I know, I know, I keep slacking on posting blogs, life has just been a little hectic lately (not really but it sounds good).  First off I want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year.  Now I guess I should start......

I really cant remember the last time I wrote one of these things but I think it was about being "late" to work so I will start there.  I have been working with a new foreman since then and everything is going a lot better.  Work has been going good, I mean as good as work can go anyways.

I also joined a dart league around that time, we didnt do to well but there were mitigating circumstances, and I had fun so I joined the league for the next session. 

Let's see Christmas was cool. Spent time with the family got drunk, you know the usual......

The day after Christmas my sister Jaye flew out from CA. and we spent the weekend in D.C.  It was really good,  a great time and lots of walking.  I mean lots of  walking....... a shitload of walking I mean.  But it was great anyways, saw all the sites, did the tourist thing and watched the 49ers beat the Redskins in a Washingtion bar so life is good.

Other than that life has been real bland I either stay home, or go next door and throw darts and play cards at my aunts house.  Though I do enjoy the time there.

Well I am going to get out of here and stop boring you with my life I might post something soon, though I will not promise anything........

oh yeah just remember:  If you are looking for something it will be in the last place you look 

All I have to say is wow......I mean first off lets get something straight, this is not the blog I intended to do, the next time I blogged......that one is still coming.  So on with this blog.

So here isthe scoop...... I work for a company that installs commercial fire sprinklers.  I think I have covered that before, but figured I would let you know that I am still doing it.  So the company has this psuedo-policy that helpers have to met the foreman at whereever and at just about whatever time they deem suitable to getting to the jobsite on time.  Well ok that went well for a while, but on some mornings I find this harder than others.  Im not talking anh hour or half hour, not even 15 minutes.......I'm talking 5 minutes at the most.  Most mornings a minute late.  If not right on time.

So last week was definitely interesting...it started off 1 minute late on monday. on time tuesday and wednesday, thursaday there was a communication error between the foreman and I, and I was running about 3 minutes late.  Well Thursday he tells me I have to be even earlier to go to the same jobsite for no apparent reason, other than the fact that I had been a couple minutes late that week.  Ok if it was 7 in the morning we are talking about, ok,  yeah that would be one thing but Im talking 5 in the morning.  Oh mind ou when I get to the afore mentioned place I am not on the clock.  Ok enough backstory.

Well I go to work Friday, I show up on time, mind you it is 5 in the morning.  Im mean literally on time I show up exactly at 5.  So being as it is that early, it takes me a minute to get my personal effects, cigarettes , iPod, and whatnot.  Well I climb into the work truck and my forman points to the clock and says I am late.  Tells me that my job is on the line and he cant understand why I couldnt be a couple minutes early.  Well this gets me heated but I say nothing for about 10 minutes.  Well when I feeel I have calmed down enough I simply ask him "How can I be late if I am not on the clock?,  And if I am not on the clock then isn't it my time?"  Well he doesn't like this and he tells me that it is not my time but his, and that when I am late its like a big fuck you to him.  I told him if he was so worried about me being that one minute late he should have just left and I would've drove to the jobsite, mind you it was about 45 miles away but it would have been well worth it.

Ok enough of the he said/he said shit. Well he turns around and takes me to my car and says to be at the shop when it opens, so I do that.  I got paid a couple hours to sit in my car and wait for an answer on where I was working that day.  Well turns out I got a 3 day weekend, well most of a 3 day weekend anyway.  So this weekend I went to the Maryland DLI (I think it was called DLI, the labor board) site and found out some interesting things........and here they are (the boring part, or at least the more boring part of this blog).

O. Compensable Time: For What Time Must An Employee Be Paid?

All of the time an employer requires an employee to be at work is compensable time, whether or not the employee is officially "on the clock". This includes time driving in the employer's truck from worksite to worksite during the day. It also includes time driving from the shop to the work site at the beginning of the day and returning to the shop at the end of the day, if the employer requires the employee to report to and return to the shop. Some examples of illegal practices include the following:

Time spent travelling or "commuting" to work is non-compensable (not payable). This is true, even where an employee must drive a long distance. However, as stated in the previous section, once reporting to work (such as to the employer's shop or office, or any other place an employer requires an employee to report), the employee must then be paid for the time necessary to travel to a work site or to accomplish some other mission the employer assigns.

Ok I am not being required to be at the shop but I am being required to be somewhereto meet the forman so technically I should be paid.  If they are not requiring me to meet the foreman, then I cannot be late until 6:30 and it is absolutely ubsurd that they tell me my job is on the line, hence my query to my foreman about me being late.......

Yep thats what I said.  First off the cold coffee.  It's my own fault.  I poured myself a cup of coffee this morning, took a sip then literally fell back asleep for a hour and a half.  So needless to say I am drinking quite cold coffee since it is in a travel cup that is made of metal, no micrwaving it now.......

Now for the car.  For any of you who have been in my car within the last year, you know what Im talking about.  For those of you who haven't, I had a really bad wheel hub.  Well it was so bad, you almost had to yell to have a conversation between the driver and someone in the passenger seat.  Forget about trying to talk to someone sitting in the backseat.  Well I let it go a little to long apparently.  I got the part before I left for CA but the weather didnt permit me to change it until yesterday.  Let me tell you it was an adventure.  First off, it took almost 2 and a half hours to get the tire off.  You say "How can that be?".  Well there were 2 mitigating factors.  First off between brake dust and road salt, the rim and the rotor had kinda rusted together.  Secondly, where the hub was so bad for so long, the rim and the hub kinda welded themselves together, yeah I waited to long I know my own fault.  So a 2 to 3 hour job turned into about a 5 hour job.   It was worth it though.  I can actually hear the radio.  I think I will be able to hear people trying to hold a conversation.  I can hear all the other defects in my car now.  Though I think since I am so used to the noise, the silence will be deafening.

Well I am gonna get out of here, talk to you all later......... 

Myself......well I wasn't the one doing the poking, but you get the idea.  Well before I went to CA I purchased some needles, forceps and barbells for me and a friend.  She has done piercings before, and I have always wanted a couple so I decided to get the stuff and have her do the piercings.  So far out of the 3 I wanted done, I have gotten 2.  I wanted to get both my nipples and my tongue done.  Well I have both nips done, and am going to wait to do my tongue until I have a job.  I figure it is best to wait til after I interview with people to get this done.  I am gonna post some pics soon.  Yeah I know the barbells are mismatched.........but they are just there until the piercings heal, then I am gonna put some captive bead rings in........

In other news I have an interview monday at 5, I'll see where that goes, but hopefully I can get back with my previous employer.......

Yeah I know, Im sorry just trying to recap my week vacation, so it's a multi-part series.

Okay I think I left off at Saturday night.  That brings us to Sunday.  Sunday was very uneventful.  I mean literally, I did nothing, cause I was introduced to Dead-Bug Position.  If you have very comfy recliners, you know what I am talking about, you just might call it something different.Dead-Bug Position is this:  You recline as far back as you can, and you only get up to go to the bathroom, eat or smoke a cigarette (can't smoke in the house at my sisters).  Well first off, at about 10, we all went out to have breakfast at a local cafe.  Well, 3 of my sister, teo brother in laws, 2 nephews and I did anyway.  After we swung by an ATM we ended up back at Helenes house.  Thats is when DBP took over literally from noon til midnight all we did was watch movies........those recliners were so comfortable there was no need for anything, hell not even an alcoholic beverage.  Then we flew out monday so now I am here on the shore again so if I haven't seen you yet, I hope to see ya soon.