I gave Eric a $5 bill yesterday afternoon because he was going to Montana to purchase MegaMillion lottery tickets. Most of the people in the office gave him money to buy tickets. The jackpot is currently up to $650 Million. The numbers will be drawn shortly.
My chances of winning are 5 in 175 million, but if I had not bought a ticket, my chances would be zero.
At 4:59 PM I had a voter come in wishing to register to vote. He did not speak English and his wife had to translate for him. With that out of the way, we went to Jerri's office where Molly and Kerri and Eric were swapping out all of Jerri's pictures in frames for pictures of Barack Obama and family, Barack Obama, and Barack and Hillary (Jerri is a Republican). This is for an April Fools joke on Monday morning.
After this we headed over to the Irma Hotel for Janet Parrent's going away party. When Jerri was elected, she begged Janet to come in from retirement and work for her. Janet said, "I will give you one year", and she has just completed 15 months. I think Janet will miss coming to work, but she is almost 70 years old, a looking forward to relaxing.
Kerri, Roly, Jerri, Leonard (Jerri's husband), Mike, Sally, Tami, Barb, Peggy, Eric, Molly, Karen, and I attended.
Everyone had drinks at the Irma and there were free tacos during Happy Hour. Jerri had gifts for Janet including some nice silver and turquois jewelry!
Molly, Keri, Karen, and I went upstairs and explored the historic old building. We checked out the dining room that holds the famous cherry wood bar given to Bill Cody by Queen Victoria, and then returned to our group.
Our next big gathering will be April 14 at Jerri's brother's ranch in Cowley, WY where we will attend a cattle branding. This will be fun and educational too!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Post 2150
It was a strange day.
Dawndee flew from Memphis to Charlotte to Wilmington this morning to spend a week visiting Mom, Bill, Kevin, Marrissia, Gavin, Gabby, and Grandma Pat.
On my way to the courthouse I saw mule deer eating grass and flowers in a neighborhood near downtown Cody!
First off I was screamed at by a psychotic woman from Meeteetse because "we spelled her name wrong" even though the name in her registration matches the signature on her voter registration card from 1983. She was yelling so loud over the phone that Eric and Molly could hear her too! Finally she demanded to speak with my supervisor, so I had to transfer the call to Molly.
Molly said that I did everything right, that I was following protocol and I remained calm and professional with her. She said, "Take her name off of our volunteer list - we don't need anyone like her."
Good riddance, Nasty Lady from Meeteetse!
Later on in the afternoon, Eric was at lunch, Molly was at her desk staring at her computer screen, and I looked up and out into the hallway. Two men in brown robes and very extreme haircuts were walking down the hall. One of them smiled and waved at me!
I wheeled around in my chair and said, "What in the hell was that?" I described what I saw and Molly didn't quite believe me. She went into the hall and down to the County Assessor's Office to get a look. She came back telling me that there is a monastery in Clark and that these Carmelite Monks have a business roasting and selling coffee.
Now we are over Hump Day. Tomorrow everyone else gets paid, but I probably won't see my paycheck until Friday morning.
Dawndee flew from Memphis to Charlotte to Wilmington this morning to spend a week visiting Mom, Bill, Kevin, Marrissia, Gavin, Gabby, and Grandma Pat.
On my way to the courthouse I saw mule deer eating grass and flowers in a neighborhood near downtown Cody!
First off I was screamed at by a psychotic woman from Meeteetse because "we spelled her name wrong" even though the name in her registration matches the signature on her voter registration card from 1983. She was yelling so loud over the phone that Eric and Molly could hear her too! Finally she demanded to speak with my supervisor, so I had to transfer the call to Molly.
Molly said that I did everything right, that I was following protocol and I remained calm and professional with her. She said, "Take her name off of our volunteer list - we don't need anyone like her."
Good riddance, Nasty Lady from Meeteetse!
Later on in the afternoon, Eric was at lunch, Molly was at her desk staring at her computer screen, and I looked up and out into the hallway. Two men in brown robes and very extreme haircuts were walking down the hall. One of them smiled and waved at me!
I wheeled around in my chair and said, "What in the hell was that?" I described what I saw and Molly didn't quite believe me. She went into the hall and down to the County Assessor's Office to get a look. She came back telling me that there is a monastery in Clark and that these Carmelite Monks have a business roasting and selling coffee.
Now we are over Hump Day. Tomorrow everyone else gets paid, but I probably won't see my paycheck until Friday morning.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Powell, WY
We didn't get the rain we were hoping for yesterday. Oh it clouded up, and it looked like it might rain a couple of times, but it didn't. What we did get was lots of gusting winds.
The drive home was a little difficult because of the winds blowing really hard out of the northwest. The wind was blowing tumbleweeds across the highway and great clouds of dust from recently plowed fields. Visibility was not very good.
Bob said that Buddy wanted to chase tumbleweeds during their evening walk.
My butt, back, legs, and hands were sore from picking up the leaf litter on Sunday. I took Advil during the day, but I was still sore in the evening.
Today was a little warmer and breezy. A nice day over all. I didn't get to see much of it. We got plenty done at work today. Eric put the new district maps up on the wall of the office, and Molly and I cleared out the vault downstairs and moved 2010 ballots down to the vault for storage until the end of the year when we can toss them into the trash.
We had baked fish with steamed broccoli for dinner. While tossing the broccoli bag into the trash, I noticed a big envelope from Bob's cousin, Carole Marie. She sent a package today and it contained a paperback edition of Storey's The Backyard Homestead. She said she is about ready to "drop out" too, but her partner wants to move to Venezuela.
My sinuses are still a little congested, my muscles are still a little sore, and my lower molars hurt (I don't know why). I think we might go to bed early, read for awhile, and then sleep.
The drive home was a little difficult because of the winds blowing really hard out of the northwest. The wind was blowing tumbleweeds across the highway and great clouds of dust from recently plowed fields. Visibility was not very good.
Bob said that Buddy wanted to chase tumbleweeds during their evening walk.
My butt, back, legs, and hands were sore from picking up the leaf litter on Sunday. I took Advil during the day, but I was still sore in the evening.
Today was a little warmer and breezy. A nice day over all. I didn't get to see much of it. We got plenty done at work today. Eric put the new district maps up on the wall of the office, and Molly and I cleared out the vault downstairs and moved 2010 ballots down to the vault for storage until the end of the year when we can toss them into the trash.
We had baked fish with steamed broccoli for dinner. While tossing the broccoli bag into the trash, I noticed a big envelope from Bob's cousin, Carole Marie. She sent a package today and it contained a paperback edition of Storey's The Backyard Homestead. She said she is about ready to "drop out" too, but her partner wants to move to Venezuela.
My sinuses are still a little congested, my muscles are still a little sore, and my lower molars hurt (I don't know why). I think we might go to bed early, read for awhile, and then sleep.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Weekend
Yesterday morning I made Bob get up at 6:00 AM. I walked Buddy quickly, and then we got into the truck. We brought the camera and the tripod too. After a quick stop at McDonald's to get a drive-thru breakfast, we headed down 14A to Ralston, then out of Ralston to Wyoming 294 (County Road 18) toward Clark.
As we began to descend into Clark you could see the Beartooths all black with snow on top and light whispy clouds in front of them. We drove up onto our property to watch the mountains as the sun rose, but heavy cloud cover blew in from the north and we couldn't even see the mountains! The weather and the views change from minute to minute!
We drove down to WY 120 and down to County Road 1AB which goes into Clark. Then we turned toward the Clark's Fork Canyon and drove down to the end of the road. We saw over 50 deer as we headed to the canyon. We turned around and headed back to WY 120 and the small tavern/convenience store there called "Edelweiss". We mainly popped in here because I had to go to the bathroom badly.
When we finished here with a purchase of Funyuns, a bottle of Diet Pepsi, and a bottle of water, we headed south on WY 120 checking out some Clark's Fork River access points along the way. Then we made a right turn onto WY
296, The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. We headed up the curving, switch backing road up past 8,000 feet to Dead Indian Pass. Despite the heavy cloud on the highway, we drove up over the cloud and into the sunshine above. There is a turn out up on Dead Indian Pass with parking and outhouses. We took in the view here and then set the camera up to take pictures of ourselves with the Absaroka Mountains in the background.
By sucking loudly on my teeth, I was able to get small chipmunks scampering on the rocks to come up to us. You could also hear lots of birds chirping and singing in the trees.
I wanted to go down the other side into the Sunlight Basin, but I had to watch the fuel since we only had 1/4 tank left. So, we turned around and went back down the east side of the mountain we came up. We turned right and continued south on WY 120 to Cody.
In Cody we filled the gas tank and then headed out to the Southfork of the Shoshone River to see where County Road 6WX went and what kinds of wildlife we might see. The road is over 35 miles long and while we saw some very beautiful mountains and landscape, all we saw were deer for wildlife.
We returned to Cody around 2:00 PM and ate lunch at Pizza On The Run. Then we drove back to Powell.
This morning Bobby walked Buddy while I made a breakfast of ham and cheese omelets with Canadian bacon, coffee, and Cheerios. After breakfast, Bob put on jeans, sweatshirt and shoes for working outside.
Today was Aretha Franklin's birthday (70). It is also Elton John's birthday (65).
It was a beautiful day today. It was sunny and warm. We got rakes out of the garage and began pulling all of the leaves, papers, wrappers, cups, cans, etc out of the flower beds and away from
the house.
I could not find the heavy-duty lawn and leaf bags that I KNOW I have some where so I went to the grocery store to get a box of 10. I also picked up fried chicken and a 12-pack of drinks for our lunch while I was there.
