I'm back! More soon.

I am trying to get back into this

I've been gone from this blog quite a while, I just didn't have the mental energy, but I'm going to get it going again. Right now I'm getting ready to head out for Colorado on vacation, so I'll have more to say when I get back. I just hope my car makes it, I just had to have a cracked head gasket replaced, plus a few other things, which set me back about 700 bucks.
Work might be getting better, I'll see when I get back.

work is not getting better

I know I haven't put much up lately, I just haven't had the energy. The situation at work just is not improving, as of now I am still a man short and don't know how long all the rest will stay. They just are not getting the kind of pay increases they thought they were going to get, and a couple are really struggling to get by. If they find a better job and leave, how can I blame them?
I'm going to Springfield to the annual state operator's conference tomorrow and wednesday, hopefully getting away a couple of days will help me relax, but the problems will still be there when I get back. I really don't know how much longer I can take it.

kind of under the weather

I've been fighting a slight flu the last few days, sunday my stomach bothered me and I had a headache all day, since then I've felt down. I'm getting better, though. This seems to be going around town right now.
There was a scare at the university today, someone sent a letter threatening to shoot some people on campus during the day. Security all over town was tight, but nothing happened. Just some sick prank probably. If they find out who sent it, I sure wouldn't want to be them.
The weather is still so weird, 70 degrees one day, snow the next. I've had two unbelievably high heating bills in a row, I hope it stays warm soon, but they're calling for a possibility of snow again friday.
I've been on a major house cleaning kick the last week or so, I don't know if it's just because spring is here something else. The house does need it though.
God, I can tell already how sick I'm going to be of the elections this year. Politicians just seem to keep sinking lower, doing and saying anything to get elected. I may move into a cave until after November.

lost some posts

well, somehow I lost a couple of posts. I had one up on the fact that I got to go up to Chestnut Mountain skiing last friday, that's about the latest in the year I've ever been skiing around here, I really needed it. I also have more on my trip to Breckenridge.
The last couple of weeks at work have been totally horrible. One thing after another went wrong, I couldn't sleep, I came home every night and just crashed. It does seem to be getting better now.
Then at drum practice tonight we had a guest who proceeded to tell us how we were doing everything wrong. I really don't need that right now. At least he was polite about it, unlike some local people I won't name.
I know we're not perfect, but we're trying our best, and anyway we don't get paid for most of what we do.
I'll try to catch up later on the post I lost.

great ski trip, tough week at work

I've been a while getting anything up, because I was on vacation skiing at
Breckenridge, Colorado, and when I got back, things started to fall apart at work. I've been totally exhausted for two weeks.
It's going to take a couple of posts to talk about the trip(I'm still to tired to do much at a time), but the place was bigger than any place I've skied before, and very popular with Europeans, Australians, and Asians.
First about work, it wasn't a people problem this time, just that a bunch of things went wrong at the same time. Before we could even get one thing fixed, two more went bad. Sometimes it happens that way, especially with systems as old as ours. Hopefully we're getting ahead of things now, so maybe I will have more energy.
I'll talk about the trip later (hopefully not too much later), but I will say that I'm sure (well, I think) I saw a well known actress in a bar there. If so, it's the first one I've seen at a ski area that I know about.

going out west , I really need it

I'm headed out to Breckenridge, Colorado this weekend for a week of skiing, and I really, really need this vacation. It's still one crises after another at work, and I'm still doing things that management should be doing. Now I'm trying to get decent raises for all my people this year, most of them are barely making a living wage. The city has really treated the new employees like garbage, and I'm the one that has to try to keep up their morale. I'm going to do my best, but too many people above me in this city just don't seem to care a bit about the people doing the work.
What's going to happen is that the lower paid people will start to look for better jobs, and I will have to train a continuous turnover of new people. No way to run a public works department.
Well, I'll try to put these things out of my mind for a week and have a good time.
On another subject, my phone went out at home, and it took the Verizon THIRTY TWO hours from when I called to fix it. No wonder people are going to just cell phones.

COLD!

I know I haven't been here for a while, I'll try to be better about it.
It's been very, very cold here lately, my car didn't start yesterday, I didn't make it to work, I mean cold! Like minus 5 cold!
To make a really great story, I came home one day last week and my furnace wasn't working!
I think I got it fixed, but God! I had to stand around for several hours freezing my butt off, waiting for the man to figure out it was something I had fixed last year! Oh Well! At least I took the opportunity to clean my car out, it was too cold to stay inside.
Things do seem to be getting a little better at work, I'm not sure, we'll see.
I do know I'm feeling better about Jim and AIM. He did great at the mall last week, we did something really special. If this is AIM, I'm all for it.
I will get back soon1

I got my skis repaced

I actually have replacements for my stolen skis already. My insurance came through fast, minus 200 dollars deductable, I even got the check already, and the store had another pair exactly the same. I guess it's a 200 dollar lesson on locking my skis. Kind of expensive, but I'll sure remember.
I'm going up to Chestnut Mountain in Galena tomorrow for the weekend, and I'll sure use them.
I need this weekend, work has been terrible again lately. It's not really the job, I'm getting used to that, it's a particular person in public works who just doesn't seem to get any easier to deal with.
I've got 3 years and about ten months before I can retire, I guess I'll have to grit my teeth. I'd like to see them run the plant without me. If it gets any worse, they may have to. I can find a job anywhere in the state.
On another subject, at the winter dance in Peoria, I sat in with Eagle Ridge singers for the Guord dance, it was fun and I was surprised how fast it came back to me.
Things like that keep me sane.

good news, for once

My insurance came through on my stolen skis, tho there is a 200 dollar deductable.
I figure that's a cheap lesson on locking my skis up. The store where I bought them has another pair ready, so I guess I came out okay, except for the 200 bucks, and the fact I'd like to find those scum alone in a ski area parking lot some dark night.