New Problems for a New Year?
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Well, I have been patiently biding my time here in Canton, settling in to a new home situation and learning the area. I still have no income, and Sheryl's hours have been cut from here primary job (a seasonal position at which she is staying on, but now that the holidays are over, hours are being cut and part-timers let go), and she has another week or so before schools are back in session and she can start subbing again.
I have been working on my resume for part-time work at a hunting/fishing/outdoor retail outlet (no nibbles of course), and honing my job skills. Even though I can earn up to $700/mo (gross) without affecting my SS benefits, the only thing I have on the horizon is Mature Services, who offer job training and counseling to persons over 55 and with disabilities. They offer 20 hours a week at minimum wage to seniors, for a variety of operations. Haven't yet heard back from them, but then I suspect the holiday season has interrupted their regular operations. We'll see what happens. (I am also looking at hobby stores and bike shops! I want to use my experience and expertise since I can't use my limited physical abilities... !)
Now then, the reason I have titled this Blog the way I did today, is because I received 2 disturbing calls from the Cleveland SSA Office, with Miss Hoppy, as my paralegal, Patrice, has labeled her, stating that they never received the documents that we sent them (in November and early December). Well after discussing that with Patrice, Miss Hoppy called me again early this morning (just like Welfare, their office doesn't open until after 0900, yet they start calling people well before then in the early morning hours) to say that they found the payroll records in a different file, and then she chewed me out because Bevan & Associates, the legal firm handling my case, put my name and last 4 of my SSN, and that that was not adequate for her office to figure out that it was me!
She also complained that Patrice told her that my 401(k) file was 800+ pages! She insisted that she didn't want that, as there was no way she was going to go through 800 pages! (My 401 provider did send 2 files, one page was my 1099-R for 2012, the other was 843 pages of ALL of PSI's 401(k) disbursements for 2013! My 1099-R is on page 338 of the alphabetical document.)
Well, as she stated in her voice mail message she left yesterday, if I don't provide everything they asked for, I will be considered delinquent and non-compliant, and my benefits will be denied.
I got an email from Patrice today that explained that she spoke with Miss Hoppy, and that she sent all of the documents yet again. And she reiterated how rude and hostile Miss Hoppy was to her. (She apologized to me saying that she knows how the SS Bureaucrats can have such an attitude, and that they treat the clients and their attorneys equally poorly!)
So now I have to sweat this BS all over again!
My EBT Card doesn't refresh until the 10th of January, and my monthly benefits won't start until the 14th. (And if Miss Hoppy doesn't get what she wants, they won't start at all!) So it will be very, very, tight! Sheryl is already on a tight budget, and we agreed we would each buy our own groceries, so I will be pushing it to the limit!
Anyway, I am looking to brighter New Year in 2015, not just for myself, but for everyone I know!
Happy New Year! May 2015 be a great year for everyone!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Joy for a Joyful Holiday!
Thursday, 4 December 2014
I awoke late today, as in spite of a comfortable bed of my own, I am having back issues, and I have discovered that my right knee is damaged.
My patella is split, and I have been experiencing a lingering burning feeling around my right knee now for many weeks. (Remember, my whole right side, and the left side of my face, are numb and I have no sense of hot/cold or dull/sharp!) I was writing it off to the early winter weather here in NE Ohio, snow and cold temps, but now that I can actually bathe in private and get my pants off (I have been wearing the same pair of jeans every day since I bought them on 9 October 2014, my 57th birthday), and now I can actually look at my legs.
They are in bad shape. Though now that I am sleeping prone, and not upright in a too small bucket truck seat, the swelling has subsided, and they look like their normal skinny bird like selves again! Except for the red rashes and the open sores. (I know, TMI!)
Otherwise, I feel good.
So anyway, I was awakened while trying to find a comfortable position for my back and my knees, when Charlie, Sheryl's 2 1/2 YO American Spaniel, began barking incessantly, obviously upset that Sheryl had just left for her afternoon shift at work.
So I calmed Charlie down, drew a very hot bath, and soaked and scrubbed my legs and steamed my aching joints and my back muscles.
I made some soft scrambled eggs and sweet iced tea (decaf), and fired up my laptop.
Lo and behold! An email from Patrice, the paralegal at Bevan and Associates handling my SS Case! She advised that SSA has approved not just the SSI I went for the interview on on the 20th, but that they approved my DISABILITY too!
I still have some paperwork to get in, but my benefits are scheduled to start on 14 January 2015!
Hallelujah! Now I can catch up on my debts, pay a regular rent and utilities to Sheryl, and start paying forward for all of the assistance I have had the last year! I have been homeless since I was evicted from my apartment in February of 2014, and have only had my EBT and Medicaid since August of 2014, though I will lose the $194/mo Food Stamps when SS starts paying in January. I will go down to $15/mo for Food under the Federal Program.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
I awoke late today, as in spite of a comfortable bed of my own, I am having back issues, and I have discovered that my right knee is damaged.
My patella is split, and I have been experiencing a lingering burning feeling around my right knee now for many weeks. (Remember, my whole right side, and the left side of my face, are numb and I have no sense of hot/cold or dull/sharp!) I was writing it off to the early winter weather here in NE Ohio, snow and cold temps, but now that I can actually bathe in private and get my pants off (I have been wearing the same pair of jeans every day since I bought them on 9 October 2014, my 57th birthday), and now I can actually look at my legs.
They are in bad shape. Though now that I am sleeping prone, and not upright in a too small bucket truck seat, the swelling has subsided, and they look like their normal skinny bird like selves again! Except for the red rashes and the open sores. (I know, TMI!)
Otherwise, I feel good.
So anyway, I was awakened while trying to find a comfortable position for my back and my knees, when Charlie, Sheryl's 2 1/2 YO American Spaniel, began barking incessantly, obviously upset that Sheryl had just left for her afternoon shift at work.
So I calmed Charlie down, drew a very hot bath, and soaked and scrubbed my legs and steamed my aching joints and my back muscles.
I made some soft scrambled eggs and sweet iced tea (decaf), and fired up my laptop.
Lo and behold! An email from Patrice, the paralegal at Bevan and Associates handling my SS Case! She advised that SSA has approved not just the SSI I went for the interview on on the 20th, but that they approved my DISABILITY too!
I still have some paperwork to get in, but my benefits are scheduled to start on 14 January 2015!
Hallelujah! Now I can catch up on my debts, pay a regular rent and utilities to Sheryl, and start paying forward for all of the assistance I have had the last year! I have been homeless since I was evicted from my apartment in February of 2014, and have only had my EBT and Medicaid since August of 2014, though I will lose the $194/mo Food Stamps when SS starts paying in January. I will go down to $15/mo for Food under the Federal Program.
I have much to look forward to now, and it is all due to
caring friends and family!
May God Bless you All this Christmas Season, and throughout the upcoming new year!
Thank You, ALL!
May God Bless you All this Christmas Season, and throughout the upcoming new year!
Thank You, ALL!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Good News for the
Modern Man
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Well, I had my appointment with Social Security this morning.
Took the 90F from the Get-Go this morning at 0730, and arrived 15 minutes late
on E-9th street, but 30 minutes before the office opened at 0900.
