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1:08p – Getting ready to leave for work again. I've hardly had time to make any entries in my journal. I will have to back track and catch up.
I finished up watching "The 300" ... about the war between the Grecian Spartans and and the Xerxes the Persian. Very graphic, colorful and enthralling. Not my usual kind of film, but... very good.
1:45p – At this moment, I am driving down East 70 toward Lambert Airport, about a quarter mile from the N-170 exit. Everyday I see jet liners arriving and departing from the airport as I drive to work. Often I see more, as I do at the moment. There is a large passenger jet taking off straight in front of me. It never ceases to impress me when one of these behemoths flings itself and its fragile cargo into the sky. More impressive though, are the two fighter jets which are launching on both sides of the passenger jet, almost like an escort (at least, from my position). The quickly pass the large, domestic jet, and are passing over me. Even this far away, and while driving with the windows down, I can hear the roar of all three jets. I get a little thrill like this nearly every day going to work. Then I remember I am "going to work." Back to my boring mundane struggle to survive to the next paycheck.
I got a copy of Photoshop CS3 from Justin today. It was handy having my new 4GB flash drive handy!
1:08a – Getting ready to leave for work again. I've hardly had time to make any entries in my journal. I will have to back track and catch up.
On my first break I learned about awful bridge collapse in Minneapolis. It gives me a chill to think that I cross over this same river, the Mississippi, every day.
4:17a – I am finally getting my journal caught up to August! I spent much of my "evening" chopping up bell peppers. I made some rice with some meat and veggies to go over it for supper and lunch. It is late and I MUST got eat and crash. Still two more days of work before I have the weekend off. Oh! I have all new background images and a new header file for this month; based on photos taken during last August's potter class.
11:25a – I woke up a little after 11:00a. I was sleeping pretty solidly, but having all kinds of wild dreams (as usual). I've had so many crazy dreams in the last week, and not time to write them down.
Last night's dreams seem to have revolved a lot around the City of Orlando and City Hall. Many of my old "City Family" were in the dream. I was (I think) supposed to be on a trip to visit Donna Holleritter. Part of my trip included a wild "Disney" ride which took me beyond my destination. The ride was on an enclosed monorail, hanging from one track. There were holographic images being projected on the track in front of us and all around, so the ride was very fanciful and typically Disneyesque. There was somebody with me; I think it was Jeff Bunyard. We had to transfer from this glamorous ride to a cheap bus line, but this required a transfer ticket. I was starting to panic, since I did not even remember buying tickets in the first place. However, Jeff (or who the person was), pulled a slight wadded, pink slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to me, telling me this was my transfer slip. (Now I seemed to remember that he had paid for the tickets).
We got on the bus and the dream shifted. I was now with a female, and again my companion's identify was vague. I think it was Marita. (I worked with her, and she later rented a room from me; we were the founders of jubchuQun). The bus was filled with seedy, low class people, which bother me a little, but seemed disturb the Marita character even more. The only place we could find where we could sit next to each other was in the back of the bus. I got sat down, but she refused to sit and indicated with her eyes that we should moved somewhere else. The people in the back of the bus were staring at us. Whether as strange intruders, or possible prey, I don't know. I was not worried about them, but she want to move, so I did. The seat I found was next to someone else, and the person in front of me had their seat reclined. It was so far back I could not fit properly in the seat and my legs were sticking out in the aisle. Finally, seemingly annoyed, the person raised the seat up so I could fit.... the dream fades out at this point...
...the dream picks up later. I am on the return trip, back to Orlando. There are no holographic projections on the return trip but the ride is much more wild, like a rollercoaster. At one point we did a corkscrew maneuver! I remember thinking, "There was absolutely no need for that." Meanwhile in the car (or capsule) in front of me (or behind me? I am not sure which was I was facing), a little girl had fallen out. This did not make a lot of sense, since the vehicle was supposedly enclosed, but dream do weird things! The little girl had grabbed a cable as she fell and was dangling, while her friends held out their hands and tried to help her. We went into another corkscrew maneuver (or some kind of maneuver which turned us up-side-down. I knew the little girl was going to fall off... and the dream blurs out...
... and resumes in City Hall. I am now in City Hall. It's the old Orlando City Hall, not the new one, but it has been completely renovated. I don't know my way around, but I get help from an old lady with startlingly white hair. I am surprised to realize this is Mary Ann Schwabe (I worked with her as a Legal Secretary). I kept staring at her very white hair. She offered to lead me on my way and we went up some stairs from what appeared to be a garage-like area. We got to the desired floor, which seemed to fluctuate between 2 and 4 (we used to work on 4). Going from the stairs into the main building was a bit tricky since one had to carefully balance on some horizontal girders and once slip would be a long drop. This seemed completely normal to Mary Ann, but she held out her arm and sort of helped me across. Mary Ann vanished from the dream at this point...
... and I found my self on the second floor. This used to be the location of the City Clerk's office, the City Commissioners and (behind me from my dream perspective) the Office of Management and Budget and Chief Administrator's office. However, the scene before me looked more like a mall. There were people hustling and bustling all over the place, and the entire north end of the building looked like an ice skating rink. I am felling confused, but as I am making my way toward the rink area, someone hands me some clamp on blades. The are made of some kind of vinyl or plastic and clamp over the end of he foot with a blade running from the toes toward the heel. (The blade is much too short though). I saw several people I knew, including Joanie Lewis. She was wearing a silly outfit and was skating around handing out some kind of little form or brochure. I remember feeling a bit indignant that they were making her look like a clown, but she was her usual happy self with a big smile on her face. I skated up to the far counter, and for some reason, my skates were not working right. It was more like I was sliding in bare stockings. The skating area was made of Teflon or something, it was not ice. I was not intending to go to the counter, but I couldn't seem to stop. I managed to keeping it looking fairly dignified and intentional, however. Someone at the counter, possibly Penny Ensley (now Penny Reed) apologized to me, and said there were no more jobs available at the moment. I assured here I was not here for a job, I was looking for Donna Holleritter... I think she gave me directions, and I left. On my way out I passed my plastic skates on to someone else, thinking I should probably turn them in properly... but then someone had handed them to me, so I was not even responsible for them.
I am sure there was more to the dream, but I can't remember it.
12:14p – I always get so involved in my dream writing! I can't believe I took nearly 45 minutes to write that. I need to get ready for work.
3:19p – I was running behind schedule so just called in late. I wasn't going to make it in time anyway. Skip just came home early. I've got to get out of here. I need to stop for gas too.
My phone rang (on vibrate) while I was working. I checked on break and had a call from the home number. Skip rarely uses that phone to call me. Odd. I called him back, and he had not called. However, it turned out that Barnabas had stepped on his keychain remote for the alarm system and armed the house alarm. When Skip got up from watching TV, the motion sensors caught him and set off the alarm; and the alarm system called me.
I took one phone call today. I went on the phone in the supervisor's queue at about 12:15. I was still working on a couple of chats though. I finished my chats at 12:30 and checked to make sure I was in the sup-queue (151). Yep... I was in 151. I got my tools situation and autoed in to the phone... and immediately got a call! I answered, "This is Lee, supervisor on the floor, may I have your CMS# please..."
The response was, "My what? I don't know what that is." After a brief moment of exasperation, my eyes went wide and I had a suspicion. Did they move me into the 140 (regular) queue? Could this be a customer calling? I asked, "Are you a Comcast agent transferring a customer to the supervisor?"
"No," was the response, "I am calling about a problem with my internet..."
Oh crap... back-peddle... recover... "I'm sorry, you've been accidentally transferred to the supervisor's queue. One moment and I will get you over to a Comcast technician, and I do apologize for this..."
Too little, too late. He says, "That's okay... I need to speak to a supervisor anyway..." ... oh crap. I only have 10 minutes left on duty. Grrrr!
So ... I took the call and it turns out this man has been calling in all day; this being about his 7th call. He was given all sorts of BS about getting a CDV phone soon and how the changes on his line were interrupting his internet connectivity. Wha?! ... that made no sense. I had him bypass his router and connect directly to the modem and *poof* ... he was on line. He was intelligent and immediately saw my logic... the router was at fault. Contact LinkSys! And he spent all day going through hell over this. He asked, "This was very simple, logical and direct. Why didn't someone have me do this before?!" and... "I am so glad I got a supervisor!" ... What could I say? I am so embarrassed by the "quality" of our technical support. Most of our agents have no clue what their job is, much less what they are doing. It is frustrating, humiliating, and embarrassing.
I was done by 12:50a ... and this poor guy had spent hours on the phone with several agents. So pathetic!
4:46a – I am off to bed. Late, but not too bad. I made some chicken and macaroni tonight. Tasted pretty good for "supper." We will see how it is for lunch.
12:38p – I let myself sleep late on purpose. Needed more sleep. Of course, I only have about 45 minutes to get ready for work now.
1:14p – Amazingly, I am more or less on time... if I go NOW.
I got to work well on time. I sat with Steve in the main quad today, instead of going over to the Annex where everything is new and we are expected to feel privileged. That is getting old. They are only allowing us there while the training classes are there. This will not be permanent. (If it is, that's different). At 11:00p every night the chase us out, so I just decided (like Steve) to sit in the quad. It's not much different. Besides, when I get there, all the "floor support" seats in the annex are taken and I have to sit off in an on-going training class, or sit in the CoF area. I feel kind of outcast. So, sitting in the main quad with the regular agents (which is all I am anyway) seemed fine.
