Lake Buena Vista, FL
Stopped at Walgreens on the way home and got a can of spray starch and a full-size steam iron. Got the last two shirts pressed, but the shirts were sticking to the ironing board cover from starch. I called Mom and asked her whether the cover could be taken off and washed, she said that if it messed up you can always buy a new cover at Wal-Mart. Funny, I forgot all about that.
Light days of work lately. Vendor setups, change orders, and just a few new orders. Just trying to keep it all organized.
Itching to get back into VisualBasic or Flash and do some kind of programming for something on the web. Maybe work with Perl again. I dunno... but, that is what I feel like doing. Maybe I should start following tutorials for the Flash MX, which has full-fledged Actionscript ?
Peggy showed me a slide show of all the damage down on the coast. Some people really took alot of damage. Makes you a little bit scared to buy a house here.
About three-fourths of the way through How To Be Like Walt. I am really enjoying it.
No birthday plans yet. Hopefully no storms to interrupt this weekend.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Weathered another storm successfully. Infact, this one was the easiest of all for me. KUA must have beefed the powerlines up to hurricane-rated now because although the lights flickered, I never lost power. I guess I was alot luckier than most.
Cable Internet service did drop out a few times, but it came back within a few seconds each time.
Apartment is going to have to get those Mexicans back to repair the roofs again. Alot of the shingles blew right off in the winds.
Stayed home all weekend except for a trip out Friday night to get Diet Coke. Curfews in place Saturday night and all day Sunday anyway. Ironed eight shirts, then I ran out of spray starch. I still have two more shirts I want to press. Tried to get the plotter to work. I am sure I have it all set up properly, but the computer says "Plotter not responding". Maybe the cable is not plugged in good ? I dunno, I will keep fiddling with it until it makes work. I went to the Mutoh website and they have drivers for it, but they are for Windows 95. It will not work for Win 98 and above. I guess there is no sense in developing new drivers for an old product.
On the way to work there were a few traffic signals out and alot of downed tree limbs on the property. Landscaping guys were out in their trucks getting it all picked up as I drove in. You know it has to be 'perfect' for the guests !
Not a heavy work load today. I have another vendor who changed their name and I have to set them up again. A couple of change orders, and not much else. I will probably help Peggy and Ana with their work soon.
Weathered another storm successfully. Infact, this one was the easiest of all for me. KUA must have beefed the powerlines up to hurricane-rated now because although the lights flickered, I never lost power. I guess I was alot luckier than most.
Cable Internet service did drop out a few times, but it came back within a few seconds each time.
Apartment is going to have to get those Mexicans back to repair the roofs again. Alot of the shingles blew right off in the winds.
Stayed home all weekend except for a trip out Friday night to get Diet Coke. Curfews in place Saturday night and all day Sunday anyway. Ironed eight shirts, then I ran out of spray starch. I still have two more shirts I want to press. Tried to get the plotter to work. I am sure I have it all set up properly, but the computer says "Plotter not responding". Maybe the cable is not plugged in good ? I dunno, I will keep fiddling with it until it makes work. I went to the Mutoh website and they have drivers for it, but they are for Windows 95. It will not work for Win 98 and above. I guess there is no sense in developing new drivers for an old product.
On the way to work there were a few traffic signals out and alot of downed tree limbs on the property. Landscaping guys were out in their trucks getting it all picked up as I drove in. You know it has to be 'perfect' for the guests !
Not a heavy work load today. I have another vendor who changed their name and I have to set them up again. A couple of change orders, and not much else. I will probably help Peggy and Ana with their work soon.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Well, I got the plotter assembled, put a brand-new 0.25mm black ink pen into the carousel, put a 24x36 inch sheet of vellum into the rollers, and set it to running an internally-stored test plot. It plotted beautifully. The next step will be to hook the serial cable up to the laptop computer and send a drawing to the plotter from a computer and generate a plot.
Yesterday was Davida's 40th birthday. I went to her birthday party. While I was eating cake she mentioned something about, "if you really like it here, you might want to keep checking Monster.com, I think we have one of these jobs posted." Well, that is sure encouraging !
Betsy is in Hong Kong again, but she is sending e-mail messages to me. She sent one at 10:45AM, and I told her, "It is 10:45PM, get some sleep!" She said that she has over 100 e-mail messages and that the computer is so slow that it takes her forever to get through them all.
Matt has taken his family on vacation so Davida has to sign my time card today. Matt will be on vacation all next week too.
Tonite it is Friday. I am going to write some checks for my bills, and go out and have a good time.
Well, I got the plotter assembled, put a brand-new 0.25mm black ink pen into the carousel, put a 24x36 inch sheet of vellum into the rollers, and set it to running an internally-stored test plot. It plotted beautifully. The next step will be to hook the serial cable up to the laptop computer and send a drawing to the plotter from a computer and generate a plot.
Yesterday was Davida's 40th birthday. I went to her birthday party. While I was eating cake she mentioned something about, "if you really like it here, you might want to keep checking Monster.com, I think we have one of these jobs posted." Well, that is sure encouraging !
Betsy is in Hong Kong again, but she is sending e-mail messages to me. She sent one at 10:45AM, and I told her, "It is 10:45PM, get some sleep!" She said that she has over 100 e-mail messages and that the computer is so slow that it takes her forever to get through them all.
Matt has taken his family on vacation so Davida has to sign my time card today. Matt will be on vacation all next week too.
