A Sudden Shock!

28 Oct 17
20:15 hrs

     So there we were...my Lobster, our work Frauleins plus another international student out for a day of shopping in Hub City. Of course, this was taking place at The Mall. The three girls went one way and we went the other with a plan to meet at The Food Court at a pre-set time. Everything went according to Hoyle and after noshing there was an errand that had to be done at a major sports outfitter store. When we pulled into the parking lot the signage said "Closing Sale Up to 50% off".

     I know that this store has always been expensive but items supposed to be on sale were exorbitant to say the least. Yes, they do carry a lot of specialty items and they are very expensive...14 foot Spey fishing rods for $400 to $800... but who wants to pay $295 for a hunting jacket. Not me.

     According to the manager the owner felt that $290 million in profit was not enough. The stores across the country are not being sold off to a competitor. The contents will be liquidated and then the buildings will be sold.

     This place was a Mecca for campers, hunters and fishermen. It will be missed.

ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG!

24 Oct 17
07:15 hrs

     Yes, the Germans have arrived. Two girls from Ulm, that our Junior Couch Monkey visit with last spring, are here to experience......rain and lots of it. Actually, there has been only a couple of really bad rain days but the weather is supposed to be improving. They are nice, polite, respectful and their diet appears to consist almost entirely of bread, some veggies and almost nothing of meat. Other than that they are great kids. Unfortunately our Second Loin Fruit has been so busy catching up with all of his homework that he hasn't had much time to hang out with them. They will only be here for another week before heading back to the Fatherland.

     The work on the Mobile Wayward Inn is progressing with the floor trim. One piece...at...a...time! But, is starting to look pretty nice. Photos of the process can be seen on "Blaine's Place" Facebook page. Broke another bandsaw blade but I have some on order. I have order them as it requires an 80 inch blade and I have not found anyone in town that carries them.

     Chef Irene and Sous Blaine played host to eleven people on Sunday. To seat everyone furniture was moved, tables were brought in and seating was scavenged from throughout the Wayward Inn. Ham, pumpkin gnocchi, salad, glazed carrots and happy tomatoes. There were several kinds of libations as well. By all accounts the guests had a great feast.

     Last night I was out on several errands and I passed by a road sign stating there was a change in the traffic pattern. Yes, the new bridge is finally open. It's about bloody time! The bad thing is I saw the sign at night and driving across it would have brought no joy. I'll have to wait until I'm out on patrol to experience it.

     The Jr. Couch Monkey and the two frauleins have gone to the far left side of The Rock for an overnight school trip. I sincerely hope that the weather is great for them. There is nothing worse than travelling a great distance to witness nature in all its glory only to have it be shitty out.

Maintenance

The Ides of Oct 17
06:21 hrs

     I had to unfriend a person on Facebook the other day. Now, this individual has known me my entire life and I have been cognizant of that person since I was about six years old. It has only been the past few months that we have actually been in contact with each other as friends on social media.

     Now, this individual is at least eight years my senior and is a well educated person. I thought by reconnecting I would gain another node with someone who I could converse some shared interests on the same level. But, was I ever in for a shock.

     Sure, the conversations were great but it didn't take long before the bile and venom within that person rose to the surface. Not against me but against government leaders, policies, institutions, political parties. As you well know Dear Reader, I can rant with the best of them but this individual wasn't just ranting it was pure anger and hatred being posted on his feeds. Sure, the Tangerine Tyrant is an idiot who just might cause the implosion of the free world and yes some of the decisions made by our own PM may not make me happy. But, I would never say that "the only good Trudeau is the one who died in a skiing accident".

     That is just so wrong on so many levels. When I read that post I decided that I would simply unfollow the person that way the majority of the garbage wouldn't come my way. It still did and it was even worse. As a result, I had to excuse the tumor.

     The whole thing saddens me really. This person grew up in the same late 1950's early 1960's environment as I did if not worse as there were three more siblings in their household than what I had competing for everything from food to clothes to parental attention. You know... the "Wooden Spoon Generation". I'm not saying it was right by today's standards but it sure as hell worked! What I would really like to know what it was that poisoned this individual? What has caused this person to become the poster child of volcanic anger?

