Like a broken record... the 14 days in a row now go through until I leave for Aruba next Friday. I will be working everyday (although the shifts vary in length) from November 5 through the 26th including the 12 hour day on Thanksgiving (time and a half pay) and the football game on Friday the 26th (the day I leave for Aruba). Not bad for a "part-time" employee in two companies, eh?
Meanwhile, everything else in life (besides sleeping) has been put on hold, but a week on a tropical island should cure all that... Really looking forward to seeing my NY friends down there. All travel plans are set, already have my clothes ready to be packed (not too anxious, am I?) and just waiting to take that "midnight plane to Georgia" (apologies to Gladys Knight). A couple of firsts were accomplished by your intrepid author in between work shifts. My inaugural leap into the world of slow-cooking (crock pot) was a huge success as my beef barley lentil soup came out deliciously...(lot of soup but I froze it). And the first "burn" in the fireplace was a success... (read that as I didn't burn the apartment building down). Gotta love the fireplace... (will have a personal "yule log" going this Christmas in the desert). Note to self--Don't put Christmas tree too close to fireplace.
So the plan is to bring a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwich for lunch on Thanksgiving Day as I work the auto show at the Convention Center... (if photography is allowed I will try and get some shots for y'all to see on Facebook). The show is taking up the entire bottom floor of the North building and the West building. It is sponsored by Motor Trend Sports and runs the 25th through the 28th, but I will be there Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for move-in and set-up. It is the 2011 Model Auto Show so I'll get a first hand look at all the new cars I won't be buying this year or any year... Don't know how many people will be there on Thanksgiving Day (Turkey, football and car show? Doesn't sound like an American tradition but who knows?).
And now for the bad news... I will not be writing a blog while down in Aruba (not that these blogs are written frequently anyway) but I will continue to try to motivate myself to keeping you updated on the goings on of a 50-something single man lost in the deserts of the Southwest... Gotta run. Work calls. Have a great weekend all...
Friday, November 19, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
And the beat goes on...
Remember when I told you I was about to start a 10 day in a row workathon? Well,that has been stretched to 14 days. My next day completely off is November 18 but the good news is that I won't be pulling any 16-17 hour shifts at the Nascar event this time. The schedule has me working 6am to 2pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (5am) and Sunday with the football game on Saturday. The only problem will be Saturday night because I have to wait until the team leaves and I'm scheduled til 11pm with a 6am call the next morning... oh well. Then I'm back in Convention Center working 50 hours in 4 days... Piece of cake.
Friday night I was at the Orpheum Theater providing security for the Creflo Dollar Ministries... He is an evangelist like the ones you see on television with a very, very enthusiastic crowd... (the place was so packed they put seats on stage for overflow). I must admit that his message was well thought out and hit home quite a few times... (no I did not sign up to be a "partner" or testify in the aisle). But the message was clear and I am going to try to find a service and/or church that I can regularly attend when I not working on Sundays... (which is hard to do lately because Sundays are "security" days). But it's definitely worth a try. I enjoyed the services I attended in Virginia (and no the church didn't fall down).
Saturday and Sunday I was working a convention that brother-in-law Craig would really have enjoyed... it was a Tim the Toolman Taylor convention. DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch and every tooler there is had displays and tools and industrial gadgets galore... A real MAN'S convention. I saw a display for concrete vibrators and I HAD to ask the guys if those were for female weightlifters (heehee). They actually got the joke and then I found out they were from back East... (the people out West sometimes do not understand my "unique perspective"). But some of the tools were quite impressive. On Monday I was a personal escort for Sarah Palin (yes, that Sarah Palin, former Vice Presidential candidate) as she was the keynote speaker for the convention. Her speech began with her knowledge of tools and such in Alaska but then got down to the "victory" of the GOP and how bad Obama and the Dems were ruining the country. She wants a repeal of Obama-care and an end to all his programs. But she was quite interesting and very polite and she thanked me for my "service". I may not agree with some of her views but I admire her work schedule and efforts to repair the party... (even though I hate the party system--the only party should be the best for America party). But enough political talk...
I have to go now... I have a 3:30-10pm schedule today and have to be in Avondale tomorrow at 5:30am. Ciao for now...
Friday night I was at the Orpheum Theater providing security for the Creflo Dollar Ministries... He is an evangelist like the ones you see on television with a very, very enthusiastic crowd... (the place was so packed they put seats on stage for overflow). I must admit that his message was well thought out and hit home quite a few times... (no I did not sign up to be a "partner" or testify in the aisle). But the message was clear and I am going to try to find a service and/or church that I can regularly attend when I not working on Sundays... (which is hard to do lately because Sundays are "security" days). But it's definitely worth a try. I enjoyed the services I attended in Virginia (and no the church didn't fall down).
Saturday and Sunday I was working a convention that brother-in-law Craig would really have enjoyed... it was a Tim the Toolman Taylor convention. DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch and every tooler there is had displays and tools and industrial gadgets galore... A real MAN'S convention. I saw a display for concrete vibrators and I HAD to ask the guys if those were for female weightlifters (heehee). They actually got the joke and then I found out they were from back East... (the people out West sometimes do not understand my "unique perspective"). But some of the tools were quite impressive. On Monday I was a personal escort for Sarah Palin (yes, that Sarah Palin, former Vice Presidential candidate) as she was the keynote speaker for the convention. Her speech began with her knowledge of tools and such in Alaska but then got down to the "victory" of the GOP and how bad Obama and the Dems were ruining the country. She wants a repeal of Obama-care and an end to all his programs. But she was quite interesting and very polite and she thanked me for my "service". I may not agree with some of her views but I admire her work schedule and efforts to repair the party... (even though I hate the party system--the only party should be the best for America party). But enough political talk...