I left work worried that it might be raining. We had quite a storm earlier. Lights flicker in the building. It was not raining though. It was 80° and hazy out, but not raining. I was parked way across the parking lot and as I walk out to the car I was approached by a couple of rabbits. They have little fear of humans in this plaza where I work. I have, after over 18 months of working here, probably seen many of these plaza rabbits grow up. I used to see little "bunnies" ... now they are adults. The were hopping along the curb and stayed back a ways as I crossed in front of them, but did not run, hide, look nervous... they were cool with me. Oh one hand I am amazed. These rabbits are great at adapting. I see them roaming the vast expanse of asphalt parking lot where the find all kinds of trash from our low-class employees. (Seems to work in favor of the rabbits though). The other night I drove by rabbits gathered around a pile of discarded French fries. I had my Romanian Pop music blaring out my windows and drove by them about 5 feet distant. A couple of rabbits looked up from the fast food feast, as if to say, "Yo dude! Party on!!". Poor modern plaza-rabbits! On the other hand, I am disturbed and disgusted to see them scavenging for food that is probably really bad for them! (Hell... its bad for US!).
4:11a – The trip home was uneventful. Skip was sleeping on the sofa when I got home. Not sure what his story is!
7:34p – I slept so soundly last night! I woke around 9:30a for a trip the restroom, then went right back to sleep. I woke again around 12:20p and semi-dozed until about 12:40p when Skip tapped on my door wanting to know if I was going to Soulard Market by any chance. So, I got up. We left around 1:30p. The temperature was holder at about 100°f. TOO HOT.
At Soulard, I got a couple of eggplants (I am going to try to make some stuffed eggplant. I got some fresh basil to go with it as well as some celery, spinach, some jalapeños.
Basil, Eggplants, Celery and Jalapeños ... everything but the Spinach
We left there a head out to find a place to eat. Skip wanted to go to "The Hill" and have Italian. We finally found "The Hill" after he called someone from work and asked them how to get there. Meanwhile, the heat is wearing us down and we are both getting hot and tired. We drove around the narrow strees of "The Hill" (the old Italian section of St. Louis) and settled on eating at the "Pizzeria della Piazza." We ordered a pan pizza, which took nearly an hour to make (it's a restaurant, not a fast food joint). They brought out the pizza and we knew we were in trouble. The damn thing must have weighed 20 pounds! We put everything on it except yellow pepper, anchovies, mushrooms (which I like, but Skip hates) and green olives.
9:53p – We only ate one slice apiece of the huge pan pizza and put the rest in a box to go. A part of me (the more impoverished part) cringes at the fact that we just spent our day traveling through this ungodly heat, using up gas and our time to find this place to eat and then we spend $40 to have one slice of pizza apiece! That is just so wrong. But, the madness does not end here! Skip now wanted to go somewhere and have a beer. I objected at first, but as we were leaving The Hill, we spied the only Irish establishment in the Italian area... "O'Connell's Pub."
O'connell's Irish Pub - Kings Highway and Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis,
MO
Despite my love and pride in my Cherokee ancestry, I also take no little pride and enthusiasm in my Irish bloodline. It is something that both Skip and I take a little comfort and pleasure in. Our waitress was an nice young woman (in her thirties, I might assume), whose ears perked up when Skip mentioned that he brews his own beer. Like many a good Irish lass (or German frauline) she was very knowledgeable about her beers, stouts, lagers, ales and such.
Inside, it was dark (but very cool).
I took this photo with no flash from our booth.
Once inside the pub, it was exceptionally dark, but wonderfully cool. The booth seats at the Pizzeria della Piazza had been very comfortable seats with cloth cushions. The seats here at O'Connell's were typically Irish (or British), made of beautiful, but hard wood, with school-marm erect backs. I was fine though. Skip comments on the seats in both places, but as long as I can sit down, my back is happy!
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We had one pitcher of Smithwick's, some pleasant conversation, and then we headed back out into the heat. It was still stifling, but some clouds had drifted in and I would not be surprised to see rain. Skip said one rain drop hit his arm earlier. On the way home, Skip had me stop by Quick-Trip so he could pick up some beer. I am still buying beer in bulk and so far, I think this as saved me some money. |
I still had about $80 in cash in my wallet since last payday...which is kind of rare, but very good.
Once we got home, we relaxed for a bit but then Skip went out and mowed the back yard. I went to the kitchen and washed dishes, and cleaned up the counters and the stove. My back was cramping and in excruciating pain, but I got most of it done. (I am really getting concerned about my back pains of late!). Skip keeps saying I just need more exercise and chastises me for not doing more. I agree to a point. I know I DO need to exercise more, but I think my back problem (and the problem with my right shoulder) are related and not something I can merely exercise away.
Anyway ... Skip got the back yard mowed in less than 30 minutes, and I got the kitchen cleaned up while he was doing that. I am sure we could both do more, but we got something accomplished, so ... that's good.
Meanwhile, Skip's tiny little garden is really producing a lot of vegetables! Here is a shot of some of his yellow squash, cucumbers, and zucchini. They are really doing wonderful!
12:41p – I got up around 11:00a. Checked email, watch a bit of TV, took a shower, and now I am going to enter my cash into Where's George. Then Skip and I are going to go out for a bite to eat. Not sure where, but I will take my camera.
Okay... I took my camera, but there was nothing really take a picture of. We drove to Columbia. We first checked out "Bully's Smoke House" ... a BBQ place. It was too expensive for our tastes today. Maybe another time. So we moved the car and went across the lot to our well known "Tequíla's."
I told the waiter that I usually order the "Burrito Carbón," but today I wanted to order something different. So, I ordered a lunch special, the "Speedy González" (a taco, enchilada and choice of rice or beans). Skip could not seem to make up his mind, (which is usually MY job), but he was firm that he did not want to order the Burrito Carbón again. I placed my order with the waiter, and finally Skip collapsed under the decision making process and ordered.... the Burrito Carbón!
After a bit, the food came out and they brought ME ... THREE plates! One with a solitary taco; one with an enchilada and beans; and the third was the Burrito Carbón! oops. I did not order that. I specifically stated to the waiter that I was NOT going to order that. I guess he got confused. Maybe I should have clarified my order en Español. The waiter seemed slightly annoyed when I rejected the Burrito Carbón platter, but ... sorry ... I did not order it and that would have been WAY more than I could eat!
We left Tequíla's and walked over to The Market Place. I bought some Italian Sausage, and some chicken breast pieces. Otherwise, I just bought my stock of beer for the next few days. I have found that buying my beer in bulk is cheaper in the long run. I bought my stock "Busch Light," but I also got a 12 pack of Killian's Red (on sale).
We headed home, but Skip wanted to take a side trip down South 157 to look for some Diner that Gregg told him about. We found an "Al's Diner..." maybe that was it? Don't know. We also looked for and found the local meat market which we really must check out some day soon.
We got home and I was trying very hard to motivate myself to head back out with my camera and take some photos. But... my back won. I have been having back problems here lately. I can rarely stand more than 15 minutes before I am cramping and in pain. This is becoming a very serious concern to me here lately. (What if the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere? I will be stuck in the heat. I can't walk far. I don't have money to PAY for assistance. It is really very scary and distressing.
Anyway, me and my back decided NOT to go out on a photo shoot. However, now to be undone, I decided to go out in the back yard on a hunt with my macro lens!
Scenes from the Back Yard ... today...
8:59p – I just got this YouTube performance from Anne. It is SO awesome! This young man is performing such major ART in the privacy of his bedroom. Jeez... it is amazing! I am in such admiration... and envy!
10:39p – I just finished making a concoction of jalapeño and basil which I am freezing into ice cubes for cooking later.
Skip ... tonight... and over the years...
12:33a – I just finished watching "The Way of the Vampire" ... what a pathetic movie! Jeez... such BAD acting!
1:02a – I had lots of disturbing dreams last night and did not sleep very well. All my dreams seemed to revolved around secrets being kept from me. I was in some place and not allowed to leave, yet "they" insisted I was not a prisoner. I looked out a window and a saw a train... more like a "people mover." It appeared to be full of robots! Where were they going? And why? More secrets. All the dream sequences were like that.
Anyway, time to got back to work. At least I have 4 days off this weekend!
I unenthusiastically hated this entire day. The ride to work was hot, with no a/c in the car and the temperature at about 100°f. I gave Steve my 256Mb flash drive which has FireFox portable on it (that was a highlight of the day maybe). For a Monday, the chat volume was not all that bad, but I just have no enthusiasm for this job. Before going to work, I did manage to get the information for Dameion about my insurance (after over 30 minutes on the phone). I don't feel well today... like I am getting sick. I hope not. I still need to get the bills done.
3:17a – I watched an episode of The 4400 when I got home. I missed the tale end of it since the DVR decided to chop off the end again. I really enjoy the series, but I have missed so much of it. I took some time to get my chicken breasts squeezed into little snack baggies (I am out of the regular quart size), and I now have a couple of the on the stove with some onion and broccoli.
11:51a – I am up kind of late, and I could have stayed in bed. My dreams were all chaotic and too hard to put into words. There was a scene where I was trying to get inside a house. The house reminded me of the one we lived in back in El Campo, Texas, on Church street. I had to go around to the back of the house. There was all kinds of clothes and stuff strewn about, and amongst the debris were man pairs of (apparently new) shiny black leather gloves. In the last dream scene before I got up, I was in some house with Doug. I had just came from outside, got a can of beer, and then went into the back room to change into a pair of turquoise colored sweatpants. It dawned on me that I needed to buy more beer, and I was debating on whether it would be okay to wear the sweatpants to the store or not.
