6ixString's Home Improvement and Mindless Ramblings Thread....
POSTED BY: 6ixStringJack
UPDATED: Monday, May 9, 2016 00:48
VIEWED: 54567
PAGE 6 of 21
It's really funny Frem. Actually, this security gig is VERY much the same as my obscenely overpaid job I was working for 5 years (It's actually where I was doing a lot of my FFF.net RWED posting, and where I first joined the site). I got so much personal stuff and time wasting things done on their dime, but I was a glorified babysitter of machines. It wasn't a production job. There were no quotas. If there were problems though, they had to be handled correctly and if they weren't handled within the alloted time frame, you had better have a damned good explanation for it. (If my extremely verbose, and oftentimes probably too long and boring to read posts here are any indication... I think you can figure how detailed my to-the-minute reports of issues in our ticketing system were).
Yep... life was good at that job before the 2nd buyout. I worked only 1/2 of the days of any given year, got a 100% match on 401k benefits, decent health insurance and the highest merit raises in the room year after year and a huge bump after a promotion in the middle of my 2nd year. All the while, on any NORMAL night, I was really only working about 1.5 hours out of 12, and most of that was just documenting routine things that happened every night (keeping myself sharp, and showing that the note-taking I did on even the mundane details when I started the job were just as detailed and mundane the week before I was laid off).
In the end, I'm not sure what hurt me more.... The fact that I picked so many battles, or the fact that I assume I was one of the highest paid guys there, and they could just hire 2 more of me that did a semi-competent job after I was gone. It was likely a mix of both. I know neither of those things helped my case. 
Matthew Stovers, huh? I've made a personal note to read them. I should probably get around to buying a used Kindle one of these days, especially if security stints like this become the norm for me for a while. I have about 6k books downloaded that I've never even looked at because I'd never read them on a computer monitor when I'm home and I could just watch movies and TV shows on my bigscreen TV, but when I'm on the road and bored nothing beats a good book. Actually, that's my favorite part of this job. Embarassingly, I admit that I haven't read anything, save a few short stories in the last 4 or so years until this week. Feels great finishing an awesome classic sci-fi book and a few Steven King short stories while getting paid to do it.
(I hope that Matthew's books are SHORT..... I love Steven King's short stories, but when I look at how small the print and how obscenely wide the paperbacks are, I never even attempt to start reading them with my limited attention span.... Loved the first 4 Harry Potter books too, but then 5 got REALLY long, and I never picked up 6 or 7)
LOL... Oh... I buy the shit out of beer... lol. But if you mean constantly-having-to-replenish-the-supply to survive, then I grasp your meaning. Same thing with coffee I suppose. It's funny how I won't buy a large container of Folgers coffee if it's on sale because it's like 12 bucks otherwise, but I go through more cases of beer a month than I'd care to admit in a public forum, even though the full 12 bucks of coffee lasts me 3 months...... I'm just silly like that.
There is seriously, like, ZERO danger at all on this job. I'm just paid ambiance during a yearly outage. Tons of overpaid union guys and delivery trucks coming in and out all day long is all. Anybody in either of those positions really would have nothing to gain and EVERYTHING to lose by doing anything that even hinted towards illegal behavior. I've been there 3 days now, and I still have no idea why they're even paying me to be there. If I wasn't so damn jumpy and energetic since I stopped smoking weed... or better yet... if I could actually SMOKE weed on the job, I'd be happy working those 13.5 hour shifts and having 4 day weekends the rest of my life it was a full time gig. (although, that plan would defeat its
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Frem.... what do I do here????I'm actually being "suggested" to take another point of view?????
WTF
My brother.....
i spent nearly 6 months watching him in a coma
"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Well, thing is Jack...
We're different - it's how we are, it's WHO we are, and often so much so that even communicating with the average joe takes actual work on our part, case in point the sidewinding stream of consciousness thought process in your post here, which prolly threw most readers for a loop, neh?
I have some theories and suspicious about the how and why of that, but precious little hard info since most of "us" don't survive to adulthood and prosper, not in THIS society, anyways.
And since we're mostly talkin to each other I'll simply respond to points in same fashion instead of doing my usual for-the-normals cleanup to make it coherent to em.
Glorified babysitter, of machines, or people, is still a job that needs doin, and more importantly needs doin by someone who can do it, day in, day out, and not lose their edge - that's an uncommon gift, and generally most prevalent in them that's lead a "life of adventure" and knows how much that SUCKS, thus treasuring the boredom.