Bob fired up the grass whip and cleaned up all of the grass and weeds growing next to the fence and garage. Then we began to fill the trash bags.
Bob held the bag open while I lifted the debris with my hands into the bags. I took off my coat because I was getting very warm. This bagging work was hard on the lower back! It is hard to believe, but we filled eight (8), 33-gallon bags with all of the leaves, vines, weeds, grass, and litter in the flower beds, basement window wells, along the fence, along the garage wall, and under the shrubs in front.
When we came inside I took Buddy's collar off of him and put him in the bath tub. He was shaking so hard the tub was ringing! He got a good scrubbing with baby shampoo and then a thorough rinse off. Then I showered up good and clean. He was happy when it was over.
After my shower we enjoyed a lunch of fried chicken and wheat foccacia bread.
I opened the front door and lifted the plate glass panel above the screen, and then opened a bathroom window to let a breeze blow through the house. Temperatures outside got up to 71F today.
Now Buddy has been walked, we've eaten a dinner of pot pies, and I have closed the house up again. Tomorrow will be a work day with an early start. It is forecast to rain tomorrow.
As we began to descend into Clark you could see the Beartooths all black with snow on top and light whispy clouds in front of them. We drove up onto our property to watch the mountains as the sun rose, but heavy cloud cover blew in from the north and we couldn't even see the mountains! The weather and the views change from minute to minute!
We drove down to WY 120 and down to County Road 1AB which goes into Clark. Then we turned toward the Clark's Fork Canyon and drove down to the end of the road. We saw over 50 deer as we headed to the canyon. We turned around and headed back to WY 120 and the small tavern/convenience store there called "Edelweiss". We mainly popped in here because I had to go to the bathroom badly.
When we finished here with a purchase of Funyuns, a bottle of Diet Pepsi, and a bottle of water, we headed south on WY 120 checking out some Clark's Fork River access points along the way. Then we made a right turn onto WY
296, The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. We headed up the curving, switch backing road up past 8,000 feet to Dead Indian Pass. Despite the heavy cloud on the highway, we drove up over the cloud and into the sunshine above. There is a turn out up on Dead Indian Pass with parking and outhouses. We took in the view here and then set the camera up to take pictures of ourselves with the Absaroka Mountains in the background.By sucking loudly on my teeth, I was able to get small chipmunks scampering on the rocks to come up to us. You could also hear lots of birds chirping and singing in the trees.
I wanted to go down the other side into the Sunlight Basin, but I had to watch the fuel since we only had 1/4 tank left. So, we turned around and went back down the east side of the mountain we came up. We turned right and continued south on WY 120 to Cody.
In Cody we filled the gas tank and then headed out to the Southfork of the Shoshone River to see where County Road 6WX went and what kinds of wildlife we might see. The road is over 35 miles long and while we saw some very beautiful mountains and landscape, all we saw were deer for wildlife.
We returned to Cody around 2:00 PM and ate lunch at Pizza On The Run. Then we drove back to Powell.
This morning Bobby walked Buddy while I made a breakfast of ham and cheese omelets with Canadian bacon, coffee, and Cheerios. After breakfast, Bob put on jeans, sweatshirt and shoes for working outside.
Today was Aretha Franklin's birthday (70). It is also Elton John's birthday (65).
It was a beautiful day today. It was sunny and warm. We got rakes out of the garage and began pulling all of the leaves, papers, wrappers, cups, cans, etc out of the flower beds and away from
the house.I could not find the heavy-duty lawn and leaf bags that I KNOW I have some where so I went to the grocery store to get a box of 10. I also picked up fried chicken and a 12-pack of drinks for our lunch while I was there.
Bob fired up the grass whip and cleaned up all of the grass and weeds growing next to the fence and garage. Then we began to fill the trash bags.
Bob held the bag open while I lifted the debris with my hands into the bags. I took off my coat because I was getting very warm. This bagging work was hard on the lower back! It is hard to believe, but we filled eight (8), 33-gallon bags with all of the leaves, vines, weeds, grass, and litter in the flower beds, basement window wells, along the fence, along the garage wall, and under the shrubs in front.
When we came inside I took Buddy's collar off of him and put him in the bath tub. He was shaking so hard the tub was ringing! He got a good scrubbing with baby shampoo and then a thorough rinse off. Then I showered up good and clean. He was happy when it was over.
After my shower we enjoyed a lunch of fried chicken and wheat foccacia bread.
I opened the front door and lifted the plate glass panel above the screen, and then opened a bathroom window to let a breeze blow through the house. Temperatures outside got up to 71F today.
Now Buddy has been walked, we've eaten a dinner of pot pies, and I have closed the house up again. Tomorrow will be a work day with an early start. It is forecast to rain tomorrow.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Powell, WY
Last night we went to Blair Supermarket to get bread, milk, eggs, and Kool Aid. As we were heading toward the eggs, I heard a female voice call out, "Vince!!" I turned to see Molly Cozzens in her pink sweater behind a shopping cart. Bob got to meet Molly last night. Yes, small town.
During the walk this morning I looked up into a clear night sky and could see millions of stars up there. I saw a shooting star streaking to the northeast. When we move to Clark the skies will be even darker than they are here.
Today was a good day! It was almost 70F today and it was sunny. I think Spring is almost here!
I started the day here in Powell - I met Molly and Mike at the Park County Fairgrounds to inspect buildings for polling locations. The Large Exhibition Hall that housed two precincts was torn down last year and we needed to find another building to hold those polls.
My drive to Cody was especially beautiful because the sun was up higher and everything was lit brighter. I hope I never get tired of the beautiful scenery here.
Just as the courthouse clock was striking nine o'clock, I was pulling the door open to walk inside.
One of my big tasks today was to go with Eric over to the old Sheriff's Office and inspect/test voting booths, scanners, and other equipment. The old Sheriff's Office is a very solidly built structure with lots of jail cells inside! It is dark because it is mainly used for storage, and it's kind of creepy. We had almost all of the booths tested before lunch. Only one cabinet full of booths remained.
We have 182 voting booths. The voting booth is collapsible and folds up into an aluminum suitcase. We had to unfold each one, check to be sure it had voter instructions inside, be sure it had a complete set of legs, and plug it in to verify that the little fluorescent light worked.
Lunch today was leftover beanie weenies. After lunch a box or gold card stock was delivered. We ordered this paper to run off additional copies of the Voter Registration and Change Form. I put this paper into the copier and ran off 1500 copies of the form. Then we started trimming these to size with the paper cutter.
At the end of the day we were working on the redistricting. We had to locate all of the house numbers on the streets that are affected so that Molly can update the Address Database. After that is done we are going to send new Voter Information Cards to the affected voters.
Jerri confirmed that the Cattle Branding Team Building Event will be on April 14. I think Bob is looking forward to this event. This will be held at her brother's farm. The Lawnmower Races and Chicken Roping will be held at her house in August. I asked Jerri, "Can we bring a push mower?" She said, "Sure! As long as you don't mind competing with the riding mowers!"
Dinner this evening was chicken soup. Bob made clear watermelon-flavored Kool Aid for the refreshing beverage. We don't really have any plans for this weekend.
During the walk this morning I looked up into a clear night sky and could see millions of stars up there. I saw a shooting star streaking to the northeast. When we move to Clark the skies will be even darker than they are here.
Today was a good day! It was almost 70F today and it was sunny. I think Spring is almost here!
I started the day here in Powell - I met Molly and Mike at the Park County Fairgrounds to inspect buildings for polling locations. The Large Exhibition Hall that housed two precincts was torn down last year and we needed to find another building to hold those polls.
My drive to Cody was especially beautiful because the sun was up higher and everything was lit brighter. I hope I never get tired of the beautiful scenery here.
Just as the courthouse clock was striking nine o'clock, I was pulling the door open to walk inside.
One of my big tasks today was to go with Eric over to the old Sheriff's Office and inspect/test voting booths, scanners, and other equipment. The old Sheriff's Office is a very solidly built structure with lots of jail cells inside! It is dark because it is mainly used for storage, and it's kind of creepy. We had almost all of the booths tested before lunch. Only one cabinet full of booths remained.
We have 182 voting booths. The voting booth is collapsible and folds up into an aluminum suitcase. We had to unfold each one, check to be sure it had voter instructions inside, be sure it had a complete set of legs, and plug it in to verify that the little fluorescent light worked.
Lunch today was leftover beanie weenies. After lunch a box or gold card stock was delivered. We ordered this paper to run off additional copies of the Voter Registration and Change Form. I put this paper into the copier and ran off 1500 copies of the form. Then we started trimming these to size with the paper cutter.
At the end of the day we were working on the redistricting. We had to locate all of the house numbers on the streets that are affected so that Molly can update the Address Database. After that is done we are going to send new Voter Information Cards to the affected voters.
Jerri confirmed that the Cattle Branding Team Building Event will be on April 14. I think Bob is looking forward to this event. This will be held at her brother's farm. The Lawnmower Races and Chicken Roping will be held at her house in August. I asked Jerri, "Can we bring a push mower?" She said, "Sure! As long as you don't mind competing with the riding mowers!"
Dinner this evening was chicken soup. Bob made clear watermelon-flavored Kool Aid for the refreshing beverage. We don't really have any plans for this weekend.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Powell, WY
Yesterday, I told Molly, "Next time it snows like it did on Monday, you call me, I will pick you up and drive to work. We will pretend we are on Ice Road Truckers!" Everyone laughed.
On the drive home yesterday I checked my voice messages and found a message from Lou at Cody Laboratories asking me to call her for an interview for the Plant Engineering Manager job I had applied for. Honestly, so much time has passed, I don't recall applying for it!