Tonite it is Friday. I am going to write some checks for my bills, and go out and have a good time.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Today is the First Day of Fall.
Betsy is flying back to Hong Kong today so I will have to process her orders and special requests with only e-mail instructions for the next two weeks.
I have to take a long lunch today so that I can meet the truck at the house and get the plotter. I need to find a big screw driver or pry bar so that I can get the crate opened up. This evening I will run the cable to my laptop and run a test plot from the laptop computer to make sure the plotter works.
Maintenance came to my apartment yesterday. I guess the wet spot was cleaned up in my carpet. After I went to bed I realized how they got the water to stop - they turned the AC up above 90°F ! That is not fixed if you ask me.
Got some shoulder steaks thawing out in the sink. I will fry those tonite. I will have to buy a few groceries this weekend. Getting kinda low on things to eat.
Started into the new book How To Be Like Walt. Basically, it says you want to be just like Walt, except "Don't start smoking!" LOL ! No one is perfect I guess.
Today is the First Day of Fall.
Betsy is flying back to Hong Kong today so I will have to process her orders and special requests with only e-mail instructions for the next two weeks.
I have to take a long lunch today so that I can meet the truck at the house and get the plotter. I need to find a big screw driver or pry bar so that I can get the crate opened up. This evening I will run the cable to my laptop and run a test plot from the laptop computer to make sure the plotter works.
Maintenance came to my apartment yesterday. I guess the wet spot was cleaned up in my carpet. After I went to bed I realized how they got the water to stop - they turned the AC up above 90°F ! That is not fixed if you ask me.
Got some shoulder steaks thawing out in the sink. I will fry those tonite. I will have to buy a few groceries this weekend. Getting kinda low on things to eat.
Started into the new book How To Be Like Walt. Basically, it says you want to be just like Walt, except "Don't start smoking!" LOL ! No one is perfect I guess.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
I guess it has been a week since I wrote in here. Mom called to nag me about keeping the news to myself. Guess there just isn't that much to share right now.
Did not go out this weekend... except Sunday evening. Even then I was home by 10.
Betsy is leaving for Hong Kong again tomorrow. Even some of the simplest jobs will be harder having to wait 24 hours for an answer in her e-mail.
The wet spot on my carpet has come back. Small right now, but getting larger. I wish maintenance could figure out why it is doing this.
Going to get a cash distribution from my Merrill Lynch 401k account. $1800 vested, but they hold on to 20% for the IRS, and when I file taxes for 2004, it will cost me a 10% penalty for early withdrawal. I will get a check for $1400 sometime next week. I can use that money to put back into my savings, put tires onto the truck, and get some groceries.
Still optimistic that my job here will become permanent. Today I have to begin helping Ali Siskind with her queues and change orders because she is covering someone elses job.
Finished that boring anthropological tome this weekend. Now I am reading a biography called How To Be Like Walt, a biography of Walt Disney.
I guess it has been a week since I wrote in here. Mom called to nag me about keeping the news to myself. Guess there just isn't that much to share right now.
Did not go out this weekend... except Sunday evening. Even then I was home by 10.
Betsy is leaving for Hong Kong again tomorrow. Even some of the simplest jobs will be harder having to wait 24 hours for an answer in her e-mail.
The wet spot on my carpet has come back. Small right now, but getting larger. I wish maintenance could figure out why it is doing this.
Going to get a cash distribution from my Merrill Lynch 401k account. $1800 vested, but they hold on to 20% for the IRS, and when I file taxes for 2004, it will cost me a 10% penalty for early withdrawal. I will get a check for $1400 sometime next week. I can use that money to put back into my savings, put tires onto the truck, and get some groceries.
Still optimistic that my job here will become permanent. Today I have to begin helping Ali Siskind with her queues and change orders because she is covering someone elses job.
Finished that boring anthropological tome this weekend. Now I am reading a biography called How To Be Like Walt, a biography of Walt Disney.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
My dinner on Monday did not go super smoothly... I showed up at 6 and waited in the bar 30 minutes. Thinking to myself, "Well, I get invited to dinner and then get stood up, isn't this a new one?" As I was walking away from the restaurant, Wolfgang Pucks, I heard him call out, "Vince!" Well, now for my next complaint, I hate it when someone uses a 10-year-old picture on their profile. Would not have recognized him. I had a salad from the Express. Then we walked through the whole Downtown Disney complex.
Dinner lastnight was steaks that had marinated for 36 hours. I fried those along with onions and portobellos sauteed in butter. Leftovers came to work with me for lunch. Tonite - porkchops.
Peggy is out yesterday and today because she has pink eye.
I think I pissed Ana off today. I was very busy working my way through all of the queues, taking Peggy's phone calls, and she comes in and tells me I have to work with a very confusing customer on a project of Peggy's and go through quotes etc with this person. I told her NO. None of these are life and death issues here and that cannot be something that cannot wait until tomorrow when Peggy comes back.
Geoff's bud, Bill, called yesterday. We talked for awhile. I guess he was in Florida doing ceramic tile work for some rich clients and then the storms came so now he is busy doing alot of roofing. Bill tells me that Geoff has gotten a job with Harley-Davidson as an administrator for a school HD runs.
Only about 100 more pages to go in Guns, Germs, and Steel. It is about 420 pages long. Next I will read How To Be Like Walt a biography of Walt Disney. Figured it might not hurt to know some company history.
Looks like Hurricane Ivan is gonna hit New Orleans. Hope it doesn't mess it up too badly. Now Florida has its eyes on Tropical Storm Jeanne.
