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Sir_Cat's Live Journal
Jul. 27th, 2010
04:00 pm - My Information Post
( EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About Me! )
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accomplishedNov. 13th, 2009
05:15 am
I have to be at work in ~12 hours. (5pm MST)
Within 13 hours (6pm MST) I'll know whether we go on strike or end up in a lockout or if something happens to avoid both.
I was told yesterday that I will have a job regardless of either. Salaried management and Greeters (I'm a Greeter) will not be locked out with everyone else if a lockout occurs. (Meaning everyone else, union members or non-union members, gets told to leave the building, and all the new hires get called in to try to keep the stores running.)
I have mixed feelings about that. I'm almost wishing I would be locked out with everyone else than to have to deal with all the minimally trained new hires, and the irritated-if-not-pissed-off-customers they're going to generate, in the event of a lockout. I've also heard that Greeters will be used as stockers in the event of a lockout. Been there, done that. Not fun.
Of course I'm really hoping that a strike and/or lockout will be avoided entirely by an 11th hour agreement between the Union and Fry's.
I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
Prayers, candles, good thoughts are of course welcomed.
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worriedNov. 11th, 2009
04:55 pm
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice was signed to end World War 1, the so-called "War To End All Wars".
Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day, is a day to remeber our veterans, and all the sacrifices they and their families have endured to help keep our country safe.
Let's take a moment to remember all our veterans. And if you know any, thank them.
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gratefulNov. 9th, 2009
03:05 am
Yankees fans can bite me. Enough said.
~~~
So, that potential strike I mentioned in my last entry? Yeah...6pm Friday is the deadline to sign the new contract or there will be a strike/lockout.
We've been without a contract since Halloween. (It originally expired like a year ago, and has been extended up untill Oct. 31st.) From what I've seen from both the UFCW Local 99 and from Fry's, I don't think either side is telling the full truth about the matter. I think the full truth is a combination of what both sides are saying, plus what they're both leaving out. Both sides are trying to gain backing from employees and customers at this point.
As a Greeter, I am uneligible to join the Union even if I wanted to. So if a strike occurs against Fry's, I will be working.
Both Fry's food stores and Safeway food stores throughout Arizona are negotiating with the UFCW for a new contract. There's a couple of sticking points that the Union will not budge from. Mostly dealing with health benefits and who pays what, as well as raises. And they are pushing for a strike to force Fry's in particular to concede to their demands. (I've heard very little about Safeway so far. I only know they are under the same contract.)
If a new contract is not signed by 6pm Friday evening, the Union will strike against one company or the other. The one they strike against will continue to operate as best it can with non-Union employees, Union-employees who choose to cross the picket lines, and, at least in Fry's case, with temporary replacement workers they are hiring and training now. (Again, I don't know what Safeway's plans are. I've seen the ads in the paper for temporary replacement workers for Fry's but nothing for Safeway.)
The company that the Union does not strike against will be on lockout. Meaning the stores will be closed and locked, and the employees, union or not, will be out of a job, and without a paycheck, for the duration of the strike.
So, if the Union strikes against Fry's, we'll stay open and Safeway stores will be closed. If the Union strikes against Safeway, they will stay open and Fry's will be closed.
So I may be sitting on my ass with no income by this time next week.
I've heard mention of potential violence against Union members who cross the picket lines.
I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst at this point.
Any prayers, candles, good thoughts, etc. that you may be willing to offer up for a quick resolution to this would be greatly appreciated.
~~~
Oh, and we shut the bar down an hour early tonight 'cause there was no one but the bartender, the DJ, and myself (I barback) in the bar at 1am. :/
worriedSep. 25th, 2009
05:10 am
So, Thursday (yesterday) we come to find out that a group of Circle K robbers may very well be casing our store for a near-future robbery. Cops tracked them to our store through a debit card purchase. So now I've got the stress of a potential strike, and a potential (armed?) robbery to deal with, along with the approaching holiday season.
I love my job...NOT.