The drive to work today was nice. For a few minutes everything was bathed in golden light and the snow-covered mountains were especially pretty. Then the sun went higher and behind a cloud bank. Everything turned dark and black. Still it was a nice day with temps in the 60's today.
Molly was out today sick. We found some busy work to keep ourselves occupied and busy looking. Jerri said that the cattle branding event will be on April 14. I am looking forward to that.
I spent the time today entering all of the election judges who have responded into my Outlook Contacts and matching their photo with their address and phone number.
For lunch I had leftover meat loaf with carrots. I tried to call Lou at Cody Labs, but she must have been at lunch because I got her voice mailbox.
We spent the afternoon mainly telling sea stories and cutting up.
This evening Bobby had a pot of red chili ready for dinner when I got home. He is practicing a couple of new knit stitches, and after that he will begin a sweater for Buddy.
On the drive home yesterday I checked my voice messages and found a message from Lou at Cody Laboratories asking me to call her for an interview for the Plant Engineering Manager job I had applied for. Honestly, so much time has passed, I don't recall applying for it!
The drive to work today was nice. For a few minutes everything was bathed in golden light and the snow-covered mountains were especially pretty. Then the sun went higher and behind a cloud bank. Everything turned dark and black. Still it was a nice day with temps in the 60's today.
Molly was out today sick. We found some busy work to keep ourselves occupied and busy looking. Jerri said that the cattle branding event will be on April 14. I am looking forward to that.
I spent the time today entering all of the election judges who have responded into my Outlook Contacts and matching their photo with their address and phone number.
For lunch I had leftover meat loaf with carrots. I tried to call Lou at Cody Labs, but she must have been at lunch because I got her voice mailbox.
We spent the afternoon mainly telling sea stories and cutting up.
This evening Bobby had a pot of red chili ready for dinner when I got home. He is practicing a couple of new knit stitches, and after that he will begin a sweater for Buddy.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Powell, WY
Oh boy, did the weather change!
This morning I went to the front door and looked out on frosted trees, about 8 inches of snow on the ground, and more coming down blowing in the wind!
I came back to the house with snow and ice crusting my knit cap and jacket. Buddy just kept shaking the wet snow off of his coat. I put him in the house and then shoveled the front walk off. What a wet cold mess!
Molly sent me a series of text messages telling me that the roads had a layer of ice beneath the snow and that she was going to wait until 8:30 before she started for work. I went ahead and left at my normal time.
The first 5 miles were extremely slushy and wet. I did not go faster than 45 MPH. After I passed Ralston the roads cleared up some and I was able to raise my speed to 65. I texted Molly, "Pass Ralston and u can fly."
I was the first person to arrive at the office, but I don't have keys to the office, so I had to wait in the hall until someone else got there.
Don't drive faster than you think is safe, keep a shovel in the car, keep snacks in the car, keep a blanket in the car. I just wish I had bought that heavy chain and hooks at Linton's Big R store this weekend. That way if I'd slid into a ditch, I could be pulled out.
Jerri, Roly, and Molly were all very late coming in. Jerri actually slid off the road this morning, but she came in before Molly. Later Jerri sent an email to those of us driving in from Powell and told us that if we are going to be late to call the Clerk's Office and let someone know so we don't go looking for you in a ditch.
After this the day settled down into routine. We put the St Patrick's Day decorations away in the basement and brought out the Easter decorations. We put these on the windows and around the office.
There were snow flurries coming down in Cody when I left the courthouse, but my drive home was dry and easy.
Bob had a dinner of pot roast with potatoes and carrots ready when I got home and it was tasty.
This morning I went to the front door and looked out on frosted trees, about 8 inches of snow on the ground, and more coming down blowing in the wind!
I came back to the house with snow and ice crusting my knit cap and jacket. Buddy just kept shaking the wet snow off of his coat. I put him in the house and then shoveled the front walk off. What a wet cold mess!
Molly sent me a series of text messages telling me that the roads had a layer of ice beneath the snow and that she was going to wait until 8:30 before she started for work. I went ahead and left at my normal time.
The first 5 miles were extremely slushy and wet. I did not go faster than 45 MPH. After I passed Ralston the roads cleared up some and I was able to raise my speed to 65. I texted Molly, "Pass Ralston and u can fly."
I was the first person to arrive at the office, but I don't have keys to the office, so I had to wait in the hall until someone else got there.
Don't drive faster than you think is safe, keep a shovel in the car, keep snacks in the car, keep a blanket in the car. I just wish I had bought that heavy chain and hooks at Linton's Big R store this weekend. That way if I'd slid into a ditch, I could be pulled out.
Jerri, Roly, and Molly were all very late coming in. Jerri actually slid off the road this morning, but she came in before Molly. Later Jerri sent an email to those of us driving in from Powell and told us that if we are going to be late to call the Clerk's Office and let someone know so we don't go looking for you in a ditch.
After this the day settled down into routine. We put the St Patrick's Day decorations away in the basement and brought out the Easter decorations. We put these on the windows and around the office.
There were snow flurries coming down in Cody when I left the courthouse, but my drive home was dry and easy.
Bob had a dinner of pot roast with potatoes and carrots ready when I got home and it was tasty.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday
It was just like a small vacation!
We filled the gas tank at the Blair Supermarket ($3.46 per gallon, yikes!!), and then drove down to Cody. We drove through Cody, down Sheridan Avenue, and then down Yellowstone Avenue, stopping at Dairy Queen for blizzards, and then past the rodeo, and out of town.
Following the Shoshone River we headed up into the canyon, through the traffic tunnels to the dam and visitor center. The dam is only open to visitors May, June, July, and August, but they have some curiosities in the parking lot next to Buffalo Bill Reservoir.
When I got out of the truck I heard what I thought were dogs barking on the other side of the lake, but I could not see them. Later I realized we were hearing geese honking.
We drove west down the Northfork Highway past Wapiti. We
drove some 40 miles - as far as we could go. After you pass Sleeping Giant Ski Resort, you come to a place where the road is barricaded and is not plowed any farther. Yellowstone park is about 5 miles past that point.
We turned around here and headed back toward Cody.
As we came down the highway a small group of deer began to cross the road ahead of us just after a big black truck went by. I threw on the brakes to avoid hitting them and I heard the bags of salt come sliding forward on the bed of the truck.
Four deer crossed the road right there. They really did not seem to care that we were driving through their valley.
The skies were clouding up and it even sprinkled a little as we made our way east again.
I pulled over to pull the salt bags back over the axle. Then we headed down the road another
half mile where we pulled over to see a bison browsing in the sage brush. The black truck that was ahead of us had also pulled over and the big man driving it was out. He came toward me saying, "Yeah, those deer got real close to you, didn't they? Yeah, I told muh wife, 'Honey, that man just pulled over to wipe his ass!'"! We spent a few minutes talking here and then it was time to continue.
We passed a few more bison down in the river bank, and then we saw a couple of large herds of bighorn sheep. Bob got out of the cab and I took his picture in front of them.
The sheep don't seem to be bothered by the cars either.
At one roadside pullout we saw cougar tracks right next to the parking area!
Soon we were passing Wapiti, Buffalo Bill State Park and we were back in Cody again.
We stopped at Cassie's for lunch and to watch the fiddlers. We saw Jerri and Leonard Torczon playing and after we were seated, Jerri came up to see us and promised us a trip to the Bighorn Mountains this summer!
For lunch we both had bison/elk burgers (medium-well) with side salads and a couple of beers. We sat and listened to the music until about 3:30 and then we headed back to Powell.
Buddy has had his walk and he's been fed. The winds are picking up and I think the weather is changing again. This good weather couldn't last forever.
We filled the gas tank at the Blair Supermarket ($3.46 per gallon, yikes!!), and then drove down to Cody. We drove through Cody, down Sheridan Avenue, and then down Yellowstone Avenue, stopping at Dairy Queen for blizzards, and then past the rodeo, and out of town.
Following the Shoshone River we headed up into the canyon, through the traffic tunnels to the dam and visitor center. The dam is only open to visitors May, June, July, and August, but they have some curiosities in the parking lot next to Buffalo Bill Reservoir.
When I got out of the truck I heard what I thought were dogs barking on the other side of the lake, but I could not see them. Later I realized we were hearing geese honking.
We drove west down the Northfork Highway past Wapiti. We
drove some 40 miles - as far as we could go. After you pass Sleeping Giant Ski Resort, you come to a place where the road is barricaded and is not plowed any farther. Yellowstone park is about 5 miles past that point.We turned around here and headed back toward Cody.
As we came down the highway a small group of deer began to cross the road ahead of us just after a big black truck went by. I threw on the brakes to avoid hitting them and I heard the bags of salt come sliding forward on the bed of the truck.
Four deer crossed the road right there. They really did not seem to care that we were driving through their valley.
The skies were clouding up and it even sprinkled a little as we made our way east again.
I pulled over to pull the salt bags back over the axle. Then we headed down the road another
half mile where we pulled over to see a bison browsing in the sage brush. The black truck that was ahead of us had also pulled over and the big man driving it was out. He came toward me saying, "Yeah, those deer got real close to you, didn't they? Yeah, I told muh wife, 'Honey, that man just pulled over to wipe his ass!'"! We spent a few minutes talking here and then it was time to continue.We passed a few more bison down in the river bank, and then we saw a couple of large herds of bighorn sheep. Bob got out of the cab and I took his picture in front of them.
The sheep don't seem to be bothered by the cars either.
At one roadside pullout we saw cougar tracks right next to the parking area!
Soon we were passing Wapiti, Buffalo Bill State Park and we were back in Cody again.
We stopped at Cassie's for lunch and to watch the fiddlers. We saw Jerri and Leonard Torczon playing and after we were seated, Jerri came up to see us and promised us a trip to the Bighorn Mountains this summer!
For lunch we both had bison/elk burgers (medium-well) with side salads and a couple of beers. We sat and listened to the music until about 3:30 and then we headed back to Powell.
Buddy has had his walk and he's been fed. The winds are picking up and I think the weather is changing again. This good weather couldn't last forever.
Weekend
This picture is from my drive in to work on Friday morning. I pulled off of 14A onto the road to Willwood Dam and took the picture out of the driver side window across some plowed fields. It looked like the sky was on fire as the sun came up!The Treasurer's office had a St Patrick's Day party and they had lots of green-dyed foods for the occasion! There was a contest for the most original and best food. Keri Smith from the Clerk's office won the most original with a rainbow formed from dozens of mini cupcakes.
We finished Eric's first week and my second week and it was time to drive home.
My ride home was uneventful and when I got home Bob had prepared pork chops and boiled potatoes for dinner. He even made orange gelatin with Mandarin oranges in it for dessert!
On Saturday we got up, ate scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast, and then we went out for the day.
Our first stop was the Bank Of The West ATM to get some cash, then we went to the Park County Fairgrounds (about 4 blocks from our house) to go to the flea market.
The "flea market" consisted of four women sitting inside a building with a dozen tables of junk. It was just an over-sized yard sale. We didn't get anything, but we satisfied our curiosity.
The next stop was Linton's Big R store. Here I looked for a small fountain pump to repair my parts washer. I sent Bobby over to the sporting goods department to pick out some flies for fishing. Linton's did not have a suitable pump for the parts washer. The ones they did have were outrageously expensive!
After this stop we drove west down 14A toward Cody. We stopped in Ralston and browsed the thrift store there. Bobby found some different sized knitting needles here, and a box with a sliding lid labeled "knitting needles". I got some macrame beads to be used in the future for casting pattern making.
We continued west out of Ralston and turned off the road where the railroad station named "Vocation" used to stand. We drove up to the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp Interpretive Learning Center. There were lots of volunteers sweeping, raking, cleaning glass, etc as we drove up and parked.
I was prepared to pay the $7 per person entrance fee when we walked inside the visitor center, but the attendant informed us that they were not charging admission today! So we were free to enter and examine the exhibits at no charge! We viewed a 14-minute-long movie, and probably spe
nt around two hours inside the building.After we left the building, the volunteers were still cleaning, raking, burning weeds, etc. We drove further up the road to the top of the bench where there is a small walking tour. We also went over to closely examine the four remaining buildings on the site. There used to be almost 500 buildings here, but after the war many buildings were sold to local residents or were allowed to decay away. The most prominent remnant from the camp is the chimney from the hospital boiler.
We drove some of the county roads behind the center for awhile and then headed back to Powell. It was around 1:30 PM and we went to China Town for the lunch buffet.
After lunch we went to the Book Company on Bent Street. We browsed the store and ended up getting two paperbacks and spending a long time talking with the owner, Kim. We got a book about raising goats and a Wyoming history.
Since we were still so full from lunch we did not make dinner. We spent the evening reading and knitting.
Today we are planning to get a tank of gas and drive to Cody. We are going to explore the Northfork area west of town, and then come back and get lunch at Cassie's, and enjoy the live music there before coming back to Powell.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Powell, WY
Yesterday was a rough day for me. I would just as soon forget about it.
My first assignment was to process 440 form letters printed out Monday afternoon through the Pitney-Bowes DI380 Document Inserting System. This machine folds your letter (into half, c-fold or z-fold), and inserts it into an envelope. It can also seal the envelope.
It also is very picky and does not work very well.
It took me about 2-1/2 hours to get 420 of the letters into their envelopes. There were lots of stops where I had to pick misfed envelopes or letters out of the machine.
Later we were putting mailing address labels on the front of the envelopes when Jerri came in and asked to see the letter we were sending out to elections workers. Well, Jerri had quite a few things she wanted changed. The letter needed to be on letter head paper, it needed to be Times New Roman font, it needed to be justified, it needed a colon after the greeting instead of a comma, etc.
I had to make the changes, print out the 440 letters again, un-stuff the existing envelopes, and then run the letter again, but this time we were going to put these into envelopes with windows. This was a disaster because the envelopes got caught in the machine even worse! Using needle nose pliers, it was like playing Operation as I pulled pieces of paper out.
In the end we decided to let the machine fold the letters only, and Molly and I ended up manually putting the letters into envelopes, running them through the postage machine, and then I took them outside and dropped them into the mail box.
I was very hot after this and my sinuses were getting very congested. It was time for lunch after this was finished.
During lunch I got a medium pink plastic bottle of Mr. Bubble bubble bath and brought it back to the office in a plastic shopping bag.
Barb Atkinson supervises the clerks on the other side of our office. She kept coming through our office on Monday and Tuesday saying, "Oh Calgon take me away!"
When I got back to my desk, Barb came through our office and went to the restroom. I said to myself, "Now is my chance!" I opened MS Word and quickly typed, "Sorry Barb, Calgon said he's busy tonight. Would you settle for a blind date with Mr. Bubble?"
I printed this, cut it out in the shape of a quote balloon, and taped it to the bottle. By this time Barb was out of the restroom, but she went back to the lunchroom. I walked over to the clerk office and put it on her desk.
A few minutes later I heard all kinds of cackling and laughing coming from the other side of the office! Molly said, "What did you do?!!" I said, "Oh nothing. I just made Barb's afternoon a little brighter."
After work I had to head up to Billings and get Bob from the airport. The drive north was beautiful. It took about two hours to get there. We had to get a tank of gas in Laurel on the way back south. We got a pizza for dinner when we got back to Powell, and we went to bed around 10 PM.
It was a very long day, I was very tired, and my face hurt.
Today was better, but I was tired all day. I took a bunch of decongestant to keep my face open and draining. We have a bunch of things to do to get ready for elections. Today I had to call the person responsible for each polling place and make sure they were still the contact and ensure that the facility would be available to us for the primary and general elections. That took a couple of hours.
Molly went to the chiropractor at 9:30 AM, and then she went to Wal*Mart to get some of the supplies we needed for the poll supply boxes.
I had leftover pizza for my lunch. I went to the bookstore near the courthouse and browsed. I got a history of the Clark, WY area called In The Shadow Of The Beartooth Clark, WY, and another one that was very titillatingly named The Great Wyoming Whorehouses. While leafing through the second one, I noticed that the place where Jerri will be playing fiddle on Sunday, Cassie's, was a whorehouse with a long history!
When I returned from lunch I told Molly, "You didn't tell me that the place where Jerri plays fiddle was a whorehouse!!" Molly laughed and said, "Well, it's just part of the job!" Hahaha!!
Hopefully my paycheck will be deposited tonight. Everyone else was paid today, but Navy Federal said that they can see my pending deposit and they told me it should be deposited tonight between midnight and 6:00 AM.
Bob got a haircut this afternoon and he looks a lot better. He had a dinner of turkey rolls and steamed veggies ready when I got home.
I am tired and think I should go to bed early tonight. I am glad tomorrow is Friday! I need a weekend.
My first assignment was to process 440 form letters printed out Monday afternoon through the Pitney-Bowes DI380 Document Inserting System. This machine folds your letter (into half, c-fold or z-fold), and inserts it into an envelope. It can also seal the envelope.
It also is very picky and does not work very well.
It took me about 2-1/2 hours to get 420 of the letters into their envelopes. There were lots of stops where I had to pick misfed envelopes or letters out of the machine.
Later we were putting mailing address labels on the front of the envelopes when Jerri came in and asked to see the letter we were sending out to elections workers. Well, Jerri had quite a few things she wanted changed. The letter needed to be on letter head paper, it needed to be Times New Roman font, it needed to be justified, it needed a colon after the greeting instead of a comma, etc.
I had to make the changes, print out the 440 letters again, un-stuff the existing envelopes, and then run the letter again, but this time we were going to put these into envelopes with windows. This was a disaster because the envelopes got caught in the machine even worse! Using needle nose pliers, it was like playing Operation as I pulled pieces of paper out.
In the end we decided to let the machine fold the letters only, and Molly and I ended up manually putting the letters into envelopes, running them through the postage machine, and then I took them outside and dropped them into the mail box.
I was very hot after this and my sinuses were getting very congested. It was time for lunch after this was finished.
During lunch I got a medium pink plastic bottle of Mr. Bubble bubble bath and brought it back to the office in a plastic shopping bag.
Barb Atkinson supervises the clerks on the other side of our office. She kept coming through our office on Monday and Tuesday saying, "Oh Calgon take me away!"
When I got back to my desk, Barb came through our office and went to the restroom. I said to myself, "Now is my chance!" I opened MS Word and quickly typed, "Sorry Barb, Calgon said he's busy tonight. Would you settle for a blind date with Mr. Bubble?"
I printed this, cut it out in the shape of a quote balloon, and taped it to the bottle. By this time Barb was out of the restroom, but she went back to the lunchroom. I walked over to the clerk office and put it on her desk.
A few minutes later I heard all kinds of cackling and laughing coming from the other side of the office! Molly said, "What did you do?!!" I said, "Oh nothing. I just made Barb's afternoon a little brighter."
After work I had to head up to Billings and get Bob from the airport. The drive north was beautiful. It took about two hours to get there. We had to get a tank of gas in Laurel on the way back south. We got a pizza for dinner when we got back to Powell, and we went to bed around 10 PM.
