glad I worked there, did a solid year. I was also glad I did not get the raise I demanded, causing me to quit. I imagine I might have stayed there much longer had they given me a little more money. Other than the death threat, it was a fun time all around.
1/29/15 You Want To Be A Man? #6
Ambition. Defined as desire for rank, fame, or power. You need it if you want to be a man worth the boots you think you look good in. We are blessed in that we live in 'merica, fuck yeah! Opportunities abound for those that desire. Everyone can find a niche to match their disposition. I am very pro education but clearly, college is not for everyone, and everyone shouldn't be trying to go there. For the uninitiated it is a colossal waste of time. Some people are better off joining the workforce ASAP and getting experience in the real world. That being said, it can be depressing in the beginning, nobody wants to hire kids, they usually lack focus, energy, attention spans, etc.
Ambition got me in the door in my current position. I had been with the company about four years but had been feeling the cold winds of change in the fab I had been in. I applied for a position to do what I do now, with a different manager who is no longer around. I had a feeling he didn't care for me. He asked me "why do you think you can do this job?" With his full staff of 4-5 TEM specialists there in the room. I said first thing that came to my mind: "if they can do it, I can too." He did not hire me, but I didn't care for his attitude anyway. I hate uptight people with power.
About a month later, my current boss called me in for an interview, I hadn't even applied for his position, but he took my name from the other manager and called me in. He wanted an SEM technician, very similar to TEM, as far as we look at tiny samples and take pictures. He was fixing to go on sabbatical, but wanted the position filled before he left. I told him "hire me, nobody will work harder than me." He did and I have been with the group now about 16 years. None of the other manager's chosen flock is around anymore and he was laid off at a certain point. No hate on him, but I don't appreciate when people don't see what a special snowflake I am. :)
I would never claim to be the smartest person in the group, we usually carry 4-5 PhD's in a group of about 20 people, and even some of the other people here are nuts with their fascination of what we do, but I will go head to head against anyone who claims they put out more work than me, year after year.
Be ambitious, apply everywhere, you never know where you might end up. I had no idea semiconductors were a thing. I assumed all electronics were made in Japan and or China, but here I am, almost 20 years into a career I did not set out on, but it has been interesting and fun.
Ambition got me in the door in my current position. I had been with the company about four years but had been feeling the cold winds of change in the fab I had been in. I applied for a position to do what I do now, with a different manager who is no longer around. I had a feeling he didn't care for me. He asked me "why do you think you can do this job?" With his full staff of 4-5 TEM specialists there in the room. I said first thing that came to my mind: "if they can do it, I can too." He did not hire me, but I didn't care for his attitude anyway. I hate uptight people with power.
About a month later, my current boss called me in for an interview, I hadn't even applied for his position, but he took my name from the other manager and called me in. He wanted an SEM technician, very similar to TEM, as far as we look at tiny samples and take pictures. He was fixing to go on sabbatical, but wanted the position filled before he left. I told him "hire me, nobody will work harder than me." He did and I have been with the group now about 16 years. None of the other manager's chosen flock is around anymore and he was laid off at a certain point. No hate on him, but I don't appreciate when people don't see what a special snowflake I am. :)
I would never claim to be the smartest person in the group, we usually carry 4-5 PhD's in a group of about 20 people, and even some of the other people here are nuts with their fascination of what we do, but I will go head to head against anyone who claims they put out more work than me, year after year.
Be ambitious, apply everywhere, you never know where you might end up. I had no idea semiconductors were a thing. I assumed all electronics were made in Japan and or China, but here I am, almost 20 years into a career I did not set out on, but it has been interesting and fun.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
1/28/15 Equality Until The Check Arrives?
"Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street
with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy."
When we go out as a family, even though we have a joint account, my Wife usually wants me to be the man and pay. That way it is on me to figure out the tip. My formula is take the taxes and multiply by two. If waitress is attractive or goes out of his/her way, maybe an extra buck. What do you do at a Luby's or a place where you get your own food, but the waiters come over and pester you, eventually bringing a drink refill or maybe even a little butter? I hate tipping these dudes. Worse, we've been told we're supposed to tip at Sonic. Sonic has mediocre McDonald's type food, they are saving on not having a restaurant and keeping it air conditioned. They should be paying those workers at least minimum wage. Nothing against the food, we stop all the time for drinks or shakes when we go for a cruise, but just because the servers are outdoors, we should financially support them?
It is fun to occasionally let Wife pay. All of a sudden she's opening apps on her phone to make sure she is paying enough of a tip, checking the bank, see if we can afford this meal, oh no, we might have to sell the house because we ate at Whataburger.
