Did you ever have one of those weird dreams... I mean one of those Really weird dreams? The one I had last night was vague when I woke up this morning but it still kinda got to me. I remember getting up to go to the bathroom but after that I've only got kinda "sense memories". I remember searching for a T-shirt to put on under my work uniform shirt. I had a short conversation with Jennifer, and I went back to bed.
Okay, here's the strange part. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I had a shirt on, but I went to bed without one. Luckily (I guess) Jennifer gave me an account of what went on. It seems that I had gone into the wrong bedroom... rifled through all the clean clothes that were laid out on the bed... put on one of HER t-shirts... and then went to sleep on the bed in the spare room. She noticed that I wasn't in bed at around 2:00 AM, and searched the house until she found me, and brought me back to bed.
For some reason, even the door to the closet by the front door was wide open. The door to the room I was sleeping in was shut though. Definitely strange.
As far as I know, I've never sleep-walked (slept-walkded?) before in my life. I wonder what else the aliens will tell me to do. I always thought that I woke up with sore muscles because I work hard for a living. Apparently it's due to the fact that I've been dong sleep-calisthenics for some time. Ah well... at least I'm getting my exercise.
First off... thanks much for all the kind comments from everyone. I greatly appreciate the kind words and phone calls. Anyway...
Here lately, I've been chasing around from one job to the next trying to wrap things up. It's been more than a little crazy, mainly due to the change in attitude, and work habits. I'm used to hearing things like "John - Oh, I've got another Rush Job for you." I get sent out with a mandate of "Get it done by date X" and I then proceed to get it done. The general rule of thumb for installing an elevator is: One week for each landing, and one week for the cab. For a two-stop elevator, that would translate to three weeks. My personal record for a two-stop hole-less install is seven days. (hope that gives you an indication of what my work ethic is like)
Over the last month or so, I've gone from "Build that elevator" to "Complete that elevator". I've got my shop truck outfitted to allow me to build one, but I don't have all the little things I've needed to complete them. It's a different tool-set and a different mindset. The tools are easily overcome, but the mindset has been a little harder. I can no longer let something go in order to get the job close, I've got to get things to a "ready to turn over" state of readiness. The devil is in the details.
It's one thing to breeze in and assemble a couple of cabs in a couple of day's, but to get everything working properly, you've got to go over every moving part and ensure that it functions properly, and above all quietly. It's a proven fact that there are a lot of people out there who are seriously "freaked out" by elevators. People that are nervous about them will still ride them, but they are looking and listening for any indication that there is a problem with the device, and will complain most loudly if it is there. It's now my job to remove every indication (real or perceived) that there is a problem.
Today, I went out to a job that I built from the 15% point to completion. The problem was that there was a "bump" in the ride at the midpoint of the travel. In the up direction, a certain scraping sound was heard, and in the down, there was a pronounced metallic crash that shook the whole elevator. After about four hours of work, you couldn't tell that there was ever an issue with this machine. I like that.
At any rate, I'm off to Kentucky in the morning... to "close" another one.
Well folks, here's the scoop... Week before last, I got an ultimatum from my roommate that I needed to be out in a week's time. This was on Wednesday. During that time our adjuster was out of town, so I got the duty to take up the slack. Needless to say this was a "high stress" time. Go "Wide Open" all day, and then come home and pack all night.
Since I didn't have a destination, I just packed all my stuff up and moved it into a storage unit. A couple of truckloads a night, but it was still enough to poop my little behind out. Luckily, one of my coworkers knew of a place for rent, and informed me of it. I got directions, and carried myself over to the other side of town to check it out. Older houses, cars being worked on, kids riding bikes, dogs in front yards, and plenty of pickup trucks. A nice "Blue Collar" neighborhood. I liked the house too... from the outside.
Meanwhile, my week's notice was winding down, and I still hadn't found a new place. On "moving day" (Wednesday before last) I got a call from my other roommate (Jennifer) stating that she'd been given until the end of the day to get her stuff out. Fuck! I broke out early from work and proceeded to pack like a crazy man. Five hours (and an additional storage unit) later, all of my stuff, her stuff, and her daughter's stuff was moved into storage.
On that day, I was notified that my coworker had the key's to the place that I was interested in (it's right across the road from her place) and I could come out and see it. I saw the inside, and let me tell you, the tile work is immaculate, the fresh paint looks great, and there's a bunch of other stuff that needs to be done. Doesn't matter, the place is great, and then landlord rented it to me sight unseen. I called him on my "cellular device" and set the deal in place.
I've been living here since last Saturday, and I've been without the InterWebs for at least that long. Goddamnit I've missed you all. I'lll be posting more lately, so expect it.