Brass, woods and percussion!

Tonight was the older boys' first school concert since switching to percussion.
I've been helping him a long to kind of catch up with the other drummers, and he's come along quite nicely if I do say so myself. (being a musician has it's advantages when it comes to your kids being in band!).

I decided to sit on the floor (in a chair silly), as opposed to having sat in the bleachers in the past. And let me tell you, it's like a whole new world sitting that close.

As stated before, I am a musician. I've been involved in playing instruments since grade school, so I know a thing or three when it comes to tempos, sounds, and notes (right and wrong). But, I sit listening as a parent, and not someone who is critiquing anything.

Before, I'd watch the first year band students with enthusism and slight jochularity as I'd watch them 'try' to keep tempo by tapping their foot. At the risk of sounding harsh, it looked like they were all trying to kill something that was running around their music stands.
BUT, this is the first year they are put together as an actual group and directed to play the same piece of music.

This year was no exception. However, sitting on the same level as the band, and a mere 30 feet from them, allows one to actually hear the chaotic stompings of twenty-five or so first year band students.

Being my boys' second year band/first year percussion, lent itself to a new type of experience.

While I was excited to hear how this group had grown since last year, I was equally excited to see how the boy would handle his new 'position'.

For the first movement, he played the bells, or xylophone.
Overall, he didn't do too bad. He could have been a bit more agressive, but standing next to a girl who's almost a foot and a half taller, while being in the same grade, could have had something to do with that.
But I'm getting off track here. Or am I?

Basically, I'm glad half of my children have taken to playing in the band (although, I'd prefer them to try the orchestra like their dad did. But this town has no string program.), and I see the other half getting his recorder so there's hope yet.

I look forward to more concerts.

It's a weekend for sports!

Being the parent of a 'band child' comes with many rewards.
One of which is being volunteered to work the concession stand at sporting events.
Last night, was such a night. And being Home Coming week, added to the excitement.

We showed up, not knowing what we had gotten ourselves into.

Within minutes of getting there, we had our assignments:Austin would work 'the cooler', getting the drinks that were called out and I, the parent, would work 'the counter'.
DUN dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Not being a people person, I settled in for what seemed like it would be the "Homecoming from Hell". Plus, not being aquainted with the prices, OR being able to do simple math within micro-seconds, I had a feeling it would be a LONG night.

Luckily, there were plenty of other "volunteered bodies", and there were plenty of counter people. I took a few orders over a period of 45 minutes, and by that time, the two band students (one of which was mine) were bored and ready to go watch the game.

SUCCESS! With Austin wanting to be let out of his "endentured servant status", I took over the cooler with much enthusiasm.

Soon, I was tossing drinks to the counter with the finesse of an NFL quarterback, and not much after that, I had spread my special personality" to the other parents and we were reliving the days of Saturday Night Live:"CHIP CHIP.....COKE............NO COKE! PEPSI".

Of course, this brand of comedy was lost on a majority of our patrons, as the average age was that of a teen-ager.
Still, we had fun, which is what it's all about.

btw:the Final Score as 35-0..........our team snuffed the other team BIG time.

As for today's sports news:BOTH boys had soccer games with Garrett's team won 7-2, the biggest win so far.
Austin's team was dealt a 3-5 loss.
Next time bud.....next time.

Just keeps getting better and better

*The following may be boring as hell to some. But I got nothing else to write on today. Cheers*

Today I finished work on a revision of five windows.

Now, sometimes, a revision has come down from the main office before the paper work hits the shop floor. And other times it will come after the material has been cut.
Occasionally, a revision entails either a colour change, change in sizing, or even a change of style altogether.

Normally, a revision doesn't really phase me much because, unfortunately, it has become common practice where I work. But this recent event has me livid and contemplating searching out other avenues of employment. Here's the low down.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in April, an order came across my table listing twelve windows, all panels (single piece of glass as opposed to double pane), with five of them measuring a whopping 88 7/8" x 76 7/8", five @ 88 7/8" x 45, and two easy round top measuring 24" x 40".

*I know for some, this may be hard to picture, but pay attention to the first set of numbers*

Now, within a week, the smaller two were complete, and the other ten were all made except for the glass. Some discussion was going on as to what type of glass to use, and the fact that glass would have to be special ordered as we don't carry anything large enough to accommodate the largest five.
Fast forward two weeks.

The first revision came down.

The colour was being changed from tan to white.
Shit.

This meant that everything had to be scraped (nothing could be reused as it was either bent or already processed. Frame, insert, and expanders all were scraped out.
Great.

Again, within a week, everything was either redone completely or done to the point of waiting on the glass.
That was the end of June.

My glass finally came, and everything was completed the first week of August.
Of course, they weren't shipped until the last part of August.

Now, take a moment and look at things so far, and put yourself in the shoes of the customer.

You've placed an order for 12 custom windows sometime in (probably May).
It's now almost September before you are seeing results.

Ok, got your "mood" on? Get ready for round three.

Thursday, during our coordinators meeting, the production manager informs me that "those (hotel name) windows are coming back."
What? Are you shitting me? wtf?
He continues,"something about they're the wrong size".
I couldn't help myself.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA".

That's right. I sat at the end of the table, opposite our shop boss, and laughed in his face.
The other six at the meeting looked on horrified.
I continued.
"So you're telling me that those 12 windows that were first made in tan four months ago, then again in white three months ago, and only shipped ONE month ago, are freaking wrong?! AGAIN?!? Who's fault is that? Is (parent company) going to try and slip that one on us too???"
"Well, I don't know who measured it. And I won't know how much too big they are until I hear from (home office)".
*in my best Scottish accent:"Well THAT'S just frikkin' great".(it's more impressive if you actually hear it).