Started using the Yahoo! Calendar a bit because it will send me an e-mail reminder when something is about to occur. Then I easily uploaded my address book from Palm Pilot to the address book in Yahoo! mail. You export your address book from the Palm Desktop and make an *.ABA file, then upload that file to Yahoo! It will also take addresses from Outlook and some other programs. This way, no matter if I have my Palm Pilot, or where I am, if I can get to an Internet connected computer, I can look up my addresses. You can share the Yahoo! Calendar with people too, but I am not sure I want to do that just yet.
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. -- Bill Cosby (1937 - )
My dinner on Monday did not go super smoothly... I showed up at 6 and waited in the bar 30 minutes. Thinking to myself, "Well, I get invited to dinner and then get stood up, isn't this a new one?" As I was walking away from the restaurant, Wolfgang Pucks, I heard him call out, "Vince!" Well, now for my next complaint, I hate it when someone uses a 10-year-old picture on their profile. Would not have recognized him. I had a salad from the Express. Then we walked through the whole Downtown Disney complex.
Dinner lastnight was steaks that had marinated for 36 hours. I fried those along with onions and portobellos sauteed in butter. Leftovers came to work with me for lunch. Tonite - porkchops.
Peggy is out yesterday and today because she has pink eye.
I think I pissed Ana off today. I was very busy working my way through all of the queues, taking Peggy's phone calls, and she comes in and tells me I have to work with a very confusing customer on a project of Peggy's and go through quotes etc with this person. I told her NO. None of these are life and death issues here and that cannot be something that cannot wait until tomorrow when Peggy comes back.
Geoff's bud, Bill, called yesterday. We talked for awhile. I guess he was in Florida doing ceramic tile work for some rich clients and then the storms came so now he is busy doing alot of roofing. Bill tells me that Geoff has gotten a job with Harley-Davidson as an administrator for a school HD runs.
Only about 100 more pages to go in Guns, Germs, and Steel. It is about 420 pages long. Next I will read How To Be Like Walt a biography of Walt Disney. Figured it might not hurt to know some company history.
Looks like Hurricane Ivan is gonna hit New Orleans. Hope it doesn't mess it up too badly. Now Florida has its eyes on Tropical Storm Jeanne.
Started using the Yahoo! Calendar a bit because it will send me an e-mail reminder when something is about to occur. Then I easily uploaded my address book from Palm Pilot to the address book in Yahoo! mail. You export your address book from the Palm Desktop and make an *.ABA file, then upload that file to Yahoo! It will also take addresses from Outlook and some other programs. This way, no matter if I have my Palm Pilot, or where I am, if I can get to an Internet connected computer, I can look up my addresses. You can share the Yahoo! Calendar with people too, but I am not sure I want to do that just yet.
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. -- Bill Cosby (1937 - )
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Kissimmee, FL
Right before I left work on Friday I went to Toshiba.com and downloaded the USB driver for the Toshiba PCX1100U cable modem onto a floppy disk. As you can see from the location I am writing from, I was successful getting the driver installed and restoring Internet service at home via the USB port. I used the foot-long USB cable that goes with my laptop computer and Canon micro-printer. Still, my desktop is so buggy, it needs to be reformatted badly. As soon as I get my systems disks down here that is going to happen.
Went to the gym yesterday morning. Ran and lifted weights. I knew then that I was going to be sore today. Boy, am I ! Spent the next 4 hours sunning by the pool. I used SPF 15 and I was careful to not burn. I think I burned lightly anyway.
On the way home I stopped at 7-Eleven to get some Diet Coke. Waited in line forever behind some bug-eyed old man with a tumor coming out of his neck as big as a baseball. Man, he was giving the clerk a hard time... he was buying two damned cups of coffee and he wanted a small bag for all of the creamer and sugar he was stealing with the coffee, then he wanted a drink carrier for the two cups...
When I got home I found that the maintenance guys had finally made it over to check on the sopping wet puddle in my carpet. Turns out it was the AC. The drain had become clogged. They cleared that, changed the air filter, and used the wet dry vac to get most of the water out of the carpet. This place was such a nice-looking place when I moved in. Now it looks like a disaster area, which I guess it really is.
On Friday night I deposited my paychecks at Navy Federal. I had to use the ATM to make the deposit. I do not like to make deposits that way, but I have in the past and the amounts have been posted to my account. Problem is, when it gave me the receipt, the receipt was blank ! The ATM ran out of ink or toner ! Just my luck, huh ?
Latest weather reports show Hurricane Ivan moving alittle to the west. Possible path moved to the panhandle of Florida or maybe even farther west. Still, had better keep an eye on it. Just like Charley showed everyone, these things have a mind of their own.
Boyd Williams called me yesterday to talk and find out if I found a new job and how it was going. He told me that during Charley he lost his house. A big tree fell on it and crushed the roof. Problem is, the house is 70 years old and the building inspector will make him rebuild to code. The rafters and wall studs are on 24-inch centers and the code is 16-inch centers now. So you would have to tear all out all of the walls to fix that, the wiring is 1950 wiring in the house, and I guess the foundation was damaged too. Even if the house is totalled out, the insurance company is only going to give him a check for $30k and I am sure he owes more than that on it. Boyd said that Wayne knows about it and said something about getting Boyd building materials at-cost for rebuilding. That is pretty nice of them.
