USMB Coffee Shop IV

[ChrisL]

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, Hombre, Sheila, Alan, & GW's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mrs. BBD's knee,
Save and Mrs. L in adversity,
Chris in transition,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie and Colonel,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Ringel for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Nosmo's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Sheila and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

I've given up my job hunt for the time being. I haven't had much luck. Most of the jobs out there in my area are part time or temp jobs. I've applied at a few different places and, although they were listed as being temp agencies, that is what they were. Kind of takes the wind out of my sails. I haven't given up entirely though. My resume is out there on a couple of different job sites and I will start looking actively again soon. I'm just taking a break for now.

Don't give up Chris. Just take your job hunting as an avocation instead of a second vocation. You network--are you on Linked In?--and just keep your ear to the ground. People you know, don't give them the impression you want them to find you a job, but let them know if they hear of anything interesting to give you a head up.

Due to a hostile takeover of his company years ago, our son lost his management job that had become pretty much of a nightmare--Gulf coast Beaumont area. He was a basket case at that point so he put out several dozen resumes on the internet and he and family took a 10-day vacation just so he could regroup and get back into better mental and physical condition. So they return home and he eagerly gets to his computer. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. And he said "Shit!" So he puts his name in with a couple of head hunters and does some free lance work for a few months just to keep from draining their bank account and one day here comes a inquiry from a company he had applied to but didn't really expect to hear from. He follows it up the inquiry and the next thing they're moving him to the Texas Panhandle and he has a better job with far more opportunity for upward mobility, great pay and benefits, and they even bought his house in southeast Texas so he didn't have to worry about that. It wasn't anything he had even considered doing previously and it has been great for him and his family. And because very few people of his rank and qualifications want to live in the Texas Panhandle, he also has great job security.

So you never know. You don't give up. You just settle in and wait for the right thing to show up.

Thanks Foxy! Right now, with OT, I'm not really going to have the time to go to any interviews anyways. I've got about an hour to kill before I start work again. Lol. Enough time to eat my dinner and maybe get in an argument or two on here!

 

[ChrisL]

Well, off to Milton FL for the wife's sister's funeral. I worked until almost 5 AM so I'm a bit tired.

Sorry to hear, Ern. Hope your wife and you are doing well.

 

[ChrisL]

Here is a copy of an email I got from a business that I apparently applied for online. Most, if not all, of the jobs in my line of work are advertised online. You can't just go into a place and expect to fill out an application. Everything is done online now. Anyway, here is just another example of why job hunting online is just awful.

Here it is:
________________________________________________________________
sorry for delay responds.

are you ready to come our office tomorrow?

if you ready then visit our company sites & fill the job form.

after fill up the form reply us here. then i will send you our office address.


visit here - New Employee Form
_______________________________________________________________

That's it. The End ~

AS you can see, there was no link provided, no company name given, no information at all. I've responded to probably 100 ads on Craigs List. I have no idea what company this is. The person who emailed me is a person name and not a company name.

So, I sent a polite email response asking if they had a link they could give me to fill out the application.

Holy cow. Considering the inability to punctuate, the awkward phrasing/bad English etc. I would not respond to this if they did mention a company. Sounds like a scam to me.

Maybe it's an application to join ISIS.

 

[Foxfyre]

Here is a copy of an email I got from a business that I apparently applied for online. Most, if not all, of the jobs in my line of work are advertised online. You can't just go into a place and expect to fill out an application. Everything is done online now. Anyway, here is just another example of why job hunting online is just awful.

Here it is:
________________________________________________________________
sorry for delay responds.

are you ready to come our office tomorrow?

if you ready then visit our company sites & fill the job form.

after fill up the form reply us here. then i will send you our office address.


visit here - New Employee Form
_______________________________________________________________

That's it. The End ~

AS you can see, there was no link provided, no company name given, no information at all. I've responded to probably 100 ads on Craigs List. I have no idea what company this is. The person who emailed me is a person name and not a company name.