It was SO HOT today. First, the car would not start. I think the heat is affecting the batter connection I got in the car and it said 105°f. Then I had to stop and wait for the damn train. While it was passing, I saw the oddest thing. Another train... rather ONLY one engine, came passing the long train along its right flank (headed east). Never saw that before. Once I got out on the highway, the thermometer dropped down to 102°f.
I spent another full day on floor support. It got pretty crazy for a while with just three of us on and chats up to 12 deep!
Lunch was a nice respite, with my steamed chicken breast and broccoli. Light, but tasty.
Leaving work was a bit of an upset tonight. The car would not start again. I had to "fix" the battery cable about 6 or 7 times before it finally "took." This is becoming a bit of a worry to me. Once I got the car started, a temperature check showed it was sill 93°f. This was about 1:05a after it had cooled down!
AND I had to wait for the Camp Jackson train again.
3:41a – Skip made cornbread and beans and left food out for me tonight. I have watched one episode of The 4400 and have another started. Off to the TV now to watch some more before eating and going to bed. I am really tired... and will be worse tomorrow I am sure. Two more days of work, then 4 days off. I am bothered by how much I struggle for time off with this job.
4:46a – Off to bed for me. Just finished another episode of The 4400. Great show. Had beans for supper... this could be a disturbing night ...
12:55p – I am so tired today. I made a pot of soup and in that short time of standing, my back began cramping. I had to go sit down and recover. I decided I am going in late (4811734) today. I hate doing that, but at least I am not missing the entire day.
3:13p – Time to get off my butt and haul it to work. I hope the car starts okay. It's going to be hot out there.
1:39a – Thankfully, the car started and gave me no problem today. Scott Robbins called me and left voice mail at work tonight. I called him back. Looks like he will be here tomorrow... but we are going to be working. I am not sure how this is going to work out. Hopefully, he can be here on Friday and we can go out for lunch or something. Anyway, I just go home. Going to go watch another episode of The 4400 and have a few beers. One more day of work, then FOUR days off! COME ON FRIDAY!
4:46a – Supper was a bit to spicy I fear... but tasty. Off to bed now. Again... way too late!
12:04p – I did not get up until nearly noon. I just need to get through one more day. It is becoming harder and harder to keep going to this job. Not just because I hate the job, but my back pain, shoulder/arm pain, and general tiredness are just slowly wearing me down. I don't know what I am going to do in the long run, but it cannot continue like this.
My journey to work was again blocked by the damn Camp Jackson train. At least it was headed East, so I headed West down Range, and went around its tail end. Hopefully saving a bit of time, but more importantly, not sitting in the 100° heat with no a/c waiting for a train!
I got to work well on time. I sat over in the Annex again today (as yesterday). Put new batteries in my little fan at work. I am amazed they have lasted so long.
Scott called. He was having problems finding the house, but he found it. I got all that from 2 voice mails before I could break free and call him back. When I reached him, he was sitting on the front porch, waiting for Skip to get home. I had spoken to Skip earlier and he was leaving work early as his knee was giving him problems. I called Skip to see if he was in route to the house. To our mutual embarrassment it turned out that Skip was already AT HOME! He never heard the door bell ring. Oops. Well... I am glad we got that resolved!
I was getting pretty stressed out by all the petty politics surrounding floor support tonight, so since I had an out of town guest, I (for the first time ever) left early from work. I had Steve D. record it, so its all legit. I officially left at 11:15p instead of 12:45a.
I walked out to the parking lot with Jacob and Charles. (Eth' othb' iib' ege.)
I was first in line again, to wait for the damn Camp Jackson train on the way home. Jeez! They need an overpass!
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2:29a – Home early.. and four days off! YAY! Scott was sitting up in the living room playing some star wars game on his his laptop when I got home. I got situated, got us some beers, (well, one for him... quite a few more for me ... especially on my Friday!). I played an episode of ST:Enterprise from the DVR which we watched while chatting. This was an episode I had seen before, "Fallen Hero," which apparently Scott had never seen. Then he got situated to sleep on the sofa and I played the most recent episode of Eureka. If you've seen the episode... you will understand the graphic! |
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3:29a
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I really need to get my butt to bed! 6:00p – Home at last! Boy am I pooped. Me and Scott have been out all day. We went to Flying-J for brunch. |
I was going to take Scott over to see the Cahokia Mounds, but I got confused on just where I was and ended up headed back down 255 toward home. My intent was to take exit 10 through Dupo and head to St. Louis to go to the City Museum. I realized as we were going through Cahokia, that Scott might enjoy some of the local historic sites, so I took him to the Holy Family Church. I had never been inside of the church before; in fact, I was not sure if people could still go inside or not. However, there was a note on the front door saying "back in 10 minutes." So, we walked next door to the Jarrot Mansion.
Scott walks up the front steps of the Jarrot Mansion
This historic site was under renovation, so we could only peek through the windows. So far, my diversion to explore Cahokia history was falling far short of exciting.
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The Jarrot Mansion The Jarrot Mansion is a two-story brick house that dates to the early 19th century and is considered to be the oldest brick building in Illinois. The home was built by Nicholas Jarrot who was born in southeastern France in 1764 and immigrated to America in 1791, presumably to escape the French Revolution. After a brief stay in Baltimore Jarrot headed west to New Orleans and up the Mississippi River arriving in Cahokia in the mid 1790's. Jarrot was a shrewd land speculator and his real estate holdings eventually reached 25,000 acres. A leading citizen of Cahokia, Jarrot worked as a lawyer, served as a judge, and as major of the town militia. He managed a general store in Cahokia and built and operated several mills. Jarrot died in 1820 after catching a fever while tending one of his mills. By the time Lewis and Clark arrived in Cahokia in 1803, Nicholas Jarrot had had considerable success as a land speculator and owned large tracts of land in the region. After the Spanish refused to Lewis’ request to base the Expedition in territory west of the Mississippi, Jarrot allowed Lewis and Clark to build their winter headquarters on property he owned along the River Dubois, near present day Wood River. During this time, Jarrot likely lived in a typical post-on-sill house located somewhere near the mansion site and when Lewis stayed overnight in Cahokia he probably was a guest at the Jarrot home, as Jarrot was the wealthiest man in the Cahokia. Because the Jarrot Mansion has had only five owners, the building remains remarkably intact. The interior is well preserved and retains almost all of its entire original features, including plaster, pine flooring, woodwork, and even some panes of glass. The dominant room of the first floor is a large central room that was used as a reception area, as a dining room, and as a breezeway. This central room was flanked by two bedrooms, a room Major Jarrot used as an office, and what was probably a multipurpose room. A large ballroom was the focus of the second floor which also held two small guest bedrooms and a drawing room (photo right,) where Jarrot and his friends could be found playing games of chance. Fireplaces provided both light and heat during the winter, while cooking was done in a basement fireplace or in later years a summer kitchen located in the back yard. The doors, windows, and chimneys aren’t evenly spaced because at the time the mansion was built capturing the best light, ventilation, and heat was more important than symmetry. The Jarrot Mansion was purchased by the Village of Cahokia in 1976 and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency acquired the property in 1980. Professional restoration of the mansion was begun in 1999 and the mansion was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001. The Jarrot Mansion is part of the Colonial Cahokia State Historic Sites complex that also includes the Cahokia Courthouse, the Martin-Boismenue House, and a Visitors Center. Information can be obtained at the Visitors Center about the Holy Family Log Church and other area attractions. Viewing the Jarrot Mansion: The Jarrot Mansion holds two annual houses where the public is invited to view the progress on the restoration of the mansion and to interact with costumed interpreters to learn about 19th century colonial America. Traditionally these open houses are held during the Fete du Bons Vieux Temps in February and the annual open house in September. Check our Calendar listings for current dates and information. If you wish to view the Jarrot Mansion at other times it is necessary to make an appointment by calling 618-332-1782. |
We headed back for the car, debating on what to do next. Should we wait for someone to come back to the Holy Family Church, or just head on out to St. Louis? Our question was answered when a young man (whom I had seen in the parking lot) went back up to the church, and removed the "away" note. We decided to go back to the church and check it out. I am glad we did. This church is about 300 years old and I did not realize that it is the oldest continuously running church in the US. Our young tour guide showed us the nooks and crannies of the ancient church and assured me that I could take all the photos that I wanted (which, of course, I did!).
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The Holy Family Church The Holy Family Parish Log Church in Cahokia, Illinois is the oldest continuously sited church in the state of Illinois. The Holy Family Parish is the second oldest Catholic Parish in the state being established in May of 1699 when the French priest Father Jean St. Cosme and two workmen erected a missionary cross, a chapel and a log rectory. The original log church built by Father St. Cosme was destroyed by a fire in the 1730's and the subsequent church was also destroyed by fire in 1783. Only a bell suspended from a tree in the churchyard, a missal printed in 1683, a monstrance made in 1717, a chalice, and a paten were saved from the 1783 fire. Pope John Paul II used the chalice in his Mass when he visited St. Louis in 1999. Construction on the present church, with a capacity of over 100 people, was begun shortly afterward but it was not until 1799 that the Church was dedicated. The church's construction is typical of the French Creole architecture of the era. Built in the poteaux-sur-solle (post-on-sill) manner, a vertical log style that uses hewn walnut logs placed upright on a horizontal base. The roof timbers are oak, and the roof itself is made of cypress clapboards covered by sycamore and the church is held together entirely with wooden pegs instead of nails. In l949, Father Joseph Mueller "rediscovered" the old log church that had been covered over with white clapboarding and the Log Church was restored in time for the parish’s 250th anniversary. An old cemetery that contains the graves of many of the parish’s priests and the locally prominent Jarrot family is located behind the church. |
Inside the church, we explored and learned...