So do men pay because we still believe in chivalry, because we know women get 70 cents on the dollar, compared to men? Do we pay to somehow say "I own you, Woman!!" Or is it much simpler, women are bad at math. Numbers and calculations scare them, so we do it to keep the peace?
As long as I can afford it, I will be the hero/sap when the check comes. My wife doesn't always like it, but she did not marry a cheapo. I refuse to sit there and split a check when it is two people eating.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
1/26/15 Tent Camping?
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, except for bears, bears will kill you."
Back before we bought our RV, we attempted camping in a tent a couple times. Both times did not end well, and we gave up the idea and therefore bought our first RV in 2000.
Our first camp out was just us three, before Chubs was born. We had our boat, we bought a new tent and we were ready to rough it. We had everything you see in a staged camping picture, not that it is all used. We even had a gas stove top to cook. Our destination on our first attempt was Inks Lake. It is about an hour and change from the house, perfect distance for a weekend getaway. As soon as we got there, we put the boat in the water and it couldn't be more perfect, I was able to bring the boat almost up to our campsite, just a paved road separated the water and our numbered campsite. I backed in the truck, we set up our tent, then went for an afternoon cruise to enjoy the sunset and maybe sandwiches for dinner as we casually fished and enjoyed the evening. I know we had to have jumped in the water, Boy loved swimming at that age, and I was fifteen years younger, so I would have had more energy to pursue him.
Now we were back on land, and the whole camping thing now became more real. What to do about pooping? Luckily, it was a state park and the bathrooms were kept pretty clean. For some reason, there were hardly any other campers there. This made it that much better, we commandeered one of the bathrooms, did our business, then back to our campsite. I was not satisfied, as there was no shower facilities, but since most of the campsites were empty and it was dark, I took the privilege of squatting by one of the faucets and like you do with a baby using a cup of water, washed my stinky parts.
Things were now great, it was dark, real dark, no stars, no campers, we ate, cool breeze, I remember going to the water to check on the boat and seeing all the little critters that used to excite Boy, frogs and turtles and maybe even a small snake moving about in the shallow water.
Then it turned, the wind started picking up, we weren't sure what was happening, but it got ugly fast, it must have been a big storm, maybe a cold front. I don't quite remember, but at a certain point we jumped in the truck to avoid the wind, looking at all of our stuff all over the place. We weren't sure whether to wait a bit to see if storm would pass, or get out in the rain and get everything packed away. We waited a bit. After awhile, we both said it's time to go. We jumped out, I was attempting to break down the tent in a strong wind, and only managed to break it down enough to stuff it in the metal box in the back of the truck. No way was I going to fold it neatly into its storage bag. Wife was gathering the stove, and lanterns, and coolers, blankets, I think we had a futon mattress to sleep on. The wind and our yelling was a little too much for Boy, I remember him trying to get off to help, if it was 2000, he was about 6 years old, all he could muster was vomit. The stress of it all made him throw up, at least it was on the grass by the truck and not in the truck.
Next to last thing was taking truck to boat ramp, running back to boat and driving boat in that wind and rain to get it on trailer. Boat was loaded and secured, after a few minutes, we were on the road. Luckily, none of our roads were flooded, maybe because we left so quickly, before long, we were home. This again, was all before smartphones. Nowadays, there are apps, to notify you where the rain is, within a block accuracy. Maybe we just didn't pay attention, and that's probably why park was empty, but it was fun while it lasted.
1/27/15 Hold On Tight, It's Gonna Be A Boring Ride For Awhile?
"He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left."
I am starting to feel dry on ideas to write, which I think is because we are back to our normal routine. Work has also picked up which is great, I like the opportunity of making extra money, but it does leave less down time. The weather being crappy like it has been helps in some sense, because it's not like we would be doing something cool right now. I am thinking in a week or two it might be nice to try our luck at one of our getaway weekends with our timeshare.
As I had mentioned some time back, we bought a timeshare, but mostly because we get these "getaway weekends". We go on their website and if there is availability at a resort, we can go for up to three nights, then we must wait seven nights before we can do it again. It is $50 a night, but the units are all 2bed/2bath with a kitchen and living room, so we aren't crowded into one room. The closest one has a heated pool, so even the one here in New Braunfels would be good enough right now.
This weekend I worked Friday night, and I will be working Sunday night. Wife worked Saturday, the plan being that her extra earnings will pay for most of our trip to Florida sometime in the summer. My extra earnings are to pay down debt. It was a big wake up call to know we have $60-70000 in equity in our rental house, but we can't access it because we have too much credit card debt. I call BS, as we have never missed any payments. The bank does not gain anything from giving one a lower interest rate, what's in it for them to help the customer? It was such a long drawn out process that Wife refuses to try again with a different lender and get nothing out of it.