I was showing Ana how I had scanned an image if Mickey from a company envelope and placed it on my fax cover sheet. She was amazed, but she also commented that I seemed to have too much extra time for that... then I threw down on her desk all of the 21 purchase orders of hers that I did from her queue that morning. She was so delighted she screamed ! I am sure Betsy has not even looked at her queue yet. She is happy to make phone calls all day and continue to work on her Hong Kong project. I bet they kinda think of me as having a secretary around the handle all of their menial purchasing tasks, like PO's and change orders, so they are free to work on their projects.
Today I am going to buy drinks and a small amount of food. At the end of month, after rents and bills, if I have enough money, or if Rinker pays out the PTO, I will make a huge grocery shopping trip. Will probably get new tires on the truck with some of that money too.
Tomorrow, after work, I have a dinner date. Someone I have been chatting online with for a few months. He is my age. He is very shy, and he is very nervous about meeting me, even though he invited me. He works at Disney too.
Saw a book at Waldenbooks titled Queens In The Magic Kingdom, it is a guide for gays and lesbians visiting the Disney parks. I did not buy it because I feel like I already know enough about it, but I am sure those guys know alot more of the history and trivia about the rides and events.
Got e-mail from the guy who shipped my plotter. He is surprised that I do not have it yet. He is going to investigate on his end and let me know why it is not here yet. The pleasant weather we have been having lately could have something to do with it.
"Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it." -- Doug Larson
"Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." -- Norman Cousins
Right before I left work on Friday I went to Toshiba.com and downloaded the USB driver for the Toshiba PCX1100U cable modem onto a floppy disk. As you can see from the location I am writing from, I was successful getting the driver installed and restoring Internet service at home via the USB port. I used the foot-long USB cable that goes with my laptop computer and Canon micro-printer. Still, my desktop is so buggy, it needs to be reformatted badly. As soon as I get my systems disks down here that is going to happen.
Went to the gym yesterday morning. Ran and lifted weights. I knew then that I was going to be sore today. Boy, am I ! Spent the next 4 hours sunning by the pool. I used SPF 15 and I was careful to not burn. I think I burned lightly anyway.
On the way home I stopped at 7-Eleven to get some Diet Coke. Waited in line forever behind some bug-eyed old man with a tumor coming out of his neck as big as a baseball. Man, he was giving the clerk a hard time... he was buying two damned cups of coffee and he wanted a small bag for all of the creamer and sugar he was stealing with the coffee, then he wanted a drink carrier for the two cups...
When I got home I found that the maintenance guys had finally made it over to check on the sopping wet puddle in my carpet. Turns out it was the AC. The drain had become clogged. They cleared that, changed the air filter, and used the wet dry vac to get most of the water out of the carpet. This place was such a nice-looking place when I moved in. Now it looks like a disaster area, which I guess it really is.
On Friday night I deposited my paychecks at Navy Federal. I had to use the ATM to make the deposit. I do not like to make deposits that way, but I have in the past and the amounts have been posted to my account. Problem is, when it gave me the receipt, the receipt was blank ! The ATM ran out of ink or toner ! Just my luck, huh ?
Latest weather reports show Hurricane Ivan moving alittle to the west. Possible path moved to the panhandle of Florida or maybe even farther west. Still, had better keep an eye on it. Just like Charley showed everyone, these things have a mind of their own.
Boyd Williams called me yesterday to talk and find out if I found a new job and how it was going. He told me that during Charley he lost his house. A big tree fell on it and crushed the roof. Problem is, the house is 70 years old and the building inspector will make him rebuild to code. The rafters and wall studs are on 24-inch centers and the code is 16-inch centers now. So you would have to tear all out all of the walls to fix that, the wiring is 1950 wiring in the house, and I guess the foundation was damaged too. Even if the house is totalled out, the insurance company is only going to give him a check for $30k and I am sure he owes more than that on it. Boyd said that Wayne knows about it and said something about getting Boyd building materials at-cost for rebuilding. That is pretty nice of them.
I was showing Ana how I had scanned an image if Mickey from a company envelope and placed it on my fax cover sheet. She was amazed, but she also commented that I seemed to have too much extra time for that... then I threw down on her desk all of the 21 purchase orders of hers that I did from her queue that morning. She was so delighted she screamed ! I am sure Betsy has not even looked at her queue yet. She is happy to make phone calls all day and continue to work on her Hong Kong project. I bet they kinda think of me as having a secretary around the handle all of their menial purchasing tasks, like PO's and change orders, so they are free to work on their projects.
Today I am going to buy drinks and a small amount of food. At the end of month, after rents and bills, if I have enough money, or if Rinker pays out the PTO, I will make a huge grocery shopping trip. Will probably get new tires on the truck with some of that money too.
Tomorrow, after work, I have a dinner date. Someone I have been chatting online with for a few months. He is my age. He is very shy, and he is very nervous about meeting me, even though he invited me. He works at Disney too.
Saw a book at Waldenbooks titled Queens In The Magic Kingdom, it is a guide for gays and lesbians visiting the Disney parks. I did not buy it because I feel like I already know enough about it, but I am sure those guys know alot more of the history and trivia about the rides and events.
Got e-mail from the guy who shipped my plotter. He is surprised that I do not have it yet. He is going to investigate on his end and let me know why it is not here yet. The pleasant weather we have been having lately could have something to do with it.
"Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it." -- Doug Larson
"Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." -- Norman Cousins
Friday, September 10, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Yes, I have become VERY busy keeping Betsy's, Ana's, and Peggy's queues caught up. Processing the orders would not be so bad if it were not for all of the change orders that come back due to vendor info or pricing. Betsy is just about fed up with Edward Don and their inability to settle on prices. She has even called them to complain to the customer service supervisor.
Ivan is gonna smack Jamaica hard. After tomorrow the weather service really has no idea where the storm will go. I am sure we are going to be affected sometime next week. I just hope it does not cost me time at work.
Tonite I have to drive to Winter Park first thing and deposit my paychecks into the ATM at Navy Federal. Then I will go out and have some fun. Atleast now I have enough money to pay my rent and storage rent. Then I can make money to pay the other bills. Really, I am only taking a $200 per month cut in pay from Rinker.
Speaking of Rinker... I was in the File Room making a fax transmission and I looked into the outgoing mail box. I saw an envelope addressed to Tony DiPietro at Rinker. I smiled. Tony is incharge of ready-mix but the block plants are below the ready-mixes in the organization. So, I guess I kinda worked for Tony.
Got my gas tank filled lastnight. Heard a rumor that they may start rationing gasoline - 5 gallons per car. So, just to be sure I got the tank topped off.
Called the customer service at BrightHouse Networks to get the Internet service running again. The man wanted to uninstall my network driver. I warned him that I did not have the system disks and would not be able to reinstall it. So we are going to try to run it in through the USB port, but unfortunately you need a USB driver for the Toshiba modem. They are going to mail the driver to me.
Wet spot on my carpet between the kitchen and the washing machine. It was only about a foot across on Tuesday night when I discovered it, but now it is all the way across the hall and 4 feet long ! I called the apartment yesterday and NOTHING. So I called again today to follow up. Lin is going to have maintenance take a look... it is obviously some kind of leak. I dunno. The tile under the washing machine is dry, the kitchen is dry... maybe it is coming from the AC.
"Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. " -- Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)
Yes, I have become VERY busy keeping Betsy's, Ana's, and Peggy's queues caught up. Processing the orders would not be so bad if it were not for all of the change orders that come back due to vendor info or pricing. Betsy is just about fed up with Edward Don and their inability to settle on prices. She has even called them to complain to the customer service supervisor.
Ivan is gonna smack Jamaica hard. After tomorrow the weather service really has no idea where the storm will go. I am sure we are going to be affected sometime next week. I just hope it does not cost me time at work.
Tonite I have to drive to Winter Park first thing and deposit my paychecks into the ATM at Navy Federal. Then I will go out and have some fun. Atleast now I have enough money to pay my rent and storage rent. Then I can make money to pay the other bills. Really, I am only taking a $200 per month cut in pay from Rinker.
Speaking of Rinker... I was in the File Room making a fax transmission and I looked into the outgoing mail box. I saw an envelope addressed to Tony DiPietro at Rinker. I smiled. Tony is incharge of ready-mix but the block plants are below the ready-mixes in the organization. So, I guess I kinda worked for Tony.
Got my gas tank filled lastnight. Heard a rumor that they may start rationing gasoline - 5 gallons per car. So, just to be sure I got the tank topped off.
Called the customer service at BrightHouse Networks to get the Internet service running again. The man wanted to uninstall my network driver. I warned him that I did not have the system disks and would not be able to reinstall it. So we are going to try to run it in through the USB port, but unfortunately you need a USB driver for the Toshiba modem. They are going to mail the driver to me.
Wet spot on my carpet between the kitchen and the washing machine. It was only about a foot across on Tuesday night when I discovered it, but now it is all the way across the hall and 4 feet long ! I called the apartment yesterday and NOTHING. So I called again today to follow up. Lin is going to have maintenance take a look... it is obviously some kind of leak. I dunno. The tile under the washing machine is dry, the kitchen is dry... maybe it is coming from the AC.
"Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. " -- Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
When I got out of here yesterday I took the cable modem to the BrightHouse Networks office in Kissimmee. It was ten minutes to six and they came out and locked the door right before I walked in ! I stood there and yanked on the handle hard. They came and unlocked the door to let me in. The clerk exchanged the modem and I went home.
At home I took steaks out of the refrigerator that had been marinating all day in minced garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and sweetener. I fried those and I sauteed some onion and sliced mushrooms in peanut oil. Had steak and onions with a side of asparagus.
After hooking the modem back up I tried to connect... NOTHING. The browser is not finding pages and the chat program is not connecting. One more thing I could try... I could try to connect the modem to my laptop computer via the USB port. That will tell me if it is a modem or cable problem, or whether the trouble is with my desktop. The desktop needs to be reformatted badly. But I cannot do that until I get my furniture moved to Florida because the restore disk and the disks with all of my software are somewhere in storage right now.
The forcast path for Hurricane Ivan is not encouraging. On Sunday the National Hurricane Center predicts that the storm will turn to the north right before crossing Cuba. This will bring the storm right up the length of the Florida peninsula. Joy.
Why do I move to these places right before record-setting snowfall or history-making storms roll through ?
I finally got intouch with the shipper who is moving my plotter from California. They took down my cell phone number so the truck can get intouch with me. My e-mail told me to have a pry bar ready because the plotter was put into a wooden box for more protection. I hope it comes soon, the auction ended a month ago, and like I just said, another storm is on the way.
When I got home lastnight, about eight parking spaces were taken up by the roofers, their truck and trailer. They had a crew of about a dozen men on the building next to mine working on the roof. There was another crew on a building up near the front. They had better hurry ! The roofers were all wearing harnesses -- just like OSHA says you must if you are more than seven feet about the ground, but the harnesses were not tied off to anything. The dumb fucks are still going to fall off of the roof if they are not careful.
