Normal

Maybe things are starting to finally get normal. I'm not even sure what normal means anymore. Perchance, i never have. 

Saw a lot of friends at a Fairfield U party tonight in Norwalk at Mark and Debbie's house. It was very fun. It was nice to be with my intellectual equals for a change (As opposed to Hubba Hubba Hot Tubs.) The food was amazing! They had people serving stuff on platters; finger food like quiche, chicken on a stick and mini beef Wellingtons! It was awesome. Gracias Mark and Debbie!

tonight's the night

Tonight's the night
-Neil Young

Tonight's the Night - Live Rust


Well, after an eon of procrastination and excuses, I am rewriting BUYING NEW SOUL with the goal of self-publishing in 2014, come global frying or the next ice age, both of which would suck. But before the grid is destroyed, you'll be able to buy my fucking novel on Amazon.com. I started this morning. It's a daunting task. But Kurt Vonnegut is my shepherd. I fear no even though I walk in the shadow of the MTV generation. 

Struggling down the slope 
There's not much hope 
I begin to try to ride the scree 
But the rocks are tumbling all around me 

If I want John alive 
I've got to ditch my fear, take a dive 
While I've still got my drive to survive 

Evel Knievel, you got nothing on me 

Here I go

-Riding the Scree, Genesis

Spanksgiving

I made my first Thanksgiving Day dinner, ever.  Mel and Jan came up. I barbecued filet mignon, yams and snow crab legs. Mum steamed the lobster tails and made a salad. Mel and Jan made a bean casserole and corn bread. They also brought some great chianti. It was awesome.

I worked this morning. It was dead as road kill. Now, no work til Monday. 

It's cold! It was like 22F today. That's insane.

indentured servitude

some of you are going to die
martyrs, of course 
for the freedom
I shall provide
-Genesis, The Knife

Another bad day at work. The managers were especially nasty for the holiday. They were belligerant and surly. Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown!

When I lead the charge, there will be redemption. But I promise not to bugger a dead turkey from behind like this kid.

...Except global warming

It's 11F with the wind chill. That's -4C for all of the Europeans. Freakin' cold! 

No Seahawks football today. They have a bye.

But the Giants have a big game (like'em.) And the Pats have a big game (hate'em.) And the Jets have a big game (indifferent.)

I have a lot to do today;

1. laundry
2. place order at Big Y for Spanksgiving
3. vacuum
4. send out at least 5 CVs

I wish i was one of those penguins. All the krill you can eat and not a care in the world. Except global warming.

Playlist:

Julie Slick - Terroir

David Bowie - Scary Monsters

Djam Karet - The Devouring

Levin Minnemann Rudess

The Kills - Blood Presssures

Lou Reed - New York

Led Zeppelin II

King Crimson - Live in Cap D' Agde, 1982

Rush - The Clockwork Angels Tour

Incompetence and Indifference

The Backstreet by ahmedsyd

             

Every day I walk into work, there's a new rule. A new edict. It's a nightmare. They are so incompetant, across the board, that's it's actually awe-inspiring. They are the Sigma Six of doing things half-assed.

Adrian Belew - Incompetence and Indifference

THREE MINUTE WARNING

The other day they sent out an email, saying that if we clocked in any earlier than 3 minutes before our shift, we would be deducted 1/2 point. I dont' even know what the point system means. Is this prep school? Am I in the navy? 

Two days later, they said we have to be there early for a 9am shift to have a meeting. But we can't punch in yet. I finally asked if I could punch in early but they not pay me til 9. I was told no, that I should come in early and then run back down the stairs to punch in. There is a three minute window where we are allowed to punch in or we are considered late. My reply was "Bite my shiny metal ass!!!"

Then I found out that $65 was taken out of my check, pre-tax. When I called, the head of HR said he had overpaid a few of us because he ran the clocked hours from Sat. to Sat. instead of Sunday (he's a genius,) and then forgot to tell me or send an email. 

Lastly, I  had three appointments that sat last week and two were sales and they were both exercise spas, totaling somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000. And that's 75% sales rate. What did I see in comission? $19, BEFORE TAXES!

Lawdy, lawdy. I needs me a new job, i say. Yessum i do.

We now have a security guard that sits in a car in the parking lot. That's new. It's probably because they are afraid someone will burn the place down to the ground.

Seriously, I wouldn't waste a good match on that place. 

IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS

My job is to set appointments for a hot tub company. Lets call them Hubba Hubba Hot Tubs. In all my life, in all the places i've ever worked or consulted, it's the worst run place i have ever seen. Considering I used to work in Washington DC, that's really saying something. 

They've cut our comission to nothing, they've laid off every department but marketing (our parent company can make the hot tubs and doing billing, etc.,) they've cut advertising down to the width of a credit card, yet we've hired 7 new tele-marketers in the last month. It's insane. Our new leads last for 20 minutes and then we talk to no one for the next 7 hours. Yet we are not aloud to read, do crosswords puzzles or anything. I was reprimanded for doodling. I kid you not. I once spent 8 hours in a Jamaican jail cell and they had less rules than this. Purgatory has nothing on this place. 8 hours seem like an eon. The ice age went by faster.  I need to find another job. 

IN THE BEGINNING...

2006. I was going through a nasty divorce where the paternity of a child was in question. The love of my life had gone insane and I needed to get out. On a whim, I left everything and went to Madrid, Spain. I took a TESOL course and became an English teacher. I lived there for 6 years. I made friends, fell in love, had great students, and generally got on with life. 

THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

In 2008,  the global economy almost collapsed. People lost their life savings. Places like Greece and Spain drifted into economic and social chaos. The very worst apocalyptic scenarios were averted, but just barely, and the world is never going to be the same in our, nor our chidren's, lifetimes.

Spain, suffered 27% unemployment (NOTE TO SELF: Never let 33% of your jobs be in the construction sector.) Jobs and social mobility dried up like it was the Sahara. So with mixed emotions, I left the life I had built for myself in Madrid and returned to Connecticut, to live with my Mum and try to restablish something akin to a normal life in the USA. 

Good fucking luck with that! The US has changed too, never to be the same again. The 1% rule the roost and the other other 99% of us fight for the scraps that are thrown out in the backyard. But at least it's a Christian nation!

So, a year removed from my self-imposed Spanish Exile, I find myself repatriated in the country of my birth. And how do I feel? Well, it's been great to reconnect with my Mum, and my sister and her wife, and my friends. But other than that?

I feel like a fish with feet.


PHOTO: Alone by the Sea - by Un-Original-ish