Meet Me at the Market

I was up early today. Not unusual, we are both usually up by 7. So I say to Herself, "I think I'll go to the market thismorning." The market being the Englishtown Auction. It is a huge indoor/outdoor flea market. You can find pretty much anything there and most of the prices are really good.
The weather this morning was ideal walkin' weather so I drove the 2 or so miles, parked about half a mile from the action and headed in.
The one thing I absolutely had to get was a pair of Army issue camo pants. I wear them when I work in the yard because they are so freakin' comfortable. I was assisted by Norm. I told him I just needed a pair of pants, the plain ol' olive drab ones...no pattern. He says, "Nah you don't. Here ya' go" and hands me a pair of camo pants. They were 20 bucks and I think that's a wee bit high so I wander his booth, hoping to find another, cheaper pair. When I was in R.I. the was an Army NAvy Surplus store near my house and I bought used pairs from a little Vietnamese fellow who owned the store. Cheap and they last for years. So anyways I find a pair with a 13.50 price tag and decide I'll get those. I go see his brother at the register and he tells me the price is wrong and should be 16.95. I hand him my Jackson anyways and he mumbles a 'sorry about that pal.' and yells to his brother 'gimme a belt. not that one... cammy!' He nods and says 'I'll give ya' a free belt 'cause of the screw-up.' I thank him and he tells me come back if I have any problems at all. I assure him I will. Then it's off into the crowd. The Englishtown Auction is quite an experience. The dealers and patrons alike encompass, it seems, every race on the planet. A Jamaican selling gospel cd's under a tent by the road, (who Norm didn't seem happy with) a an African woman selling Shea Butter right out of a tub under the summer sun, a man from Ecuador selling footbal jerseys. They are spread out on tables, hanging on racks, and stuffed into suitcases. I wanted one but he didn't seem to have much from the EPL. Lots of teams from Central America, Mexico and the Bundesliega. The price is fair, 15 bucks. It's not the 'authentic' team issue but hey, it looks exactly like the real one. The eldery,weathered American couple selling fresh produce thatsa stuffed into wicker baskets...it's all there.
Many women walk with parisols and umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun. Men hoist their kids up onto their shoulders so their little feet won't burn on the hot pavement, or stub their toes in the outdoor area of the market that is basically rocky, dirt paths cut through the grounds.
There are many outdoor and indoor food stands and the smells all mingle together and it makes you want to eat.
After strolling for an hour I deceide it's time to go home and relax and enjoy the rest of my Saturday.

Ouch

This is the result of my run-in with the food processor. Hey, when I fuck myself up I do it right.

Welcome Back Lefty

Well I went back to work today with my wounded hand. I was put to work doing inventory. It was nice. I was driving a 'picker'. This is a neat device that can cruise down the narrow isles in our warehouse and the platform rises up to (I think) 55 feet. It doesn't bother me now, I do wear a safety harness, but the first time you go up the basket starts to sway to higher you go...phewww..So anyways I was given about a dozen or so locations to check. It was easy and it didn't bother my hand much at all. The Big Guy said if I wanted to work he'd find something easy to do. Thanksfully. The idea of aweek off was tempting and if I had a ton of loot in the bank, I'd do it. But I was informedby our HR gal that getting your check could take weeks. So while I'm bummed that I've had to use 2 off my precious and quickly fading PTO days, I did that.
Many people were shocked that I had come to work at all.
The wound looks nasty...all the stitches and the swelling....but Monday the stitches will come out and soon I'll be back to normal. Well..maybe not normal..but you know what I mean.
I had a nice quick, painless dentist visit today. A tiny cavity. So small I didn't even need Novacain. Thankfully. I've had my fill of shots this week thank you....
Is any else excited about the upcoming return of the show House MD? What great show. It is one of the few shows the Lovely One and I actually sit down to watch every week.
Monday I had my stess test and to prepare me nurse Lorraine shaved off approximately 9 of my 14 chest hairs so she could apply the little electrode thingys. I did good. 13 minutes on the treadmill. Yeah me. Good news is the doc says he doesn't see any problems. With my heart. My cholesterol, however is another story. I have to go on a 'diet' to try and lower it. Great. Thank God I can have up to two beers (12oz. servings) a day..can I get an AAAmennn ??!! Anyways....
Last night the Lovely One and Meself had dinner at a littleplace our neighbor Jenn told us about. It's in Brick, here in Joisey, and it was easy enough to get to. It's called Carrabbas. What a great place! The place is really nice, the decor and lighting, etc. The food was fantastic and the waitstaff couldn't have been better. If you're in the area I suggest you check them out.