(How much does a low-profile bullet-proof vest cost these days?)
stressedSep. 23rd, 2009
07:45 pm
Hi all,
So, let's catch up. Thursday the 3rd, I had 0.05" of rain in my gauge, and Saturday the 5th, I had 0.10". It did kinda sorta rain another day, but nothing was in my gauge. It appears that the monsoon is over. Officially it ends at the end of the month, but there's no rain in the forecast.
The past couple of days, it's been very nice late at night and in the early morning hours. We're looking at lows in the 70's tomorrow morning. It's supposed to climb back above 100 from Friday and through the next week. On average we have 109 days of 100+ temperatures. We're at 110 days and will be adding to that through next week. I don't know how many 110+ days we had this summer.
~~~
Fry's may be dealing with a union strike in the very near future. As a Greeter, I'm not eligible to be in the union. I'll be working through any strike that may occur.
~~~
Last week I was on vacation. One I didn't request and didn't want. We're supposed to put our requests in by September 1st, and if we don't, our vacation will be assigned to us. I've never had to do it in years past, even though the same policy was in affect, and was never just assigned a vacation untill this year. I have 3 more weeks available to me, but I'm not sure now when I want them. I was thinking of taking Nov 29th-Dec 5th, Jan 31st-Feb 6th, and July 25th-Aug7th (2 weeks). Now of course one of those weeks is gone. Probably the week after Thanksgiving, which is traditionally a very quiet, slow week at work. So I'll probably have to put my requests in for the remaining 3 real soon. If I still can...
I think that's all for now. Take care all.
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boredSep. 9th, 2009
08:40 pm
Why beer costs you more this year.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/In
( Excerpts... )
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okayAug. 15th, 2009
04:15 am
So Wednesday night, as I mentioned, I had 0.01" of rain. Around dawn Thursday morning, a thunderstorm left 0.29" in my gauge, and Friday morning at 2:30-2:40 as I was getting home, I ran into a fast moving, localized thunderstorm which left 0.10" of rain in my gauge.
I saw a couple flashes of lightning as I was driving home Friday morning. As I was walking up my patio, a bright flash of lightning caused me to instinctively duck. The thunder followed about 2 seconds later, so the strike was about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away.
My cats hate thunder. LOL
okayAug. 13th, 2009
05:25 am
An interesting article on a new battery technology that could be used to help power your home, cutting your costs to the power company. I've posted 2 comments to it so far (JHG1970). Some of the posters have been less than polite to each other, however.
http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/listedb
~~~
This year's monsoon is shaping up to be the 2nd driest on record. (1924 was the driest.) However, there was a somewhat decent thunderstorm nearby last night that, although it didn't produce much rain here at my home (0.01" which I checked at midnight), gave a good light show.
It's now 5:25, and is raining much more, and I can also hear thunder. I've got the front door open, and I'm just listening to it. :)
goodAug. 5th, 2009
07:10 pm
On average, we have 18 days each summer of 110 degree or higher temperatures. In July, we had 17 days of them. As of today, we're at 20. Our high today was 113, 1 degree off the record high for the date.
Our morning low was 95, 1 degree less than the all-time high morning low temperature set in July several years back.
Every time it hits 110 or more, especially if the next mornings low is expected to be 90 or more, the NWS issues an excessive heat warning. The one in place right now expires in about an hour, at 8pm.
There's a slight chance of some blowing dust in the East Valley later this evening from dissipating storms to the east. Another slight chance of storms tomorrow evening.
~~~
I found out last night that I apparantly did a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde routine when I blacked out on my birthday. I was a royal effing a$$hole to Amber the bartender, and my friends. Amber was absolutely pissed off at me, and my friends thought it was funny. One of them even egged me on.
Amber has forgiven me, she was over it in a day or two. But it's harder for me to forgive myself. I will never celebrate my birthday like that again, ever. I will have dinner with my family, and then stay home. Period.
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disappointed in myselfJul. 31st, 2009
04:30 am
So I come to find out that Monday night, there was an hour's or so time frame that I have no recollection of. Basically, although I was fully concious and talking to people and all, I blacked out.