Passed through the TSA type security at the lobby, doffed my coat, sweater, hat, belt, all of my pocket contents, and cane, and cleared with no problems. Yet I had left my watch on and had metal in my pockets, so they must have had the sensor set on low. But unlike the TSA officers, these guys were friendly and polite!
Passed through the TSA type security at the lobby, doffed my coat, sweater, hat, belt, all of my pocket contents, and cane, and cleared with no problems. Yet I had left my watch on and had metal in my pockets, so they must have had the sensor set on low. But unlike the TSA officers, these guys were friendly and polite!
I arrived at the doors of suite #793 at 0835, and they were
locked. A search of a men’s room which revealed that the 7th floor
restrooms were closed for cleaning. So a quick elevator trip to the 6th
floor put me on a Restricted Floor, OOPS! I quickly traveled to the 5th,
and found one to use. I returned to 7, and looked for a bench or some chairs.
No joy.
I toured the entire floor, and no seating was found, anywhere! So I propped my outsized carcass against the wall opposite the doors, and opened my book and read for 20 minutes while standing! Ow! Not good for my back, my knees, nor my feet!
But promptly at 0900, the doors were unlocked and I was led to an electronic sign in machine, and was printed a numbered receipt and told to sit. 50 chairs, and no one else there. So I opened my book again, and sat.
I toured the entire floor, and no seating was found, anywhere! So I propped my outsized carcass against the wall opposite the doors, and opened my book and read for 20 minutes while standing! Ow! Not good for my back, my knees, nor my feet!
But promptly at 0900, the doors were unlocked and I was led to an electronic sign in machine, and was printed a numbered receipt and told to sit. 50 chairs, and no one else there. So I opened my book again, and sat.
I was called about 5 minutes later, and had an interview
with a lady who was training a new employee on the computer interview software
(but yet my attorney says that the SSA had had a hiring freeze on for 15 years,
and that their computers are absolutely ancient.). She was pleasant, but
non-commital.
I did glean that I am approved for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) but they need my payroll records and 401(k) disbursement info to calculate my benefits, and my birth certificate to confirm my identity.
So in essence, I AM APPROVED AND AM GETTING BENEFITS!
Except, I don’t know how much, or when they will start, or how far back they will be retroactive! Also, since Tuesday, I have received another housing option has been made apparent! Like I said last post, when it rains, it pours!
I have lots to coordinate, including advising Denny in Akron (Still no phone), make arrangements for the truck, and gather all of stuff from all of the different places I have it stashed. I need to change my address (another $31 for the PO Box for the next 6 months, due by the 30th) and get this phone back on ASAP. I also need to get my birth certificate application in the mail to Cook County with the requisite $15. SO as I review this, I realize that I am back to money being the therblig that blocks my progress, yet again! But this too shall be overcome.
I did glean that I am approved for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) but they need my payroll records and 401(k) disbursement info to calculate my benefits, and my birth certificate to confirm my identity.
So in essence, I AM APPROVED AND AM GETTING BENEFITS!
Except, I don’t know how much, or when they will start, or how far back they will be retroactive! Also, since Tuesday, I have received another housing option has been made apparent! Like I said last post, when it rains, it pours!
I have lots to coordinate, including advising Denny in Akron (Still no phone), make arrangements for the truck, and gather all of stuff from all of the different places I have it stashed. I need to change my address (another $31 for the PO Box for the next 6 months, due by the 30th) and get this phone back on ASAP. I also need to get my birth certificate application in the mail to Cook County with the requisite $15. SO as I review this, I realize that I am back to money being the therblig that blocks my progress, yet again! But this too shall be overcome.
I can’t wait to make the move, yet I am still concerned
about Denny and the truck! I want to let him know what’s up and to see how he
is doing.
The battery in the truck is dead again, the extreme cold and
not having the key to turn the engine over to charge it or heat the cab, has
taken its toll. I need to recover my stuff in the back, and throw out the
accumulating garbage.
It feels like butterflies, like a first date that I am
unsure of! In fact, as I think about this, except for the 12 months my brother
lived with me in my apartment at Shaker Square, or the time I had roommates at
school, I have never lived with anyone! That is kinda freaky!
But I have much confidence, and I believe there is some real trust there, so it should be fine. I think also that I can smooth out any rough edges without ruffling anyone’s feathers. She is a very nice lady, and very sociable, and easy to get along with. Yes, this can and will work.
And, I will enjoy the company and the and the accommodations!
So, this is basically a good news announcement, and my mixed feelings are no longer mixed!
Until next time, sportsfans!
Stay tuned, and stay warm!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
When it rains, it Pours
When it rains, it
Pours
Monday, 17 November 2014
Well, the snow is falling, as is the temperature here in
North East Ohio, but not my faith, nor my spirits! Though Verizon insists on
billing me by the minute when I have an unlimited plan, and has cut off my
phone only 4 days after the bill was paid for November, I did get a positive response
from Social Security for SSI. I have an appointment Thursday the 20th
at 0900 at the downtown Cleveland office!
And, I have not one, but TWO OFFERS FOR HOUSING!
My friend Sheryl, who has had to take on 3 jobs and sell plasma to pay her bills, has asked if I would like to share her 3 bedroom house in Canton!
And my friend Debbie, from the local church dinners, has arranged with her pastor for another housing option!
My friend Sheryl, who has had to take on 3 jobs and sell plasma to pay her bills, has asked if I would like to share her 3 bedroom house in Canton!
And my friend Debbie, from the local church dinners, has arranged with her pastor for another housing option!
I have several decisions to make, and much research to do in
the meantime until I find out what SS will do for me! I am supposed to bring
bank account info (I haven’t had an account for a year or so), payroll info from June of 2012
(I have no records at all, just my driver’s license[suspended], CCW License ID card,
SS Card, and Library Cards from 3 libraries! I no longer have my diplomas, my
certificates, my awards, my medals and ribbons, any of my uniforms, or other
personal items acquired over a lifetime.
So we will see what they say when I have nothing to present! (I have emailed our corporate HR manager in Chicago for payroll records, and we will see how long it takes the Cook County Vital Records office to send a copy of my Birth Certificate!)
I will hate to leave Cuyahoga County, but seeing as the idiots here keep voting Democrats in, including the folks under federal investigation for fraud and corruption, when the rest of the Country just gave the Dems their pink slips, I will be glad to leave this Democrat Never-Never Land!
Even traditional Democratic precincts here in Cuyahoga County saw a huge increase in votes for Republican candidates, and thankfully were actually Republican challengers in more races this time (but there will still many Democrat incumbents and Democrat candidates running unopposed! 1 is still too many!)! Even the 3rd party folks made a difference this time! The only 3rd party candidates running in local and state contests were mostly Leftists, Socialists and Green Party Members, who traditionally take votes from the Democrats.
Otherwise, I think most Libertarians and Constitutional Party fans voted Republican!
Yes, it will be nice to leave this land of lunacy behind! Of course, how well Stark County Job and family Services will treat me, remains to be seen! Anything would be better than the way the Dumbocrats at the Southgate J&FS Service Center treated a disabled, aging, white boy with a long and honest work history!
Transportation will be an issue, but the area is on the eastern edge of the city of canton, with some sidewalks and lots of parks. I will see about a bus pass and then getting my license reinstated.
Who knows, if I get a lump sum retro-active from SS, then I might be able to get an adult trike or even a car to get about! Either way, I will not have to rely on the GCRTA and their irregular and indifferent service, or walk in da ‘hood anymore!
So we will see what they say when I have nothing to present! (I have emailed our corporate HR manager in Chicago for payroll records, and we will see how long it takes the Cook County Vital Records office to send a copy of my Birth Certificate!)
I will hate to leave Cuyahoga County, but seeing as the idiots here keep voting Democrats in, including the folks under federal investigation for fraud and corruption, when the rest of the Country just gave the Dems their pink slips, I will be glad to leave this Democrat Never-Never Land!
Even traditional Democratic precincts here in Cuyahoga County saw a huge increase in votes for Republican candidates, and thankfully were actually Republican challengers in more races this time (but there will still many Democrat incumbents and Democrat candidates running unopposed! 1 is still too many!)! Even the 3rd party folks made a difference this time! The only 3rd party candidates running in local and state contests were mostly Leftists, Socialists and Green Party Members, who traditionally take votes from the Democrats.
Otherwise, I think most Libertarians and Constitutional Party fans voted Republican!
Yes, it will be nice to leave this land of lunacy behind! Of course, how well Stark County Job and family Services will treat me, remains to be seen! Anything would be better than the way the Dumbocrats at the Southgate J&FS Service Center treated a disabled, aging, white boy with a long and honest work history!
Transportation will be an issue, but the area is on the eastern edge of the city of canton, with some sidewalks and lots of parks. I will see about a bus pass and then getting my license reinstated.
Who knows, if I get a lump sum retro-active from SS, then I might be able to get an adult trike or even a car to get about! Either way, I will not have to rely on the GCRTA and their irregular and indifferent service, or walk in da ‘hood anymore!
Anyway, change is in the air, and it smells SWEET!
I am thankful to my God, my family, and all of my friends who have reached out, even if it was only in spirit! Knowing that others cared, and helped, even in small ways, helped keep my spirits up and my attitude positive!
I ain’t out of the woods yet (but then I always loved the outdoors, LOL!), so I will not hold my breath. I will however continue to brag about how wonderful my friends truly are!
I am thankful to my God, my family, and all of my friends who have reached out, even if it was only in spirit! Knowing that others cared, and helped, even in small ways, helped keep my spirits up and my attitude positive!
I ain’t out of the woods yet (but then I always loved the outdoors, LOL!), so I will not hold my breath. I will however continue to brag about how wonderful my friends truly are!
I do hope that the distance from my doctor, and my fave
Internet Hot Spot, the 24 hour Get-Go, won’t be a problem with the distance I
will away from them!
Sheryl does have wi/fi and cable TV, so I think I can survive OK. Hopefully, transportation won’t be an issue with the doctor, as he usually sees me every 2 months. And then there is my neurologist, Dr. Furlan; my ophthalmologist, Dr. D’Agostino; and my dentist, Dr. Guren.
Well, one step at a time! I need to make this move, and I really couldn’t think of a better roommate than Sheryl (besides Denny or Matt that is!), and I know her offer is out of more than self pity and need. She was kind enough to let me come stay for a week back in March when I got released from the hospital, and she had no agenda other than to offer me a place to stay!
Now I need to get all of my ducks in a row, and find a way to get a hold of Dennis (he has been staying at his Ex Wife’s apartment while she is in CA, but now she is sick in the hospital in CA, and no one knows when she will be returning!) and make arrangements to have his truck taken care of, and to let him know that I will be living in Canton.
He and I had both planned on making an arrangement together, but that is impractical at present. I hope he understands. I’m pretty sure he will. He knows I would understand completely if he had a similar offer made to him by a good friend!
Sheryl does have wi/fi and cable TV, so I think I can survive OK. Hopefully, transportation won’t be an issue with the doctor, as he usually sees me every 2 months. And then there is my neurologist, Dr. Furlan; my ophthalmologist, Dr. D’Agostino; and my dentist, Dr. Guren.
Well, one step at a time! I need to make this move, and I really couldn’t think of a better roommate than Sheryl (besides Denny or Matt that is!), and I know her offer is out of more than self pity and need. She was kind enough to let me come stay for a week back in March when I got released from the hospital, and she had no agenda other than to offer me a place to stay!
Now I need to get all of my ducks in a row, and find a way to get a hold of Dennis (he has been staying at his Ex Wife’s apartment while she is in CA, but now she is sick in the hospital in CA, and no one knows when she will be returning!) and make arrangements to have his truck taken care of, and to let him know that I will be living in Canton.
He and I had both planned on making an arrangement together, but that is impractical at present. I hope he understands. I’m pretty sure he will. He knows I would understand completely if he had a similar offer made to him by a good friend!
So much to do, so little time, and so much up in the air! As
I said earlier though, one thing at a time. I guess I am getting tired. It is
now 0600 on the 18th, and it’s 14˚ outside, and I just don’t want to
make that walk back to the truck to try and sleep sitting up in that frozen
cab! I was fine yesterday and the day before, but certain friends coming by
while I am sound asleep and comfy warm and expect me to sit there and talk to
them for long periods with the window down, are just too much and make it tough
to get warm and comfy again to sleep!
I appreciate their checking on me, but in reality, they just want someone to talk to! And they do so from a warm car that is running while am freezing trying to polite and listen! This happens in the snow, rain, cold, and high winds!
These folks won’t be able to follow me to Canton, I hope. But I will not leave them out altogether. We all need companionship and human interaction. So I guess I will have to make arrangements to return to the Get-Go from time-to-time and hold court!
I appreciate their checking on me, but in reality, they just want someone to talk to! And they do so from a warm car that is running while am freezing trying to polite and listen! This happens in the snow, rain, cold, and high winds!
These folks won’t be able to follow me to Canton, I hope. But I will not leave them out altogether. We all need companionship and human interaction. So I guess I will have to make arrangements to return to the Get-Go from time-to-time and hold court!
That seems to be my lot at the Library, too! Much to the
disdain of the librarians, as I have a steady stream of visitors who come looking
for me there, and then pull up chairs next me in the “Quiet Area”, and then
talk my ear off for hours on end while I am either trying to read a book, watch
a movie on my computer, or write (I have 5 books in the works, one is complete,
2 need editing, and 2 are still in process)! The Librarians have to keep coming
over and reminding these folks that we are in the quiet area, EVERY TIME THEY
SIT WITH ME!
Oh well. I am sure that I will grow a new posse of followers
and groupies when I find a local hangout in Canton! LOL! I would like to
arrange a regular social gathering with many of my Bedford gang of friends, and
some others, so maybe I’ll arrange a dinner or BBQ at Sheryl’s every few months
or so. Or a trip to the park, or a bar, or something they can all share in!
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas now, where before I was dreading the embarrassing position that I may put some folks in, thinking that they need to include me in family activities. Sheryl surprised me last Christmas Day when she called me in the morning to see if I had any plans, and since I was home alone with my cat for the holiday, she drove all the way up to my apartment in Bedford to pick me up, and took me to Christmas dinner with her Dad’s family in Cuyahoga Falls! AZ wonderful time, with wonderful people who treated me like family! Actually, more so than my own family. I wish I could have had my mother, sister and brother there to share in the joy and happiness of a family gathering, but then would I have enjoyed myself as much?
As my brother Jonathan wrote in a caustic email 2 weeks before Christmas back in 2008, he insists that we are a dysfunctional family in denial. He is probably right, but his solution to fix that, was to uninvited my sister and I from Christmas with his wife, daughter and our parents. So for 3 Christmases, I had dinner with my parents on the day that my brother’s family wasn’t there
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas now, where before I was dreading the embarrassing position that I may put some folks in, thinking that they need to include me in family activities. Sheryl surprised me last Christmas Day when she called me in the morning to see if I had any plans, and since I was home alone with my cat for the holiday, she drove all the way up to my apartment in Bedford to pick me up, and took me to Christmas dinner with her Dad’s family in Cuyahoga Falls! AZ wonderful time, with wonderful people who treated me like family! Actually, more so than my own family. I wish I could have had my mother, sister and brother there to share in the joy and happiness of a family gathering, but then would I have enjoyed myself as much?
As my brother Jonathan wrote in a caustic email 2 weeks before Christmas back in 2008, he insists that we are a dysfunctional family in denial. He is probably right, but his solution to fix that, was to uninvited my sister and I from Christmas with his wife, daughter and our parents. So for 3 Christmases, I had dinner with my parents on the day that my brother’s family wasn’t there
.
Maybe this is the change I need. My exGF, Charlotte, wants
very much to help me in my plight, but she is still abusing alcohol to solve her
problems, and is mad that I blew her off last Christmas. You see, she knew I
was home alone with no heat (I was denied HEAP when I applied after my
electricity was cut off in my apartment), and though she refuses to celebrate
Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or most any other holiday, she offered to
have me over to stay with her for Christmas, and we could order Chinese
Take-Out and just stay warm in her apartment for a few days (she was even
considering allowing me to bring my cat Laci, too, even though her cat Jesse
would have a fit!). I was all for it, until she fell off the wagon the week
before Christmas and started calling me and saying very unpleasant things about
my mother, and then leaving rude messages on my voice mail saying that she (my
mother) was faking her Alzheimer’s to get special attention, and is an evil
ugly bitch and that I should accept that and never visit her (my mother) again,
when I stopped answering the phone!
My God, I haven’t thought about that much at all since last Christmas! I mentioned that to her when I visited some months back, but Charlotte still insist that anything she says when drunk is still the truth and refuses to retract, apologize, or even promise to stop saying any of those things! So I guess this move will be good in other ways too! If I maintain distance from her, then I won’t cave to her pleas when she calls to have me come over and spend time with her.
My God, I haven’t thought about that much at all since last Christmas! I mentioned that to her when I visited some months back, but Charlotte still insist that anything she says when drunk is still the truth and refuses to retract, apologize, or even promise to stop saying any of those things! So I guess this move will be good in other ways too! If I maintain distance from her, then I won’t cave to her pleas when she calls to have me come over and spend time with her.
Even perfect strangers tell me I am crazy to keep a person
like her in my life, under any circumstances! And I know they are right! I
still love her, and want to help her overcome her demons, but at what cost? She
digs into me and says unpleasant things about all of my family members and
friends, and then gets mad at me saying that I should believe her about all of
the evil things she insists are the truth about them, rather than believing what
my friends tell me! Well, surprise, surprise, she still insists that every male
in my life is a drug addicted criminal (except my late friend, Nick, she liked
him), and all of the females are crack-whores who are using me for my money!
(What $$$? I have been in debt since my cancer scare 5 years ago!)
Maybe I can be a better friend to Charlotte from a safe
distance. She wants me to accompany her to her doctor visits and for her
pending medical procedures (she has eye surgery pending, along with several
other procedures), to ease her anxiety, but her anxiety may calm when I am
around, but mine grows when I am around her when she turns toxic and starts
yelling at me and putting my friends and family down!
Yes, yes. I need another long break from her.
On that note, I will end this here, and say
thank you again, to all of you for your support and concern, and for even being
patient with me while I rant on these pages. You guys are the greatest!
As I said, God has blessed me by surrounding me with wonderful people!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Friday, October 31, 2014
"The Winds of November Come Early"
Friday, 31 October 2014
Well here it is, my favorite time of year. And I am enjoying it, the colors, the chill in the air, the extra hair I grow every year at this time. I guess like the bears ready to hibernate, you can predict how cold the winter will be by how fuzzy my belly gets in late October!
But I am not out in the woods chasing squirrels, tracking white tailed deer, and dreaming of fat geese and ducks in range of the over / under shotgun!
Well, my last jaunt into the woods after native Eastern Ohio Fox Squirrels, Sciurus niger, was 2 years ago, not long after after my stroke. Though there was no joy, with no squirrels sighted, I was able to prove to myself that I could navigate alone in the woods, albeit very slowly and with great trepidation.
After dark I would be in trouble, as I would not easily be able to see the ground for solid placement of of my #10's without extreme risk of falling. I can still track and stalk, though my pace is even slower than before.
I may have to stick to waterfowl hunting from a blind, and dove and rabbit with a partner to keep me out of trouble and to call 911 when I "fall down, go boom!" (Who else remembers the "Soupy Sales" show back in the early 60's?)
Even if I am hopelessly trapped in a wheelchair, I plan on getting back out in the woods to terrorize the local woodland creatures for fun and tasty eating! I did see one of these advertized not long ago. Hmm, I wonder if Medicaid will pay for one?
Otherwise, I think I will have to stick to just trap and sporting clays to get my seasonal dose of inhaled gunpowder and wing shooting!
But then I am getting well ahead of myself! First I need to secure an income, get a place to live, get my driver's license reinstated, and buy a new (to me) truck, before planning any hunting/shooting outings! Oh, and I should probably buy back or replace my Beretta 686 and Benelli Montefiore! (Right now I'd settle for that American Arms Gentry above that I sold to make last November's rent! 26" M&F chokes, bent & canted stock, in .12 gauge! A sweet swinging Upland gun for doves and squirrels!)
As long as I am longing, I am also missing my Remington 700s, both of them! The .308 Win SPS 20" HB Sniper and older .22-250 Rem varmint bolts!
Then there were my .12 gauge Winchester pumps, 2 model 1300s, one fully camouflaged 18" bbl with rifle sights for Turkey and Deer, and one walnut stocked with 28" vent rib bbl and twin beads for ducks and geese.
And don't get me started on my daily CCW carries and tactical weapons! Yes, I miss the weight of either my Wiley Clapp Colt Commander, or my Beretta Cougar 8045F, riding my right hip at the 4 o'clock position.
When circumstances allow, I will be replacing those (also sold to make rent for September and December last year) with a single Sig P227 or similar in .45 acp!
I am also missing all of my tactical gear, including holsters, belts, tools, and magazines!
For those who may not be aware, the trailer that I used for a field kitchen for unit OPs and training, had 3 of my weapons still in it after our Southern Ohio Feral Hog hunt in March of 2013 stolen out of it that April while stored at my Storage Garage (not so) secure vehicle impound lot!
ALL of my tactical gear (My Citadel Plate Carrier Vest with trauma plates=My Ballistic Kevlar Vest; mag pouches; 2 pairs of ESS Tacical Goggles, OD & Tan; Gerber Tac II knife; Gerber Tactical Multi-Tool; fully stocked IFAK [Individual First Aid Kit] with tourniquet, Oropharyngeal airways, and stethoscope; tactical knee and elbow pads; and Blackhawk! Serpa CQB holster) was taken, including my personal competitive shooting gear, extra magazines [about a dozen 5.56mm 20 rd Colt mags for my NM AR-15, all of my 5.56mm 30 round mags, 8 or 10 7.62mm G-3 Mags, 3 Beretta Cougar mags, and 7 Colt 1911 mags!), my spotting scope and stand, binoculars, and even my Rifle Range Dope Book with all of my shooting notes from many years of competition @ Camp Perry in the Service Rifle Matches!
Not to mention my custom Rock River Arms National Match AR-15A2 that I built from parts with a free floating heavy stainless steel barrel in .223 Wylde chamber; the travel case and custom leather rifleman's sling; my Remington 700 ADL varmint bolt rifle in .22-250 with large Simpson 50mm 4-16x scope; and my Winchester 1300 Black Shadow .12 gauge shotgun!
Also missing were both of my rucks, my OD Voodoo Tactical 72 hour field and Coyote Brown 3 day urban pack, both fully stocked with provisions, clothes, Gore-Tex, and tactical gear (more binoculars, lights, batteries, and personal mess gear); my Camel Back Hydration bladders , 2 of them, one OD and one in Coyote; and a just purchased case of Federal .12 Gauge USGI Buckshot sealed in a .50 cal. ammo can!
Note: only my personal gear was taken, none of the unit tactical gear, bivouac USGI tents, sleeping bags, cots, or kitchen gear was missing, nor the targets, stands, nor any other unit gear (including several USGI Kevlar PASGT helmets)!
My total loss as reported to the Maple Heights Police Department was $6,600!
I know I can't afford replace everything that is missing, but I will replace the weapon, Kevlar Vest, and 72 hour Ruck! And soon!
Thankfully, all of the tactical/survival I have had/taught over the years have come in very handy in my current situation...
Well,this draft took over two hours to get this far! My browsers are all acting up, and Firefox keeps "not responding" every other sentence!
I will do all of my future drafts in Word 2007 before pasting them on the Blogger page on the server!
I started this, listening to Allison Krauss and Union Station, and was very relaxed. Now I am tense from cursing at the laptop for the browser issues, and am listening to WKSU online, Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony #9, trying to chill again!
Well, I will pick it up again later this weekend, and try to finish this.
But in case I don't, I want to say thanks for all of the birthday wishes, and the gifts!
My toesies are comfy in a new pair of Merrel Hikers, and I used some of the cash to get Denny and myself some new underwear, socks, t-shirts and jeans!
He also received a gift from his friends at work, and he has renewed his truck tags, driver's license, and bought a new truck battery!
The truck brake line is next on the "To Do" list!
So thanks to all for the gifts, good wishes, and support!
We truly appreciate it, and are putting everything to good use!
I also want to give a shout out to Sharon and everyone at Nick's Birthday Bonfire/Fireworks Display last Saturday, and am proud to have you all as friends!
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Nick, or how he would handle something encountering. I am most glad I had the opportunity to have him as my friend all of these years!
More updates as my patience permits with these browser issues!!!
Happy (and Safe) Halloween!
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Friday, 31 October 2014
Well here it is, my favorite time of year. And I am enjoying it, the colors, the chill in the air, the extra hair I grow every year at this time. I guess like the bears ready to hibernate, you can predict how cold the winter will be by how fuzzy my belly gets in late October!
But I am not out in the woods chasing squirrels, tracking white tailed deer, and dreaming of fat geese and ducks in range of the over / under shotgun!
Well, my last jaunt into the woods after native Eastern Ohio Fox Squirrels, Sciurus niger, was 2 years ago, not long after after my stroke. Though there was no joy, with no squirrels sighted, I was able to prove to myself that I could navigate alone in the woods, albeit very slowly and with great trepidation.
After dark I would be in trouble, as I would not easily be able to see the ground for solid placement of of my #10's without extreme risk of falling. I can still track and stalk, though my pace is even slower than before.
I may have to stick to waterfowl hunting from a blind, and dove and rabbit with a partner to keep me out of trouble and to call 911 when I "fall down, go boom!" (Who else remembers the "Soupy Sales" show back in the early 60's?)
Otherwise, I think I will have to stick to just trap and sporting clays to get my seasonal dose of inhaled gunpowder and wing shooting!
As long as I am longing, I am also missing my Remington 700s, both of them! The .308 Win SPS 20" HB Sniper and older .22-250 Rem varmint bolts!
Then there were my .12 gauge Winchester pumps, 2 model 1300s, one fully camouflaged 18" bbl with rifle sights for Turkey and Deer, and one walnut stocked with 28" vent rib bbl and twin beads for ducks and geese.
And don't get me started on my daily CCW carries and tactical weapons! Yes, I miss the weight of either my Wiley Clapp Colt Commander, or my Beretta Cougar 8045F, riding my right hip at the 4 o'clock position.
When circumstances allow, I will be replacing those (also sold to make rent for September and December last year) with a single Sig P227 or similar in .45 acp!
I am also missing all of my tactical gear, including holsters, belts, tools, and magazines!
For those who may not be aware, the trailer that I used for a field kitchen for unit OPs and training, had 3 of my weapons still in it after our Southern Ohio Feral Hog hunt in March of 2013 stolen out of it that April while stored at my Storage Garage (not so) secure vehicle impound lot!
ALL of my tactical gear (My Citadel Plate Carrier Vest with trauma plates=My Ballistic Kevlar Vest; mag pouches; 2 pairs of ESS Tacical Goggles, OD & Tan; Gerber Tac II knife; Gerber Tactical Multi-Tool; fully stocked IFAK [Individual First Aid Kit] with tourniquet, Oropharyngeal airways, and stethoscope; tactical knee and elbow pads; and Blackhawk! Serpa CQB holster) was taken, including my personal competitive shooting gear, extra magazines [about a dozen 5.56mm 20 rd Colt mags for my NM AR-15, all of my 5.56mm 30 round mags, 8 or 10 7.62mm G-3 Mags, 3 Beretta Cougar mags, and 7 Colt 1911 mags!), my spotting scope and stand, binoculars, and even my Rifle Range Dope Book with all of my shooting notes from many years of competition @ Camp Perry in the Service Rifle Matches!
Not to mention my custom Rock River Arms National Match AR-15A2 that I built from parts with a free floating heavy stainless steel barrel in .223 Wylde chamber; the travel case and custom leather rifleman's sling; my Remington 700 ADL varmint bolt rifle in .22-250 with large Simpson 50mm 4-16x scope; and my Winchester 1300 Black Shadow .12 gauge shotgun!
Also missing were both of my rucks, my OD Voodoo Tactical 72 hour field and Coyote Brown 3 day urban pack, both fully stocked with provisions, clothes, Gore-Tex, and tactical gear (more binoculars, lights, batteries, and personal mess gear); my Camel Back Hydration bladders , 2 of them, one OD and one in Coyote; and a just purchased case of Federal .12 Gauge USGI Buckshot sealed in a .50 cal. ammo can!
Note: only my personal gear was taken, none of the unit tactical gear, bivouac USGI tents, sleeping bags, cots, or kitchen gear was missing, nor the targets, stands, nor any other unit gear (including several USGI Kevlar PASGT helmets)!
My total loss as reported to the Maple Heights Police Department was $6,600!
I know I can't afford replace everything that is missing, but I will replace the weapon, Kevlar Vest, and 72 hour Ruck! And soon!
Thankfully, all of the tactical/survival I have had/taught over the years have come in very handy in my current situation...
Well,this draft took over two hours to get this far! My browsers are all acting up, and Firefox keeps "not responding" every other sentence!
I will do all of my future drafts in Word 2007 before pasting them on the Blogger page on the server!
I started this, listening to Allison Krauss and Union Station, and was very relaxed. Now I am tense from cursing at the laptop for the browser issues, and am listening to WKSU online, Antonin Dvorak's "New World" Symphony #9, trying to chill again!
Well, I will pick it up again later this weekend, and try to finish this.
But in case I don't, I want to say thanks for all of the birthday wishes, and the gifts!
My toesies are comfy in a new pair of Merrel Hikers, and I used some of the cash to get Denny and myself some new underwear, socks, t-shirts and jeans!
He also received a gift from his friends at work, and he has renewed his truck tags, driver's license, and bought a new truck battery!
The truck brake line is next on the "To Do" list!
So thanks to all for the gifts, good wishes, and support!
We truly appreciate it, and are putting everything to good use!
I also want to give a shout out to Sharon and everyone at Nick's Birthday Bonfire/Fireworks Display last Saturday, and am proud to have you all as friends!
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Nick, or how he would handle something encountering. I am most glad I had the opportunity to have him as my friend all of these years!
More updates as my patience permits with these browser issues!!!
Happy (and Safe) Halloween!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Same Old, Same Old.
Monday, 29 September 2014
Has it come down to this, that I am in a rut? I wake up and read, eat, and take my meds. Then I usually head to the Library, stopping at my PO box first.
Monday-Thursday, at the Library until after 2000, then I mosey back to the Get-Go to hang out and read.
As I am cash strapped and unable to buy product regularly while there, I have been spending more and more time in other venues reading. Denny's favorite bench by the Home Depot @ Southgate is nice, and now that they have added new lights to the overhang of the sidewalk, I have lights to read after dark. However, as it is getting dark sooner, the lights do not come on until 30 or more minutes after it is too dark to read.
I have traveled about, and found other venues that have promise. The Meadowbrook II Shopping center where the Target, Woodcraft, and Topps used to be, has lights, benches and even canned music, even though the complex is entirely abandoned!
Except for the Applebee's, IHOP and the US Bank branch on the periphery, there is nothing left of this shopping center. The last few holdouts, Cleveland Jewelry and Game Stop, both moved across Northfield to the new out lot extension by Walmart.
Denny had been hassled by the security staff for utilizing a bench in the complex to sit and watch the world go by, but the regular officer that patrols both Meadowbrook II and the Walmart (Meadowbrook I, where the old Spartan-Atlantic Department Store had been located, along with Forest City lumber, back in the 1960's, and later by Gold Circle, Hill's, and Atlantic Gun and Tackle the sporting goods department of the old Spartan-Atlantic) only asked me if I was OK after he had passed me by 4 times during the course of the afternoon one day. I said I was fine and just reading, and he said I was OK to stay.
Except for the bench getting too hard on my butt after a few hours, it is a nice open area with a good breeze and overhead protection from the sun and rain. It might even be a good sanctuary from snow and ice if the need arises.
I am still finishing 3-5 books a week, exhausting the Clive Cussler selections at the South East Branch of the CCPL in Bedford. I have a few paperbacks I bought @ the dollar store (imagine that, not sure about my income and sources of food, but I still am buying books to read!), having finished Combat Swimmer, Memoir of a Navy Seal, by Capt. Robert Gormly, USN (Ret'd) on Sunday.
I am now 2 chapters in to The Treasure of Khan, a Dirk Pitt Novel, by Clive Cussler. There are more Cussler titles out there (and I had a good dozen I owned, that I hadn't yet read), and will eventually get to all of them.
I am finding that even though I thought I was emulating Robert Heinlein, my favorite author, with my sci-fi stories, I am finding that it is actually Cussler's style that I am channeling. My characters are similar to the regulars in Cussler's novels, but with a futuristic science fiction twist with space travel.
I must find a way to let Mr. Cussler know this, so that I am never accused of stealing his plots or plagiarism. Also, to be sure he understands that it is solely a case on "Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery", as I have found that except for some highly technical faux pas' that he has committed that most people won't catch, he writing is exciting, his facts and research very correct and accurate, and the stories compelling!
I know now that I must get a copy of Raise the Titanic, as I have seen the movie several dozen times and have already read Sea Hunters I & II, and would like to see how he developed the story with Dirk Pitt, his main character that later leads the fictional NUMA that Cussler actually heads (National Underwater & Marine Agency).
This man can actually back up his stories with authority, as he has over 60 famous shipwreck discoveries to his credit, and his famous collection of antique classic cars and boats, all show in his technical accuracy (most of the time).
I can't do the same in all of my stories, but I can call on personal experience and people I know that have experienced what I am writing! The zero gravity activities are based on NASA research and some conjecture on my part! (The low gravity club, for one! ;) )
I really should get down to the nitty-gritty of trying to sell some of my short stories, and completing the books I have in the works. I have one novel complete, Friend or Foe, a short story that grew into a full fledged book for Crystal Urban, the teenage daughter of one my friends, Mike Urban.
She is the heroine of a futuristic war with an alien species from another galaxy, when her class from the combined Naval and Space Academy goes on their summer cruise in space. Sadly, the flash drive I keep it on, since I started the story a year ago April, is broken and my friend Matt now has it to try and recover the completed book and the other document and pictures it contains.
My other books are on another drive I am currently using. I hope to not have the same problem, by occasionally copying them to other drives and / or emailing the files so that there is a file in cyberspace to back up my external drives!
As to other matters, there is no change in any of my status, except that I get a raise on my EBT card of $5/month that I will see in my October reload on the card. My SSD/I Appeal is in the works, and my former boss (and now senior executive VP) Chris Lopez, PE and department manager Wes Mekhael, PE were kind enough to forward a letter describing my duties as a civil engineering technician/inspector @ PSI for 17 years.
Chris was also kind enough to include some Master Card gift Cards that I put to very good use! it is nice to know that all of those years at PSI and the BS I had to endure and overcome to accomplish my tasks were not unnoticed or unappreciated! The letter written, was exactly what the SSA needs to learn about my job description, and why I cannot just go back top work as an Inspector on jobsites!
I did have a great bunch of people to work with and for. Chris was the first boss I ever had that had no problem giving out "Attaboys" when they were deserved, and he surely didn't hold back on the discipline when rules or policy were violated and problems encountered.
Except for a couple of well documented personages, all of my PSI managers/VPs were good people to work for and understood what we as technicians experienced in the field.
I learned most of my job from Chris, who had been hired as a technician right out of engineering school. He worked for a while as a technician before becoming the department manager for Construction Services, and then getting his PE. He was the manager who hired me in August of 1995 on the recommendation of his brother-in-law Jim McCue, the NDE Manager I worked with at Boat-US, while I was still struggling to run my own business, Triangle Associates.