Then we went in search of the Old Cahokia Courthouse which I had never been to. We found it, though I was surprised to find that it was somewhat obscurely located in an out-of-the-way corner of Cahokia. First, we stopped by the Visitor's Center and had and chatted with the attendant. She then walked us over to the Courthouse itself and let us in. She gave us a bit of history on the place and and introduction to each of the rooms, then left us on our own. I took more pictures there of course. Scott seemed to be increasingly impressed with the history of this little "Village of Cahokia." So was I, to be honest. I could be proud to be a citizen of Cahokia in so many ways, but the place is becoming increasingly a place with a bad caliber of people.
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The Cahokia Courthouse Built about 1740 as a four-room private residence by Jean le Poincet and later purchased by Francois Saucier, son of the designer of Fort de Chartres, the Cahokia Courthouse is an example of the French Creole poteaux-sur-solle (post-on-sill) construction method which French settlers brought over their native Normandy in northern France. In this method upright hewn logs are seated on a horizontal log sill and the spaces between the logs are filled with stone and mortar chinking. This type of construction is different from the more familiar horizontal Anglo-American style and is quite rare with only about thirty buildings of this type left in North America. When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 ending the American Revolution, the Illinois Country came under control of the United States. In 1784 the Northwest Territory was created by the Continental Congress and in a ceremony in 1790 in Cahokia the new governor of the territory, Arthur St. Clair, laid out the county that bears his name and established the county seat at Cahokia. In that same year the judges of St. Clair County began using the Saucier residence for use as an administrative center and courthouse, formally purchasing the building in 1793. The largest room was used as the courtroom (photo right,) with the other rooms being used as a judge's chamber, a multipurpose room that included the post office, and a meeting room for attorneys which also doubled as schoolroom when court wasn't in session. Originally St. Clair County was an immense territory almost as large as the state of Illinois, but as the years went by portions of the county were split off to form separate counties. For twenty-four years the Cahokia Courthouse served as a U.S. territorial courthouse and an important center of political activity in the Old Northwest. By 1814, with St. Clair County's jurisdiction decreasing to its present size, demands for a centrally located county seat, and floods constantly threatening Cahokia, the county seat was moved to the newly created town of Belleville. By 1901 the former courthouse had deteriorated so badly due to floods and neglect that it was used only to store farm machinery and had been bought by an East St. Louis businessman who had it dismantled and reassembled for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis as a classic example of early French Creole architecture. The structure at the Exposition was only about half the size of the original with leftover timbers reportedly made into wooden cigars and sold as souvenirs at the Fair. After the Exposition the Chicago Historical Society purchased the courthouse and a small structure was constructed from the materials on Wooded Island in Jackson Park. The building stood there until 1939 when it was returned to Cahokia. Reconstruction of the courthouse in its current form began as a WPA project. Archaeological investigations of the original site began in 1938 and uncovered the original foundations, fireplace footings, fragments of porch columns, domestic objects and fragments of ironwork. In 1939, following a study of photographs, sketches of the building, and of French Creole construction methods, the courthouse was dismantled and shipped to Cahokia with great care. All of the logs returned from Chicago were incorporated in the reconstruction. The courthouse was dedicated May 20, 1940 as a reminder of the "splendid heritage" of the citizens of Illinois. The courthouse now rests on its original foundation of stone nearly two feet thick. Walnut beams extend the cantilevered roof over the porch. Inside, the courtroom has been refurbished to the way it would have been in the early 19th century and the other three rooms contain exhibits that illustrate French colonial life, the history of the courthouse, and Lewis and Clark’s experience in Cahokia (photo right,) during the winter of 1803-04 and the role of post offices in colonial America. The Cahokia Courthouse is the centerpiece of the Colonial Cahokia State Historic Sites complex. |
After a trip by the house to check directions, and refresh, we then went into St. Louis to visit the City Museum... where I took even MORE pictures (I think I took a total of 281 pictures today). It has been good day for photography! The City Museum was just as fascinating and diverse as the last time I went there (with Skip), but it was way too hot today. They had floor fans all throughout the multi story complex, and the A/C could barely be felt in some places. My back had long been hurting by this time, but I was trying to ignore it as much as I could, and to sit down and appease it as much as I had to.
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The City Museum A definite must see attraction while visiting St Louis is the City Museum. This unique museum opened in 1997 in the Old International Shoe Company building on North 15th Street. The museums creators have interestingly reintroduced old materials found around the city of St Louis by recycling things such as chimneys, bridges, construction equipment and even two airplanes!! This is a favorite place of locals & schools that tourists, young and old, will enjoy! The City Museum is a hands on explorers paradise come to life. But don’t be fooled because it is not just for the little tykes but for the ‘big kids’ as well. It allows kids of all ages to enjoy the exhibits first hand to give them a better idea (and of course, have more fun while doing it!) of what they are learning about! Before hitting the floor and exploring, you may want to be sure to dress comfortably in jeans and close toed shoes. Many exhibits include climbing, sliding and crawling and for your comfort sake as well as safety, it is recommended that appropriate dress be considered. There are several favorite attractions at the museum. One would include the Enchanted Caves, which offers the opportunity to explore the inner ‘caves’ of the old factory’s spiral conveyer tunnel system. This is just one example of how the museum has incorporated the old surroundings with the new life of the museum. For those who may be aspiring artists, they would find the Art World extra enticing. This is a place where you have the opportunity to watch professional artists teach about their specific craft. You can witness painters, potters, and sculptors doing what they love best. Visit the Glass Studio and see first hand the birth of a beautiful work of art thru interesting and exciting demonstrations. You even have the opportunity to create your own work of art! If lunchtime hits when you are checking out the scene, no need to cut your visit short because there is a place to settle even the hungriest appetites. Samwiches in the City has something for everyone! Serving up home made and healthy sandwiches, soups, salads and pastries, they had kids in mind when they created their menu. For those who are coming after lunch, they also offer great snacks such as milkshakes and chocolate chip cookies … just the thing to reboot the energy needed to explore the museum! |
We walked from the City Museum to another place I had never been, "The Campbell House." Another museum. Of course I was having fun, but struggling not only because of the 100° heat, but because my back was cramping up pretty bad. It still hurts now, even sitting and resting. Maybe the exercise will be good for me though. We're home now, and Skip is home. We're planning on going to Ramon's for dinner shortly..
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The Campbell House After a monumental five-year, $3 million restoration the museum now stands as one of the most accurately restored 19th Century buildings in America, reflecting the high-Victorian opulence of the 1880s. Built in 1851, the first house in the elegant neighborhood Lucas Place, the Campbell House was the home of renowned fur trader and entrepreneur Robert Campbell and his family from 1854 until 1938. The museum contains hundreds of original Campbell possessions including furniture, paintings, clothing, letters, carriages and a unique set of interior photographs taken in the mid-1880s. |
| 10:50p – Back from Ramon's, which was preceded by a trip to the Super Center Wal-Mart in Collinsville. Ramon's was packed full, quite unlike the lunch time serenity that Skip and I are used to. Oh ... and this is Friday no less. The Mariachi singers were wandering about singing. We think they were drinking... and the more they drank the better they sang! (Or maybe it was the more we drank, the better they sounded?). Anyway, Skip and Scott paid for bill and tip. I guess I covered transportation costs and drove. I was not too hungry and simply ordered the "Mexican Platter" ... expecting to take most of it home with me. Tla! I ate the whole damn thing! lol... |
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12:41a – I have been sitting here working hard to create nice CD for Scott to take home as a memento of his visit. I have had to download software from Avery (and learn how to use it). The create graphics for the Avery label for the CD. And of course, there was a lot of editing of the pictures. I took about 281 pictures today! It seems like this should be faster, but ... it requires a lot of work and I tend to be a perfectionist...
Meanwhile, Skip is entertaining Scott with some Irish/Russian mafia movie.
2:21a – My CD label just would NOT work. I had to finally print a seriously substandard level of quality print for the label. It was awful... but at least the wording showed. I am off to bed now. Scott must leave early in morning.
4:58p – Scott woke me up around 6:10a to say goodbye. I drove him over to his truck. Then I drove home, got my camera, and drove back before he had left to take some pictures of his rig before he pulled out. I was joking about never having seen a sunset on that side of the town before! I came home and went back to bed until about 11:00a. When I got up, my hip was really messed up. Probably from all the walking yesterday, but its odd that it felt fine this morning when I gave Scott the ride. At the moment, Skip and I are getting ready to go over to the store. I have mainly just sat around and rested today.
6:24p – We're back from the store and I am back to working on my pictures from yesterday.
10:45p – Skip has gone to bed. We had a silly "argument" about how to use the stove tonight. I couldn't believe he upset that I don't leave the stove on the setting that he wants/uses. All he needs to do is press one button before cooking, but this seems to be a problem for him. He gets in these weird moods... not sure what to say.
I have some hamburger meat, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms, with seasonings, in the oven. I also have rice cooked. I expect to have a tasty meal... when it finally gets done. I just realized a moment ago that I set the temperature on the oven, but did not actually turn it on! Oops!
11:17p – Wow... this hamburger and rice dish I made is great!
12:02a – I meant to save some of the rice & beef mix for tomorrow...but it was so good, I ate every bite. Off to bed now...
1:54a – I am up again. RE-experiencing my supper. Ick.
12:45a – I finally forced myself to get up. I could have stayed in bed for hours
11:57p – I have not felt very good all day. Skip and I went over to KFC for lunch. I had one of the "bowls." Not very impressive. Then we came home and cooled down a bit. (It was like 112°f out there!). Skip got a call from his realtor while we were eating. She wanted him to check out a house (built in 1857) in the historic district of Belleville. We drove over and looked at it, from the outside only. Interesting. Kind of blah from my point of view. (I did not like it). Then we went to the "home brew" store, but... they were closed. So ... we headed home. Stopped by Q-Mart on the way home. I got home, took a nice long shower, and laid down for about an hour. I still don't feel too good.