And alas, Stovers books ain't short, but you will like them anyway, I guar-an-friggin-tee it, hell, you might have trouble putting them DOWN, cause for you, I think, the HSQ (Holy Shit Quotient) will be downright fascinating - it ain't the length of modern novels which irritate you, it's the gratuitous padding and incompetent storytelling, now, if you want some hardass storytelling prose stripped to the bare bones which slams you like a kick in the junk, try Andrew Vachss - his Burke stories are just that, and a peek into *MY* world, from the underside, definately not for everyone though.
And yes, the peppermint idea originally came out of the button trick, but don't you know, buttons taste terrible, hahaha.
And yes, my personal gear is what others around here call "Batman Grade", hell my raingear is a frogtogs rainsuit made for bowhunters, and one item of it is worth it's own mention - my Microlink FR160B.
http://www.amazon.com/FR160B-Microlink-Self-Powered-Weather-Flashlight
/dp/B001QTXKB0/ref=sr_1_1
Seriously, this thing is BADASS, AM/FM/NOAA (all SEVEN channels) Radio, flashlight, and USB output charger, and it runs on crank power and has a solar cell as well - you can just crank it up and go, and can even (I wouldn't recommend this with hi-tech phones though) jam your cellphones USB charger into the port and wind that baby up if your phone dies, or lean it up against a window to catch the sun and listen to the radio, if you like.
Worth every damn penny of the thirty bucks I paid for it, too.
ETA: I also have a USB-connector charger that will charge my pile of rechargable AA and AAA batteries which power my lights, cameras and other electronics, so in a pinch I can jack that in and crank-recharge them to power ANY of my other equipment, so even in a total power outage MY stuff is always gonna have juice.
My bane, ironically enough - is heat and sunlight... you ever have a sunburn to where your skin itself just plain stings, all over ?
THAT is what it feels like to me, to be out and about in strong sunlight, and I can't SEE a damn thing either cause of my eyes, which are getting slowly but progressively worse, I am all but completely blind in my left one except in twilight or darker - upside to it is that for me even quarter moonlight plus the security lights might as well be broad daylight, I can see in the dark naturally almost as good as a set of high grade NVGs, so it's not without benefit, but I am prettymuch blind, helpless and miserable in the summer sun, which lead to no end of vampire jokes in my youth, which kinda stopped being funny when some members of a radical church congregation tried to kill me over it in Brooklyn Park one night.
At 70F, I start wilting, at 80F I am suffering, and anything past that I am having to pop salt tabs and chug electrolytes (which for the record, taste bloody awful) just to stay functional at all, bleh.
And yeah verily, prosthetics, which are NO fun in the heat, and thing with that is, you gotta hook the meat to the metal somewhere and after a while that don't feel
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
A Jack a stor,
It sounds like your brother's application was denied, those rutters. You've got to appeal within 60 days or else you may have to start over again, at least that's how it works in OR and SS is a national thing. So be persistant and keep trying, lots of people get denied the first time, its standard practice. I'm really surprised he wasn't already listed in there since he got hurt so young, lots of times a family with a child with special needs will get some assistance while the child is growing up and then when s/he is 18 it will switch over to regular SSI, and of course if/when that person gets a job with enough hours you can discontinue benefits, to be resumed later if necessary. It sounds like that didn't happen for your family though so you've got to jump through all the hoops. Its standard procedure to deny the first time, so keep at it and don't give in to the stupidity, keep pushing and let them know that you're not going anywhere.
I think you're feeling a might truthsome. Its hard when someone you love has mental health differences, whether by genetics, by trauma (which are all tangled up sometimes anyway) or by brain injury. I know you guys have a complex relationship, but I also know you love him very much. It would be easier if he were touched (certain varied symptomotology, a certain sweet energy, needing a certain amount of looking after), when you see them you generally know it. It doesn't sound like he is though which makes things harder for all y'all because usually its easier to get touched ones help since they are clearly, visably, in need of it, sometimes even they fall through the cracks though, which upsets me a lot because how can anyone not care about them? But its harder when the person isn't touched but clearly needs lots of help. Its hard because they don't have that sweet energy that makes people want to look after them, it sounds like your brother has some major anger issues that contribute to a lack of self regulation in regards to violence, which is unpleasant for everyone including himself of course. Now touched folk can have these problems sometimes, our River has gotten violent once or twice, :) but I just don't think your brother is touched, he is more like most of us with mental health and/or brain injury challenges.
But keep trying and you can always call local organizations that help families that have experienced brain injuries, maybe they can give you some tips on convincing SS to behave for you.
I don't read books for fun unless they are under 650 pages, that's why I've never read Harry Potter, they get soooooo long and I don't want to read the first few and then not be able to finish the rest. I sure wish I had more time to read, I've been reading The Bourne Identity for 2 and a half months now, I'm almost done, but it shouldn't take that long.