I need start running or doing some kind of activity. I have not weighed myself, but I can feel myself gaining some weight just sitting behind the desk all day. Clothes are starting to feel tighter.
Still learning alot of stuff here... Betsy has me setting up three vendors in SAP right now. You gotta get a Form I-9 from them, and proof of two million dollars in insurance from each one. Then you have to fill out a screen in SAP to make the request and fax the forms over to the DWS A/P Vendor Setups Team. Collecting quotes for pressure fryers and assorted other items. Betsy said something about us getting some free tickets and going over to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Might be a good idea since we are ordering the special glassware and dishes for it. I am pretty happy with this job.
"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." -- Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)
When I got out of here yesterday I took the cable modem to the BrightHouse Networks office in Kissimmee. It was ten minutes to six and they came out and locked the door right before I walked in ! I stood there and yanked on the handle hard. They came and unlocked the door to let me in. The clerk exchanged the modem and I went home.
At home I took steaks out of the refrigerator that had been marinating all day in minced garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and sweetener. I fried those and I sauteed some onion and sliced mushrooms in peanut oil. Had steak and onions with a side of asparagus.
After hooking the modem back up I tried to connect... NOTHING. The browser is not finding pages and the chat program is not connecting. One more thing I could try... I could try to connect the modem to my laptop computer via the USB port. That will tell me if it is a modem or cable problem, or whether the trouble is with my desktop. The desktop needs to be reformatted badly. But I cannot do that until I get my furniture moved to Florida because the restore disk and the disks with all of my software are somewhere in storage right now.
The forcast path for Hurricane Ivan is not encouraging. On Sunday the National Hurricane Center predicts that the storm will turn to the north right before crossing Cuba. This will bring the storm right up the length of the Florida peninsula. Joy.
Why do I move to these places right before record-setting snowfall or history-making storms roll through ?
I finally got intouch with the shipper who is moving my plotter from California. They took down my cell phone number so the truck can get intouch with me. My e-mail told me to have a pry bar ready because the plotter was put into a wooden box for more protection. I hope it comes soon, the auction ended a month ago, and like I just said, another storm is on the way.
When I got home lastnight, about eight parking spaces were taken up by the roofers, their truck and trailer. They had a crew of about a dozen men on the building next to mine working on the roof. There was another crew on a building up near the front. They had better hurry ! The roofers were all wearing harnesses -- just like OSHA says you must if you are more than seven feet about the ground, but the harnesses were not tied off to anything. The dumb fucks are still going to fall off of the roof if they are not careful.
I need start running or doing some kind of activity. I have not weighed myself, but I can feel myself gaining some weight just sitting behind the desk all day. Clothes are starting to feel tighter.
Still learning alot of stuff here... Betsy has me setting up three vendors in SAP right now. You gotta get a Form I-9 from them, and proof of two million dollars in insurance from each one. Then you have to fill out a screen in SAP to make the request and fax the forms over to the DWS A/P Vendor Setups Team. Collecting quotes for pressure fryers and assorted other items. Betsy said something about us getting some free tickets and going over to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Might be a good idea since we are ordering the special glassware and dishes for it. I am pretty happy with this job.
"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." -- Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965)
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Today was also Betsy's birthday so Peggy Patterson and Evelyn over in Beverages decided to take her out to lunch. They invited me to come along. We went to TGI Friday's. The four of us ended up splitting two salads and two deserts.
Just so you know:
Hurricane
1oz Dark Rum
1oz Light Rum
1 tbsp Passion Fruit Syrup
2 tsp Lime Juice
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass
I had Harry make me a couple of Hurricanes on Friday night...one for Frances and another for Charley. God forbid I need to drink three of them this weekend ! LOL ! I think Harry used mix bought at the store, but they were still tasty.
Peggy mentioned something today at lunch about my job here lasting six months or even longer. I tried not to sound too excited and just said something about them finding a place for me permanently. Betsy asked me if I thought I would enjoy working for Disney permanently. We will see.
Today was also Betsy's birthday so Peggy Patterson and Evelyn over in Beverages decided to take her out to lunch. They invited me to come along. We went to TGI Friday's. The four of us ended up splitting two salads and two deserts.
Just so you know:
Hurricane
1oz Dark Rum
1oz Light Rum
1 tbsp Passion Fruit Syrup
2 tsp Lime Juice
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass
I had Harry make me a couple of Hurricanes on Friday night...one for Frances and another for Charley. God forbid I need to drink three of them this weekend ! LOL ! I think Harry used mix bought at the store, but they were still tasty.
Peggy mentioned something today at lunch about my job here lasting six months or even longer. I tried not to sound too excited and just said something about them finding a place for me permanently. Betsy asked me if I thought I would enjoy working for Disney permanently. We will see.
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Frances sure left alot of damage along the coast. Her eye crossed the path the eye of Charley took in Polk County, somewhere near Lake Wales.
At the grocery store on Saturday you could see everyone preparing for the LAST storm. Ice sure was sold fast. I was more worried about flooding from this storm. I stopped at K-mart and got some of those plastic tubs with lids to put some of my clothing and books into so they would not get wet if my apartment flooded. Everyone was ordered off of the roads at noon on Saturday.
