May I Help?

I was dutifully working on the glass cabinet doors for the kitchen remodel this afternoon, when I was approached by the lady next door with an entreaty to help her get her lawn mower started. Figuring she had simply forgotten to apply the choke, I said sure. No luck...the mower was dead, she was already sweating profusely, and as mentioned in an earlier post, her husband had recently parted ways with one of his legs.

I offered to mow her horribly overgrown back yard with my mower. She accepted very gratefully, and I began. On average, the weeds and grass were about 2' tall, with gopher mounds, wood and bricks mixed in sporadically. I mowed it once on the highest setting, and went back over it two settings lower.

I was interrupted once by rain and hail, causing me to run home in panic to put the Tundra in the garage. After two hours and another rain shower, I was able to finish the job, and return to the garage to finish the four doors I had vowed to build today.

Some days, it just doesn't pay to work with the garage doors open. Tomorrow, I attack my own yard.

A Fond, but Painful, Farewell

I awoke this morning, but the last thing I wanted to do was get up. I knew the task that awaited me. It was a task I had known was coming for a while, but I was still not ready for it. This morning, I had to escort my dear Katie to the clearing at the end of the path.

Katie began her journey 14 years ago in Amarillo. The wife and I were heading to Colorado for vacation, and she mentioned some strange creature called a Pembroke Welsh Corgi was available if we wanted to take a look. I said sure, why not. I had no idea how taken I was going to be with this dog. Little short legs offset by ears that more than made up for her stature, and a doggie smile no one could resist. We made arrangements to pick her up on the way back to Texas, and thus began our life with Corgi's.


Katie had hip problems forever, but that did not keep her from running around the yard, keeping the other dogs in line.



She adapted to this problem amazingly, and was even able to compete for a short while in agility and obedience. It was the progression of this condition, along with other age related issues that finally brought me to the painful decision I had to make.

Katie has been a treasure in my life, and I will always be grateful for the joy she brought me and the wife. Travel well, Scooter...I will see you down the road.

Peace of Mind

Whilst working on the kitchen remodel last week, I noticed some contractor types working diligently at the hillbilly neighbors house. Turns out, the contractors were converting the home to the north to be ADA accessible. During a paintbrush washing episode, I encountered Jerry, the hillbilly neighbor, tooling around in a wheelchair. Imagine my surprise when I noticed he was missing a leg. He greeted me with something like this. "Hey Steve, I lost a leg since the last time I saw you. It's really kind of an interesting story."

Turns out, he had gone in for some type of arterial surgery, and due to complications from a staph infection, six weeks later, he came out, one leg short.

What really hit me was his complacency about the whole situation. I have more respect for the lunatic now. I don't believe I could have handled such a situation as well as he apparently has.

Kind of renews my faith in the phrase..."Let not your heart be troubled."

Achoo, Snort, Oink, Sniff

Well, here we go again. The fucking swine flu this time. Don't know how we survived Monkey Pox, SARS, Anthrax, Bird Flu, Flu Manchu or any of a number of the next great pestilences that were supposed to wipe us from the face of the earth.

I am not sure I will survive this round of scare tactics and government supported panic mongering. My only hope is that "man made" global warming will raise the temps enough to kill of the swine virus.

Jesus people...get a life, take a chance and don't worry. Be happy.

Death on the Blogosphere

I got tired of looking at the Monster Dog on my own blog, so I decided to just post something. I have nothing to say really, just needed to put up something new.

Got home last night from the TNTalk meeting and was greeted with an all-out dog fight as I walked in the door. Seems the Monster Dog has an affectation for all of the toys in the house, and Sam decided he had had enough of Winston hogging all of the toys. Sam jumped on him, and Winston responded in kind. That got Tom all excited, so he jumped in. The two female Aussie's hightailed it out of the room, and poor deaf and senile Katie never knew anything happened. It's a good thing, because it took all the wife and I had to get the other three apart. I made the bad choice of trying to lift the 52 pound Corgi out of the mix, and discovered he had Tom hanging off of him with a death grip. By the time it was over, I had a little nip to the finger, a nice gouge in my calf and a sore back from lifting a furry cannonball without using my legs.

All is well now, and the dogs seem no worse for the wear. Thank goodness, as the wife heads out tomorrow for a two week journey to Canada for intense dog show training. As for me, I hope to finally get all of the finishing touches on the kitchen remodel while she is gone. I have been slacking for too long.

Monster Dog

The wife occasionally rescues Corgis who have found themselves homeless for one reason or the other. I am proud of her for the work and effort she puts into this, as she has successfully found good homes for a dozen or so dogs who might have otherwise been destroyed.

Now...a typical Corgi will stand about 10 inches and weigh in around 20-25 pounds. Imagine my shock when I first laid eyes on the Dogstrosity she brought home last week. His name is Winston, he is a really nice looking and friendly dog. But, at 52pounds, he walks the line between dog and pot belly pig.

As the wife has begun the process of finding him a home, I have suggested we find Sasquatch. I think it would be a great companion for him.

I threw in a photo of Katie for comparison purposes.