So, I sent a polite email response asking if they had a link they could give me to fill out the application.

Holy cow. Considering the inability to punctuate, the awkward phrasing/bad English etc. I would not respond to this if they did mention a company. Sounds like a scam to me.

Maybe it's an application to join ISIS.

I don't know but I sure wouldn't trust it. This afternoon I have received two--count em TWO--of those calls from heavily accented guys using bad English informing me that they are getting reports of errors from my computer. I would put that e-mail of yours into that kind of category I think.

 

[ChrisL]

Here is a copy of an email I got from a business that I apparently applied for online. Most, if not all, of the jobs in my line of work are advertised online. You can't just go into a place and expect to fill out an application. Everything is done online now. Anyway, here is just another example of why job hunting online is just awful.

Here it is:
________________________________________________________________
sorry for delay responds.

are you ready to come our office tomorrow?

if you ready then visit our company sites & fill the job form.

after fill up the form reply us here. then i will send you our office address.


visit here - New Employee Form
_______________________________________________________________

That's it. The End ~

AS you can see, there was no link provided, no company name given, no information at all. I've responded to probably 100 ads on Craigs List. I have no idea what company this is. The person who emailed me is a person name and not a company name.

So, I sent a polite email response asking if they had a link they could give me to fill out the application.

Holy cow. Considering the inability to punctuate, the awkward phrasing/bad English etc. I would not respond to this if they did mention a company. Sounds like a scam to me.

Maybe it's an application to join ISIS.

I don't know but I sure wouldn't trust it. This afternoon I have received two--count em TWO--of those calls from heavily accented guys using bad English informing me that they are getting reports of errors from my computer. I would put that e-mail of yours into that kind of category I think.

I could NOT believe the horrible grammar myself. The first thing I thought was "how unprofessional!" Not to mention the fact that they want me to fill out a "job form" but don't provide me with a link! It's frustrating looking for a job. I try to stay away from the temp services and the part time job. If I'm going to quit my job, it has to be for a permanent full-time position. That's another thing they do on Craigs List. They advertise a job and do not state they are a temp agency. Then when you apply for said job, they email you telling you they are a temp service.

 

[Ringel05]

More of the same for me today, unpacking, rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic........ Found a small box that had "Ikea pins" written on it, I'm thinking I can get the book shelves set up...... Open it up and there's the wifes glass cactus...... it was written on the opposite side I didn't look at. Hand washed underwear and socks, can't wait for the washer and drier to arrive. Speaking of we're using the freezer part of the fridge here as a fridge, it's the only thing that stays cool enough then tomorrow morning the Time Warner tech is supposed to be here and the mechanical guys in the afternoon to get the swamp cooler running. Next week I'll have the pool people fill the pool and take the wifes Prius into the tint shop to have the windows professionally tinted. Also looks like I'll have to get a screen door kit for the back slider so we can open the door without the cats getting out.
Oh and I set up trash/recycle pick up (via the city) today so that's one more thing out of the way.

 

[Sherry]

Ringel, can you imagine if you had to report to a job like your wife...what you're doing is already a full time job. Your wife is lucky to have such a capable guy to handle all of those duties...it must take a lot of stress off of her.

 

[gallantwarrior]

He sounds a little like me but I don't worry when everyone spreads out shopping what gets me are the people who are oblivious to anyone else around them, hence they're always in the way and when the wife says "I need to check on this, it'll only take a couple of minutes", then I'm waiting where I hope she can see me for a half hour........
We had to do Wally-World today for some "quick" shopping, didn't get there until 11:30am........ Big mistake......... Never go on weekends and NEVER go close to noon.

Do you mean Walmart?

The one that I go to seems to be always jam packed, and they never seem to have enough cashiers. I hate going there. A new Market Basket store just opened up, and I like going there better. It's not less packed, but they always have most of their registers open so the lines aren't SO bad, and they have a much better selection at Market Basket.