I spent most of the evening writing a long email, describing our excursion into Cahokia and St. Louis on Friday.
11:00a – I woke up to the doorbell ringing. I got up ... it was Deanna. She needs some help putting a resume together.
2:46p – I have been sleepy, bored, depressed and lethargic all day. I need to get the bills done and can't get motivated. I finally called Deana and told her to com on over to work on her resume.
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7:31p – I finally made myself sit down and face the bill situation. I got all the bills paid except the gas and electric. The two major ones. After mulling it over, I finally broke down and dipped into my savings to the tune of about $160 to cover the $309 electric bill. But ... at least it is paid. Now I have to hope I can get the assistance paying the nearly $600 owed on the gas bill. I have no more reserves to draw upon, except Skip. Not too long ago, I owed Skip over $1,700 (which he did not even realize). I have now got that down to almost $1,000. Skip pulled a weird "mutant squash" from his garden tonight. I photographed and animated the monstrosity...
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12:34a – I am off to bed. Happy to have the bills caught up ... yet worried about the gas bill. At least, if the cut off the gas, I will only have to take cold showers! Anyway... back to work tomorrow. Too depressing.
11:36a – I slept a little better last night, though I had my usual bombardment of crazy dreams. One dream stood out a little more clear that the others. I was involved with some kind of archeological dig. They had discovered what seemed to be two ancient bodies buried in a chamber far beneath the ground. I went down into the excavation site and saw the two skeletons still on site. Their skulls seemed to be misshapen. Upon closer inspection I told someone that this was not exactly two bodies. It was two bodies with one head... or one person with one body (joined at the head). Some variation on the Siamese twin condition. Apparently this had been one person with two bodies; or maybe two people sharing one brain. In any event, they must have been very special to the ancient people to went to such lengths to create this vault so deep underground. My position in the dream changed, and I found myself with another scientist a little ways off from the base of the cliff. The scientist was using some device called a RapidFinder. It's function was to scan the face of the cliff and somehow penetrate into it to reveal what lay beneath with computer imaging. Kind of like a portable CAT scan. The dig site was locate far up at the top of the cliff and our goal was to map the burial chamber and see if there were more like it. The machine stripped away the surface of the cliff in layers until we finally reached the burial chamber. It struck me that those ancient engineers who did the digging could have reached the same spot sooner if they had dug from the side of the cliff, rather than the top. However, I suppose it would have been hard to start digging on the sheer, vertical cliff face! The RapidFinder continued to strip away the cliff and we could now see the shaft that led down to it. It was exceptionally steep, at about a 45° angle. Then my dream switched back to the dig site, and there was a problem. The digging has apparently tapped into some kind of spring systems, and water was flowing into the shaft and burial chamber. I think they were able to get the remains of the one-headed person out, but the dream got chaotic at this point, as everyone raced to escape the flooding. The dream faded out here.
I needed to leave a bit early today as the car's oil light came on yesterday. That usually means it needs 2 quarts of oil. I finally rushed out at the last minute. As I was leaving, I noticed a spot of something on the tile in the foyer. It looked kind of like honey or oil. I was a thick and viscous, about the size of a nickel or quarter. I had no idea what it could be, but I did not have time to investigate it. I opened both passenger side doors to air the car a bit, placing my little carry bag in the back seat. The I rolled the trash bin back up from the road. The temperature in the car was around 105°f. I drove about 3 houses down the road and realized I had forgotten my glasses! (Yet ONE more delay). I went back and got the (and remembered to set the alarm), then head out again. I went over to AutoZone and got the oil and put it in the car forthwith. As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a smell like cat urine. I sniffed my shirt, but all my clothes were freshly washed and I had just pulled them out of the dryer. There was a man working on his car next to me. He did not look very clean and the wind was blowing my way. Maybe it was him? Nope... guess not. As I was pulling back onto the road, I got a whiff of it again. Maybe it was just the fragrance of the day here in Cahokia?
My drive to work was mostly uneventful except that I changed lanes in front of a big SUV that was in my blind spot ... I was VERY close! Oops! I stomped the gas and pulled ahead of them (and they honked at me about the same time... kind of late, but ... well, it was my error anyway).
I got to work, hot and sweaty, still no A/C in the car of course. I met Jay in the parking lot near his car and we chatted briefly as I grabbed my carry bag and head back to the "salt mine." As I got to the front door, I decided to swing my carry bag over my shoulders in backpack fashion (it has a couple of straps for that). I was having trouble finding the "arm hole" for my right arm, and as I fumbled around trying to get it... I smelled that smell again. Stronger this time. I pulled the bag off my shoulders and checked it out. One entire side of it was "crystallized" with cat urine! Damn Barnabas! grrrr! Makes me so mad. I had had the bag hanging on the front door knob before I left the house. That must be what the little puddle was... condensed essence of Barnabas.
Anyway... work was about usual. I went on floor support until about 11:00p. Then James came to tell me I was going on the phones. Okay, whatever, I guess I need to get in some phone time. However, before I could finish up the chats I was in, the moved me to the Houston queue, and a call came in (which Jennifer noticed was blinking on my phone and brought to my attention). I had to release the call and do an emergency log out. Messing up my adherence, causing bad service to a customer, and getting me totally discombobulated. Very bad form. I hate this place. I am happy for Will who just got a new job and quit on Friday.
WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 15, 2007
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Reported in at the Naval Nuclear Power
School for Permanent duty in Orlando on this date, 1976.
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Rolled my new Toyota Celica off the show
room floor of Englander Toyota on this date in Orlando 1987.
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2:48a – I got home a bit late, since my last call went to 1:00a. I finished watching the Sci-Fi channel's "Sands of Oblivion." It was okay in a cheap made for TV sort of way. I am off now to update my schedule on line. I was supposed to have a 3 days weekend coming up, but I volunteered to take Friday off and come in on Saturday instead since Steve was going to be the only one on floor support. Only for him. Only because he asked.
4:51a – I made a pot of beef with one of Skip's squashes, some mushrooms, a bit of dried black fungus, and some fresh onion. Wasn't too bad. I've been watching the first episode of "Dead Like Me" ... which I've never seen. Paused it about two thirds of the way through. It's way too late. I have got to get to bed!
11:42a – I had creepy dreams involving a lot of bugs last night. In one I had little chigger like bugs tunneling under my skin on my arm. In another there was a beautiful web nest full of caterpillars and spiders. The nest was about 3-4 feet wide and glistened with sparkles of light. I carried the branch holding the nest from its resting place out onto a balcony for some reason; then I decided to return them to their form location once again. However, the webbing caught and stuck to the ceiling and walls, and all of the little green spiders began to run about and leave their disrupted nest of gossamer threads. I ducked under the nest, hoping none of the little critters got on me. There was a man behind me on the balcony and he came in behind me and began to scoop the spiders into his hands. He said something about them all having to vote, and we couldn't let a single one of them get lost, as each of their votes were important. I woke up musing over how one could ensure that each spider only voted once. It was not until I woke further that I wondered why I ever thought a spider could vote at all. And now I wonder what issue they were supposed to vote on anyway. Weird dreams...
I got up and Skip is home. He apparently had the day off.
Today was yet another scorcher. Hot. Very hot. The heat index was over 110 I think I heard. I had 107°f on the car thermometer.
I got another resume out today... for what good it does.
The DVD "The 300" was still here. I thought I sent it back. So I put it back in its return mailer, but the mail had already run, according to Skip. So I set it on the back of the chair by the door. I will mail it out in tomorrow's mail.
I got a seat in the quad once at work. However, before getting logged in, Rich came over and said we would probably have to move to the annex to allow phone agents a place to sit. So, Steve and I packed up and relocated over to the Annex. We handled FS chats for an hour or so, and then we were told that we could not be sitting in THAT section of the annex as it was for training only. So... we moved again over to the section where we were "allowed" to sit. I got logged in to my third location. What a dismally inefficient and disruptive system (or lack OF system) we must deal with in this chaotic sweatshop! Whatever. They finally got our chat limit reduced from 30 to 5, but now they took away our ability to see who is currently on floor support (except for our own self). That's stupid... I know when I am on floor support or not! lol.
Around 9:30p Steve was getting ready to leave. I found my self the ONLY floor support agent for about an hour. I managed to maintain and get done what I could. Then, Jason chatted in to me and said to logout out of FS. Once my chats were done, I was being thrown back into the general phone pool with the regular agents. That was my reward for my hard work, and dealing with being THE floor support for over an hour! I knew it was going to happen, but that knowledge did not make a dent in my total disgust. I moved over to the quad and found Adam and set next to him. (He is such an uplifting young man!). It was sweltering in the quad, and even my little fan was not helping. I got partially logged in and finally went on break. If I had gone on break when scheduled, I would have left the entire Comcast quad with no floor support. So, I stayed in, further messed up MY adherence, and kept things running as best I could. Then I get thrown back into the phones in a hot room, totally disgusted... and I did something I've never done before. I walked out. The place is making me sick...in so many ways. I left around 11:30p in a swirl of about 5% guilt and 95% disgust. I need a real job ... and soon. This place is a joke. It pays the bills (barely... and with public assistance) but I cannot keep on this way!
I got in the car and checked the temperature. It was about 11:45p and still 95°f out!