Frem, I'm not a big personal space invasion person either, sometimes I wish I was. I'm kind of like my mom, when kids are little its all about snuggling, I like being close to them because they need that closeness and nurturing, but once they get older I don't really like it anymore. I'm not physically affectionate with my friends for instance, Mary likes hugs so I oblige, but its not something I really enjoy. Every once in a while though a mood comes over me and I like being close to people and wish I could snuggle.
And Jack, don't feel so bad, your situation is a combination of advantageous choices and just being in the right place at the right time. Some people are just more fortunate than others and it doesn't seem like it makes a lot of sense, but in your case some decisions you've made helped you along, mixed with that right place, right time thing.
I assume you're my pal until you let me know otherwise. "A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
Frem, I'm not a big personal space invasion person either...
I just can't resist...
-F
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
:), I guess I was askin for that.
I assume you're my pal until you let me know otherwise. "A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
So... I guess we're all on board the new FFF.NET now, uh?
Interesting looking site, and I can already tell the advantages of it. But being one of the die-hards that I am, Imma drink one extra beer for our old and true, black-and-blue themed layout.
Here's hoping that the "back-copy-paste fix" that I've been using when I spend ages writing a post that never shows up after I posted it on the old forum still works here. Short of that, here's hoping that when I reply to this post I remember to do a test run and don't REALLY piss myself off by losing everything that I've posted.
Oh, and BTW.... As deep as my LOVE of Saffron goes, I had to change my Avitar. I wonder how many people were reading my posts on the RED site and seeing Saffron instead of Mal, like it was on the BLUE site lol.
Hey Frem,
We're so deep in long posts that only you and a few people like us could even keep up, let alone have any single desire to keep up. I got to truly hand it to you for being able to do that in a sober state of mind. Admittedly, I can only keep focus on something this long and try to reply to all issues when I've hit that sweet spot between "buzzed enough to care enough" and "just before being SO drunk that I'm making an ass of myself".
I'll try to keep this message a little shorter, especially since Riona seems to get it too, and I'll be replying to her as well
I enjoy being a Glorfied Babysitter in any position I'm in. I want very little responsibility 80% of the time I'm actually making a paycheck. And managers would be happy to have me because I'm one of the few people who can do the job so good during that 20% I'm needed that they never have to answer to their own bosses about why I dropped the ball. The GOOD jobs in that field though, are the ones that it takes somebody with a specific skillset to do. For the time being, security babysitting is for me, because I don't know how to get back into the "tech-world" babysitting without a degree in this economy.
Save the "adventure" for outside of work, I say. 
Stover's books = long :(. Andrew Vachss books = potent and short :). I'm just a short story/novella type of guy Frem. Sounds to me like Riona is the same way, with her 2 1/2 months reading Bourne 2. If I actually read a Steven King NOVEL it would take me 3 months to complete. Sure, part of me might enjoy it, but the back of my mind would be constantly kicking me to finish it and it would be more of a chore than anything else.... just one more JOB I have to accomplish on my to-do list. My brother got nothing but C's and D's in public schools, yet give him a 1200 page novel and he's done with it in 5 nights of reading and could recite a better synopsis of the book than Cliff's Notes could ever. Bastard....
Haha... peppermint = button trick. Somehow though, I don't assume you got the button trick you based it from off of the AWESOME Cube movies though, did you?
Your gear sounds awesome man. If it looks, 6 months down the road, that security might be the only career for me in this brave new world, I think I'll have to invest any bit of surplus cash into some of those "wonderful toys".
I LOVE the heat and sunlight, while I'm working, although anything over 85 degrees starts to gnaw on me... ESPECIALLY in a house with no A/C and nights that are above 80 degrees. Yanno, the nights when even a fan on your naked body with no bedsheets over you seem to feel more like heaters than relief.....?
I've had a sunburn as you talk about only twice in my life. I'm a majority Irish, but that's only beacuse I'm like 28% Irish. I come from a long line of mongrels. I'd like to thank my resistance to the sun/heat/skin cancer on the idea that because much of my otherwise fair European background, I have quite a bit of Sicilian roots, and the rumors are that I could very well be
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Ha, yes, Stovers books aren't THAT long - and there's now four, Caines Law just came out..
But lemme dynamite the pond for you, the longer one, Blade of Tyshalle centers on concepts so near and dear to us that we couldn't imagine life without em.
You know you're favorite short story and it's inherent motto FWIW ?
Just as the Ghands live by the words "Free Will, I Won't." so too do the Cainists in that book, for their motto is "My Will, or I Won't", also with the pointed all-consuming question...
"What do you WANT?"