I do most of my shopping at the commissary or a local place, Fred Meyer. Unfortunately, only Walmart stocks my preferred dog and cat kibble. First few ingredients of those foods are meat or meat by-products, as opposed to corn meal.

I do love Fred Meyer and their stores and customer service. I shop there, too, but since grocery prices started their accent, I shop at Walmart, for those. I go between 8 and 10 in the mornings when things are very pleasant and the cashiers haven't had the bummers of the day. I am a very friendly person in public and those cashiers really react to that very cordially and with fun and efficiency. No complaints. I tell them how good they are at customer service and what great packaging they do for me, when I ask them to double-bag the stuff that needs it. They used to have some good sturdy bags but they are having to cut corners too, since giving everyone raises.

Oh, yeah, the price increases at FM have seen me shopping a lot more at the commissary. I do like the gas discounts, though, so what is approximate or even less than the commissary gets bought at FM. The commissary will put my stuff into paper bags, which I do prefer.

Gallantwarrior, do you know that Kroger bought out our Fred Meyer ( Freddies ) in 1998? Probably a good thing so they can order in higher quantities saving us a few. lol

SNIP:

Published: October 20, 1998

The Kroger Company said yesterday that it would acquire Fred Meyer Inc. in a deal that would create a supermarket giant with $43 billion in annual revenue and 2,200 stores in 31 states.

Kroger will pay about $8 billion in stock for Fred Meyer and assume $4.8 billion of the company's debt, further consolidating the grocery business and creating the largest supermarket chain in the country. With the latest transaction, Kroger regains the spot it lost to Albertson's Inc. as the nation's largest supplier of eggs and milk.

The acquisition gives Kroger the status of the leading chain, stretching from the fast-growing Western markets, where Portland-based Fred Meyer is strong, to the Midwest and the Southeast, where the Cincinnati-based company has many stores and much visibility. The move also gives Kroger even greater purchasing power and substantial economies of scale.

more: Kroger to Buy Fred Meyer Creating Country s Biggest Grocer - NYTimes.com

Actually, that's pretty evident. I often buy the generic Kroger brand products because the prices are lower and the quality is about the same as some of the other brand-name products. For meat, dairy, and fresh produce (limited types), the commissary still carries things for 1/3 to 1/2 as much as FM. Additionally, the commissary offers a lot of imported foodstuffs that cater to the "acquired" tastes of military personnel who have served overseas.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Yeah, Walmart (Wally-World, Stuff Mart). I've found that most times if one goes before 10m and after 9pm they're not very busy, the only drawbacks being even less registers are open and going the evening you're dealing with stockers and all that entails.

I would definitely prefer to go at night though. Lol. That is MUCH better than dealing with the crowds, IMO.

Our Walmart is open 24 hours which makes it nice for me. I can leave the bar at 2 AM and go pick up a needed maintenance item or a few pairs of socks. No lines and friendly cashiers that compete to have you use their aisle.

Ours is open 24 hours too. I rarely go late at night, but it is MUCH better when I do. I should really start doing that.

Going into a Walmart late at night would be something I would avoid. Danger lurks everywhere, especially for a woman, alone. I do walk with a serious gait though and that is supposed to be a deterrent for possible harm, and according to what I have read. Haughty walk with head UP!

I'm not scared! I live in a very low crime area, thankfully. Our Walmart has a brightly lit parking lot, and I would just park close to the door.

Beware complacency!

 

[gallantwarrior]

Spring is finally in the air. In the sun, it is in the high 50s! Woo-hoo! Almost all the snow has melted off my patio. Soon, I will set up my patio furniture and my umbrella. I am VERY happy today.

Same here, it's remained above freezing for over a week. I actually had thoughts of starting some tomatoes in the greenhouse. I suppose I could watch the temp predictions and move them into the garage when less-than-freezing temps were expected.

