Brutally Cold

Today is one of the days at work that I really don't care for- brutally cold and trucks that won't start! I was hoping with March being here that things would start warming up a little bit but we get a big storm then really cold weather! I hate it when it is bitterly cold and it sucks just to walk up to the other building! Today was SO busy at work- I hardly had time to breath when I was there and I got a headache from the stress! I will take care of that tonight with a good work out and a good meal. It is awesome to see Jerry every morning and every night and a couple times during the day! I can tell he likes it at work and he is getting a feel for it and getting his foot in the door. He got his new work cell phone today and after being at Hartt for two days- he has a way more kick ass phone then my stupid work phone and five years have got me! I now have Jerry set up on my ICQ and his extension is 263! I can talk to him anytime I want to! Well, I am off to go work out and relieve some stress then watch Idol with my daughter! Later

25th Anniversary

Today was actually pretty descent for a Monday! Jerry was at work for his first day, he road to work with me and I got a free supper at a surprise 25th anniversary party for my boss! The supper was REALLY good! I had the rib eye and it was excellent, and for dessert I had apple fritters with ice cream! My poor wife couldn't make it because she had root canal today and wasn't feeling up to going out! She got to have pot pies and play Wii! Jerry had a good first day at work- he met everyone, learned a bunch and got comfortable with what he is doing at Hartt. Jim was actually at the supper tonight and he said he likes Jerry a lot and is very happy to have his expertise and experience to work for him. Jim said he met Julie and Zack tonight when they came to pick Jerry up and that he thinks Jerry will fit right in on his team! Jeff thanked me for recommending Jerry and said that he really liked meeting him and that Jerry seemed like a perfect fit for our company! Rick P also said thank you and said he enjoyed meeting Jerry! Sounds like everyone is very happy and I think Jerry will fit right in and be an awesome fit for Hartt!
Man, I am so sore! I worked out yesterday but that isn't why I am sore! The Wii kicked my butt! My right arm and shoulder feel like I worked out for two hours! Man, I didn't think that as much as I work out that a video game would make me sore. Well, I was wrong on that one. I feel like I got run over by a truck so as soon as I finish blogging, I am going over and play some more! The tennis is the one that kicks my butt and I really like it! Leave it to Nintendo to make a system that works you out while playing a video game! What a concept! Well, I am off to play some games, take a shower and go to bed- I am picking up Jerry on my way to work and then I can finally give him a ride home tomorrow night! Glad you are fitting in at work and everyone likes you, Bro- I think you are a perfect fit at Hartt! Later

Sunday 6AM

Ok, most people know that I have Sunday and Monday off. Most people know I haven't had a Monday off since before AJ left for Auburn. So, why would I be awake at 6AM on the one day I have off? Let me tell you why- the fucking useless shop pager! The first page I got I knew I was going to get- I set up the road service and knew they would need to get paid. The second one should have been easy- flat tire, call Auburn on call and move on. Third one also should have been easy- needed a truck moved in Auburn. Once again, Auburn on call guy and done deal. The problem is the Auburn on call guy wasn't on call. So, I get a second round of calls this morning dealing with the same two trucks. I don't see what is so hard about this stuff. If it was here in Bangor, I would go move or truck or call Joey and he would go move it! The tire one- more the driver's fault then anyone else. He told me he was fine to wait until this morning to get the tire changed since he didn't want to pay $2-300 to mount up a tire on a Saturday night.
So, I go to bed around midnight and am back up at 6AM. Honey, you could not have picked a better night to not sleep with me! I had noxious gas that damn near drove me out of the room and the pager went off like four more times! I am thinking I will stay busy today- I want to go to the slots and blow my $20 gift certificate and I want to go shopping and look at some stuff. I need to go to the dump this morning and then I can start thinking about fun things. I did my arms workout last night but I think I will do a full workout today- I need to have Monday off from working out so I can go to supper and I am off today and should be able to slip in an hour for workout somewhere. I weighed myself yesterday and I still weigh 176 pounds. I am not gaining or losing and I guess this is where my body is comfortable. I really like dominoes-it is really fun and very strategic! I am quite happy that it is March and the weather should be getting better soon! I am ready for warmer weather and spring!
Had an awesome time with Jerry and Julie last night and can't wait until Monday to go to work with him! No more Portland, no more crappy hospital! Things could not have worked out any better if I sat down and planned them! Oh- I don't think I mentioned this to you last night but Jeff that you met in your interview is AJ's Dad. Just a little tidbit of info for you. Hey- I actually thought of this yesterday while driving to work- you will be at our company Christmas party next year! How awesome is that? You heard about it in my blog last year and this year you will get to live it with me! Hartt also always puts on a big summer bash that is geared more towards kids and we usually go to Blackbeards or something and ride go-carts and play mini golf. Well, whatever is messing up my stomach this morning is back so I am off to take care of that and feed my birds. Later