It was a very long day, I was very tired, and my face hurt.
Today was better, but I was tired all day. I took a bunch of decongestant to keep my face open and draining. We have a bunch of things to do to get ready for elections. Today I had to call the person responsible for each polling place and make sure they were still the contact and ensure that the facility would be available to us for the primary and general elections. That took a couple of hours.
Molly went to the chiropractor at 9:30 AM, and then she went to Wal*Mart to get some of the supplies we needed for the poll supply boxes.
I had leftover pizza for my lunch. I went to the bookstore near the courthouse and browsed. I got a history of the Clark, WY area called In The Shadow Of The Beartooth Clark, WY, and another one that was very titillatingly named The Great Wyoming Whorehouses. While leafing through the second one, I noticed that the place where Jerri will be playing fiddle on Sunday, Cassie's, was a whorehouse with a long history!
When I returned from lunch I told Molly, "You didn't tell me that the place where Jerri plays fiddle was a whorehouse!!" Molly laughed and said, "Well, it's just part of the job!" Hahaha!!
Hopefully my paycheck will be deposited tonight. Everyone else was paid today, but Navy Federal said that they can see my pending deposit and they told me it should be deposited tonight between midnight and 6:00 AM.
Bob got a haircut this afternoon and he looks a lot better. He had a dinner of turkey rolls and steamed veggies ready when I got home.
I am tired and think I should go to bed early tonight. I am glad tomorrow is Friday! I need a weekend.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Powell, WY
It was another good day. Up at 6:00 AM to walk Buddy, then I fed him, got myself a bowl of IGA-brand Cheerios, showered, shaved, brushed teeth, dressed, and out the door by 7:00.At work we checked the last four precinct supply boxes. Then I spent the rest of the morning entering names and phone numbers into my Outlook Contacts.
Lunch was a Subway sandwich. Temps were up near 60F again today and it was sunny. Can Spring really be far off?
During the afternoon I worked on doing a Mail Merge between my letter to Election Volunteers in Word and the name and address list in MS Excel. Amazing. After following a short routine, the program automatically generated 440 form letters with each person's individual address and name filled in! Then I did the same thing to make 440 mail labels for the letters.
Tomorrow we are going to fold the letters, put them into envelopes, seal them, put postage on them, and mail them. Only it will be easy-peasy because we have a machine that folds letters, and stuffs the envelopes! Then the postage machine will print the postage on the envelope and seal the envelopes! Amazing.
I came home around 5:30 and took Buddy for his walk first thing. Then I made a sandwich for dinner and ate it with a can of yams. I called Bobby to find out how his hearing went today. He said, "Let's just say that tomorrow is going to be a great day" - the hearing was decided in his favor! We certainly are lucky guys!
Tomorrow evening after work I will drive to Billings and pick Bob up at the airport and bring him back to Powell.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Powell, WY
Nice weather in the 60's continued all day yesterday. We can only hope spring is finally here, but this nice weather will only last until it snows again.
This morning we were up at 4:30 AM and in the truck at 5:00 AM. We stopped at the gas station to fill the truck and then we headed out to Billings Logan International Airport where Bobby had a plane to catch.
It was dark as we made our way past the towns of Garland, Deaver, and Frannie and into Montana. As we approached Bridger, MT, I thought I saw a column of green and red light in the sky. Sure enough, we were seeing the aurora borealis! To be sure I was not seeing a reflection on my own windshield, I pulled over off the side of the road just outside of Bridger, turned my headlights off, and got out to look. The lights were not particularly bright, but it was definitely an aurora display. A few minutes later it was gone.
I got Bobby to the airport at 7:00 AM. His flight did not depart until 1:30 PM, but I still had to work today, so after getting him to the terminal, I headed back down into Billings, back to the interstate, back to Laurel, and then south through Fromberg, to
Bridger. At Bridger I got on MT 72 and took that to Belfry. It was 8:08 AM when I passed our property in Clark, WY.
I arrived at the Park County Courthouse at 8:45 AM. Not bad time!
Including my drive home to Powell, I drove 236 miles today.
The "new guy", Eric Rydbom, was in today. Molly had to train him how to do everything that we covered last week. Then we continued to work on the precinct boxes.
For lunch I had a leftover stuffed pepper with a bottle of 7-Up. I popped in to say "Hi" to Jerri and show her the jawbone we found on the property in Clark. She thinks it's a jack rabbit jaw. I told her we stopped in at Silvertip Restaurant, but we had ice cream instead of chicken gizzards. She said the hamburgers are good and so big you can't finish them! She gave me a jar of her home made salsa and I am going to take her my last jar of kiwi jam tomorrow.
With the return to Daylight Savings Time, it is staying light outside much later! The drive home was almost like a drive in the afternoon. I stopped to re-fill the gas tank, and get a Subway sandwich for dinner. When I got home, and immediately took Buddy out for his evening walk.
Tomorrow Bobby has his hearing in court for his disability case in Orlando. He will return to Billings on Wednesday, and I will drive up to bring him back to Powell on Wednesday evening after work.
This was a long day.
This morning we were up at 4:30 AM and in the truck at 5:00 AM. We stopped at the gas station to fill the truck and then we headed out to Billings Logan International Airport where Bobby had a plane to catch.
It was dark as we made our way past the towns of Garland, Deaver, and Frannie and into Montana. As we approached Bridger, MT, I thought I saw a column of green and red light in the sky. Sure enough, we were seeing the aurora borealis! To be sure I was not seeing a reflection on my own windshield, I pulled over off the side of the road just outside of Bridger, turned my headlights off, and got out to look. The lights were not particularly bright, but it was definitely an aurora display. A few minutes later it was gone.
I got Bobby to the airport at 7:00 AM. His flight did not depart until 1:30 PM, but I still had to work today, so after getting him to the terminal, I headed back down into Billings, back to the interstate, back to Laurel, and then south through Fromberg, to
Bridger. At Bridger I got on MT 72 and took that to Belfry. It was 8:08 AM when I passed our property in Clark, WY.I arrived at the Park County Courthouse at 8:45 AM. Not bad time!
Including my drive home to Powell, I drove 236 miles today.
The "new guy", Eric Rydbom, was in today. Molly had to train him how to do everything that we covered last week. Then we continued to work on the precinct boxes.
For lunch I had a leftover stuffed pepper with a bottle of 7-Up. I popped in to say "Hi" to Jerri and show her the jawbone we found on the property in Clark. She thinks it's a jack rabbit jaw. I told her we stopped in at Silvertip Restaurant, but we had ice cream instead of chicken gizzards. She said the hamburgers are good and so big you can't finish them! She gave me a jar of her home made salsa and I am going to take her my last jar of kiwi jam tomorrow.
With the return to Daylight Savings Time, it is staying light outside much later! The drive home was almost like a drive in the afternoon. I stopped to re-fill the gas tank, and get a Subway sandwich for dinner. When I got home, and immediately took Buddy out for his evening walk.
Tomorrow Bobby has his hearing in court for his disability case in Orlando. He will return to Billings on Wednesday, and I will drive up to bring him back to Powell on Wednesday evening after work.
This was a long day.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
First Week!
I know I haven't been updating this thing as frequently as you guys would like to see. We have not subscribed to Internet service in the house yet, and sometimes the unencrypted router we are using doesn't let us connect, or if it does, we don't stay connected for long. On those nights I just close up the computer and go to bed.
The first week at Park County Courthouse is over and it seems to have been very successful! I have learned all of the routine tasks that occur in the office and we are working our way through the plastic boxes that will be distributed to each precinct for the primary. We have to make sure each box has the items in it that it is supposed to have. Believe me, there is a lot of stuff you need to make an election happen!
Jerri, the County Clerk, raises chickens, but she wants to get some more to raise them for meat. I told her I was interested in raising chickens too and she said, "Great, maybe later this summer we can go into together on an order and get 100!"
Jerri is also going to have everyone in the clerks office come out to her farm for "chicken roping" and "chicken races". She said this would be a good team-building experience! Later this summer we will all go to her brother's farm to observe cattle branding, and participate in calf wrestling.
Molly was kind of squeamish about the whole cattle branding idea. Jerri asked me, "What do you think Vince? Shouldn't Molly come to the cattle branding?" I said, "Oh yes! Molly is a westerner, and there is no reason why she shouldn't become more familiar with western culture."
Today (a Saturday), I went to Cody with Molly to attend the Park County GOP Convention. We helped by making the coffee and water cooler, but we were forbidden to participate with the event officially. As election officials, we have to be completely neutral.
Molly wanted me to go so that I could meet or see the major participants since we have to work with all of them. Plus, going to the event will help us recruit election judges. The democrats have their county convention on April 10.
She picked me up at 7:45 and I was back home by 10! We downloaded the movie Office Space and put it on a USB thumb drive for Molly to watch. I told her that she would understand the context of the "did you get the memo?" joke after watching this classic.
Since the day was just beautiful, with temps in the 60's, we put on hiking boots and got into the truck. We stopped at the grocery, got some fried chicken, some chips, and some bottled water. Then we drove to Clark, and then to Red Lodge.
We got onto the Meeteetse Trail and attempted to get up to the Pinnacles to hike, but the gravel road was very rutted and melt water was just flowing in the road. Finally we came to a yellow sign that said chains or traction control were required for further progress. With the moving truck getting stuck in Mississippi still fresh in my mind, I decided to turn around here.
We drove back to Clark and parked up on our property. We enjoyed the mild temperatures and breeze coming from the south. We ate our little lunch and then took Buddy on his leash around the property line. I think Buddy loved it. He sniffed everything and only had to be careful to avoid the prickly pair spikes getting in his feet.
