First week back to work

It's Saturday morning, I've been up since 6:30 and my plans to mow have been shattered. It seems the misty drizzle will continue just enough to prevent me from attacking my shaggy looking lawn today. That's OK, it gave me the opportunity to catch up on reading some blogs and to write a couple of posts as well.

My first week at work went well for the most part. I spent two days in the field with installation crews working on air handlers, outside A/C units and ductwork. This work included the demolition of an aged system in a small factory's office space. Not a typical job for my company and not a very pleasant one either. The factory polishes metals and this produces a fine black dust that is everywhere. It was especially apparent in the area over the offices where we worked. The guys on the crew were not thrilled to be doing this job and it took much longer than anticipated.

Still, I was able to learn something about the skills and talents of various crew members, as well as their personalities. I also learned that at 59 I'm much too old to be doing what they do for a living. In addition, I gained valuable knowledge about how our equipment is installed and how it works. These things are very necessary if I am to be successful in this endeavor.

Vicki's big-ass store had its grand opening this Wednesday and her boss ( a young thing of 27) worked Vicki for 15 hours. Most of it on her feet. She came home so tired and beat I wanted to strangle her boss. The extreme exhaustion and physical pain caused my wife to be sick at work the next day. One of the other bigger bosses sent her home. What a bunch of twits.

Vick promises to talk with her boss and let the young woman know what her physical limits are. I don't think she can handle more than 10 hours and that would be stretching it. I felt helpless to do anything about this. Instead I made dinner that night, rubbed her feet and tried my best to support and care for her. She was fine by Friday and is at work today. I just hope she has that talk with her boss.

Sometimes the young are so self absorbed and oblivious to others that I can barely stand to be around them. Thankfully they are offset by the many who are a pleasure to work with and who brighten up an old guy or gal's day with some offbeat humor or different view of events and our world.

My wife's best friend at her work is a young gay man who is knowledgeable, hardworking and bright. They get along well because of their shared work ethic, sense of fairness and because they are both genuinely nice people to be around. I am very glad she has this friend, because I know I am much too serious at times and can be a pain in the butt to live with. It takes a little pressure off me when she has friends and outside interests. Plus I get to hear about her day and all that context that women are genetically bound to put in their stories.

To add insult to injury, my wife's ex-husband ( a drunk and a wife beater) dropped by her work yesterday with his wife (another drunk) to chat. This idiot is so clueless that he thinks we want to keep up with them and actually care about what they're doing. They were here in the Carolinas on vacation and just had to "stop by and say Hi." Morons...... One of the big bosses there for the opening saw her plight and saved her. That guy get's my thanks.

Anywho....... I made it through my first week, Vicki is feeling better and her idiot ex and his even more idiotic spouse are flying back to Phoenix as I write this. At least they didn't show up at the house. That would have caused me to kick his ass, (something I told him long ago I would be more than happy to do if he ever pissed me off again) had he not taken the hint and split.

I have one more week here in town before I drive up to St Louis for a week of "Comfort Adviser" school. If anybody who reads this knows anything about downtown St Louis I would be happy to hear from you. I'm paying for my lodgings there and I don't feel like spending $150 a day to stay where the classes are held at the Drury Inn. So I'm looking for decent place within a 10 or 15 minute drive that is less expensive. I'll be there for a week, so it adds up pretty quick at over a hundred a day.

Can't really complain though, these problems and challenges I have now are much better ones to have than finding a job. That was a bigtime challenge.

OK my fellow husbands, friends, spouses and whatevers; enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

The Daily Husband