So I get into work today, the windows have been off-loaded and the order is sitting on my table.
Now, mind you, this has been in the back of my mind since last week.
"How much could it be?"
"Are we still doing it in white?"

And then, I see them.
The five biggest windows from the project, just sitting there on an A-frame, silently taunting me with their oversized............size. And to the side, the two smaller, easy ones. The ones that have been completed twice before their gi-normous brethren, also seem to have a sense of foreboding. And on the side of the wall, the expanders for the big fukkers.

Of course, the shop boss wasn't in today. But he was nice enough to leave the new order on my work table so I would be sure to "get right on them" first thing this morning.

As I'm looking over the new order, I notice a few things.
First off, this is an entirely new order.
By that, I mean, it's not a re-work order. It's an order as if it was an entirely new product. wtf?

Next, I notice that there is a small notation concerning the two smaller roundtops.
"Raymond, these need to be changed into quarter-rounds, but I don't have that one layed out yet."
Are you freaking kidding me? How does someone fuck THAT up?
First off, someone mis-measures and I make these behemoths too big, and that same someone gave me the wrong shape for two all together?!

*oooooooohhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm*

Ok, I'm composed. I'm in my 'happy place'. Just how much off are these big-ass muther............."Hide the kids. Hide the pets. Something bad is about to happen"

THIRTY INCHES TOO BIG? ARE YOU FREAKIN' SHITTING ME? HOW THE HELL CAN YOU F*CK UP BY THIRTY FREAKIN' INCHES?

I go into the office, carrying this "payload of joy" and slam it on the desk.
"I wanna know who was in charge of this. I want their cell number, I want their exact location at this point in time, and I want you to notify their next of kin!"

Ok, so, it didn't quite go like that.
But believe me, the people that should know,
knew now.

Now, after all that ranting and raving about the stupidity of what has transpired, it only took the better part of a day to cut down those five windows. But it really makes me think about the future.

The company I work for is divided into two companies, in two different states, but owned by one man.
The factory employees maybe 35 people, including three in the office, one salesman, and a retired gentleman who still comes in daily who has the respect of us all.
I don't know about the employee status in the other facility, but all in all, it's a family run business.

The problem is mainly that the CEO feels he has to have his hands in EVERY aspect of the business. He's been in charge for maybe 20 out of the 35(?) years the company has been in operation, and he's still "trying new things" that is really pushing the limits of the shop personelle.
There are even talks that if he goes bankrupt again, there'll be no coming back.

So what's a guy to do?
Working in a factory that hasn't seen ANY profit sharing for at least five years (although the main office has seen profit every year and even "decided to share it's profit with us" one year), is constantly sending down mistakes that are making their way sometimes all the way to the customer, and making obviously horrible business decisions.

The only reason I stay in this town is because my children are now here, and hearing from aunts and uncles of theirs (what can I say? They still love me!), that "those boys really need you".

Being a non-colleged, single income, single dad doesn't have a lot of options in a one horse town.

RenFest 2006

RenFest 2006
Originally uploaded by bat-a-ray.

After twenty-something years, I returned to the Minnesota Renasainnse Festival.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take my kids with me.
A friend had some freebies from work and invited me and another friend of ours (I'm awaiting approval to post that pic).

Take flight, my minions

Ok, so, for some time now, I've liked squirrels.
I've become fascinated by how they act, interact, and react to one another and other creatures.
The sounds they make, the way they claw upside down on a tree trunk and look at you as if they are checking you out. I can't explain it:I just think they are damn cool.

Here in Northern Iowan,we have the reddish-brown variety.
They are a bit bigger than their solid grey cousins.

I've even gotten some shirts depicting squirrels from "Squirrels gone wild" to "Protect your nuts". I'm just odd I guess.

To entertain myself and my kids, whenever we come across one, I'll jokingly say something like "AT EASE JOHNSON", which of course, they usually do reacting to a human speaking to them. They kids love it.

I've even gone so far as to come up with movie titles interjecting the word "squirrel". For example, "Squirrels of the Caribbean:Deadmans' Squirrel", or "Star Wars Episode II:Attack of the Squirrels".

So imagine my surprise when I found the following article, sent to me by my dad, provided by Scripps Howard News Service:



Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed -- the threat
Scripps Howard News Service
An editorial / By Dale McFeatters
Scripps Howard News Service



We know that what with fire ants, killer bees, northern snakeheads, Asian tiger mosquitoes and whatever else is slithering this way, you
probably have your hands full with obnoxious and unwelcome wildlife.
But in our role of spreading groundless panic and needless alarms we feel obligated to alert you to a new menace — crazed and violent squirrels.
Just this Friday came reports out of Mountain View, Calif., of rogue squirrels attacking folks in a local park. It is not an isolated event, people.
Just recently, an aggressive squirrel terrorized Winter Park, Fla., until the authorities captured it.
In Lawrence, Mass., a squirrel attacked an 8-year-old boy in his front yard, and when his mother came out, the rodent clamped onto her leg. ``I have no idea where it came from,'' she told local news, ``but it was on there for a while.''
In Leominster, Mass., a drug suspect's pet squirrel attacked a police officer. A hunter outside Madison, Wis., heard squirrels rustling in the leaves and then suddenly one of them jumped him.
There are documented cases of squirrels attacking deer. And the list of colleges that have warned students against squirrel assaults is endless.
The authorities wring their hands in the face of the menace. For every squirrel removed, two take its place, they insist, and trying to discourage them by removing their sources of food only makes them more aggressive.
In England, there was a proposal to deal with rogue squirrels by eating them. One peer suggested including them in the school-lunch program. It went nowhere.
Your best defense: Be wary, be very wary — especially around acorns."

You can run, but you cannot hide from my furry friends..................