Around 3:00 PM we drove back up to Belfry and stopped at the Silvertip Restaurant to get some ice cream. After that we drove up Clark Hill to above 6,000 feet and took in the panoramic views of the entire valley. Then we came down and headed home to Powell.
This evening I made stuffed peppers. Because they were not finished until 7:00 PM, we are going to enjoy those tomorrow.
We switch to Daylight Saving Time tonight. That means we will lose an hour of sleep. On Monday morning we have to get up very early because I have to drive Bobby to Billings, MT to the airport, and then run back to Cody for my day at work. He comes back on Wednesday, and I will go to Billings to pick him up after work. Also, another new guy starts on Monday morning in Elections. This will be Eric Rydbom, who Molly refers to as "New Eric". "Old Eric" was Eric Romango, who she fired for not following protocol.
The first week at Park County Courthouse is over and it seems to have been very successful! I have learned all of the routine tasks that occur in the office and we are working our way through the plastic boxes that will be distributed to each precinct for the primary. We have to make sure each box has the items in it that it is supposed to have. Believe me, there is a lot of stuff you need to make an election happen!
Jerri, the County Clerk, raises chickens, but she wants to get some more to raise them for meat. I told her I was interested in raising chickens too and she said, "Great, maybe later this summer we can go into together on an order and get 100!"
Jerri is also going to have everyone in the clerks office come out to her farm for "chicken roping" and "chicken races". She said this would be a good team-building experience! Later this summer we will all go to her brother's farm to observe cattle branding, and participate in calf wrestling.
Molly was kind of squeamish about the whole cattle branding idea. Jerri asked me, "What do you think Vince? Shouldn't Molly come to the cattle branding?" I said, "Oh yes! Molly is a westerner, and there is no reason why she shouldn't become more familiar with western culture."
Today (a Saturday), I went to Cody with Molly to attend the Park County GOP Convention. We helped by making the coffee and water cooler, but we were forbidden to participate with the event officially. As election officials, we have to be completely neutral.
Molly wanted me to go so that I could meet or see the major participants since we have to work with all of them. Plus, going to the event will help us recruit election judges. The democrats have their county convention on April 10.
She picked me up at 7:45 and I was back home by 10! We downloaded the movie Office Space and put it on a USB thumb drive for Molly to watch. I told her that she would understand the context of the "did you get the memo?" joke after watching this classic.
Since the day was just beautiful, with temps in the 60's, we put on hiking boots and got into the truck. We stopped at the grocery, got some fried chicken, some chips, and some bottled water. Then we drove to Clark, and then to Red Lodge.
We got onto the Meeteetse Trail and attempted to get up to the Pinnacles to hike, but the gravel road was very rutted and melt water was just flowing in the road. Finally we came to a yellow sign that said chains or traction control were required for further progress. With the moving truck getting stuck in Mississippi still fresh in my mind, I decided to turn around here.
We drove back to Clark and parked up on our property. We enjoyed the mild temperatures and breeze coming from the south. We ate our little lunch and then took Buddy on his leash around the property line. I think Buddy loved it. He sniffed everything and only had to be careful to avoid the prickly pair spikes getting in his feet.
Around 3:00 PM we drove back up to Belfry and stopped at the Silvertip Restaurant to get some ice cream. After that we drove up Clark Hill to above 6,000 feet and took in the panoramic views of the entire valley. Then we came down and headed home to Powell.
This evening I made stuffed peppers. Because they were not finished until 7:00 PM, we are going to enjoy those tomorrow.
We switch to Daylight Saving Time tonight. That means we will lose an hour of sleep. On Monday morning we have to get up very early because I have to drive Bobby to Billings, MT to the airport, and then run back to Cody for my day at work. He comes back on Wednesday, and I will go to Billings to pick him up after work. Also, another new guy starts on Monday morning in Elections. This will be Eric Rydbom, who Molly refers to as "New Eric". "Old Eric" was Eric Romango, who she fired for not following protocol.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Powell, WY
Whew! Monday and Tuesday have been very tiring! My first day working at the courthouse was very exciting, and there were so many new people, and so much new stuff to learn! I think I kept up with it fairly well.
Today was a little stressful for me only because the Internet was down half of the day and all of my voter registration records are kept on a server in Cheyenne. Without the Wyoreg.gov site, there was only a limited amount of actual registration work I could do.
My supervisor is named Molly Cozzens, the same lady I interviewed with. She told me that they fired the election clerk, named Eric, who was working last week - something about not following protocol, but they are bringing in another new election clerk next week and his name is also Eric!
Molly reports to Mike Demoney, and Mike reports to Jerri Torczen, the County Clerk. Jerri is an elected official and the people under her are appointed or hourly employees.
So far I have learned to register new voters, make changes to existing voter registrations, and process requests for absentee ballots. I can run the Pitney-Bowes mail machine, the copier, and the telephone system.
Since this is an election year, we are going to become very busy very quickly. We have to test the voting equipment, inspect all of the polls, verify the new district lines, conduct voter registration drives in high schools and nursing homes, attend GOP and Democrat party meetings as an outreach, process absentee ballot requests and mail the ballots, purge records that are older than the retention period, conduct the primary election in August, conduct the General Election in November, and then perform any recounts that might be requested from the Secretary of State.
The good thing is that I am learning a tremendous amount about how the county government works. My supervisor seems to like me and there is a possibility that a permanent position could open for me in 2013 since some of the departments have a large amount of "personnel churn".
Molly likes for our office to "dress up" and look "professional", so I am going to be shopping some thrift stores to get a couple more sport coats and jackets. I pass one on the way into Cody, and I might stop in there during my lunch hour.
Temperatures this morning started off around 48F. The temperature fell steadily through the day. When I left at the end of the day it was 22F and snowing. The 27-mile drive back to Powell was a little "challenging". Visibility got down to around 1/4 mile in places, snow was starting accumulate in the middle lanes of the highway, and the wind was really blowing. I made it back before it got too bad.
We went to the IGA this evening to get bread, milk, cheese, laundry detergent, liquid dish soap, and a frozen pizza. We had the pizza and some salad left over from last night for our dinner.
Today was a little stressful for me only because the Internet was down half of the day and all of my voter registration records are kept on a server in Cheyenne. Without the Wyoreg.gov site, there was only a limited amount of actual registration work I could do.
My supervisor is named Molly Cozzens, the same lady I interviewed with. She told me that they fired the election clerk, named Eric, who was working last week - something about not following protocol, but they are bringing in another new election clerk next week and his name is also Eric!
Molly reports to Mike Demoney, and Mike reports to Jerri Torczen, the County Clerk. Jerri is an elected official and the people under her are appointed or hourly employees.
So far I have learned to register new voters, make changes to existing voter registrations, and process requests for absentee ballots. I can run the Pitney-Bowes mail machine, the copier, and the telephone system.
Since this is an election year, we are going to become very busy very quickly. We have to test the voting equipment, inspect all of the polls, verify the new district lines, conduct voter registration drives in high schools and nursing homes, attend GOP and Democrat party meetings as an outreach, process absentee ballot requests and mail the ballots, purge records that are older than the retention period, conduct the primary election in August, conduct the General Election in November, and then perform any recounts that might be requested from the Secretary of State.
The good thing is that I am learning a tremendous amount about how the county government works. My supervisor seems to like me and there is a possibility that a permanent position could open for me in 2013 since some of the departments have a large amount of "personnel churn".
Molly likes for our office to "dress up" and look "professional", so I am going to be shopping some thrift stores to get a couple more sport coats and jackets. I pass one on the way into Cody, and I might stop in there during my lunch hour.
Temperatures this morning started off around 48F. The temperature fell steadily through the day. When I left at the end of the day it was 22F and snowing. The 27-mile drive back to Powell was a little "challenging". Visibility got down to around 1/4 mile in places, snow was starting accumulate in the middle lanes of the highway, and the wind was really blowing. I made it back before it got too bad.
We went to the IGA this evening to get bread, milk, cheese, laundry detergent, liquid dish soap, and a frozen pizza. We had the pizza and some salad left over from last night for our dinner.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
House Tour
Today I am going to give you a short tour of our rental house at 555 North Absaroka (say it "ab-SOR-ka") Street. We have lots of room in this house and it has all of the necessary appliances. We are happy that it only runs us $600 per month.
Living Room
We will start in the living room. This room is about 12' x 20'. There is a coat closet next to the front door. There is a large picture window facing out the front with small windows on each side of it and another window in the corner facing south. These windows have blinds and we keep the blinds pulled almost all of the time.
We have 23 cases of books stacked along the front wall below the windows. Behind the boxes of books we set up our 98-inch-long computer table and both computers are installed here.
Behind the computer table in the southeast corner of the living room is a pellet stove that is installed in a fireplace. Nobody knows how to make the pellet stove work, so it just sits there abandoned in place.
The hearth has a mantle of solid wood cut from the entire trunk of a tree. The edge that faces into the room is the live edge of the tree!
Next to the stove, on the east wall of the living room is a door that leads to a screened porch. From the screened porch you can go to the backyard and back to the garage/shop.
This house was built in 1953, and it has a lot of interesting built-ins. In this picture you can see a cabinet built into the living room wall. It has solid doors on the bottom, a big deep drawer, and glass doors enclosing shelves on top.
There are two ceiling fans with light kits on the ceiling of the living room.
Kitchen
The kitchen is in the northwest corner of the house. The kitchen and dining room have a low-pile carpet in them. The kitchen has wood cabinets and tile counter tops with some sort of brown mushroom graphic on some of the tiles.