And yes, part of the reason we have so much credit debt is because we do stupid things like buy timeshares, but you gotta live. Theoretically, one day we will own the timeshare, so we'll see how that works out. I think I see their plan. We started by buying an every other year timeshare, then we "upgraded" to every year. They also have "presidential units", which are 3BR/3bath units with more square footage and nicer furnishings. Those buildings even have elevators, if that impresses some of you lazy stair haters. At some point, I know they're gonna start pitching us to upgrade once again. Oh well, we are suckers for a good deal, plus we are proud Americans, and what's more american than needless consumption?
Anyways, it is my only night off this week, it is about 4am, and I am rambling on a gassy stomach, thanks to the questionable chicken we ate from Central Market. I was asleep by 1030pm, and now I am not sleepy at all, but since I work tomorrow, I will force myself to sleep.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
1/25/15 Complete My Set?
Chubs just discovered the Hulk at Build A Bear. He has all the other Avengers, so it makes sense we should complete the set. But why? He doesn't really play with them. Last time my folks came, my Dad almost broke a leg stepping over them and punting them around the room. In a perfect world, they would sit on top of his comforter on a bed that is made up every morning. The reality is that the bed gets made up about once a month when I accidentally walk in there and I'll arrange the bears in a corner of the bed. Of course, at bedtime, the bears are sent to their normal place, the floor.
A few years ago, my wife was aggressively collecting Barbie's. We have three eight foot bookshelves filled with an assortment of Barbie in different outfits, and of course a couple Teresa's, cause we proud beaners. Couldn't pass up getting "Knocked-Up" Barbie, which was quickly taken off the shelves. There's also some other minority dolls, like Peruvian Barbie and a few Xena Warrior dolls, because why not? The catch is that this collection will never be done. They keep coming out with new Barbies. I had to wave the white flag and admit defeat, specially when you see some people on TV with whole rooms and houses dedicated to a collection. I don't want to be that guy, maybe if it was Playboy magazines...
My question is "Do we finish a collection when we get down to 1 or 2 more pieces and the person has lost interest? Chubs, again, this past summer wanted the Ninja Turtles from Build a Bear. He got three before the fad wore off. I see the fourth Turtle, Michelangelo, but sorry buddy, you didn't join quick enough. The bus has left the station and we are in pursuit of newer and better things.
The whole Harry Potter series just became a mess in my head. I'm not sure if I saw and read the whole thing. Books were being released as fast as movies, but the movies were one year behind, then the last book was split into two movies. I know the good guys won, and that one of the Weasley twins died, as well as Harry's owl. I am not sure if I just read it or saw it. Oh well...
How about the Star Wars mess. Naming the movies out of order is bad enough, but we have Star Wars on VHS, DVD, then improved DVD with 5 more minutes or something, and then in a box set with added commentary. Really, we get it, lightsabers are freaking cool. And yes, we are getting excited for yet another Star Wars movie, why not?
A few years ago, my wife was aggressively collecting Barbie's. We have three eight foot bookshelves filled with an assortment of Barbie in different outfits, and of course a couple Teresa's, cause we proud beaners. Couldn't pass up getting "Knocked-Up" Barbie, which was quickly taken off the shelves. There's also some other minority dolls, like Peruvian Barbie and a few Xena Warrior dolls, because why not? The catch is that this collection will never be done. They keep coming out with new Barbies. I had to wave the white flag and admit defeat, specially when you see some people on TV with whole rooms and houses dedicated to a collection. I don't want to be that guy, maybe if it was Playboy magazines...
My question is "Do we finish a collection when we get down to 1 or 2 more pieces and the person has lost interest? Chubs, again, this past summer wanted the Ninja Turtles from Build a Bear. He got three before the fad wore off. I see the fourth Turtle, Michelangelo, but sorry buddy, you didn't join quick enough. The bus has left the station and we are in pursuit of newer and better things.
The whole Harry Potter series just became a mess in my head. I'm not sure if I saw and read the whole thing. Books were being released as fast as movies, but the movies were one year behind, then the last book was split into two movies. I know the good guys won, and that one of the Weasley twins died, as well as Harry's owl. I am not sure if I just read it or saw it. Oh well...
How about the Star Wars mess. Naming the movies out of order is bad enough, but we have Star Wars on VHS, DVD, then improved DVD with 5 more minutes or something, and then in a box set with added commentary. Really, we get it, lightsabers are freaking cool. And yes, we are getting excited for yet another Star Wars movie, why not?
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