Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Back to the Old Grind

I couldn't sleep last night! It was as bad as being a First Grader on the night before that big First Day. Of course, nowadays kids have Kindergarten, and before that they go to Pre-School, and before that they go to Day Care--none of which I had. So last night I felt like a First Grader. That's what happens the night before you go back to work after being off for eleven days in a row!

I got up at 2:45 this morning and left the house around 4:10 a.m. It was cold and there was a little frost on the windshield of my "Big Red" 1-Ton truck. When I got to work, they had the east parking lot barricaded and there was a Third-Shifter parked in my spot--Grrrr! While we were off they resurfaced and restriped the parking lots, but they were not finished with the east lot. They also, wonder-of-wonders, repainted the (main) women's bathroom in the old building.

Doug gave all of us girls (Me, Vickie, Valerie, Maria and Jennifer) scented candles for a belated Christmas gift; mine is strawberry scented--Yummy! Louise gave me a small horse calendar today, too. She said she couldn't find it in her house before, when she gave me the wooden dog.

Kathy (my Lead) moved George out of the cell today and put Jeff back in, so it is now, in order: Doug, Jeff, Me, Butch, Donnie, and Vickie. Maria and Jennifer are still cutting tape, and I don't know about Valerie, because she did not show up today. She told Vickie by phone at the 9:00 a.m. break that she was sick; throwing up and with diarrhea, and that someone told her she would be OK pay-wise since she was so sick. But she was given bad advice, because the ONLY way you can miss working the-day-before-a-holiday-period or the day-after and still be paid for the holiday is if you are IN THE HOSPITAL. She will NOT be paid for the seven working days that we were out! Too true!! What a bummer.

We ran RYR backs until lunchtime and then ran composite (black) backs till 3:30. It was a pretty painless day even though I despise the RYR backs. I lost one of my new earrings that Bob had just given me for Christmas (yellow-topaz birthstone studs), and Jeff found it under my table! I was soooo happy! He said he wanted a monetary reward, but I told him he would have his reward in Heaven, and get a gold star in his crown--HA! Then I gave him the Billy Yates CD, with the song "Flowers" on it, that I ordered from off the Internet, and he seemed pleased with that.

After work, I visited with Cecil in the parking lot until 3:45, then I drove to the south parking lot and finally took an up-close look at the inside of my old '78! It just blows my mind how attached I still am to the old pickup. It looks really nice, with new seats, no headliner at all, no carpeting, the hole on the passenger floorboard covered, new gauges, new steering wheel (he got that for Christmas), etc. He put the wheel covers from Bob's '77 on the '78 and they look much better than what WAS on there. He put in a good stereo/CD player, and dual antennas. The shifter is now off the column and on the floor. The body has been waxed and it looks darker/newer. He has a white toolbox in the back. Heh. My old truck. He says he's about to tear it down again and put a different engine in it; one he is rebuilding himself now.

I am tired tonight, and I hope I will sleep better this time around.