The range is electric and has a glass cook top. There is a two basin steel sink, a microwave oven, a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer (the ice and water dispensers do not work), and there is a dishwasher under a cabinet that projects out into the middle of the room.
Behind the counter that holds the dishwasher there are spindles that go up to the ceiling. You can see through the spindles across the basement stairs, into the dining room.
On the north wall, directly across from the basement stairs is a side entry door. There is a small concrete stoop here. Also, this door has a cypher lock box on it with the keys to the house. This is used by realtors when they show the house to a prospective buyer.
There is a 48-inch fluorescent lamp on the ceiling and another light over the sink in the kitchen.
Dining Room
We are using the dining room for storage. We are keeping dressers, mattresses, dining chairs, bar stools, glass cabinets, and our boxed alcoholic beverages in this room. This room is about 9' x 10'.
The dining room and basement stairway walls are covered in tongue-and-groove lumber. It is very attractive.
On the south wall of the dining room there is a built-in cabinet with doors above and below a tiled counter. There is a mirror on the wall behind the counter top.
It's kind of strange that you have to go through the kitchen to get to and from the dining room. We suspect that this room might have been the living room in the past with another entrance from the hallway where the built-in cabinets are now installed.
There is a light fixture with four bulbs in the ceiling in the center of the dining room.
Basement
The basement stairs run down between the kitchen and dining room. There is no door. The stairs descend between spindles screening each room from the stairs. The basement stair walls are covered in tongue-and-groove lumber.
The basement is mostly finished. Most of the basement has yellow and white asphalt tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern. The walls are covered in paneling and there is a dropped ceiling that covers most of the heating ducts.
There are seven windows in the basement.
The big room has six windows and the laundry room has one. The big room has a wooden built-in table on one wall. There is also a raised stone hearth where a wood stove used to be installed. The stove is gone, but the hearth is still there. The chimney flue runs through the second bedroom closet up to the roof.
We have a second toilet in the basement. It is installed in a tiny dark room directly below the main
bathroom. It comes in handy when you have an urgent need to go and someone else is in the main bath!
The laundry room is unfinished. This room contains a cabinet, washer, two dryers (I don't know why, only the gas one works), a deep sink, the gas hot water heater, and the gas furnace. It is lit by one light bulb. You have to go in there in the dark feeling for the string hanging down and pull it to turn the light on.
There is a laundry chute from the bathroom and we keep a laundry basket on the floor beneath this chute to catch our dirty clothes.
The basement is usually very cool or cold. The dog does not care for the basement at all, and we do not have any trouble keeping him upstairs and out of there.
Hallway
The hall runs east from the living room. The two bedrooms and the bathroom are accessed from the hallway.
There are two built-in cabinets in the hall. On the left there is a cabinet with three drawers on the bottom and a door on the top. We keep towels, wash cloths, toilet paper, and paper towels in this cabinet. On the right the built-in has two doors, one above the other.
There is a push-up door in the ceiling of the hallway which leads to the attic crawlspace. There is a fusebox at the end of the hall.
The hallway has one light in the ceiling and it is controlled by three-way switches at the end of the hall and in the living room.
Bathroom
Without a doubt, the bathroom is the wildest room in this house. It appears to have been decorated in the 1970's, and except for the oak toilet seat, I don't think it's been updated since!
This room measures about 7' x 10', it has two windows that look out over the screened porch. There is a vanity with two red enameled sink basins, a jumbo medicine cabinet, one wall is covered in a white and metallic foil wall paper, and the floor is covered in a low-pile carpet that features red, black and gold colors.
There is a laundry chute between the toilet and the bathtub.
The tub is a steel unit with a shower over it that is built into an alcove. It has a fiberglass surround and sliding glass doors.
The bathroom is lit by a bar of incandescent globes above the medicine cabinet. There is an electric outlet above the vanity that is neither GFI nor grounded! The ventilation fan does not work.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is in the northeast corner of the house. It has two windows - one faces east over the backyard and the other faces north toward our neighbor's house. There are two closets in this room with wood veneer bi-fold doors.
We have a queen sized bed, night stand, lingerie dresser, arm chair and ottoman set up in this room.
Before we go to bed we turn on the electric blanket to heat the bedding up and we keep the room comfortable with a small electric heater.
Buddy sleeps at the foot of our bed in his own little bed consisting of a cast off pillow and old towels.
There is one light fixture in the ceiling of the master bedroom. It has two bulbs and the shade is pink glass with small roses on it.
Second Bedroom
The second bedroom is blue with low-pile blue carpet. It has two windows, one facing east over the backyard and one facing south. There is a closet in here with sliding wood veneered doors.
We are using the second bedroom for storage. We have turned off the heat to this room and have it stacked high with boxes of clothing, dishes, and most of the other stuff that was delivered by the movers.
To search and sort through these boxes, much of this stuff has to be moved into the hallway!
That's about it for our little house. Maybe I will take you out back to the garage and workshop in a few days and let you look around back there.
Living Room
We will start in the living room. This room is about 12' x 20'. There is a coat closet next to the front door. There is a large picture window facing out the front with small windows on each side of it and another window in the corner facing south. These windows have blinds and we keep the blinds pulled almost all of the time.
We have 23 cases of books stacked along the front wall below the windows. Behind the boxes of books we set up our 98-inch-long computer table and both computers are installed here.
Behind the computer table in the southeast corner of the living room is a pellet stove that is installed in a fireplace. Nobody knows how to make the pellet stove work, so it just sits there abandoned in place.
The hearth has a mantle of solid wood cut from the entire trunk of a tree. The edge that faces into the room is the live edge of the tree!
Next to the stove, on the east wall of the living room is a door that leads to a screened porch. From the screened porch you can go to the backyard and back to the garage/shop.
This house was built in 1953, and it has a lot of interesting built-ins. In this picture you can see a cabinet built into the living room wall. It has solid doors on the bottom, a big deep drawer, and glass doors enclosing shelves on top.
There are two ceiling fans with light kits on the ceiling of the living room.
Kitchen
The kitchen is in the northwest corner of the house. The kitchen and dining room have a low-pile carpet in them. The kitchen has wood cabinets and tile counter tops with some sort of brown mushroom graphic on some of the tiles.
The range is electric and has a glass cook top. There is a two basin steel sink, a microwave oven, a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer (the ice and water dispensers do not work), and there is a dishwasher under a cabinet that projects out into the middle of the room.
Behind the counter that holds the dishwasher there are spindles that go up to the ceiling. You can see through the spindles across the basement stairs, into the dining room.
On the north wall, directly across from the basement stairs is a side entry door. There is a small concrete stoop here. Also, this door has a cypher lock box on it with the keys to the house. This is used by realtors when they show the house to a prospective buyer.
There is a 48-inch fluorescent lamp on the ceiling and another light over the sink in the kitchen.
Dining Room
We are using the dining room for storage. We are keeping dressers, mattresses, dining chairs, bar stools, glass cabinets, and our boxed alcoholic beverages in this room. This room is about 9' x 10'.
The dining room and basement stairway walls are covered in tongue-and-groove lumber. It is very attractive.
On the south wall of the dining room there is a built-in cabinet with doors above and below a tiled counter. There is a mirror on the wall behind the counter top.
It's kind of strange that you have to go through the kitchen to get to and from the dining room. We suspect that this room might have been the living room in the past with another entrance from the hallway where the built-in cabinets are now installed.
There is a light fixture with four bulbs in the ceiling in the center of the dining room.
Basement
The basement stairs run down between the kitchen and dining room. There is no door. The stairs descend between spindles screening each room from the stairs. The basement stair walls are covered in tongue-and-groove lumber.
The basement is mostly finished. Most of the basement has yellow and white asphalt tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern. The walls are covered in paneling and there is a dropped ceiling that covers most of the heating ducts.
There are seven windows in the basement.
The big room has six windows and the laundry room has one. The big room has a wooden built-in table on one wall. There is also a raised stone hearth where a wood stove used to be installed. The stove is gone, but the hearth is still there. The chimney flue runs through the second bedroom closet up to the roof.We have a second toilet in the basement. It is installed in a tiny dark room directly below the main
bathroom. It comes in handy when you have an urgent need to go and someone else is in the main bath!The laundry room is unfinished. This room contains a cabinet, washer, two dryers (I don't know why, only the gas one works), a deep sink, the gas hot water heater, and the gas furnace. It is lit by one light bulb. You have to go in there in the dark feeling for the string hanging down and pull it to turn the light on.
There is a laundry chute from the bathroom and we keep a laundry basket on the floor beneath this chute to catch our dirty clothes.
The basement is usually very cool or cold. The dog does not care for the basement at all, and we do not have any trouble keeping him upstairs and out of there.
Hallway
The hall runs east from the living room. The two bedrooms and the bathroom are accessed from the hallway.
There are two built-in cabinets in the hall. On the left there is a cabinet with three drawers on the bottom and a door on the top. We keep towels, wash cloths, toilet paper, and paper towels in this cabinet. On the right the built-in has two doors, one above the other.
There is a push-up door in the ceiling of the hallway which leads to the attic crawlspace. There is a fusebox at the end of the hall.
The hallway has one light in the ceiling and it is controlled by three-way switches at the end of the hall and in the living room.
Bathroom
Without a doubt, the bathroom is the wildest room in this house. It appears to have been decorated in the 1970's, and except for the oak toilet seat, I don't think it's been updated since!
This room measures about 7' x 10', it has two windows that look out over the screened porch. There is a vanity with two red enameled sink basins, a jumbo medicine cabinet, one wall is covered in a white and metallic foil wall paper, and the floor is covered in a low-pile carpet that features red, black and gold colors.