Despite the winds and rain, my electric power remained up until 3:30am on Saturday. I knew when it went out because the AC stopped and the UPS on the computer started to beeping, so I had to get up and shutdown the computer. If I did not get up, the PowerChute© software would automatically shutdown the computer when the battery runs down, but it cannot shut off the monitor.
So, I was stuck at home due to bad weather and curfews all Labor Day Weekend. The stores are bemoaning the fact that they are losing so much money, but the economy overall is not suffering -- people are still spending money, just on different things now. I listened to the radio reports. Almost everyone was tuned into TV9's Tom Terry weatherman. I have to get a small black and white battery powered TV. You lose so much when you are listening to the radio and the images are so much more compelling.
Got about half of Guns, Germs, and Steel read this weekend. Such a boring tome, but I forced myself to read it. I really need to be more careful when I pick up books to read. Something I really enjoy reading, I can just breeze through in a couple nights. Something that does not read well is torture and takes weeks.
Electric power returned around midnight on Sunday. They had a voluntary curfew in Orange and Seminole Counties lastnight. I am not sure that does any good. Lots of traffic signals down, but they were getting them back pretty quickly.
Never did get over to Navy Federal to deposit my paycheck. I will probably wait until this weekend and take both checks over and deposit them via the ATM.
Betsy Hummel returned from Hong Kong this morning. She was here shortly after me. She hugged me and said she felt like she already knew me. She brought me some chopsticks from Hong Kong. You, know, somewhere in all of my belongings, I have some chopsticks from Japan too.
Next weekend: Hurricane Ivan. Stay tuned.
I need to get my Internet at home back up. I am so much more reflective when I can write this at my leisure at home.
Frances sure left alot of damage along the coast. Her eye crossed the path the eye of Charley took in Polk County, somewhere near Lake Wales.
At the grocery store on Saturday you could see everyone preparing for the LAST storm. Ice sure was sold fast. I was more worried about flooding from this storm. I stopped at K-mart and got some of those plastic tubs with lids to put some of my clothing and books into so they would not get wet if my apartment flooded. Everyone was ordered off of the roads at noon on Saturday.
Despite the winds and rain, my electric power remained up until 3:30am on Saturday. I knew when it went out because the AC stopped and the UPS on the computer started to beeping, so I had to get up and shutdown the computer. If I did not get up, the PowerChute© software would automatically shutdown the computer when the battery runs down, but it cannot shut off the monitor.
So, I was stuck at home due to bad weather and curfews all Labor Day Weekend. The stores are bemoaning the fact that they are losing so much money, but the economy overall is not suffering -- people are still spending money, just on different things now. I listened to the radio reports. Almost everyone was tuned into TV9's Tom Terry weatherman. I have to get a small black and white battery powered TV. You lose so much when you are listening to the radio and the images are so much more compelling.
Got about half of Guns, Germs, and Steel read this weekend. Such a boring tome, but I forced myself to read it. I really need to be more careful when I pick up books to read. Something I really enjoy reading, I can just breeze through in a couple nights. Something that does not read well is torture and takes weeks.
Electric power returned around midnight on Sunday. They had a voluntary curfew in Orange and Seminole Counties lastnight. I am not sure that does any good. Lots of traffic signals down, but they were getting them back pretty quickly.
Never did get over to Navy Federal to deposit my paycheck. I will probably wait until this weekend and take both checks over and deposit them via the ATM.
Betsy Hummel returned from Hong Kong this morning. She was here shortly after me. She hugged me and said she felt like she already knew me. She brought me some chopsticks from Hong Kong. You, know, somewhere in all of my belongings, I have some chopsticks from Japan too.
Next weekend: Hurricane Ivan. Stay tuned.
I need to get my Internet at home back up. I am so much more reflective when I can write this at my leisure at home.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Now the panic has started. Gas stations have already started to run out of fuel, store shelves are empty of bread, milk, and batteries, and trucks are coming into the state to bring more. It doesn't help that the storm slowed down to 9MPH and is sloooowwwwlllyyyyy making its way toward land. Just keeps people in suspense. Storm weakened alittle during the night - down to Category 3, but it still has alot of water to cover before landfall, and remember how Charley strengthened in those 4 hours while I napped ?
The park here is going to close early today and we are going home at 2PM. Maybe I will have time to get over to Winter Park and deposit my paycheck. I am so bad at managing my checkbook. I have been living like a welfare case this past week, meanwhile I have over $300 in checking that I cannot account for. Dunno why it is there, it just is. Checked the ACH on PayPal, it has already taken the money for the plotter and sent it along to the seller. Speaking of that plotter, it is coming up on a month since the end of the auction and I have not seen it yet... but I do have a box with pens, pencils, the user's manual, and cables. I am sure it is on the way.
In the apartment complex, people are taping their windows up, even Mercedes next door has had plywood nailed up over her windows. If I tape any windows at all, it will just be the two windows that face outside. I hate that nasty gum that is left over when you pull the tape off.
The girls here in the office are fretting because all of the area malls closed at 4PM yesterday and there is no way for them to get their hair done ! The director of purchasing gave everyone permission to wear jeans to work today. A couple of the girls have to bring their kids to work since the schools closed today.
I am glad I have batteries in the refrigerator already. All I really need to buy is just some food, which storm or no storm, I would have needed to buy anyway.
The turnpike is packed with people fleeing the storm. I guess 2 million people in low-lying coastal areas have been told to evacuate. I may as well stay put, because I would not get very far before the storm got here.