 

[gallantwarrior]

And I do appreciate AA and GW both enjoying independence and living alone. I can't imagine that I would remarry if Hombre passes on before I do because despite being an extravert, I need my alone time too. And I'm not sure I could find another guy as compatible about that as he is. He and I are best friends and do stuff together, but we also give each other our space. Even working together in the office we don't feel the need to interact every minute and each of us does our own thing without interruption.

I do like having another person in the house at night though. It isn't that I am afraid but I just sleep better.

I had the unfortunate habit of being a serial monogamist. I confess, I've been married 6 times and none of them lasted, for a variety of reasons. I have finally come to the conclusion that I am not meant to be married and am quite content with my critters. Of course, any who have paid attention to my rants about my business partner may recognize that I still experience many of the "joys" of a relationship with this fellow. Like I've mentioned before, it would be great to marry him so I could file for divorce and property settlement the week after.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Noticing only a twinge of green as the trees start putting on leaves here--flowering trees are in full bloom. And the bird trees are blooming:

Our pussy willows are puffing up, first sign of Spring.

 

[gallantwarrior]

And the beat goes on. That'll teach you to pray for patience. (j/k--I learned not to do that a long time ago because we so often are given so much opportunity to practice.)

Seriously I think the light must be burning brightly at the end of the tunnel for you because there isn't much left that could go wrong.

But EIGHT DAYS to get the stuff delivered? Is that the only place you can buy it for the price? Here we get next day or at least two day delivery from just about everybody--and often get same day delivery. Yesterday Hombre took my Uncle Ed to buy a new TV--their bedroom TV went out. He selected a 56" flat screen and they had to hurry home to get there before the store delivered it. It was delivered set up, programmed for cable and universal remote, and the downstairs TV moved to the bedroom and the bedroom TV was on the truck to be disposed of within an hour and a half of purchase. THAT's how I like to do business.

Looks like El Paso is in a different world, got all the items at Sears for a very good price, heck the initial delivery would have been the 15th till I said I'll buy it elsewhere if that's the earliest they could do.........
Ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour nap, woke up tired and extremely irritable, allergy season....... Had to go pick up the wife, not a pleasant experience for someone in my mood........... Pretty much my patience went right out the window.......
The wife has Friday off (Good Friday) so we drive up to Trinidad, stay overnight in a motel, pick up a small U Haul trailer get everything we left and be back Saturday afternoon.

To be perfectly honest, I hate scents (allergic to most all of them) and that would make it 100 times worse. I'm in a foul enough mood now........

Hmmm. Well just trying to come up with something to help. How about a hypo allergenic teddy bear to hug? Or hug Mrs. R? You know me - Mama "Fix-it". Or how about one of these little fellers? Hypo-allergenic and fun:

Teddy Bears Habibi Bear hypoallergenic Teddy Bear puppies in Wa

Right now the wife is keeping her distance (as are the cats.......), she understands, has those days herself.
It's easing up quite a bit, I'm no longer ready to go on a killing spree.........

Oooh! That's right...did you bring all your kitties with you? How are they adjusting to the change?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Hello friends, as some know I've been pretty busy with Mrs O, in and out of the Hospital these past 4 months. She has entered end stage Liver disease, I'm going to talk with her doctors about changing her treatment to a palliative Care. There is no sense in trying to cure something that is incurable. Best for her that we treat the symptoms and make her as comfortable as possible. There are some here who can get messages to me if need be....

OMG Ollie! I can only wish for the best and most comfortable outcome for both of you. My heart goes out, and my best and most powerful wishes come your, and Mrs O's way.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Spoonie, Ringel, 007, Hombre, Sheila, Alan, & GW's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mrs. BBD's knee,
Save and Mrs. L in adversity,
Chris in transition,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie and Colonel,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Ringel for wellness, rest, and extra strength,
Nosmo's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Sheila and Becki and all the others who have been MIA lately. We hope everyone is okay.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

I've given up my job hunt for the time being. I haven't had much luck. Most of the jobs out there in my area are part time or temp jobs. I've applied at a few different places and, although they were listed as being temp agencies, that is what they were. Kind of takes the wind out of my sails. I haven't given up entirely though. My resume is out there on a couple of different job sites and I will start looking actively again soon. I'm just taking a break for now.