Quote:
"We can each sit and wait to die, from the very day of our births. Those of us who do not do so, choose to ask--and to answer--the two questions that define every conscious creature: What do I want? and What will I do to get it? Which are, finally, only one question: What is my will? Caine teaches us that the answer is always found within our own experience; our lives provide the structure of the question, and a properly phrased question contains its own answer."
You and me, as a rule we don't DO philsophy, we kinda live it inherent in who we are.
But I really was blown away by someone putting it into words, so there it is.
And oh the irony - most folks don't understand my sideways, often layered and esoteric humor, so it's always good to have it appreciated.
-F
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Hey Frem,
I think you may have sold me on Stover man. I probably won't be able to get a copy of any of his books before this job has run its course, but hopefully my next gig allows me enough time to catch up on some more reading. It's seriously been at least 4 years since I've picked up a book, and I remember now how even though initially starting a story always seems to be a chore to me, once I really get in sync with the vision of a great storyteller it really is a great time and well worth the effort.
The actual quote though, was "F.IW", which you had to read about 3/4 of the story to find out meant "Freedom.... I Won't", even though everybody in the world had that plaque in their homes. They claimed that it was the most powerful weapon known to man, and in a society such as theirs, where EVERYBODY was on board with that notion, I believe it to be the absolute truth. As you know, in the world we live in, otherwise known as "reality", you have to be a bit more sly about exercising freedom of will when there are sheep abound and an associate you had previous dealings with would flip on you in a second once the screws were put to them....
Quote:
"We can each sit and wait to die, from the very day of our births. Those of us who do not do so, choose to ask--and to answer--the two questions that define every conscious creature: What do I want? and What will I do to get it? Which are, finally, only one question: What is my will? Caine teaches us that the answer is always found within our own experience; our lives provide the structure of the question, and a properly phrased question contains its own answer."
Wow.....
I love that. And I realize that I have, at this point in my life, not a single clue what my Will is. "What do I want?" and "What will I do to get it?" I don't even know where to begin answering those questions.
It makes me think of a great song from the late 90's that I heard once or twice on the radio. I barely ever listen to it these days. None of the lyrics were sung. They were just words of an essay read to a catchy beat that just made a whole lot of sense to me, and still do. It's funny, since most of the other things I agreed with in the late 90's I don't anymore.
"Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know, didn't know at 22, what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know, still don't".
Nearly every line of this song/essay speaks to me, and has for the last 12 or so years. It's just amazing. That particular part is the most powerful statement to me though. Now I know how to rephrase that for myself in one simple sentence....
"What is my Will?"
I don't know about not DOing philosophy, at least on my part. I sure am a "man of action" on a lot of counts, but in many ways my actions are selfish ways of making sure that I have the most amount of time possible outside of these actions to be alone and philosophize. This is probably the reason I respect you the most, Frem. I'm still relatively young, but I feel that I'm getting better every day/week/month/year.... I'm still far too selfish and self-centered to make a difference in other people's lives that I know you have. You willingly thrust yourself into situations that 99% of people would actively run away from or pretend they didn't see it.
I'm just trying to build my "castle" now, and have a base to work from to help people in the future, which I feel will be MUCH easier to do when my own sweet setup requires only 20% of my income to maintain.
Don't sweat it Frem... you ARE funny when you're making humorous remarks. I wouldn't recommend "stand-up" as a career, but people in our little world get the joke. I thin
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
IN HOME IMPROVEMENT NEWS!!!!!!!!
GOT A TON DONE TODAY!!!!!!
Put the final 2 yards of black dirt on the pool that I needed before seeding the huge crop circle in the back yard where the pool used to be. In all, that was 15 yards (more or less 15 tons) of dirt, and nearly 400 bucks of dirt. SOOOOOO nice to have that behind me.
Mowed the lawn, for the second time on April 6th, which nobody this far north usually has to do
Then my bro came over and we put all the furniture back upstairs and put felt pads under all of it to protect the floor. After that, we got the fiberglass shower out of the basement.
That last thing might not seem like a big deal, but before that furniture was moved, I was basically living in a tent the last two-three months.
Moving the furniture upstairs finally makes 2 bedrooms upstairs completely livable now. Also, it opened up the Livingroom that has been a storage room for months, and I was able to lay out the Oriental rug my grandmother gave me.
After that, I got my dimmer controlled chandiler installed, this time for good.
I almost wanted to cry when I saw the end results of the day.
It was only a 13 hour day of work today, but those 13 hours were the final touches of nearly 3 months of labor, and it's more than I would have ever had thought I was capable of if you asked me a year ago.
I f'king love this house!
I'm so looking forward to make it better every day that I can!
Hope things are going well for everyone!
~6
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME