Where's TD?

[Amos Stevens]

NOw you sure you want to put all this in writing TD...cause come dec 31,2005 we will bring this up & use a check off system

Good luck with your goals TD..one thing at a time

 

[TDWoj]

NOw you sure you want to put all this in writing TD...cause come dec 31,2005 we will bring this up & use a check off system

Good luck with your goals TD..one thing at a time

Well, I do that every year anyhow, take stock to see where I'm at compared to where I was. That's why I'm so concerned about the "staying the same" issue - where I'm at is where I was this time 14 years ago (in terms of personal and emotional growth), and in fact, financially speaking, I'm worse off than I was 14 years ago because debt is dragging me down (too many downturns in work over a compressed period of time - but that seems to be changing, at least in terms of volume, if not remuneration.).

People keep telling me I should declare bankruptcy to give myself a break, but I'm stubborn. I pay my debts, even if it kills me (and they probably will!).

Right now, I just want to get to the end of this week and survive! A week at the office, two newsletters, forms and trying to figure out why an e-mail address of one of my client's isn't working but another set up exactly the same way has no problems....

(I'm seeing a housecall in my future. I just hope it doesn't decide to snow that day, or drop into a deep freeze... just my luck that it would, though!).

Anyway, I'm hungry right now so I'm off to have dinner. A nice, healthy, boring dinner...

-TD, in pain (the reason for which will be covered elsewhere....)

 

[TDWoj]

I hate technology.

I've lost a couple of contracts because my software is too old, and today, my ethernet router crapped out on me, sending me scurrying through the snowstorm to Business Depot to get a new one, which I can at the moment ill afford since I did not budget any money for new equipment this month.

Grrr!

The good news is that I might be able to get the software I need for this one job relatively cheaply on eBay. The bad news is, my credit card is completely tapped out and it's unlikely the bank will let me raise the limit - not that I want them to anyhow, I'd rather not use my credit card, but what else can I do, under the circumstances? you have to spend money to make money, and, unfortunately, I haven't got the money to spend!

It's hardly the third week in January and already I'm stressing about work-no work-need work-need money to work.

-TD, for whom technology is a bane as well as a boon

 

[TDWoj]

At this moment, I am at home, about to work, but am getting my back teeth loosened by the roadwork under my window.

I reported a leaking fire hydrant on Sunday. By the time Public Works came out to look at it on Sunday, more water was coming out of the crack in the sidewalk, at this point, just a gentle little burble.

Public Works went away, came back and put a safety cone on it. They opened the fire hydrant to let the water out, didn't close the valve properly and, which, as I found out later, resulted in the water in the hydrant freezing.

Monday, another Public Works worker came by, had a look at, cleared the snow from the sewer grate - and went away again. At this point, it wasn't just a gentle burble, there was the makings of a serious waterspout, and water was just pouring out of the cracks in the sidewalk.

Yesterday they started working on it.

"They" being Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest.

They dug a hole. Hole filled up with water. Naturally - the water main was broken. They brought in a pump. Pumped out the water. More water came in. They put in a "form" so they could work.

More water came in.

Figured out they'd dug the hole in the wrong place.

Made the hole bigger.

More water came in.

Brought in a SuperSucker tanker to suck out debris, as well as a back hoe to dig down to the water main. One tanker and a couple of dump trucks later...

...there was still water coming in.

Last night around midnight they were trying to reposition the form. They measured the hole; they measured the form. Got the back hoe to pick up the form. Only had one guy maneouvering the form (a metal form, very heavy, a box about 6 x 7 feet), so of course the form went swinging this way and that. Did not have another guy on the other side to stabilise it.

Tried to put it in the hole. Didn't fit. Why? They hadn't acually measured the size of the hole, they measured the space they wanted the form to fit in, which of course, it wouldn't because the hole wasn't big enough.

Ahem.

They finally wedged the form in, went away, and are now back this morning - digging a bigger hole.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Reminds me of the street repairs around here TD..they look for a good area of street to dig up so they can earn their pay

 

[TDWoj]

Oh, it was fun watching them. In the end, they put in a temporary patch, so that people could get water for work this morning, then the lads came back and did the job properly.

They ended up putting in a new fire hydrant. Well, it made sense; seems when they put up the building on that corner, they re-graded the sidewalk, and what ended up happening was that first, they left existing fire hydrant in position (I'd always thought it was odd having a fire hydrant smack in the middle of the sidewalk) and secondly, when they put in the sidewalk, they buried the hydrant by about a foot, so it was too low to the sidewalk.

The hydrant had completely frozen, as a result - so if there had been a fire, there would have been no water for the firemen to use.

Now the hydrant is on the outside edge of the sidewalk, and at the proper height. The dogs are happy, at least...

Helluva big hole left, though, to fill and patch with asphalt.

Our city's infrastructure is crumbling, thanks to the drastic cuts to city transfer payments inflicted on us by the former Conservative government. With this unusual cold snap we've had, mains are bursting all over the place. There are still some mains in the city more than fifty years old - and I wouldn't be surprised if there are some still older than that lurking under the surface.

Well, it's all sorted now. It was fun watching from my perch on the seventh floor.

I had a moment of pause, though, when I was on the street and I looked up at my apartment, to see an icicle of lethal proportions hanging from the drain spout on my balcony. With all the jackhammering going on, it wouldn't have taken much to loosen it - but there's been enough of a thaw that it dripped away without impaling anyone.