Change We Can Believe In

Couple of weeks ago, I went to Josie's for breakfast burritos. Simple enough order...one sausage, egg and potato for the wife and two sausage potato and cheese for me, and a bag of chips and queso. Picked up the order, noticed the price was a little high, but you know...what with the price of gas and all. Got home and discovered a bag filled with carne guisada and bean burritos and a tub of Menudo. But hey, they did remember the chips and queso. Took it back, and was asked if I had called the right store. Made them get out the phone book, and showed them the number I had called. They acknowledged I had called the right place, but the only order they had for someone with my name was the bag of crap I had picked up. They asked me what I had ordered, and I informed them it sure wasn't an order for dead pig feet floating in grease as they had presented to me. After a few more minutes of arguing whether I knew what I had ordered, they sent me on my way. (I had to do the math for them for the refund they owed me). Got home with my three burritos, only to find they had given me three sausage, egg and potato burritos instead of what I had actually ordered. Screw it, said I, and commenced to eating what I could.

Yesterday, I went to Wendy's to grab lunch. Couldn't get in the drive thru, so I went inside. Great, only one person in line. Ordered a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, Caesar Side Salad and small fries for the wife, and a Baconator combo for myself. Then I waited as they waited on several people, and proceeded to provide food for the same people, as I waited. While waiting, two different people returned to the counter with food that differed from what they had ordered and one guy came in from the drive thru to announce he had been waiting 15 minutes for his order to come out.

Should have known bad things would happen. Turns out, one of the people who was returning a wrong order was actually returning my Baconator. They apologized and told me it would be out soon. They finally bring it out, and I grab my food and head for the house. Get home to find the wife's order was right (Thank God), but instead of a Baconator, I have a Wendy's single. You guessed it...the guy who returned my burger had actually ordered a single. Scraped off the vegetables, wolfed it down and went back to work.

I have a solution. Put these dipshits to work at the IRS (I'll never worry about an audit again), and put all of the laid off auto workers in the fast food restaurants. Sure, food may cost more, but at least these guys would know how to put shit together.

Dazed & Confused

Well, the verdict came in on Thursday. My attempt at joining the Clone Army was rebuffed firmly. They instead chose an individual from Odessa who, if he had been in Lubbock, would have been working for me. Now, I get to train this new guy in how to run a metropolitan District. It would be too easy to let him twist and turn, but it would be detrimental to what I am still trying to accomplish here. So, I will get glad in the same pants I got mad in, and continue to be the "best Director of Transportation Planning & Development in the State", to quote my former boss when he heard the news. If that were truly the case, would I not now be the District Engineer?

The most troubling aspect of all of this is, they had a second round of interviews for the job. Of the three they chose to interview, two were from Odessa and one was from Atlanta, TX, and none had any experience in running a District the size of Lubbock, nor experience as a TP&D. Add to that, the fact that I felt I nailed my interview, I am completely dumbfounded by the way things played out. So much so that I have requested a meeting with the guy who did the hiring in order to get some answers. He's got some 'splaining to do.

At any rate, I met the new boss yesterday. He is three or four years younger than me, much like the previous boss. At first glance, he seems like someone I will be able to work with. Time will tell.

Gotta go order some Hawaiian shirts now.

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

I sit by the phone, day in and day out, like a high school girl before the prom. Ring, damn you. I pick it up and call the Secretary. "Is this damn thing working?" "Forget it, and get back to work", she chides me.

I have grown weary of the wait, and simply want an answer. A trip to Men's Wearhouse, or hotshirts.com is on the line.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

A Luddite Asks for Help

As I went to post my last diatribe, I was greeted with the following message:

Bad Request
Your client has issued a malformed or illegal request

I then hit the back button, and the post had disappeared. I then hit the forward button, and was informed that the post had posted successfully, and lo and behold, there it was. As one who knows very little about these confounded computin' machines...what the hell is going on?

And, We Try Again

I will try this again. If it gets lost this time, it will be the end of "Inside The Box", because I just don't have the patience.

As only I know I was saying, I have been listening to the right wing talk shows lately with a touch of deja vu. During the election, all I heard from Rush et. al. was their disgust at the way the left was running down the country. The left was rambling on about how George Bush was trampling on the Constitution, the war in Iraq was bankrupting the country, and Republicans were forcing Granny to choose between dog food and drugs.

This talk disgusted Rush, Sean and Glenn because, by God this country was a great place to live, and people should stop running it down.

But, with the election of Barak Obama, we were promised change. So far the only change I have seen is in the demeanor of the right wing talk shows. Now, it is they how are portending the end days of the country. Obama is trampling on the Constitution, the economic stimulus bill will bankrupt the country, and Democrat's will force us to choose between flying in our private jets and flying first class.

Bottom line...they are all full of crap. The country has survived much worse than this, and will stumble through this current crisis. I refuse to accept the premise that either party has the ability to bring this country to its knees, any more than Man has the ability to significantly affect the environment.

We, the people are the country, the government, and the economy. We adjust to the fleeting power mongers in Washington, and keep on plugging ahead. Bring it on, you elected dim bulbs...you may not be here in 2, 4 or 6 years, but we will.