I'm So Happy You Gave Me That 14th Stitch...13 of Anything is Unlucky You Know

Well. For weeks I have been wanting to do an entry on those stupid warning labels you see on products. You know, the one on the block of fresh cheese..."please remove seal before serving.." The one on the curling iron .."Do not insert iron into any body orifices..." the one on a say, I dunno.... food processor.."don't operate without saftey lid in place.."...Today I count myself lucky to still have my digits and the use of them and I add myself to the list of stupid people these warnings are made for.
Yesterday I was cleaning the garage, making room throwing out stuff we didn't want...you know, a late spring cleaning..I was near the end when I dropped our mini food processor, breaking off the little piece of plastic the acts as the safety. See, the tab catches inside and disengages the safety. I attempted to see if I could salvage the device. So with one hand on the top of the blade-post and one hand poking a knife into the catch.....well...it was ugly. The blade engaged, rose up the post and slashed my little hand. I immediateyl knew I was in trouble. Luckily, the Lovely One was home. Right in the kitchen with me as a matter of fact. I grabbed my hand and howled. She whipped around. All I could say was "I need stitches." She composed herself, grabbed her keys and drove me to our local hospital. Fortunately they took me right in. I had to explain four time what I did. I wish I could have made something up but I think the blood lose affected my creativity, never mind crushing my pride.
I was put in a bed and a pretty L.P.N. came in and said "Let's have a look." she didn't flinch as I showed her my horrible gashes. She said "could you get up and gop to the sinnk and rinse it?" I nodded and got on my jelly legs and walked to the sink. When the water hit the open wound I thought I would pass out. She kindly told me that was good enough after four seconds and led me back to the bed. She said she had a little one to stitch up first and she'd be with me in about an hour. The Lovely One and I spent that hour watching a Chris Rock movie which helped. If laughter is the best medicine that guy would be a great fucking doctor. After 45 minutes a nurse came in (finally)with a pain pill ( disappointingly it was only Tylenol3 with codein) and a Tetanus shot. I offered it to Herself but the nurse smiled and promptly stuck me in my right shoulder. She then told me the LPN would be in to stitch me up.
Now honestly , stitches don't bother me. I even watch. However. There is a small porcedure which is horrible. Terribly horrible. The shots of Lydocane. The LPN, Diane was her name, came in and said she would rinse the wound. And she did. Twice. Once with Iodine ?, then with Saline. Each time was excruciating. I finally came down from the ceiling and she told me she would give me some Lydocane and it may hurt. Hurt. No. It FUCKING hurt. And if you've never had stitches let me tell ya', the shot of Lydocane is the worse part. She gave me about 15 shots. Most of them into the open wound, deep into the meat of my hand. I was up off the matress each time. Maotherfucker that hurt. The Lovely One was kind enough to offer to hold my hand and I'm thinking she regretted doing it. Once Diane started to suture me we realised the Lydocane either hadn't kicked in or she a spot. Either way it meant 3 more hits with the Lydocane needle. Once that was over she started her stitching. And I must say she did a splendid job. Once I was settled I watched her finish me up and I was sent on my way.
Funny thing is, when I was laying there waiting for the stitchlady, all I was thinking was the thing is still plugged in and I was worried the cat would get up on the counter and hurt himself. So the Lovely One called Tomcat and he rushed over to dispose of the maiming machine (which he said had alot of blood on it) and he was even so kind as to mow the lawn for us.
After that our groovy neighbors across the street Keith and Stacey and Skyler invited us over for dinner. A lovely meal prepared by Stacey and Skyler and cooked by Keith on the grill. They are the best. I've done and entry about how cool my neighbors are and there's another in the works. The microwave story. Hopefully in a day or two.
So here I sit feeling like an ass for making the Lovely One spend her first Saturday off in three weeks in the ER with her dumbass husband. So I leav you with this. When an appliance, especially one with sharp blades on it, has warnigns please heed them.
My thanks to Diane Occhipinti and Sandra Sandoval at CentraState Medical Center for fixing me up.

Hot Stuff ! (Thank You...)

It is hot here. It will be 104 today with a heat-index of 112. What is going on? And don't give me any of that El Nino shit either. It is not air-conditioned in my area of the building. Factor in the meatl roof and the fact that we ruyn hi-speed printers that have a heating unit attatched to the end of them to dry the ink (which runs at 100+ degrees) and you get apretty uncomfortable work space. So uncomfortable in fact that dozens of 8oz bottles of Gatorade were purchased for us and we gotan extra 5 minutes for break. Woo-woo....It was a nice thought but when it's 90 plus in your work area, you need about 20 minutes more...
Many folks were totally dead by 4pm. Several fans are running but all they really do is blow the hot air around....I cannot wait for fall. It's still warm enough for shorts back there into December. I remember one day last November I went to work in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. It wasn't bad, about 55 degrees (I'm from New England remember.) and when I came out of work and we had about 4inches of snow on the ground and it was falling like a son of a gun. That was a chilly ride until the heater kicked in.
So, in regards to the heat. I took a PTO day today because I ddin't think I could handle the heat. I'm so glad I have ajob where I have paid days off. Although this year I've really been burning them up. I need two half-days next week too.
We had to shit can our old microwave adn we've been on the hunt for a new one. Today I found the elusive creature at Lowes. (sp?) A blcak, GE Spacesaver, over the range something or other. Now the hard part will be getting our neighbor over to install it for us. He said he would, that's not the problem. The problem is he works long hours and often, two jobs. We're hoping it can be done this week.
Slag next door has started putting up her fence and I cannot tell you how happy we will be not to have to see her dump of a yard anymore.