Jerry, Julie and a 5th of Crown

Well, it is 11:26PM and Jerry and Julie just headed home. I had an awesome time tonight as I always do when they are over to visit! We pretty much polished off my fifth of Crown as I thought we would and I should be fine in the morning. I really don't keep track anymore of how much I drink. I might check the fifth of half gallon and gauge how I feel first thing in the morning to see if that was too much or just the right amount but I really don't count or keep track of what I drink. Funny how when you are young, you gauge yourself by how much you can drink and use it as a badge of honor to brag to people. Can I drink as much now as I could when I was young? Fuck no! I try and picture what it would be like if 20 year old Rick sat down and drank against 37 year old Rick. Twenty year old Rick would be full of piss and vinegar, wouldn't mix his shit with anything and would be hammered in two hours! Thirty seven year old Rick would mix his doubles, drink them down, mellow out, drink another, tell a story or two, mix and drink another- that guy could go all night! And he has learned his lesson- draw out your night, let the buzz last then keep the buzz going! When I was young, I totally missed the best part of drinking- that buzz on that make you glow and feel great and doesn't make you do stupid shit. I was out for one thing back then and that was to get as fucked up as possible as soon as I could get there. With age, comes experience and with experience comes the appreciation of the buzz on. The buzz on, if you don't know is the perfect amount of alcohol that gives you that buzz and glow and makes you feel good while you can still play games, talk normally and keep up a conversation. It makes you feel light headed and giddy with a touch of mellow that just relaxes me and lets me really be myself. Do I know how much alcohol that is for me? No, I have no clue. I have three or four doubles and I start to feel it then I have a couple more and the buzz stays at a good level and keeps going. There is actually a very fine line between the buzz and too much. If you push and shoot too much when the buzz is going, you get drunk quick. Now, for me- when you get past the buzz and get into drunk, that is when I start drinking too much. This is the point where I will start doing shots, playing quarters and generally start pissing my wife off. I can keep a good buzz going for hours if I play it right- right up to the point when I go to bed and the room isn't spinning and I feel fine the next day.
I can't wait for Monday! Jerry will be riding to work with me on Monday morning but I can't give him a ride home at night- I have a supper I have to go to and I am sorry. His first day at Hartt and I can't give him a ride home. Sorry, brother but I promise this will be the one and only time I can't help you out. I never have stuff to do after work except go home and your first day I have to stand you up! I hope you have an absolutely awesome first day and wow the shit out of those people up there! I know for a fact that they are getting an awesome guy and you will take care of our computers better than anybody! Thank you for coming over tonight and I will see you tomorrow morning when you go to the dump! Later