2:33a – I got home and one of the first things I found, to my major annoyance, was that the DVD (The 300) that I had put in its envelope to mail out had been ripped open! The "No postage necessary" stamp seemed to be carefully ripped off. WTF!? It had to be Skip of course, but WHY would he do that? The envelope is not addressed to him! It is addressed to Block Buster. Damn... I was just so floored that he was do something so STUPID.
Repaired envelope....
2:49a – I just got some food started cooking. I cut up some chicken breast and put it in a pot with lots of shoyu. I put in mushrooms, fried garlic & onion, and ... that's about it. Pepper. I need more. I don't know what I'm making. I am in such a bad mood over work, I can't focus. I think I going in late tomorrow. It is not in my best interest, but I am just so disgusted. This place is tyrannical.
3:05a – Yep... I called in (4831570). I just occurred to me that I also gave up my 3 day weekend, volunteering to work on Saturday (which I had scheduled off) in order to cover floor support. I keep giving, but I don't get much in return.
3:12a – I just added some spinach to the mixture. I think I need to go put on a pot of Jasmine rice now. I don't know... I am finding myself increasingly disturbed by my callous mistreatment at work. All of us who work floor support are disgruntled and management either does not comprehend and/or does not care. Either way, my path (ant their path) is clear. Get out...and get employed by a proper employer and not this sweat-shop call center. I was noticing tonight that the physical environs have become even more dirty and unhealthy. The cubicles are ripped, shredded, and "graffitied". The floors are blackened with spills and soil. The desks are gross with everything from dust, to smears of ... I don't want to know! I buy bottles of 98% isopropyl alcohol to spray everything down, but I fear it is more a mental crutch than a real one. I even carry my alcohol to the restrooms and spray handles and faucets before touching them. I am starting to act like Howard Hughes! lol! However... I am not the only one. I discovered tonight that others are following my example! Wow... getting freaky....?
3:21a – Ok ... off to put on a pot of rice.
3:29a – Rice is cooking now. And I added a whole onion to the simmering chicken mix, plus some broccoli.
4:15a – I am going to go eat now. I added some stewed tomatoes to the mix. I am still feeling increasingly worse about work. I think its really bugging me.
4:36a – And... supper was surprisingly yummy! I hope I like it as well for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Anyway, I am off to bed now. Trying not to feel too depresses and despondent. I will have to send out another resume in the morning. I have to make a change... even if it means going on disability (which pays more than what I am making now, by about $200 per month!).
2:51p – I am so tempted to call in sick today... but I can't afford to lose the pay. I don't even care about my attendance at this point, but going back to work just revolts me.
3:19p – Time to head out. Late... but at least I am going. I did get another resume sent out for a computer support job this morning. They never answer me though.
This was a very disturbing "day" at work. I was there for about two hours... then left is anger and disgust. I guess I will take an absence for today...I don't really know. Or care. I began writing a long memo to my (assumed) supervisors, but the computer deleted it all. I will have to start again tomorrow.
2:18a – I am off to bed. I will try to document my work dilemma tomorrow. I may or may not still have a job. I almost wish I do not. This place is beneath me. Far beneath.
10:19a – I got up at 9:00a, but had been laying awake since about 6:30a.
I went back to bed and dozed from about 12 noon until 2:00p. I had some problems trying to sleep, and I had some strange dreams, but I managed to get SOME sleep.
Once I got up, I got myself dressed and drove to Soulard Market where I bought some meat and veggies. Then I drove down to Jay International and got some "weird food" such as dried onion, garlic and leek; pickled ginger, sushi rice and of course Jasmine rice. I also got some shoyu and rice vinegar.
I watched he movie tonight, "The Last Mimsy" ... which I assumed was a Disney type "kid's show." I was surprised... it was an excellent movie! I loved it. VERY good!
My rendition of the movie
I finally got my memo written and sent out to management about my situation. Here is the letter... edited to remove names and other items not appropriate for public display...
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My official protest against bad practices at work... TO: L--- J---
and/or D--- R---, Also on this date, we realized that there was only ONE floor support person scheduled for the upcoming Saturday. I was scheduled for a 3-day weekend with Saturday off, but I volunteered to swap my days and come in on Saturday in the spirit of teamwork, camaraderie, and good work ethics. On Wednesday (8/15/07) I worked with my fellow fs-agents through the evening, steadily maxed out, with no let up. Handling chat after chat; but feeling I was doing a good job providing a needed service. From about 9:30p to 10:30p I had to handle floor support all by myself. I kept my chin up and nose to the grindstone and had my chats down to only two at one point. It was stressful, but I felt I was doing a good job and I was okay with it. However, my bubble was burst when I was reward for my efforts by being told by J--- at the MOD desk to go thumbs down and go back to the phones. I really don’t have a problem with doing simple phone support, but I felt somewhat let down and betrayed for working so hard with no expectation of compensatory pay or even recognition of any kind for the effort involved. I took a “what ever” attitude… wondering why I bothered. On Thursday (8/16/07) I was in the process of logging in, getting ready for work. J--- , at the MOD desk started sending messages to fs-agents that there were too many fs-agents online. This is now nearly impossible to determine, since the ability to see how many fs-agents are online has now been taken from us, thus blinding us in yet another area). I explained that I was just getting logged in, but I would go on phones if that was what was needed, but M--- L--- felt we needed more fs-agents online. At that time of day, around 5:30p, I have to agree with him. The chat volume from 6:00p to 10:00p is usually very intense since the call volume if very high at that time of day, and we typically have many transition agents working at that time. M--- went to the MOD desk to try to plead our case, but came back with negative news. They said they wanted me to go back on phones. Okay… no problem. I could take calls, which is much easier that floor support anyway. Then he told me that Jason said I had to go on phones because I was “abusing floor support privileges” … !!!? First of all… what are floor support privileges? The privilege of working harder for the same pay? Of doing the job of five or more agents with no compensation or recognition? This comment pushed me over an edge I did not realize was there. I became livid. My hands were shaking, my voice quavering, my heart was pounding, and my chest started to feel tight, like it was under pressure. I try never to let my health or personal life interfere with work, but I have to comment at this point that I had some serious concerns. I have a problem with high blood pressure and take regular medication (Atenolol-Chlorthalidone 50/25mg). I have a family history of one-time fatal heart attacks, with the most recent being my 29 year old niece, and the most devastating, my mother at age 46. I am over weight, do not get enough exercise, and have already suffered a lacunar infarct (or “mini-stroke”). I am a prime candidate for one of these “massive coronaries” that my family seems to specialize in. I had to leave and calm down. I was due for an earn-back which should have put me at “zero” absences on Friday, and I cannot afford missing the hours of pay, but this all became moot in the face of worrying about my own personal well being. I packed up and left. I am not asking for any special dispensation or consideration. I am only letting you know what happened and letting you know that I will be there on Saturday as promised to help out with floor support. That was the reason I gave up my Saturday off. (Assuming I still have a job). If I am in some way performing badly or “abusing floor support privileges” … then maybe I should be taken off floor support. It’s hard work, we take a lot of abuse, and we don’t get paid a dime more, but I have kind of enjoyed it, and felt I was doing something worthwhile, in an otherwise negative environment. I am perfectly happy to continue working in this situation (until I get a better job, of course), but I will leave that up to you and/or whatever powers that be. My apologies for the drama… thank you for hearing me out. Bradford “Lee” Lewis |
Meanwhile, I made my purchases at Soulard and at Jay. The I came home, unloaded my goods, and went to Block buster, Wal-Mart and Q-Mart. I was kind of tired when I got home, but ... I got a lot of stuff put away, and Skip and I got the aluminum cans all put out.
1:30a – I am off to check my food in the kitchen now. Then... off to bed.
2:00a – Still cooking with bed coming up as a respite.
2:21a – And... off to bed now. I kind of dread going to work tomorrow after this stupid "issue." We will see what happens. Maybe I will get fired! (I've never looked upon that possibility as a "positive" thing before! lol!).
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Work was not too bad today. I did floor support all day. I will probably need to do a full day of phone support sometime soon. I had a couple of email response on my email (above) ... they were very supportive.
SUNDAY - AUGUST 19, 2007 4:52a – I just finished watching "George and the Dragon." The title reminded me of a book I read called "The George and the Dragon." A "George" is a Draconian term for a human. I wonder if they knew this in the making of the movie? |
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I think the funniest part of this DVD were the outtakes at the end! This particular scene was especially funny to me. George (James Purefoy) is speaking to Princess Lunna (Piper Perabo) and he cannot get his lines straight. He keeps cracking up and she keeps asking him, "What?". What she does not see is the horse in the background, behind her, which is, as Purefoy so colorfully puts it, "taking a turd." 12:18p – I am up, but I feel awful this morning. I need more sleep, but I can't sleep. I just keep laying there, and when I do start to doze off, my mouth gets so dry it wakes me up and I have to get sip of water. |
| 8:04p – Skip and I went to Oliver's for lunch today. The last time I was there was with Lisa right after we got laid off from Wash U. He had never been there. The over all experience for us was quite dismal. Skip just comment that he would not go there again if someone else offered to pay. He ordered the Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp with a loaded baked potato and salad). The steak looked over cooked and dry... which Skip confirmed it was. The potato was fine (hard to go wrong with a baked potato), but the waitress never brought his salad out. She finally came by to see how we were doing and he pointed out that he never got the salad. |
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MONDAY - AUGUST 20, 2007
12:42a – I am full from Skip's beans, my rice with shredded black fungus, and a steamed pork riblett. Off to bed wit me!
2:47p – I got up about 11:50a. Checked email. Fixed a bite to eat. Watched recorded episodes of The 4400 and Flash Gordon. I am not much motivated to do anything. I don't even have the energy to be properly depresses.