I brought with me a career in Law Enforcement and a military education while studying civil engineering. Including an entire adult life of public service and interaction with people, which made it easy to work with the building contractors and their subs, many of whom haven't an honest bone in their body, I was able to solve problems that other technicians encountered and couldn't handle.
After a short period with PSI, Chris was sending me on problem jobs, knowing I would not get physical with clients or contractors as other technicians had. By my first spring, I was replacing a senior tech running the AAA/OMA new HQ located @ I-77 and I-480, where the client rep running the job as the project manager was creating hurdles and fired the Higley Construction Manager, the Architect from Van Dyke and Assoc., and our PSI inspector. All because the weenie in charge was bullied as a high school and college student and now he was in a position to bully people in return! "What a Piece of Work" as Jim McCue used to say in describing that person!
I cut my teeth on that project, learning how to work with idiots who didn't know their own jobs (the weenie), and contractors who are very used to getting their own way. I also learned that honesty is indeed respected by those who are usually dishonest. I then established my reputation in the NE Ohio Market of construction!
And I could not have established that without the mentorship of Chris Lopez (and even Vijay Khosla, the senior Exec VP East of the Mississippi), who patiently explained answers to my questions and giving me plenty of preparatory information prior to sending me on a new project.
I worked for many different companies in a single profession and in the Cinema Market, and had a variety of supervisors and managers for bosses, most who had never made any effort to give "Attaboys", nor gave me merit raises as a rule, and only leaned on me to do more for them, rather than say what I had done well for them in the first place.
Chris was also quick to make payroll changes in my salary as per the old corporate policy of merit raises. I became one of the better paid technicians, rising fast through the pay scale, and earning many benefits. Until corporate changed the merit policy and limited annual raises to a cost of living given at the change of the fiscal year, I almost doubled my hourly wage the first 7 years or so I was there! I got 2 surprise raises that were given outside of my annual anniversary review, that absolutely blew my mind!
When I was removed from PSI payroll in September of 2012, I was earning 4 weeks of paid vacation annually, had a 401(k) that had $76,000 ($74,000 vested), full medical, optical, and dental coverage, and was earning $18.94/hour. I was certified as a level 1 ACI field inspector; a level II ASCET Soil Technician; 40 Hour OSHA Environmental Safety Technician; Level II ODOT Asphalt Laboratory Technician; Level I Fire Stopping Technician; plus PSI certified for Nuclear Soils and Concrete Inspection, as well as the 17 years of experience in the field and dealing with idiots!
I started @ PSI making only $7.72/hour with 1 week paid vacation, and had no certs!
Well, I am totally reminiscing about a great career and professional accomplishment, and the fact that I was running many high profile, high dollar, projects, several of which PSI got because the clients knew I was going to be the lead technician and looking out for their interests! (On the flipside, we lost some accounts because I was unavailable!)
But, I like the fact that I have had such a successful career, and so many accolades for my professionalism, honesty, and diligence. And having Chris and Wes acknowledge this, means true Kudos that I earned the last 3 decades. And gives me deep satisfaction that I have maintained a good work ethic as my dad insisted that I maintain! (And he was famous for both not finishing projects and pissing off people he worked for because he did things his own way, no matter what his job description ever was! And I learned much later in life, that he had been fired from many of his so called professional projects he had over the years!)
But as I learned both with my dad, and most Liberal Democrats in general, that you should do as they say, not as they do, because most don't practice what they preach! My dad was famous for using people and not practicing what he preached at all. But he did instill me with the desire to finish whatever I started, and to do the best job I possibly could (the book by Jimmy Carter I read while I was a cadet at The Citadel, Why Not the Best?, is another great example, because if Jimmy Carter can say that his job as president was his best effort, than he is even more pitiful than his reputation shows!)
My dad though, always had something to as to how I performed in school and on the job, even though he failed in most of his jobs, in spite of his insisting that he had succeeded in them when they were shut down!
But I did take most of his advice to heart, and used what I thought to be wise advice, while discarding the BS I discerned in it!
And I believe that it paid off! I like to think that developed my own brand of work ethic with his input, rather than having just adopted his dysfunctional ethic that got him fired from so many jobs!
I guess Chris and Wes would be the best judges of that!
I can only hope that my SS Appeal is fruitful, and that I will eventually have a means of support again, including a roof over my head, a bed of my own, and a kitchen and bathroom! Then, I can build a new repertoire of stories to hopefully sell for fun and profit!
So look out Mr. Cussler, you may not be the only dominant author on the NYT bestseller list! (Yeah, right!)
:)
Monday, 29 September 2014
Has it come down to this, that I am in a rut? I wake up and read, eat, and take my meds. Then I usually head to the Library, stopping at my PO box first.
Monday-Thursday, at the Library until after 2000, then I mosey back to the Get-Go to hang out and read.
As I am cash strapped and unable to buy product regularly while there, I have been spending more and more time in other venues reading. Denny's favorite bench by the Home Depot @ Southgate is nice, and now that they have added new lights to the overhang of the sidewalk, I have lights to read after dark. However, as it is getting dark sooner, the lights do not come on until 30 or more minutes after it is too dark to read.
I have traveled about, and found other venues that have promise. The Meadowbrook II Shopping center where the Target, Woodcraft, and Topps used to be, has lights, benches and even canned music, even though the complex is entirely abandoned!
Except for the Applebee's, IHOP and the US Bank branch on the periphery, there is nothing left of this shopping center. The last few holdouts, Cleveland Jewelry and Game Stop, both moved across Northfield to the new out lot extension by Walmart.
Denny had been hassled by the security staff for utilizing a bench in the complex to sit and watch the world go by, but the regular officer that patrols both Meadowbrook II and the Walmart (Meadowbrook I, where the old Spartan-Atlantic Department Store had been located, along with Forest City lumber, back in the 1960's, and later by Gold Circle, Hill's, and Atlantic Gun and Tackle the sporting goods department of the old Spartan-Atlantic) only asked me if I was OK after he had passed me by 4 times during the course of the afternoon one day. I said I was fine and just reading, and he said I was OK to stay.
Except for the bench getting too hard on my butt after a few hours, it is a nice open area with a good breeze and overhead protection from the sun and rain. It might even be a good sanctuary from snow and ice if the need arises.
I am still finishing 3-5 books a week, exhausting the Clive Cussler selections at the South East Branch of the CCPL in Bedford. I have a few paperbacks I bought @ the dollar store (imagine that, not sure about my income and sources of food, but I still am buying books to read!), having finished Combat Swimmer, Memoir of a Navy Seal, by Capt. Robert Gormly, USN (Ret'd) on Sunday.
I am now 2 chapters in to The Treasure of Khan, a Dirk Pitt Novel, by Clive Cussler. There are more Cussler titles out there (and I had a good dozen I owned, that I hadn't yet read), and will eventually get to all of them.
I am finding that even though I thought I was emulating Robert Heinlein, my favorite author, with my sci-fi stories, I am finding that it is actually Cussler's style that I am channeling. My characters are similar to the regulars in Cussler's novels, but with a futuristic science fiction twist with space travel.
I must find a way to let Mr. Cussler know this, so that I am never accused of stealing his plots or plagiarism. Also, to be sure he understands that it is solely a case on "Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery", as I have found that except for some highly technical faux pas' that he has committed that most people won't catch, he writing is exciting, his facts and research very correct and accurate, and the stories compelling!