Jerry, Julie and a 5th of Crown

Well, it is 11:26PM and Jerry and Julie just headed home. I had an awesome time tonight as I always do when they are over to visit! We pretty much polished off my fifth of Crown as I thought we would and I should be fine in the morning. I really don't keep track anymore of how much I drink. I might check the fifth of half gallon and gauge how I feel first thing in the morning to see if that was too much or just the right amount but I really don't count or keep track of what I drink. Funny how when you are young, you gauge yourself by how much you can drink and use it as a badge of honor to brag to people. Can I drink as much now as I could when I was young? Fuck no! I try and picture what it would be like if 20 year old Rick sat down and drank against 37 year old Rick. Twenty year old Rick would be full of piss and vinegar, wouldn't mix his shit with anything and would be hammered in two hours! Thirty seven year old Rick would mix his doubles, drink them down, mellow out, drink another, tell a story or two, mix and drink another- that guy could go all night! And he has learned his lesson- draw out your night, let the buzz last then keep the buzz going! When I was young, I totally missed the best part of drinking- that buzz on that make you glow and feel great and doesn't make you do stupid shit. I was out for one thing back then and that was to get as fucked up as possible as soon as I could get there. With age, comes experience and with experience comes the appreciation of the buzz on. The buzz on, if you don't know is the perfect amount of alcohol that gives you that buzz and glow and makes you feel good while you can still play games, talk normally and keep up a conversation. It makes you feel light headed and giddy with a touch of mellow that just relaxes me and lets me really be myself. Do I know how much alcohol that is for me? No, I have no clue. I have three or four doubles and I start to feel it then I have a couple more and the buzz stays at a good level and keeps going. There is actually a very fine line between the buzz and too much. If you push and shoot too much when the buzz is going, you get drunk quick. Now, for me- when you get past the buzz and get into drunk, that is when I start drinking too much. This is the point where I will start doing shots, playing quarters and generally start pissing my wife off. I can keep a good buzz going for hours if I play it right- right up to the point when I go to bed and the room isn't spinning and I feel fine the next day.
I can't wait for Monday! Jerry will be riding to work with me on Monday morning but I can't give him a ride home at night- I have a supper I have to go to and I am sorry. His first day at Hartt and I can't give him a ride home. Sorry, brother but I promise this will be the one and only time I can't help you out. I never have stuff to do after work except go home and your first day I have to stand you up! I hope you have an absolutely awesome first day and wow the shit out of those people up there! I know for a fact that they are getting an awesome guy and you will take care of our computers better than anybody! Thank you for coming over tonight and I will see you tomorrow morning when you go to the dump! Later

Snowy Friday

Today was a snowy, nasty day at work. To give you an idea of what a snow storm means for me, I have like eight mechanics that work on any given day. Work has been extremely busy so even with eight guys cranking all day, we never get completely caught up. Now take half of those eight- four complete guys all day and send them out to plow snow all day. That leaves eight guy's work to four guys. Sorry, but it can't be done. These are the days that Al gets pissed and can be hard to deal with. He knows he has no chance of catching up and it pisses him off, then he takes it out on other people. Then he sees some guy staring off into space or doing something that isn't important and he comes unglued. I used to think he was an asshole. Now, I totally get where he is coming from. I actually had a pretty good day at work for a day that should have completely sucked. I was left alone, the phone didn't ring as much as a normal Friday and I got quite a bit accomplished. Shooter was in rare form today! He says I am the dark side of the force and he is the good side! I hate to admit it, but I probably am the dark side. But really, Greg is a super nice guy! I might tease him and make fun of him but he is awesome! And so what if Farmer Bob is his father? We can't all be perfect, can we?
Julie got me thinking today with her comments on one of our blogs- she said Jerry and I had escapades that legends are made of when we were younger! How many people do you know that were in two full scale riots in Maine? I've seen shit that made me sick to my stomach and shit that made me want to punch people out. Through everything we have seen and done together, he and I never argued, never fought and really never disagreed. When we first met, we both liked to have fun- and we did, a lot! Then we both hooked up with our women about the same time and settled down- a lot! Then we both had families about the same time, started working our asses off for pennies, got better at the things we needed to get better at and are now assets for any company we decide to work for. We are very similar, our lives have followed similar but very different paths and now we are back together- older and wiser and better. I heard Toby Keith's 'I Ain't as Good as I Once Was' today and immediately thought of Jerry and I. I could so see us sitting in a bar and me saying to Jerry or vice versa I might not be what I once was but I am enough to kick that punk's ass! And the thing about it- the punk would totally remind both of us of us 15 years ago and then we'd laugh? Or we would go out and soak some old lady with puddle water! If you are out there, old lady- be afraid, be very afraid! If I could find a white '74 Mustang, I would drive around until I found that old hag and chase her up a hill again! Good times, my friend- good times! Later