I had a slice of cake pushed into my face. I also got sick a 2nd time in the bathroom, and even cleaned it up. Or so I'm told.
Those 2 events don't bother me. It's the simple fact that I have no memory of them.
And that effing scares me...
I don't think I want a birthday party next year.
indescribableJul. 28th, 2009
10:35 pm
So I survived another birthday. I'm 39 now. Sunday night, I decided to go up to the bar and just see which of my friends was there and kinda start my celebration with them. Suzanne, one of the bartenders, let me crash at her place around the corner since I'd had too much to drink. 5 Captain and Cokes, 2 oatmeal cookies, and a cherry bomber. I did not get sick though, and I was still able to help clean up at closing time. (I'm the unpaid barback, I help out pretty much every night, although I'm not sure I'm going tonight.)
Monday, I had dinner at Lonestar steakhouse with my mom, my brother and his girlfriend. I had a 14oz Texas-style ribeye, a loaded baked potato, and a dinner slad. Afterwards, I met up with a bunch of other friends at the bar (a planned celebration). I wasn't there 15 minutes and I had 4-5 shots lined up in front of me...I had 6-7 total (Blue Jesus, Patron, Mind Eraser, 2 chili bombers, cherry bomber, maybe another...), plus 1 and a half Captain and Cokes. I ate some french fries and a mozzarella cheese stick. I did get sick once. My friends Sarah and Aaron let me crash at their place after.
Next year for my 40th, I'm thinking I want to be with family in MT or back east to celebrate.
I'm on vacation the whole week. From last Saturday through the 1st. I have no other plans for the week.
~~~
We've got an excessive heat warning in place here, till 7am Wednesday morning. Tuesday our morning low was 92. Our high was 115 I think it was. Haven't had any rain since last Monday. I had 0.23" in my gauge here at home. Not expecting any rain at all this week. It's supposed to 'cool off' a couple of degrees by the weekend.
~~~
A friend emailed this to me, so I thought I'd share with ya'll.
( 1/2 boy 1/2 man )
~~~
I think that's all. Have a good day all.
okayJul. 4th, 2009
04:15 am
Happy 4th of July all. If you go out to celebrate, have fun but be safe. I'm sure there'll be a lot of idiots out there. Don't be one of them.
I'll be at work.
~~~
My friend Leslie didn't make it to the winner's spot in the Hot Mom's contest Mix 96.9FM was holding. But I tried. And thank you to anyone who may have voted.
~~~
It tried to rain yesterday evening, but didn't do much at all. I got a trace in my rain gauge here at home. Probably about the same at work. I was watching the clouds from 5pm when I got to work till dark, and although there were some promising buildups, it looked like they hit a patch of dry air over north Phoenix and just disappeared...There was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the East Valley at one point though. So once again, the East Valley got to play but the West Valley didn't.
~~~
My front wheel bearings went bad on my truck, and finally gave up completely Wednesday. Called my mechanic and they sent a tow truck out to my home to get my truck. It only took them a day to get it fixed, but I had to wait til Friday to pick it up 'cause I had no ride to the shop when it was done. $650 later...front wheel bearings, front brake job, plus tighten the radiator drain plug and the fuel inlet to the carb both of which were leaking, and the cost of the tow. Labor, shop charge, taxes...
It's annoying, but it's to be expected with a 23 year old vehicle. One of these days maybe I'll replace it.
~~~
I've located and friended 16 distant cousins so far on my dad's side of the family on Facebook and MySpace. I've also located and friended 3 first cousins so far from my mom's side of the family all on Facebook. Still waiting on several more confirmations between FB and MS.
I've worked on my family tree off and on since I was a teen if not before. I have my dad's side of the tree posted online, and I share the link with each of the distant cousins I contact. I plan on posting my mom's side of the family tree in the near future.
~~~
I think that's all for now. Take care all.
okayJun. 23rd, 2009
04:05 am
So my friend Stacy didn't make it to the next round of voting, however Leslie did. If you follow the link below, it will take you directly to her page where you can vote for her from today untill the 26th, when the current round ends. (Hopefully, she'll make it to the next round.) 1 vote per day, per computer/email address. (IP addresses are logged to prevent vote fraud.)