Good luck, Chris. Something will turn up, just be persistent. If all else fails, maybe you should consider your own business?

 

[gallantwarrior]

I won't be around posting here in the evening tonight, and maybe not tomorrow or the next night either. I'm putting in some overtime so that I can pay my very expensive electric bill so I don't have that hanging over my head this summer. They would like me to go on a payment plan where I pay all year, but no way. I'm going to put in some OT and use that money to pay it off completely. Times are tough living here in MA. Very, very tough. They raised our electric rates 37% this year. It's ridiculous. I wouldn't be surprised if Assachusetts loses some residents because of it either. Really, the only thing keeping me here is my family. All of my family live in this part of the country (Maine and Massachusetts mostly).

Is there any possibility of going off-grid?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Here is a copy of an email I got from a business that I apparently applied for online. Most, if not all, of the jobs in my line of work are advertised online. You can't just go into a place and expect to fill out an application. Everything is done online now. Anyway, here is just another example of why job hunting online is just awful.

Here it is:
________________________________________________________________
sorry for delay responds.

are you ready to come our office tomorrow?

if you ready then visit our company sites & fill the job form.

after fill up the form reply us here. then i will send you our office address.


visit here - New Employee Form
_______________________________________________________________

That's it. The End ~

AS you can see, there was no link provided, no company name given, no information at all. I've responded to probably 100 ads on Craigs List. I have no idea what company this is. The person who emailed me is a person name and not a company name.

So, I sent a polite email response asking if they had a link they could give me to fill out the application.

Wow! The written stuff appears Asian. I work with loads of Asians and the speak the same way. We affectionately refer to such communications as "chinglish".

 

[gallantwarrior]

Greetings, CS!
Beginning a busy time at school. This is the last month of the semester and I have to push it to cover everything that still needs to be addressed. I'm actually having a blast, explaining pressure carburetors to folks who are basically clueless. I love the look when a student finally "gets it" and understands how things work. I know how it feels, I was there once myself. But, I only have a few weeks left to get everything covered that I should in this class. One of the other instructors asked me how my students were doing...this cohort has been labeled the "Teflon class" because no matter what you throw at them, it just slips off. Funny, but the students in my class pay more attention to me than their iPhones. I'm arrogant enough to believe that they are paying more attention to me than to their social media...could I be wrong?

 

[Ringel05]

Looks like El Paso is in a different world, got all the items at Sears for a very good price, heck the initial delivery would have been the 15th till I said I'll buy it elsewhere if that's the earliest they could do.........
Ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour nap, woke up tired and extremely irritable, allergy season....... Had to go pick up the wife, not a pleasant experience for someone in my mood........... Pretty much my patience went right out the window.......
The wife has Friday off (Good Friday) so we drive up to Trinidad, stay overnight in a motel, pick up a small U Haul trailer get everything we left and be back Saturday afternoon.

To be perfectly honest, I hate scents (allergic to most all of them) and that would make it 100 times worse. I'm in a foul enough mood now........

Hmmm. Well just trying to come up with something to help. How about a hypo allergenic teddy bear to hug? Or hug Mrs. R? You know me - Mama "Fix-it". Or how about one of these little fellers? Hypo-allergenic and fun:

Teddy Bears Habibi Bear hypoallergenic Teddy Bear puppies in Wa

Right now the wife is keeping her distance (as are the cats.......), she understands, has those days herself.
It's easing up quite a bit, I'm no longer ready to go on a killing spree.........

Oooh! That's right...did you bring all your kitties with you? How are they adjusting to the change?

Cats don't like change but they're getting along with it, starting to get back to their normal selves.

 

[Ringel05]

Tried going to bed an hour ago........ obviously it didn't work....... I'll give it a while longer then try again.