5:26p – What a wasted day off. I am only now getting up to do something. Going to the store for a few things.
7:49p – I just began formatting of my F: drive... the 80Gb slave drive I have on my computer.
8:03p – While waiting for the F: drive to format, I got all the garbage gathered up and put in the dumpster for pickup tomorrow. Of course, that 10 minutes of simple work has left my back in cramps. By the time I could get back to my chair and sit down, I had tears running down my face from the pain. This is getting too ridiculous.
8:21p – I got up the wherewithal to dye my hair tonight. I've had the dye for weeks, but just didn't want to bother. But ... the gray is taking over, and I am depressed enough without seeing all that gray. I think I will take a hot shower, condition my hair, moisturize my face, and then give myself a manicure. Maybe a little self indulgence (not counting beer) will perk me up.
8:51p – Out of the shower and my hair is all back to "my normal." I even shaved off my mustache, just for some added change.
9:15p – My hair is dry ... and looks great. Very natural. I have St. Ives collage-elastin "Essential Moisturizer" liberally applied to my face. I think I brought this container with me from Florida in 2000. Its starting to run low. I don't know where one can buy it around here. But then, maybe I need to find a new product. I think it is good for men, as well as women, to take care of their appearance. I see my sisters, and bless their hearts, I love them more than I can say, but it upsets me to see them looking older than me (and I will be 50 in a few weeks!).
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12:58a – Mmmm... MMM! My supper was so delicious! I expect to have critical mass heart burn tonight from it, but nevertheless, it was yummy. Fried & battered eggplant and chicken. With broccoli and mushrooms in a cream sauce on the side. It was very good. 1:22a – I am off to bed. This is going to be a long work week. |
11:44a – I woke up around 4:50a and lay wake dealing with dry mouth and sore shoulder for the next couple of hours. I think I finally dozed off around 7:00a. I had a dream in which I could teleport myself. I had just teleported myself to some city (I had the feeling it was in Nevada for some reason). This woman met me. She was very emotional and grateful to me for coming to help. It seems she was trying to rescue some man from the hands of fanatics who had him held inside their church. We went inside the church and I found a group of church members who were all huddled around something on the floor. I managed to get up along side the group and saw they had the man we were looking for. He was laying on his back and they were all holding bibles up to him and praying fervently. They seemed to be worshipping him or something. I was trying to think of how to get him out. If I could reach him, just to lay a finger on him, I could teleport us both out. But I could not reach him. I remember going over in my mind a series of rules and lessons about teleportation. I woke up at this point and got a drink of water, yet at the same time I was still partly dreaming and thinking of how to rescue this man.
In another dream, a little later, the church was again involved. I was the guest of someone (not sure who) and was stay with them in their religious community. I was sitting with everyone in a service and there was a man in a green plaid shirt on the "stage" in front of us. (Could this have been the man I was trying to rescue in the other dream?). He appears to be in a trance like state. There was another man standing in a chair by him, repeatedly making some kind of gestures at him (warding? hexing?). There was a board with writing on it on the stage filled with what looked like complicated equations and formulas. There was some kind of minister delivering a sermon to us all during this time, but they were a bit of a blur. As the service came to an end the man in the chair moved to the board with the formulas and was spraying some king of preservative on it. Whatever had been written, they wanted it saved. We left the service, and I realized we were all wearing long, heavy and cumbersome robes. There was a line in front of the restrooms, and I saw several young girls going into the restroom. Before the entered they did a little curtsy with their hands held in prayer in front of them. I wondered if I were supposed to that too? Meanwhile, could barely move with these robes draped all over me (maybe I was tangled in my sheets). A lady pushing a cart came by. A sign on the cart said "Linens" and people were tossing something into the cart. I was not sure if it were discarded robes or bedclothes. I was not sure if I were supposed to follow suit or not, but by this time I had would up an arm load of my own robes and really wanted to get rid of the burden. I woke up about this point. What an odd dream.
12:12p – Time to start getting ready for work. This is going to be a long 9 days, with only one day off in the middle.
1:28p – Here we go. Off to work. The beginning of a long stretch of days. This to shall pass.
Work was about the usual. I spent the entire day in Floor Support. I am kind of looking forward to doing some "phone time" ... something I thought I would never say.
4:43a – I have been watching the movie "The Fountain" after getting home. I also cooked up some yucca, and prepared some stuffed squash. However, it is getting way too late. I took the squash out. Will cook it more tomorrow. I am just heating some leftovers to tide me over for tonight.
4:55a – Okay... leftovers of fried eggplant, a piece of fried chicken, and some of the yucca I cooked tonight (slathered in butter & garlic) ... sufficed for a pretty good supper. I will continue cooking the stuffed squash tomorrow.
1:14p – I felt awful this morning. Headache, and my shoulder continues to just ache and throb. My entire right arm has only about half the strength of my left arm. I got up and called in tardy today. I had to get more sleep. I took some Ibuprofen, drank some water and went back to bed. I slept and woke several times, having a wild mêlée of dreams. In one dream, someone had been away on a trip and I let them take Kira. They came home and she was with them... and so happy to see me. The emotional surge of that dream woke me up, and I was sad for while, missing my Kira. In the last dream I had, I was at someone's house (a big house) and we were having a party. I wanted to put on my Klingon costume for the party, and ran inside to get it and get dressed. However, I could not seem to get it together. I couldn't find all the parts of my costume, and the parts I found had food smeared on them, etc. Nothing would go right. Throughout my dreams, there was a constant thread about my camera being broken. Some square piece of metal (or plastic) was broken off the top. OH... and Marita was in another dream. She was getting some kind of ID or license. Oddly, she had a beard! A scraggly red beard; AND she had tattoos!! For the ID, they were required to take pictures of all the tattoos. To her embarrassment, they made her kneel down behind the counter out of public sight and open her blouse. The tattoos covered most of her body. I turned away, embarrassed, and saw people leaning over the counter trying to see. I told some people to step back and give her to privacy... I think I woke up about this point. (I wonder if I should tell Marita about this dream?! lol... it was a WEIRD one!).
2:58p – I feel kind of foolish. Having called in 2 hours late, I should be starting work at 4:15p today. I left the house at 2:19p ... and then realized I was an hour early! So, I went on over to Wal-Mart and picked up my BP meds. Got that out of the way for another month. Now I still have about 15 minutes before time to leave.
I took one call at work today, then was moved to floor support for the remainder of the day. Kerwin brought me some DVD's. He needs 3 over them copied, and the other 2 are "Dr. Who" and "Torchwood". I've not seen any of the Torchwood series. It comes out on the Sci-Fi channel this September. I also loaned $20 to Kerwin... which is not something I often do. He lost his wallet on the bus today (or somewhere, he's not sure just where). It contained all his money and his ID.
I spent most of my evening in front of the computer here at home. (I seem to live in front of a monitor). The main light burnt out in the living room, as did the light in the small end table lamp. Only the ceiling light worked, and it is too harsh and ugly. I got 2 of Kerwin's DVD's copied. I could not copy the Torchwood DVD's onto my DVD-Rs for some reason. None of the one's I have seem to work. I did copy them to my F: drive for now. I will try to move them to DVD later. I ended up eating my supper (stuffed yellow squash with ginger & beef, and yucca with butter & garlic) in front of my computer also. That's something I almost never do, but I was watching the Torchwood movie and it won't play on the TV.
11:46a – I woke up about 11:10a and went into the restroom. Barnabas had pee'd right in the middle of the floor. That is a strange cat. I am trying to copy of Kerwin's DVD's at the moment. Using another of my DVD-Rs. There is no logical reason why only my Memorex DVD-Rs fail and his TDK ones do not.
11:57a – My DVD-R failed again. Trying now with the TDK one from Kerwin.
Got to work on time. Took 10 calls for the first 2 hours, then they moved me to floor support where I spent the remainder of the evening. Adam sat next to me tonight. He is fun to talk to. Old enough to hold an intelligent conversation, yet young enough to refresh me with his naïveté.
I didn't get to bed until about 5:00a again tonight!
1:20p – I managed to get just enough sleep... I hope. I got up after 12:00n. I am running behind schedule though. I have to remember to take these DVD's back with me for Kerwin today.
Work was a little out of the ordinary today. I was taken from the regular floor support chats and put into the transition chat. "Transition" refers to the new people who are out of class, but being closely supervised as they take live calls from customers. In regular floor support, I deal with up to 5 chats at a time, but each chat is one agent. The transition chat is just one group chat with about 20 people in it. Also in the chat was Chris (one of the 5 people remaining from my class over 1½ years ago). Chris and I were answering questions, performing APT pushes, adding modems, review accounts, etc., ... for everyone at once! It was very chaotic... but interesting.
I got email address from Charles & Jacob tonight. Jacob was furious with our employer.
I watched episode #3 of Torchwood on my computer tonight (this morning). The light is still out in the living room.
Power had been out while I was at work. I was not surprised, as I had been monitoring a series of storm passing through St. Louis and straight over to the Cahokia area. When driving home, I saw at least one signal in "flashing" mode and there was a utility repair truck sitting by the Camp Jackson RR crossing. I was just hoping power was still on at all. It was, but my computer was off, the server had rebooted, and my clock in my room is still flashing... waiting for me to reset it.
Oh! My 111 photos arrived! The ones from the graduation in Oklahoma last May.
1:27p – I slept in as late as I could, but Skip is in his room, smoking like a chimney, and the smell of the cigarettes was coming into my room and making my throat hurt. Then someone in the neighborhood started playing some loud music. I could only hear (feel) the bass, and it kept increasing slowly. I tried to copy my Torchwood files to a DVD this morning and again (after 2 tries) it fails. I hope it is not the DVD burner.