As I said previously, if she wins the contest, the central AC system will go to their mom. Thank you.
http://www.mix969.com/pages/hot-moms/vo
hopefulJun. 22nd, 2009
02:22 pm - Cool
Amazing volcano photo shows shock wave
Image from space shows several phenomena that occur early in eruption
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3149180
An amazing new picture from space reveals a volcanic eruption in its earliest stage, with a huge plume of ash and steam billowing skyward and creating a shock wave in the atmosphere.
Sarychev Peak on Matua Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, northeast of Japan.
The new photo was taken June 12 from the International Space Station. NASA says volcano researchers are excited about the picture "because it captures several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption."
Read more at the link above.
geekyJun. 21st, 2009
05:10 am - Help me help two friends.
Help me help two friends. Go to: http://www.mix969.com/pages/hot-mom
Leslie is one of the day bartenders and Stacy is the Saturday night bartender at Connolly's. I've barbacked for them both. (Leslie has worked nights to cover for others.)
Like I said, if either one wins, the central AC goes to their mom, so it's for a good cause! Just follow the rules, one vote per day, per computer/IP address, per email address. I don't want either being disqualified. Thank you!
hopefulJun. 5th, 2009
12:25 pm - One flew over the cuckoo's nest...
So I met a girl last night who actually thinks I'm cute.
Besides the fact that she was drunk, she may or may not be engaged. (Quote: "I'm engaged but I'm not. My dad actually bought the ring.")
And that makes me think that she may or may not be a nutcase.
Or maybe it's just the alcohol she had drank coupled with her being a blonde...
Why can't I just meet a nice girl next door-type who thinks I'm a nice guy?
*Sigh*
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cynicalMay. 25th, 2009
03:20 am - Happy Memorial Day
I want to say thank you to our veterans for their service on this Memorial Day. It is greatly appreciated.
My dad was in the USCG from 1964-1968, serving on the USCGC Halfmoon, at the Sandy Hook, N.J. Coast Guard base, and the Roamer Shoal lighthouse in New York Harbor. His brother retired from the USAF at Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, Montana, having worked on ICBM's most of his career. I think their dad was in the USCG Reserve in the 1940's, but I'm not positive. A couple of my dad's cousins were USN. (2 or 3 generations in that branch of the family.)
My mom's dad earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star serving in the U.S. Army during WWII.
~~~
May's weather here has been unusual. We had a record-tying, if not record-breaking (for the month of May), string of 14 consecutive days of 100+ degree temperatures. This was followed by 3 or so days of monsoon-like weather.
I had 0.29" of rain in my rain gauge the 21st-22nd. (One of the weather forecasters on KTVK-TV3 called it the "May-soon".)
I think it was last Monday evening, the winds caused a couple second power outage at the store. Probably crossed a couple of power lines which tripped a fuse in the power company system somewhere. Fortunately it didn't last long.
We're looking at mid-90's today.
~~~
I think my alternator has gone and fried. I'm not sure if Checker will be open today, but my mom is off work so I'll be using her car once again to get to and from work this evening. (I'll be working from 5-11pm.) I don't have the right tools to remove it, so I gotta wait till a friend is available to help me with it anyway.
~~~
Nothing else really to mention. I guess that's it for now. Have a good day all. Enjoy your barbeques, pool party's, or whatever way you're gonna celebrate the holiday, but remember to take a minute or two to remember our veterans, especially those who gave their lives for our country.
okayApr. 20th, 2009
03:55 am - Here's Johnny!
Hi all.
No I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. Just haven't been posting. Tried to post an update one day last month on MySpace and was going to copy it to here, but MySpace decided to be stupid and lost it, and I was just too frustrated to try again that day. And I just haven't gotten around to trying again untill now. So I'm going to try posting here 1st, then copy it to MySpace, and see if that works better.
