The Useful Duck!

Contribute to my Vacation, please...

Friday, October 23, 2015

A random post after a bit of a break, or Why I have not made pig feed in three months

i have been busy...
While I have had a lot to say, I have not had time or energy to get on my computer. Raking leaves is surprisingly hard work.
I have not been reading blogs, writing blogs, thinking about blogs...
I've have read all the comments and I thank you for continuing to comment.
Some absolutely hilarious things have happened with my new job. I am pretty sure I can't comment about them...
My father took a turn for the worse two weeks or so ago. I had been spending my lunch breaks sitting with him at the rest home.
It was a bit difficult as he seemed to have a disconnected circuit in his brain which prevented him from talking. He wanted to say something.
Hospice provided morphine and not a speech therapist.
Procedures were followed.
He died Sunday.
Our family mythology will be that he seemed relived after my brother explained to him that all the crops were planted. (I finished planting after dark Saturday evening) And thus, he died at 5 a.m. This was the time he liked to get up every morning.
He had read a number of self-help books as a youth. He was very much a proponent of self betterment and the power of one's mind over emotions. His theory was that one needed to "hit the deck running," every morning or else you would, "not be good for anything the rest of the day."
Thus, every morning at 5:30 a.m. Dad would leap from bed, sprint to the bathroom, slash cold water on his face, sprint back the bedroom, pull up his overalls, bound down the stairs and noisily start the fire. Every morning... Barefoot in a faded blue nightgown, (yes he wore a nightgown), I can still his his bare feet running past my room when it was so cold the bathroom pipes were frozen. (to which he said, "oh! for pity-sakes!" and charged down the stairs.
I've never really subscribed to that theory, perhaps this is why I'm not a successful businessman.
In other news...
My father-in-law returned home midweek. (he broke his leg near the hip)
He has had a bit of a personality change after a month in a skilled nursing facility. This is not for the better. I'm a little worried about my wife's sanity.
My supervisor told me I needed to take a couple days off. I went to HR and found I could take a week off and still be paid. I'm not actually taking a whole week off at once.
Then I got called back to HR to discuss work events that I really wish I could tell you.
We will go with what I said and not what I heard..
I explained that while I did not seek out gossip about coworkers and one of the reasons was that I have poor impulse control and tend to blurt out comments which I think are funny at the time. Because I recognize that failing I avoid knowing things which could lead me to those social gaffs and I apologized for making the social gaff that I assumed led me to HR.
I was told it was bigger than my one comment.
I asked if people had hobbies outside of work, there was a pause and I suddenly realized that I had illustrated my tendency towards blurting out things which should be filtered. It got a laugh. And probably a comment in my permanent record.

Here are things which I found in the flowerbeds on Monday. You never know what you will find Monday morning!
This is a padded woman's foundation garment, size 32B. Nice frilly lace on front and sides. A little mark mulch on it. Pictured with it is a broken ping-pong paddle. 

A full can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. I did not drink the beer, this a posed photography.

The human mind tends to make patterns out of random events. Please feel free. Found the items between the administration building and the another important building which I can never remember the name or purpose of. It is an imposing brick edifice from the original college.

Pictured below is my haul from the Previous Monday.
If you will look closely you will find the ratio of booze to mixer rather askew.


This is what it looks like when you are mowing a lawn in the rain.
Instead of "dig we must," for a motto, we have "mow we must."

10 comments:

  1. I am Grounds manager at a private college in KC; Welcome to my world! Except for the booze.....mostly. We have a main street running through our property and our sports fields are sort of public use, so I pick up the odd can or bottle. We finally got some rain, so the grass can grow to mowing height once more......if it doesn't decide to go dormant with the 40deg nights next week. I won't take the Maintenance director position because I don't want to know all that goes on; I am happy in my little ignorant world. Take care, God bless you Super Good!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave, a fellow groundskeeper! So do you subscribe to the 2.5" specification for your grass or go with the 1.5"? Also, natural trimming of shrubbery vs the square look? I'm leaning towards natural rounded bushes. I found out that one needs to think of drunken students when trimming shrubs. Don't want one falling on a broken rhododendron and dying. Three months ago, these thoughts NEVER even entered my head...

      Delete
  2. i'm extremely excited to see all your finds. please keep up with this. i dont think my farming tourettes would do well in a corporate job... i'd end up in HR also. when you get called back in be sure to have a sincere regretful look ready.

    i'm very sorry to hear about your father.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sorry to hear about you losing your dad. No matter the circumstances, you can't ever be 100% prepared for such things.

    ReplyDelete
  4. sure you want your daughter going to this collage. can she make pig food. I bottled some wine

    ReplyDelete
  5. Truly sorry about your dad.

    I don't think I would last long in your position. I'm a bit of a sarcastic mutterer. Trouble is that years of running loud machinery "for just a few minutes" with no earplugs has affected my volume control a bit. What i think is under my breath......sometimes isn't.......

    ReplyDelete
  6. First of all please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. I lost mine as a small child which leaves a gap. I enjoyed your recollection of your father's early morning routine. According to my mother my father would do a headstand each morning to start the day. Never have I been able to do a headstand. Secondly you just don't want to think too hard about anything found or learned on a college campus...I should backspace and add 'seen' to the list.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If you squint your eyes really hard at that 32B/paddle photo it looks like Homer Simpson having a bad day. I think I'm staying up too late.

    Maybe it is just an innocent visual aid from someone trying to explain the difference between bust and busted.

    ReplyDelete
  8. First of all please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. I lost mine as a small child which leaves a gap. I enjoyed your recollection of your father's early morning routine. According to my mother my father would do a headstand each morning to start the day. Never have I been able to do a headstand. Secondly you just don't want to think too hard about anything found or learned on a college campus...I should backspace and add 'seen' to the list.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think

Please leave comments! It is really easy!

You just type your comment in the text box below the post. You can be anyone you want.
And...Would the joker who keeps clicking "offensive" please leave an explanation ?!