6:22p – Skip and I just got back from a trip to McGurks Irish Pub in St. Louis. It has been a beautiful day, in the mid-80's. The rain we had yesterday cooled things down from what has been continuing temperatures of 95-105°f. He wanted to have some of their quality beers, and I wanted to get something to eat. I ended up getting a beer myself, a Blue Moon (with a slice of orange). For me, that was like have beer for breakfast!
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Way too early. I ordered two pounds of chicken wings which Skip and I split and I switched to a Dr. Pepper to drink. Then I got one more Bud Light before leaving. That was really more beer than I needed that early in my day. 1:14p – I have made a big batch of sushi for supper, and for lunch tomorrow. The meat is ground up hot wings from lunch today. 1:51p – My sushi was not bad. I have been watching "Grey Owl". Not got very far into it. Off to bed now. Another four days of work ahead of me. 11:52p – I slept fairly well last night. I had lots of dreams that seemed to be dealing with "mass suicide" though. That was a bit weird. |
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4:09a – I just finished watching Grey Owl. A very wonderful movie which had me in tears for much of the movie. Not from sad scenes so much as just "moving" scenes. Kudos to Pierce Brosnan.
Archie (Grey Owl), Pony, and one of the miks (baby beaver).
2:00p – I got up this morning and felt awful. Among other things, my shoulder is aching something fierce. I don't know what's wrong with it. But, on my next trip to the doctor, I am going to have to have it looked into. I tried to start getting ready for work, but I just couldn't. I called in tardy (4862824). I had to try to get more sleep. I slept some, but had disturbing dreams. In one, my sister, Darlene was bitten by a poisonous snake. I the last dream, I was in an office building. It seemed like Orlando City Hall, vaguely. We were on the second floor, though it seemed much higher up. There was an accident on the street below. I my dream I identified this street as "44." In the middle of the street was a little girl who had been hit by a car. She had extremely long golden hair which was sprayed out around her helpless little body. I saw her twitching, so I knew she was not dead (yet). I was hesitant, but I grabbed my camera and tried to take some pictures. I hoped nobody thought I was being gruesome, but I kept thinking one never knows when photographs of an accident scene might reveal some unexpected clue as to what happened. I seemed to be leaning out a window. I wound my camera strap around my arm to keep it secure and held it out the window. My glasses kept slipping down my nose and I had a sudden concern about them slipping and falling to the streets below. Paramedics had already arrived by this time, so I expected my shots to be obscured. They were putting in an ambulance... and I woke up.
6:21p – I ended up calling in sick today (4863604). This is actually the first time I have called in sick this year. I missed Jan 6th when Kira was put to sleep; Feb 3rd when the started went out on the car; and most of Aug 16th when Jason made me so mad I had to leave work. I guess that's not too bad, but it still won't cover my pay for the day.
10:54p – I made fried chicken and fried rings of squash for supper. Too much "fried" food... but very yummy. I took a couple of Tylenol PM's ... and I'm off to bed.
11:41a – I slept SOLIDLY last night. That was about 12 hours in bed, mostly sleeping. Of course, all my joints ache this morning, since I did not spend as much time tossing and turning, but just laying in one position for an extended period. My should continues to be an excruciating annoyance.
I got to work well on time. Met Steve in the parking lot. Took calls for the first part of the day, then went on floor support for the first time in 2-3 days. Chats were strangely slow tonight, for a pleasant change. I spoke to Larry (my Team Lead) and he said he had some information for me. It turns out I got a raise. Only .26¢, but that is another $540.00 per year. And I am finally over the $10.00 per hour mark.
Kerwin brought me another couple of DVD's of Torchwood & Dr. Who movies. Steve is taking the month of September off to study for truck driving. I probably won't see him again until late September, if not October. I hear Will got laid off the job he took, so he is unemployed again (but not working here at least!).
1:45a – I am copying Kerwin's movies to my hard drive at the moment. I think my DVD burner may be shot. I may have to look into getting a new one. Not sure if I can afford to or not though.
3:57a – Once again, my short personal time after work is zooming by at an insulting rate. I have a pork steak in the oven baking, smothered in onions, and a pot of rice cooking with seasonings, but it is already 4:00a and I should be going to bed. I am still copying files over from the DVD's Kerwin loaned me, and that is taking longer than anticipated. (And I just had some kind of copy failure message pop up ... <sigh>) ...
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4:37a – Its getting late again! I am trying to get supper done and go to bed, but my time is limited. The food is done now... I still have some movies copying to the hard drive... I will go eat now. 4:58a – I am SO off to bed now! 12:31p – I don't wanna get up! I ache all over. My eye keeps twitching and feel sore. I got to work late today. Clocked in. Took a couple of chats and then my eye started to really bother me. It is all red and inflamed. It burns and the eyelids keep on twitching, and driving me batty. I had to go home early. More absence, less pay. N'estas bona. |
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5:45p – I just finished watching another episode of Torchwood. Great series. Here are a couple of screen shots where Mary (the alien) reveals herself for what she really is...
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I drove over to Belleville to pick Skip up from the MetroLink around 2:50p. I managed to find my way there, with no map, and no wrong turn, (despite construction), by 2:45p. I passed a big old building that caught my attention and begged to to be photographed. But, I had to pick up Skip, so I did not stop.
However, on the way back, after picking Skip up, HE noticed the same building and commented on it. So, with no further ado, I swung into the parking lot and took some pictures of this very striking, old, dilapidated, and probably abandoned building....
From there, we made our way over to COMMON SCENTS, where he bough some more beer supplies, and I (finally) purchased my FRANKINCENSE oil (for about $21). Skip got a new drying tree, a carboy, and a Porter kit.
We left there and went looking for a particular Mexican restaurant, I think the name of it is "Mariachi's." We stumbled upon a completely different restaurant, the name of which I am not sure. (Something "Garibaldi's" I think). The prices were a little on the high side, but the food was plentiful and excellent. The salsa was not watery (like at Ramon's), the beef in the tacos was seasoned (not plain boiled), and the rice tasted delicioso! (And I am very picky about my rice, and rarely like it at restaurants!).
Inside the Mexican restaurant
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"Fiesta Garibaldi"
We stopped by Flying-J on the way back and picked Scott up. He had parked his truck there and plans to spend the morrow with us. We ended up driving over to East St. Louis to the where the Radio Shack has moved, and picked up a 30' Ethernet cable. We came back home and I was able to get it hooked up to our network.
Scott connects to the internet on his laptop...
I ended up making a pilaf from pork and and Skip's left over chicken for supper. It came out quite tasty, and Scott seemed to like it too.
I got up VERY early for me around 8:00a this morning. Skip and Scott were up already. We decided to all go down the street to "Angel's Diner" and have breakfast. It's a tiny little place. Skip had been there before. They were not too bad, except that they brought Skip's food out so late. Scott and I were already done eating by the time they brought Skip's food to him.
We went over to Wal-Mart after that. I needed to get some medicine for my eye. We also picked up some supplies to try to get the A/C charged on the car. And Skip bought a edger which had some rust on it, so he was able to get the price knocked down considerably. We made one more stop at the hardware store before going back home. Once we back, Skip got busy with the edger, while Scott and I tackled trying to recharge the A/C. Scott concluded the the port that I had been trying to charge previously was the high port, so we start looking for the low port. We were just about to give up when I happened to look up under some paneling in the back of the motor and there it was. We put all of one can in, and part of another. The gauge was on the second can and unlike before, this time the gauge actually resisted pressure. We got it filled up, but to our mutual disappointment, the unit failed to produce any cool air.
Our next intended goal for the day was to go to the Greekfest in Swansea. However, the day was hot and we were all pooped from our morning's endeavors.
| Then we discovered the festival did not start until 4:00p. Skip and Scott took a nap and I caught up on my email. A little after 4:00p I roused Scott and we all left shortly thereafter to find the Greekfest. I did not follow the directions properly on the map (since no one read it too me), but we were able to find the place with almost no problem. However, it was nothing like the Greekfests that I remember as a child back in Lancaster, CA. This was a very small affair. We all got ourselves a Gyro and sat a a table under a tent to eat. There were some musicians who began playing some traditional Greek style music. I took some video of it, though of course, I cannot convert it to an AVI file since RadTools just won't work on my computer any longer. |
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The Greek Musicians
We all got one beer and stood around evaluation our situation. There was a girl in line in front of me who I thought I remembered from the Powwow last year. She said she had not been there, but I that I had probably seen some of her relatives. She told me, with a smile on her face, that she was full blood, Sioux and Kiowa. I would like to have chatted more, but it seemed rude.
There was seating inside this building, which was still under
construction...
Some of the buildings were under construction, with scaffolding in place. there was a long line in this one building, but we did not feel like standing in a line, especially not knowing what the line was for (there were no signs or explanation). I saw people coming out with trays of food later, but we had already had a very filling and quite tasty gyro. We finished off our been and decided to leave. We switched from Greek mode to Irish and headed back to Missouri to McGurk's Irish Pub.
Inside McGurk's - the stage where musicians perform - taken from the
table where I sat.
We wanted to sit out in the garden, but the were full up (on a Friday night, of course). We found some empty tables, but they were reserved to two parties where were just about to arrived. We went back in and got a seat in the smoking/bar area. I had an Octoberfest and a couple of Smithwick's (and a glass of water, since I was driving). I got Scott to try some Guinness, but he did not like it much. The waitress was kind enough to replace it for him with a Smithwick's.
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Diana Frances Spencer |