When I cleaned out the truck last week and aired the tires I noticed that I am almost down to the wear marks in the tread. I had guessed that I would need tires this summmer, but I made it through the summer. I guess now that I can make it until October. Then I will take it to Sears, get the 4 tires replaced, wheel bearings cleaned and repacked, and the brake pads replaced. I got 50,000 miles out of those tires.
Well, I guess I had better get busy. I already have a pile of change orders here on my desk and I have not even checked the queues yet. It will be a short day anyway.
Now the panic has started. Gas stations have already started to run out of fuel, store shelves are empty of bread, milk, and batteries, and trucks are coming into the state to bring more. It doesn't help that the storm slowed down to 9MPH and is sloooowwwwlllyyyyy making its way toward land. Just keeps people in suspense. Storm weakened alittle during the night - down to Category 3, but it still has alot of water to cover before landfall, and remember how Charley strengthened in those 4 hours while I napped ?
The park here is going to close early today and we are going home at 2PM. Maybe I will have time to get over to Winter Park and deposit my paycheck. I am so bad at managing my checkbook. I have been living like a welfare case this past week, meanwhile I have over $300 in checking that I cannot account for. Dunno why it is there, it just is. Checked the ACH on PayPal, it has already taken the money for the plotter and sent it along to the seller. Speaking of that plotter, it is coming up on a month since the end of the auction and I have not seen it yet... but I do have a box with pens, pencils, the user's manual, and cables. I am sure it is on the way.
In the apartment complex, people are taping their windows up, even Mercedes next door has had plywood nailed up over her windows. If I tape any windows at all, it will just be the two windows that face outside. I hate that nasty gum that is left over when you pull the tape off.
The girls here in the office are fretting because all of the area malls closed at 4PM yesterday and there is no way for them to get their hair done ! The director of purchasing gave everyone permission to wear jeans to work today. A couple of the girls have to bring their kids to work since the schools closed today.
I am glad I have batteries in the refrigerator already. All I really need to buy is just some food, which storm or no storm, I would have needed to buy anyway.
The turnpike is packed with people fleeing the storm. I guess 2 million people in low-lying coastal areas have been told to evacuate. I may as well stay put, because I would not get very far before the storm got here.
When I cleaned out the truck last week and aired the tires I noticed that I am almost down to the wear marks in the tread. I had guessed that I would need tires this summmer, but I made it through the summer. I guess now that I can make it until October. Then I will take it to Sears, get the 4 tires replaced, wheel bearings cleaned and repacked, and the brake pads replaced. I got 50,000 miles out of those tires.
Well, I guess I had better get busy. I already have a pile of change orders here on my desk and I have not even checked the queues yet. It will be a short day anyway.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Finally got intouch with BrightHouse Networks early this morning. The technician said that I need to trade my modem in at the local office for a new one. So, I have to find the office and take the modem over there. Maybe then I will find that my cable service is working. Maybe not.
Hurricane Frances seems determined to get us with a nice hard Category 4 right punch now. Next couple days will tell.
Work is still good, but sometimes I feel alittle overwhelmed. So many orders pile up in the queues, voice mail messages piling up, lost refrigerators, and then to add to everything else, the fax system at Edward Don is messed up and they insist that the problem is MY fax. Well, this makes me have to print the PO's out onto paper and fax them over manually, and this takes alot more time. Overall I think I am doing pretty good because I had time to help Ana with her queues today.
Going to attend eSource training next week on Tuesday. Maybe I will be able to help figure out why so many of our customers are leaving the vendor name and number off of the orders after I get that training.
Finished the disease book Plague's Progress lastnight. Not sure what I will read next. I have a USA Today newspaper to read tonight.
Shoot, I am worried about what I am going to read and I have no idea what I am going to EAT tonight ! I have a bunch of canned goods, but it is mostly beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. Canned chicken breast and canned tuna. I will have to be creative I guess.
No word from California whether my drafting plotter has shipped or not. I got a box via UPS with plotter pens, pencils, cables, power cord, and user's manual. Read through the manual and I am sure I will refer to it when I set the plotter up.
"Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life." -- Walt Disney
Finally got intouch with BrightHouse Networks early this morning. The technician said that I need to trade my modem in at the local office for a new one. So, I have to find the office and take the modem over there. Maybe then I will find that my cable service is working. Maybe not.
Hurricane Frances seems determined to get us with a nice hard Category 4 right punch now. Next couple days will tell.
Work is still good, but sometimes I feel alittle overwhelmed. So many orders pile up in the queues, voice mail messages piling up, lost refrigerators, and then to add to everything else, the fax system at Edward Don is messed up and they insist that the problem is MY fax. Well, this makes me have to print the PO's out onto paper and fax them over manually, and this takes alot more time. Overall I think I am doing pretty good because I had time to help Ana with her queues today.
Going to attend eSource training next week on Tuesday. Maybe I will be able to help figure out why so many of our customers are leaving the vendor name and number off of the orders after I get that training.
Finished the disease book Plague's Progress lastnight. Not sure what I will read next. I have a USA Today newspaper to read tonight.
Shoot, I am worried about what I am going to read and I have no idea what I am going to EAT tonight ! I have a bunch of canned goods, but it is mostly beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. Canned chicken breast and canned tuna. I will have to be creative I guess.
No word from California whether my drafting plotter has shipped or not. I got a box via UPS with plotter pens, pencils, cables, power cord, and user's manual. Read through the manual and I am sure I will refer to it when I set the plotter up.
"Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life." -- Walt Disney