I know now that I must get a copy of Raise the Titanic, as I have seen the movie several dozen times and have already read Sea Hunters I & II, and would like to see how he developed the story with Dirk Pitt, his main character that later leads the fictional NUMA that Cussler actually heads (National Underwater & Marine Agency).
This man can actually back up his stories with authority, as he has over 60 famous shipwreck discoveries to his credit, and his famous collection of antique classic cars and boats, all show in his technical accuracy (most of the time).
I can't do the same in all of my stories, but I can call on personal experience and people I know that have experienced what I am writing! The zero gravity activities are based on NASA research and some conjecture on my part! (The low gravity club, for one! ;) )
I really should get down to the nitty-gritty of trying to sell some of my short stories, and completing the books I have in the works. I have one novel complete, Friend or Foe, a short story that grew into a full fledged book for Crystal Urban, the teenage daughter of one my friends, Mike Urban.
She is the heroine of a futuristic war with an alien species from another galaxy, when her class from the combined Naval and Space Academy goes on their summer cruise in space. Sadly, the flash drive I keep it on, since I started the story a year ago April, is broken and my friend Matt now has it to try and recover the completed book and the other document and pictures it contains.
My other books are on another drive I am currently using. I hope to not have the same problem, by occasionally copying them to other drives and / or emailing the files so that there is a file in cyberspace to back up my external drives!
As to other matters, there is no change in any of my status, except that I get a raise on my EBT card of $5/month that I will see in my October reload on the card. My SSD/I Appeal is in the works, and my former boss (and now senior executive VP) Chris Lopez, PE and department manager Wes Mekhael, PE were kind enough to forward a letter describing my duties as a civil engineering technician/inspector @ PSI for 17 years.
Chris was also kind enough to include some Master Card gift Cards that I put to very good use! it is nice to know that all of those years at PSI and the BS I had to endure and overcome to accomplish my tasks were not unnoticed or unappreciated! The letter written, was exactly what the SSA needs to learn about my job description, and why I cannot just go back top work as an Inspector on jobsites!
I did have a great bunch of people to work with and for. Chris was the first boss I ever had that had no problem giving out "Attaboys" when they were deserved, and he surely didn't hold back on the discipline when rules or policy were violated and problems encountered.
Except for a couple of well documented personages, all of my PSI managers/VPs were good people to work for and understood what we as technicians experienced in the field.
I learned most of my job from Chris, who had been hired as a technician right out of engineering school. He worked for a while as a technician before becoming the department manager for Construction Services, and then getting his PE. He was the manager who hired me in August of 1995 on the recommendation of his brother-in-law Jim McCue, the NDE Manager I worked with at Boat-US, while I was still struggling to run my own business, Triangle Associates.
I brought with me a career in Law Enforcement and a military education while studying civil engineering. Including an entire adult life of public service and interaction with people, which made it easy to work with the building contractors and their subs, many of whom haven't an honest bone in their body, I was able to solve problems that other technicians encountered and couldn't handle.
After a short period with PSI, Chris was sending me on problem jobs, knowing I would not get physical with clients or contractors as other technicians had. By my first spring, I was replacing a senior tech running the AAA/OMA new HQ located @ I-77 and I-480, where the client rep running the job as the project manager was creating hurdles and fired the Higley Construction Manager, the Architect from Van Dyke and Assoc., and our PSI inspector. All because the weenie in charge was bullied as a high school and college student and now he was in a position to bully people in return! "What a Piece of Work" as Jim McCue used to say in describing that person!
I cut my teeth on that project, learning how to work with idiots who didn't know their own jobs (the weenie), and contractors who are very used to getting their own way. I also learned that honesty is indeed respected by those who are usually dishonest. I then established my reputation in the NE Ohio Market of construction!
And I could not have established that without the mentorship of Chris Lopez (and even Vijay Khosla, the senior Exec VP East of the Mississippi), who patiently explained answers to my questions and giving me plenty of preparatory information prior to sending me on a new project.
I worked for many different companies in a single profession and in the Cinema Market, and had a variety of supervisors and managers for bosses, most who had never made any effort to give "Attaboys", nor gave me merit raises as a rule, and only leaned on me to do more for them, rather than say what I had done well for them in the first place.
Chris was also quick to make payroll changes in my salary as per the old corporate policy of merit raises. I became one of the better paid technicians, rising fast through the pay scale, and earning many benefits. Until corporate changed the merit policy and limited annual raises to a cost of living given at the change of the fiscal year, I almost doubled my hourly wage the first 7 years or so I was there! I got 2 surprise raises that were given outside of my annual anniversary review, that absolutely blew my mind!
When I was removed from PSI payroll in September of 2012, I was earning 4 weeks of paid vacation annually, had a 401(k) that had $76,000 ($74,000 vested), full medical, optical, and dental coverage, and was earning $18.94/hour. I was certified as a level 1 ACI field inspector; a level II ASCET Soil Technician; 40 Hour OSHA Environmental Safety Technician; Level II ODOT Asphalt Laboratory Technician; Level I Fire Stopping Technician; plus PSI certified for Nuclear Soils and Concrete Inspection, as well as the 17 years of experience in the field and dealing with idiots!
I started @ PSI making only $7.72/hour with 1 week paid vacation, and had no certs!
Well, I am totally reminiscing about a great career and professional accomplishment, and the fact that I was running many high profile, high dollar, projects, several of which PSI got because the clients knew I was going to be the lead technician and looking out for their interests! (On the flipside, we lost some accounts because I was unavailable!)
But, I like the fact that I have had such a successful career, and so many accolades for my professionalism, honesty, and diligence. And having Chris and Wes acknowledge this, means true Kudos that I earned the last 3 decades. And gives me deep satisfaction that I have maintained a good work ethic as my dad insisted that I maintain! (And he was famous for both not finishing projects and pissing off people he worked for because he did things his own way, no matter what his job description ever was! And I learned much later in life, that he had been fired from many of his so called professional projects he had over the years!)
But as I learned both with my dad, and most Liberal Democrats in general, that you should do as they say, not as they do, because most don't practice what they preach! My dad was famous for using people and not practicing what he preached at all. But he did instill me with the desire to finish whatever I started, and to do the best job I possibly could (the book by Jimmy Carter I read while I was a cadet at The Citadel, Why Not the Best?, is another great example, because if Jimmy Carter can say that his job as president was his best effort, than he is even more pitiful than his reputation shows!)
My dad though, always had something to as to how I performed in school and on the job, even though he failed in most of his jobs, in spite of his insisting that he had succeeded in them when they were shut down!
But I did take most of his advice to heart, and used what I thought to be wise advice, while discarding the BS I discerned in it!
And I believe that it paid off! I like to think that developed my own brand of work ethic with his input, rather than having just adopted his dysfunctional ethic that got him fired from so many jobs!
I guess Chris and Wes would be the best judges of that!
I can only hope that my SS Appeal is fruitful, and that I will eventually have a means of support again, including a roof over my head, a bed of my own, and a kitchen and bathroom! Then, I can build a new repertoire of stories to hopefully sell for fun and profit!
So look out Mr. Cussler, you may not be the only dominant author on the NYT bestseller list! (Yeah, right!)
:)
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