I have to go now... I have a 3:30-10pm schedule today and have to be in Avondale tomorrow at 5:30am. Ciao for now...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
November... 24 days and counting...
Twenty-four days and counting until I am on the pristine beaches of the beautiful island of Aruba... I have spoken to my timeshare peeps (Bob and Toni Ann) via text message (I am addicted to texting, what can I say) and we will be playing a round of golf while we are down there. I am working Thanksgiving Day at an auto show in Phoenix, followed on Friday by the last ASU football home game (1:30 pm MST) start and a flight out of Phoenix at 11:59pm Friday night to Atlanta and then on to Aruba Saturday afternoon. This weekend while everyone else "falls back" an hour, we here in Arizona just change time zones (from Pacific to Mountain time). So now it will be a two hour difference in time. In the meantime I am gearing up for a 10 day stretch of working every day from Friday the 5 until Sunday the 14th. I begin with company #2 from Friday through Tuesday followed by company#1 from Wednesday through Sunday... (Convention first and then out at Phoenix International for the Nascar race and throw in a football game on Saturday). That should put me in the mood to get away...
Enjoying my "elevated" status as supervisor (more responsibility not money). Sound familiar, Christina? (congratulations on my promotion, lol). But it does get me some prime gigs and some serious hours so strike while the iron is hot because the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a slow season in the security business. But after Christmas it heats up again with the Insight Bowl, Barrett-Jackson car auction, 2 golf tournaments and Country Thunder. Not to worry though my friends...December is the time to work on the golf game because the weather here is superb then (can't seem to leave a weather dig out of these blogs...maybe I'll stop when YOU people start visiting and leave that snow and cold behind for awhile). Speaking of the golf game... I played in the Arizona Trucking Association scramble tournament last Friday with golf buddy Jenny (thanks, Jen) and met a couple from Idaho who were our teammates and our team took FIRST place with an 11 under par 61 on the course the pros play in February... (of course the tees weren't all the way back but a victory is a victory). We scored some beautiful trophies and I won a set of tires for the Jeep for closest to the pin on a par three (sweet, new feet). I wish to give credit to my niece, Veronica, because while in Virginia we went to driving range and while we were hitting balls I found a flaw in my swing and corrected it. That swing correction has me hitting the ball down the middle and attacking pins again... (Thanks Vee).
So today I will see if the swing is a fluke or not... I have a 1:30 tee time at the Raven with two friends. I'll be wearing golf shoes today (not going barefoot like I did in Virginia). Other than work and golf my life is pretty much the same. In my endless search for a "better half" there have been some nibbles but nothing to write home about. Considering that any half would be better than I, you'd think it would be easier to find someone (I know, Loretta, I'm too picky... you know me too well). But I'm not in a hurry. What will be, will be... (out of the blue song reference for the day--not "Musical Tourettes" where you burst into song for no reason). The apartment is finally rounded into the way I want it after many shifts and changes... the fireplace is ready for some cooler nights. It's golf and then volleyball today and tonight and then a rest tomorrow before the the workathon... hope everything is well with y'all. Happy Birthday, Victor...
Enjoying my "elevated" status as supervisor (more responsibility not money). Sound familiar, Christina? (congratulations on my promotion, lol). But it does get me some prime gigs and some serious hours so strike while the iron is hot because the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a slow season in the security business. But after Christmas it heats up again with the Insight Bowl, Barrett-Jackson car auction, 2 golf tournaments and Country Thunder. Not to worry though my friends...December is the time to work on the golf game because the weather here is superb then (can't seem to leave a weather dig out of these blogs...maybe I'll stop when YOU people start visiting and leave that snow and cold behind for awhile). Speaking of the golf game... I played in the Arizona Trucking Association scramble tournament last Friday with golf buddy Jenny (thanks, Jen) and met a couple from Idaho who were our teammates and our team took FIRST place with an 11 under par 61 on the course the pros play in February... (of course the tees weren't all the way back but a victory is a victory). We scored some beautiful trophies and I won a set of tires for the Jeep for closest to the pin on a par three (sweet, new feet). I wish to give credit to my niece, Veronica, because while in Virginia we went to driving range and while we were hitting balls I found a flaw in my swing and corrected it. That swing correction has me hitting the ball down the middle and attacking pins again... (Thanks Vee).
So today I will see if the swing is a fluke or not... I have a 1:30 tee time at the Raven with two friends. I'll be wearing golf shoes today (not going barefoot like I did in Virginia). Other than work and golf my life is pretty much the same. In my endless search for a "better half" there have been some nibbles but nothing to write home about. Considering that any half would be better than I, you'd think it would be easier to find someone (I know, Loretta, I'm too picky... you know me too well). But I'm not in a hurry. What will be, will be... (out of the blue song reference for the day--not "Musical Tourettes" where you burst into song for no reason). The apartment is finally rounded into the way I want it after many shifts and changes... the fireplace is ready for some cooler nights. It's golf and then volleyball today and tonight and then a rest tomorrow before the the workathon... hope everything is well with y'all. Happy Birthday, Victor...
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