~~~
Anyway, let's see...I last posted Feb. 24th. Mom's doing ok. She now has a CPAP machine due to sleep apnea that was putting a strain on her heart that she didn't need. But the cats won't sleep with her now because they're afraid of the hose for some reason.
She ended up spending 2 weeks in Nogales for work, (with a weekend off at home) and made it home safely without incident both times. I think 2 other employees are supposed to go down soon if not already there.
(The local CBS station here had recently done a series of stories on our border issues, capping with a hour-long special last Wednesday evening, and during the series of reports, a reporter and cameraman spent a day in Nogales, Mexico with the police there. There were 5 gun battles in one day between rival drug cartels and/or between cartels and police while they were there. In case any of you were wondering why I wasn't happy about my mom being down there.)
Anyway, she's home and safe.
~~~
My brother just passed his 3 years clean and sober date. I'm very proud of him for that. It wasn't all that long ago that we hated each other.
~~~
I can't recall what day it was, but during the last week of Feb or maybe the 1st week of March we had some rain 1 day, and I had 0.06" in my rain gauge. Saturday the 11th, the day before Easter, I had 0.45" in my rain gauge. We've had several cold fronts move through the state in recent weeks, bringing windy weather, but only that one day of rain here. We had lows in the 40's middle of last week, and now we're forecast to hit 100 by Tuesday. The average 1st 100 degree day is something like May 13th. I prefer the cooler, windy, and wet weather myself. Even if the wind does aggravate my allergies. Maybe 1 of these days I'll be able to spend a year or 2 up in Oregon or Washington state and get to enjoy the rainy weather there.
~~~
Work is being stupid. They cut my hours again, saying that having worked 40 hours a week for the past almost 8 years means nothing because my position isn't protected by the union contract. They only cut 5 hours a week off my schedule, but that translates to a loss of $280 a month before taxes. Fortunately, 1 of my coworkers was actually willing to give up 4 hours a week due to her Social Security limits on the number of hours she can work a week, so I only lost those 5 hours for 1 week. I'm now at 39 hours, which is only a loss of $56 a month before taxes. Unfortunately, I have to work 6 nights a week to do it. But what choice do I really have? Work 5 nights a week and lose $280 a month, or work 6 nights a week and only lose $56 a month?
Of course I should be grateful that I wasn't 1 of the 120 employees (90 of which were in salaried, management positions) laid off last month. I knew several people who lost their jobs. And 1 of my managers knew a former store manager of hers who got laid off, and had a heart attack the Monday following. It didn't kill her, but still.
I just want to win a really nice sized jackpot in the Pick or Powerball lottery and not worry about money so much anymore. And so my mom, and my dad, and my brother and my sister (and her family) don't have to worry, either. Enough so that we can each have a couple million. So I can have a nice place to myself, and either quit Fry's or voluntarily cut back my hours. And my mom can have a nice place to herself, and quit her job that gives her so much stress, and get to visit with her parents and sisters and all back east when she wants to. And my sister and her family can do anything they may want with their place. And my brother, and my dad can do what they want as well.
I don't think that's too much to ask, is it?
*Sigh*
~~~
I think that's all for now. I'll try to post a little more frequently. It may not be much more than there's nothing of significance to post, but at least ya'll will know that I ain't dead.
Take care everyone. I hope ya'll are doing well.
accomplishedFeb. 24th, 2009
05:40 am
My mom goes to Nogales next Sunday to train the new office employees there. I was thinking it was this past Sunday she was going.
Her birthday is tomorrow. I'm taking her to dinner. Hopefully my brother can go as well.
~~~
Very early Tuesday morning the 17th, the day of mom's angiogram, we had some rain in the Valley between midnight and 2am. (Monday night/Tuesday morning.) It rained at Connolly's while my friends and I were there after work Monday night, and there was some large puddles of standing water in the flood control channel/green belt at the hospital in Scottsdale when my family and I got there as well.
But I'm not sure I could even claim a Trace in my rain gauge here at home. There were some droplets of water on the sides of the tube, but nothing at the bottom. Oh, well.
~~~
Off to bed. Have a good day all.
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