As to the economy, I know it is relatively bad, but it has been much worse, and I believe it will get much better. And, if it doesn't, I will be here with my head firmly planted in the sand.

One of These Things Is Just Like The Other

Well, shit. I just spent 30 minutes writing a post about the current economic situation, and when I went to post, it disappeared. If I can remember what the fuck I said, I will try it again tomorrow.

You Will Be Assimilated

Greetings from the Clone Army. Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. in Dallas I will interview for the job I have worked for 28 years to attain. I am hopeful, and feel the only thing I can do now, is shoot myself in the foot. I have been trying to walk the tight rope of being proactive in running the District in the absence of a District Engineer and keeping my head down to avoid any last minute pitfalls.

Sometimes fate just doesn't cooperate.

With President Obama's economic stimulus bill looming, I have been working to position Lubbock to make the most of this one time shot in the arm. Unfortunately, this comes with media coverage. This week (two days old), I have been interviewed twice by the newspaper and once by Fox 34. Getting in the way of the unveiling of my brilliant plan for Lubbock is the unfortunate revelation that the Department no longer has the funding available to honor a commitment to the City to move a project forward.

This would be much easier to explain if I was not having to measure every word I say while assuming my future boss may be privy to each interview. I am not accustomed to having to spin something bad into something positive, and then sell it to the City and other leaders as a fantastically forward thinking opportunity. Luckily, my previous boss was a pretty good teacher in the ways of the clone Army.

Honestly, the plan I have put together IS a good plan. Ironically, it's success rests with the same President Obama I have been somewhat critical of. No economic stimulus plan, no Billyfish plan.

At any rate, it will all be over soon. I head to Big D tomorrow for what will most likely be the final interview of my career. Whatever the result may be, I am ready for an answer.

I miss my Hawaiian shirts.

What's in a Name?

After nearly 12 months out of the cat business, we have jumped back in. Circumstances brought a couple of friends of ours to ask if we would be willing to assume the care of a couple of 11 year old balls of feline fur, and we decided...why not? Last weekend we met Sanchi and Mango, and they began to get accustomed to their new home.

Of course, I had a hell of a time remembering Sanchi's name, and eventually began calling him Satchmo, because it was as close as I could get. Then, a couple of days ago, the wife asked how Melon was doing. I said, "You mean Mango?" She admitted she couldn't always remember Mango, but knew it was a melon of some type.

So, for a while at least, we will probably sway back and forth between Sanchi/Satchmo and Mango/Melon...but I suspect we will eventually fall into Mel and Mo.

They don't seem to care what we call them as long as we call them for dinner. They are adapting quickly, and seem very happy. We are introducing them to the dogs slowly and deliberately. So far, they get along great with Tom because they are bigger than him...they seem to have accepted Sam, because everybody loves Sam...they scare the hell out of Sara...and they have yet to meet Katie or Ellen.

At any rate...I give you Sanchi/Satchmo and Mango/Mel...you figure out which is which.

Find Your Center...Ooohhhhhhmmmmmm!

I try...I really try. Keep your cool Fish, it really isn't that big of a deal. But when I see something like this, I just go BERSERK. (For the old farts out there, they might recognize that as a paraphrase of a line from Billy Jack).

Parking lots are my bane. Between the dim bulbs who can't cram a car into one spot, the lazy fucks constantly trolling for the closest spot and the mental midgets who leave the shopping cart in the middle of that spot when the cart return area is all of two cars away, it is all I can do to keep from just ramming the Tundra straight through the front doors.

When I slow down for you to walk across in front of me, MOVE YOUR ASS. Don't slow down, answer your phone and walk along the driving lane instead of across it. Just because you have a big load of crap from Home Depot to load into your truck does not entitle you to park in the driving lane in front of the door and prevent others from coming and going. Haul it out to the parking lot and load it yourself like a man. Hell, if I could cram it all in a Maxima for years, you can sure as hell shove it into your Lincoln or Cadillac "pickup" by yourself.

But tonight I witnessed a new low. Whilst parked at Carino's in the take out spot (don't get me started on how incredibly inefficient that operation is), I was blocked in by a vehicle who had parked at the front door in order to load an elderly disabled gentleman in the front seat. Now, before you get all bent out of shape about how I hate the handicapped, and how your Dad lost his legs in some horrible lumberjack accident providing lumber for the growing industrial revolution, I must tell you there were three (3) vacant handicapped parking spots not fifteen feet from where these selfish SOB's had parked.

For Chrissake, The American's with Disabilities Act was passed for just this reason. Move your rig, haul Grandpa the extra few feet, and spend the rest of the fucking night getting him loaded up. As long as you are out of the way, in your specially designated, front row, premium parking spot, I don't give a crap.

All I am asking for is a little consideration. Thanks for listening.

Happy Freakin' New Year

2009 has gotten off to a glorious start. Got to play golf in shorts and sandals on Jan. 2nd and 3rd. God, I love West Texas.

And, yesterday I received a phone call at home from my boss. He is moving back to Tyler to take over that District. Looks like I will have one final shot at the top job here in Lubbock. Guess I better shine my shoes, rent a suit, and sharpen up my ass kissing skills.