There is a laundry chute between the toilet and the bathtub.
The tub is a steel unit with a shower over it that is built into an alcove. It has a fiberglass surround and sliding glass doors.
The bathroom is lit by a bar of incandescent globes above the medicine cabinet. There is an electric outlet above the vanity that is neither GFI nor grounded! The ventilation fan does not work.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom is in the northeast corner of the house. It has two windows - one faces east over the backyard and the other faces north toward our neighbor's house. There are two closets in this room with wood veneer bi-fold doors.
We have a queen sized bed, night stand, lingerie dresser, arm chair and ottoman set up in this room.
Before we go to bed we turn on the electric blanket to heat the bedding up and we keep the room comfortable with a small electric heater.
Buddy sleeps at the foot of our bed in his own little bed consisting of a cast off pillow and old towels.
There is one light fixture in the ceiling of the master bedroom. It has two bulbs and the shade is pink glass with small roses on it.
Second Bedroom
The second bedroom is blue with low-pile blue carpet. It has two windows, one facing east over the backyard and one facing south. There is a closet in here with sliding wood veneered doors.
We are using the second bedroom for storage. We have turned off the heat to this room and have it stacked high with boxes of clothing, dishes, and most of the other stuff that was delivered by the movers.
To search and sort through these boxes, much of this stuff has to be moved into the hallway!
That's about it for our little house. Maybe I will take you out back to the garage and workshop in a few days and let you look around back there.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Saturday
While I took Buddy for his morning walk, Bob made the bed and poured a scoop of Dog Fuel into the steel feed bowl. When I got back, I had Bob dress to go out, and I moved the truck out of the garage and left it to warm up.
We had a scenic drive down Highway 14 to Cody. You could see the newly deposited white snow on Heart Mountain and the other peaks in the area.
At Cody we stopped at Grandma's Restaurant where we had a big filling breakfast.
After breakfast we drove to Super Wal*Mart to make our big grocery purchase for the month. We started on the non-food side of the store. Here we got mouthwash, bar soap, dental floss, a replacement Pūr water filter, two pairs of flat-front slacks (black and khaki), and a new shirt for work.
Then we headed over to the grocery side. We were very careful and judicious about what items went into the cart and we managed to keep the food order down to $160 which we put on EBT. We have another $40 to get bread, milk, and eggs later this month.
As we were coming down through the aisles I spotted Christine Houze from Wyoming Work Force. I called out her name, and she was pleased to see me! I told her, "Christine, I was talking about you in the parking lot!" I told her about my interview with Gail Fennel and the other applications I put in this week, and ended by telling her that Park County offered me the Election Clerk job. She squealed and ran over to hug me!
She said that I had been doing everything right, it's just that employers are able to wait until the perfect match comes along right now. She said the news that I had found work really made her day!
Our drive back to Powell was just as beautiful as the drive down. When we got home we carried all of the bags inside and put our groceries away. I broke the hamburger and pork chops up into smaller packages for the freezer.
Lunch was re-heated split-pea soup with crackers. When we finished there was one serving left. I poured this into a one-quart ziploc bag and laid it in the freezer. This can be another lunch for one of us.
This afternoon I spent a little time soldering headers onto a four character led display and a 48 x 84 pixel (Nokia 5110) LCD. Later I wired up the Nokia screen, but because this display is rather "dumb", it would be very hard to drive it from the Basic Stamp. I will have to save it for use with an Arduino controller, or maybe the Parallax Propeller controller.
Bob spent a lot of time knitting this afternoon. His scarf project is almost 50 inches long now!
Bob made White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner. It was tasty (as usual!). I have showered, clipped my nails, and dressed for bed. Bob is getting his shower now.
Tomorrow I need to press my shirt and slacks for my first day at work, fill the gas tank in the truck, and re-organize my messenger bag from job search mode to work mode! I have an exciting week ahead of me with lots of new things to learn! I quit FER two months ago today, and I did not think at the time that it would take this long to get into another job!
We had a scenic drive down Highway 14 to Cody. You could see the newly deposited white snow on Heart Mountain and the other peaks in the area.
At Cody we stopped at Grandma's Restaurant where we had a big filling breakfast.
After breakfast we drove to Super Wal*Mart to make our big grocery purchase for the month. We started on the non-food side of the store. Here we got mouthwash, bar soap, dental floss, a replacement Pūr water filter, two pairs of flat-front slacks (black and khaki), and a new shirt for work.
Then we headed over to the grocery side. We were very careful and judicious about what items went into the cart and we managed to keep the food order down to $160 which we put on EBT. We have another $40 to get bread, milk, and eggs later this month.
As we were coming down through the aisles I spotted Christine Houze from Wyoming Work Force. I called out her name, and she was pleased to see me! I told her, "Christine, I was talking about you in the parking lot!" I told her about my interview with Gail Fennel and the other applications I put in this week, and ended by telling her that Park County offered me the Election Clerk job. She squealed and ran over to hug me!
She said that I had been doing everything right, it's just that employers are able to wait until the perfect match comes along right now. She said the news that I had found work really made her day!
Our drive back to Powell was just as beautiful as the drive down. When we got home we carried all of the bags inside and put our groceries away. I broke the hamburger and pork chops up into smaller packages for the freezer.
Lunch was re-heated split-pea soup with crackers. When we finished there was one serving left. I poured this into a one-quart ziploc bag and laid it in the freezer. This can be another lunch for one of us.
This afternoon I spent a little time soldering headers onto a four character led display and a 48 x 84 pixel (Nokia 5110) LCD. Later I wired up the Nokia screen, but because this display is rather "dumb", it would be very hard to drive it from the Basic Stamp. I will have to save it for use with an Arduino controller, or maybe the Parallax Propeller controller.
Bob spent a lot of time knitting this afternoon. His scarf project is almost 50 inches long now!
Bob made White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner. It was tasty (as usual!). I have showered, clipped my nails, and dressed for bed. Bob is getting his shower now.
Tomorrow I need to press my shirt and slacks for my first day at work, fill the gas tank in the truck, and re-organize my messenger bag from job search mode to work mode! I have an exciting week ahead of me with lots of new things to learn! I quit FER two months ago today, and I did not think at the time that it would take this long to get into another job!
Friday, March 02, 2012
Powell, WY
I've been busy since my last post trying to find a job here in Cody-Powell. I sent out applications to Bobcat of the Bighorn Basin for a receptionist job, to Construction Project Manager, to Rocky Mountain Recovery Services for Account Manager and Legal Assistant positions, and to Cody Dental Excellence for a Patient Coordinator position.This morning I made French toast for breakfast while Bobby walked the dog. The French toast was a surprise since we are out of eggs, but I used powdered egg whites to make the batter.
After breakfast I walked over to the Powell Work Force Office to see Ilene, ask how her husband's hip replacement went this week, and see if they had any new listings. I filled her in on my interview at Diamond Truss last weekend and I said, "Well, Molly said she would make a decision on the Election Clerk position by Tuesday, so I guess we are just waiting for the rejection letter to be delivered now."
She said it might be worth following up with Diamond Truss this weekend.
I told her how I applied to Wells Fargo Bank for a teller position, but did not follow up on it because I saw "professional attire" in the job description and did not want to wear a tie everyday. I told her that on Tuesday afternoon they called me on my cellphone for an impromptu interview!
While there I told her I was interested in the Receptionist/Data Entry position at Treasure Valley Seed Company. She said that I would have to take computer-based testing for Excel, Word, and Data Entry proficiency, but as it turns out, the server hosting these tests was down. She told me to call her after lunch and we would see if the tests were back up.
During lunch I got Bobby and we went to the post office to mail my bills, we stopped at The Real Estate Connection to pay our rent, we went to Blair's Supermarket to get lunch meat, Kool Aid, and crackers, and finally a stop at Radio Shack where I got a new 40-watt soldering iron and some de-soldiering braid. My tax refund is just about spent now. I sure need a job!
When we got back to the house I found a voice mail on my phone from Ilene at Work Force. She said that the testing site was back up and to come over anytime and take the tests.
I drove over and we got started. The first test was Word. Because this was a test, you could not use shortcuts or the right-click button on the mouse - everything had to be selected from the main menu. That would not be so bad, but this was from Office 97, and I have been using office 2007 for the past few years. It took a little searching and hunting to find everything. Ilene said I did okay on the Word test.
The next test was the Data Entry. I got a 100% on this one.
The final test was the Excel test. Here the computer or the Internet decided to start messing up and the test was running exceptionally slow. The questions were timing out even though I had selected the correct answer. It was very frustrating and Ilene said that she knew this test did not reflect what I was capable of. She said that if I wanted to, I could come back and take it again on Monday.
Bob started a package of split pea soup for our dinner while I took Buddy for his evening walk. Dinner was not quite ready when we got back, so I laid on the floor and read the Heart Mountain Rustler (like the Ad Pak or Valpak). At 4:55 PM my phone rang.
"Who could this be? It's awfully late on a Friday for someone to be calling me!" It was Molly Cozzens from Park County Board Of Elections calling! She offered me the position of Election Clerk starting on Monday at 8:00 AM!
I am very happy about this. This is something that I am sure I can excel at and even though it's a temporary job (through 12/31/12), it's good exposure for me at the courthouse and with the public. Who knows where this will lead?
We enjoyed our split-pea soup dinner in good spirits. This was just the break I needed!
Tomorrow we are going to Cody to get groceries at Super Wal*Mart. While we are there, I will get a couple of nice shirts and some slacks for my new job too.