     I have known people with this much seething hatred. I have even experienced it myself and it is not a healthy lifestyle. It is a known fact that such a disposition will exacerbate other medical conditions that you may have. Heart disease, bowel issues, gastric problems, etc. Poison is poison and it doesn't matter if it comes from an external source or an internal one it will affect you and those around you. I can't imagine what this person's spouse goes through on a daily basis. Experiencing the negativity from trolling the Internet sixteen hours a day. I know I'd be gone.

     In the the immortal words of Dr. Sidney Freedman, "Sometimes, you gotta just pull down your pants and slide on the ice!"

   

Another Holiday Down!

10 Oct 17
18:31 hrs

     Yes, Thanksgiving is over. Unfortunately, this year found us not heading to the north end of The Rock with the Mobile Wayward Inn. My shift schedule was out of synch with the holiday and the Mobile Wayward Inn is undergoing some renovations.  Photos of the ongoing process can be seen at Blaine's Place on Facebook.

     As you know, we don't really have any family living near us so there are often empty seats at the dinner table during holiday meals. But this year it turned out that a friend of ours needed a place to recover from a surgery thus the Wayward Inn Guest Room was pressed into use for a couple of days. That filled one seat. Another two were filled by the Ex-Pats, whose family moved deep into the Interior this past summer. I can see them coming for Christmas Dinner as well.

     Myself and my Lobster prepared a six dish meal that was served buffet style. Ham, roast chicken breast, roasted parsnips and carrots, brussel sprouts,  spatzel and pan dressing. A little something for everyone.

     The Couch Monkeys were in attendance. Mind you the senior Loin Fruit was under the weather and dined on the  scraps later on. The other one had two holiday feasts this year as he was invited to his girlfriend's house as well.

     I heard that Li'l Sis went home for Thanksgiving. She said the road trip was good as well as the Sage's spread on the table. Th

     Our new hospital is up and running. I'm sure there is a long list of deficiencies that will have to be corrected. One thing was found out in that the landing pad at the new hospital in River City cannot accommodate the weight of the SAR Cormorant but our hospital can. Also the new bridge over the Tsolum River is not yet open. Knappet Construction must be under a lot of pressure to get it finished. One thing is for sure, it will be great when it's done.

     The Ram was having some fuel indication problems. After filling up I would get a check engine light which translated into a high fuel level warning.

     What the hell is that?

     After driving for a while and burning off some Go Go Juice the warning light would go out.

     What the hell?

     Refuel the Ram and the cycle would repeat itself. I took the Ram in to have the problem looked at and either the service department couldn't get me in or the trouble light was out and they couldn't de-snag the issue.

     What the hell!

     On Monday morning I was taking the Sr. Loin Fruit back to Hub City and since I had refueled the Ram the day before the check engine light came on as predicted. And it stayed on all the way down there and all the way back. The only difference was at one point I heard an additional audible warning and recieved this message: "Low Fuel Sensor Failure" at which point my fuel gauge went to zero.

     What the FUCK!!!!!

     A couple of miles down the road the Guage climbed back to the 1/2 tank level. My only hope was that the warning  indicator would stay on until Tuesday morning when I took the Ram to the service department. As luck would have it the indicator was still on Tuesday morning  and the service department was able to code the issue. I was booked in for repairs on Wednesday at 09:15 hrs.

11 Oct 17
09:00 hrs

     So, I'm at the service department with a coffee and a book. The appointment is in in 15 minutes.  I check the Ram in and the guy asks if I want a ride home. No, it's only a couple of hours so I'll wait. Oh, but they may not get it in until noon. Not good enough. I tell the guy that I need the truck sooner as I have to be on duty for 14:00 hrs. Okay, they'll run me back to the Wayward Inn and pick me up as soon as it's done.

     12:00 hrs.

     I get the call. The Ram is done and the driver is enroute. $435.65 later I drive home to prep for work. What a way to run a railroad!