Well, Well, Well!

Well, the word came today that I was waiting for! Jerry is officially an employee of Hartt Transportation! Woo hoo! Jerry called me this morning, then Jim called me and then Rick P came down and told me! I am so happy for Jerry, Julie and Zack! I can't even imagine what Monday mornings must be like for him- knowing he is going to get in a car and leave his son and wife until Friday night! Well, thankfully we took care of that bullshit! Julie and Zack can have their husband and Dad back during the week and he can sleep in his own bed every night. I didn't want to get Jerry's hopes up on Monday, but I have never heard of them not hiring a person that met Rick, Joann and all the people that Jerry met! I interviewed for Hartt twice- the first time as a dispatcher and I met one person. Then I interviewed for the job in the shop that I have now and I met like ten people and I was hired two days later. I knew it would come soon- either yesterday or today but it was such an awesome sigh of relief when he called me! Bro, I am so happy for you! I would have to say your wife is pretty happy with me, too- she dropped off a fifth of Crown for me today and it is limited edition Daytona 500 2007! That bad boy will be cracked on Saturday night when you are over here celebrating your new job with me! Jerry also told me today that he is ordering his new tattoo gun and we can get started on that bad boy sometime soon! Man, this whole thing couldn't have worked out any better! I have someone to ride with me to work and home every night and my best friend will be working 100 yards from me every day! Plus, he will be working in the department that can make my life easier! Awesome, just awesome! Having Jerry live in Hampden when I live in Hampden is worth the outrageous taxes I pay! It is awesome to have him back in my life and it feels SO good to be able to help him! I would have to say the last year of my life has really been the defining year of my life! I work very hard and make good money, I have a wonderful wife who loves me and who I love very much, I have two wonderful children that make my life complete, I have an awesome house that I busted my ass to have and build, I lost over 60 pounds and I have my best friend and his family back in my life after WAY too many years apart. This fall, Sean will be starting school and Colleen will be going back to work which means more income for us! Things are really starting to come together in my life! You learn to appreciate stuff like this when you spend your first ten years together struggling to make ends meet and still have enough money to do fun things when you do have time! Starting out a marriage poor and struggling makes you appreciate things in life! First, you need to work your ass of to get ahead. You need to be willing to take a chance and you need to be committed and honest. Both Jerry and I have never had anything handed to us- we have had to work for everything we have ever had. Well, I never worked that hard at him being my best friend- that actually just happened naturally. He was sitting inside his house one day when a bunch of us stopped over to see his brother and sister. I asked who that was and they said that is Jerry and he is antisocial and hates everyone! I laughed and said I was going in to talk to him. Well, I walk in and say hey and he says hey back. I ask if he wants to come smoke a cig with me and he says what kind do you have? I said Camel nonfilters and he says yeah I suppose. The rest is history- long, sordid, drunken, loud, obnoxious history!
Well, enough of that sappy shit! Jerry got the job, I have a fifth of Crown and very soon I will have a new tat! I need to go work out and watch Idol with Jessi and then have a couple of beers and chill out. My wife is at a Pampered Chef party with my Mom so she won't be home until later. I am off to listen to 80's hair bands on Sirius and work my ass off! Later