Whew!

 

[suziwong]

where is she in these days ???

 

[TDWoj]

Hey, suzi, my friend! I'm here! I'm here!

I was at the aikido seminar (with 7th dan Clyde Takeguchi Sensei from Washington) all weekend, and when I was not there (getting folded, spindled, mutilated, twisted into a pretzel, and curled into a corkscrew), I've been working!

I'm still working, so I don't have much time to spend here, but I'll be back soon, I promise!

Thank you, suzi, for asking after me!

-TD, for whom 24 hours in a day just isn't enough to get things done any more

 

[suziwong]

WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!

WE MISSED YOU SOOO MUCHHH !! You are fine that's OK !!

BTW I kept my promise and I found Mr. Seagal several times !!!
He is going to parties...parties.. again parties.. !!!

sincerely

suzi

 

[Jalu]

Oh...and here I was thinking that you had finally written that best seller, became rich, and forgot about us.

Hey, suzi, my friend! I'm here! I'm here!

I was at the aikido seminar (with 7th dan Clyde Takeguchi Sensei from Washington) all weekend, and when I was not there (getting folded, spindled, mutilated, twisted into a pretzel, and curled into a corkscrew), I've been working!

I'm still working, so I don't have much time to spend here, but I'll be back soon, I promise!

Thank you, suzi, for asking after me!

-TD, for whom 24 hours in a day just isn't enough to get things done any more

 

[katw_03]

Great TD!

I had no idea you were into Aikido.
My short and long term memory is
shot! You should be very proud
of yourself!

 

[TDWoj]

WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!WELCOME BACK !!

WE MISSED YOU SOOO MUCHHH !! You are fine that's OK !!

BTW I kept my promise and I found Mr. Seagal several times !!!
He is going to parties...parties.. again parties.. !!!

sincerely

suzi

Yes, I saw that, suzi! You kept me very busy this morning catching up on all the news - I was late starting work because of it, but that was okay!

I'm supposed to be working now....

 

[TDWoj]

I had no idea you were into Aikido.
My short and long term memory is
shot! You should be very proud
of yourself!

Thank you, kat! Proud, maybe a little - mostly apprehensive about what I've gotten myself into!

I have a little "aikido diary" going on in the Martial Arts forum (under "Did the unthinkable...") if you want to catch up on my trials and tribulations so far. A few people around me have told me that since I started aikido, I seem to much happier, my eyes are brighter and my face glows. Also, someone I haven't seen in a while saw that the flexibility in my wrists has improved, which is something I hadn't notice myself, I guess because I'm too close to it!

I've been having a great time, so far. And so far, except for a hurt elbow and a whacking great bruise on my arm, no serious injuries!

I hope you're well, too. I know you said something about going for tests? I have to catch up with your news, too! (Hopefully, when this big job is done, after March 1st.)

 

[TDWoj]

Oh...and here I was thinking that you had finally written that best seller, became rich, and forgot about us.

I wish... I mean, about writing the best seller and becoming rich.

Will never forget about this place, though.

 

[Storm]

Well a ghost writer for Jackson would sell!
Mind you,with all that plastic surgery he looks like a ghost himself.
Things will perk up TD.

 

[TDWoj]

Well a ghost writer for Jackson would sell!
Mind you,with all that plastic surgery he looks like a ghost himself.
Things will perk up TD.

Ghost-writing Jackson's bio... well, I suppose there are some people who would do anything for money! I'm not that desperate... yet!

Hey, Storm! How are you doing? I've been missing a lot of news of folks here because I've only got a few minutes here and there to drop in (work work work work work - update Location and Movie threads - work work work work work work), and I get occasional snippets of what's up with everyone, but no time to hunt down the details.

All okay with you?

 

[Storm]

Thanks for asking. As always,i am fine! I always say that lol,as those that know me will testify.

 

[TDWoj]

You went in for something recently, though, didn't you? I thought I saw something to that effect on one of my fly-bys through the forum.

There just aren't enough hours in the day to keep caught up on things... I was hoping to have done with the major part of this big project today, and lo! I found another chapter lurking under the desk (how the heck did that get there?). So this will be another weekend of rapid visits (or no visits at all) and then I'll get behind again....

 

[Amos Stevens]

We could put one of those beepers on Storm...and Hallarian & Mama San..all the sickies so then we know where they are all the time

 

[TDWoj]

Free! Free at last!

Well, not really, but at least I've got one project down and off to the printer.

(shiver)

This is the part of my job that makes me the most nervous. One never knows if there's a typo lurking, or something that didn't flow properly at the very end, or if there's going to be something wrong with the file once it reaches the printer/service provider.... I mean, you can look at a file only so many times before you stop seeing it. And then, when you get the page proofs back, there's that error, right on page 1, leaping off the page to shout in your face, "missed one! missed one! Ha!"

I think the worst instance of something like that happening was getting the name of the author of an article who also happened to be the president of the organisation wrong - right on page 1.

And this after many, many pairs of eyes had reviewed the material....

(shiver)

Anyway, the big project is done, and now I can get down to catching up on all of my other clients' work which has been sadly neglected while I got this monster under control. (Who would have thought that typesetting a textbook could be so much work? And yet it was.)

In the meantime, I think I'm going to take a day off to regroup and recuperate, and catch up on what's going on around here. And maybe, if the arctic conditions have eased somewhat, even go out for a walk, which I haven't been able to do in ages.