Friday, April 10, 2009

I'm at a loss for words...

The last few months I'd been waiting to burn up my keyboard again like in the old days when I just started blogging... Sitting on the locomotive at work and all these things were just churning and spinning in my gray matter. Like our New God King, how he'll fix everything from global warming, the financial crisis, children starving in Africa, end the war, make peace in the Middle East and make us bestest buddies with Al Qieda, make friends with Iran with talk and finally cure the heartbreak of psoriasis all with just pixie dust, angel farts and hope. Oh, and also bowing in subservience to the Saudi King.
Ah... Appeasement. Worked so well for Nevil Chamberlain, didn't it?
I've been burning with anger over how close we're actually coming to Socialism... The Government taking over Banks and other financial organisations, Taking over General Motors, the Prez actually fired the CEO of GM! What the Fuck! Oh, yeah. Let the Government run things. It worked out so well for Amtrak. You guys think the Government can do it better? Just remember that and think next time you go to the DMV...

On to happier things... Above is my brand-spanking-new Amana washer~drier combo. No more going to the Laundromat! (Que? Que? No habla englaise Senor!) Usually $1,100, I got this sweet deal for $730 out the door, delivery & set up for free! I absolutely loathe going to the Laundromat. Now I can do all my wash in the privacy of my own home, including my delicate underthings. I'm happier than a pig in shit.
I've also had several rants planned on how, by the end of the crop my engineer, Slack Action, was driving me absolutely batshit... The last few days we had the ONLY locomotive in our fleet that had a WORKING air conditioner... But every time I'd get back on the motor from walking the train or making a coupling or setting out a cut of empties, sweating my balls off, he'd have it turned off. His reason? It was too loud and he couldn't hear me on the radio... What The Fuck! HOW ABOUT TURNING YOUR RADIO UP?!? Oh, he couldn't do that! the radio hurts his ears... So because YOU can't hear me, I've got to sweat my fucking balls off? 90 fucking degrees, 100% humidity, I've just walked the entire train and all I want to do is get cooled off... I walk out of the kitchen only to walk into a oven.

Like when I took these two photos above. It was Monday, the last day of the crop and we were sitting on a siding waiting for a northbound train of ours to clear up And I was sweating my ass off. Open the windows? Oh fuck no. Can't do that. Aboslutely not. The wind was bad and kicking up a lot of dust, and that aggravates his pulmonary fibrosis from smoking all those years. He'll also tell you how he quit cold turkey, to the exact minute, 12 years, 3 months, 11 days, 8 hours, 24 minutes and 33 seconds ago. Believe me, I heard about that little gem daily... I'd get the anti-smoking lecture almost constantly until one day I just blew up at him.

"Yes, I know smoking is bad for me. But it's my choice. It's not just a cigarette, it's a crutch. It's also a drug and I'm addicted. When they raise the price too high with all the taxes I'll break into your house to get the money to buy the cigarettes!"

The most ironic thing about his malady is this: I'd light up 30 yards from him and he'd make this big production of gasping for air and groping helplessly for his rescue inhaler, but the locomotive could be belching huge billowing clouds of black smoke from the stacks, blowing right into the cab and it wouldn't faze him. Case in point. One night we were coming back into the yard and I started to smell something burning. I looked up at my computer hammerhead which was giving off the only light in the cab... It was dimmed by a cloud of smoke... "SA!" I yelled. "Do you smell something burning?" Nope sez he... I reached up and turned on my overhead light... The whole cab was filling up with smoke from the electrical panel at the rear of the cab! And he didn't even fucking notice!

Wow. I guess I did have some shit to rant about after all.

Copyright 2009 Thomas J Wolfenden

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't know what the agenda is for the guy on the train but he clearly wants to ride your ass.

Obie wan kuntama ... the US may find themselves doing business in Africa in short order.

weatherchazer said...

Wow- Glad you got that off your chest!

Sounds like some of the crap I deal with. "Weather, did I bring you my Medicaid manual?" "No", I say. "Well you must have it becaue I can't find it." (Insert eye roll) "Why would I have it? I'm not the only employee in this agency besides you and I don't do Medicaid anymore." (Fluttering hands that I want to break) "But you must have it"- she continues. (I cross my arms and narrow my eyes) "Have you asked anyone else yet?" "well, no." (Point at the door) "...GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!"

Man she pisses me off!

Oh, BTW, did you get a haircut?

honkeie said...

I love a good rant about assholes! I would make it a point to set off smoke bombs near him all the time. And who know maybe the anointed one will save us all!

Becky said...

You are so not alone! I feel the rage and stress constantly! I am so afraid of becoming a depressed, dank nation, like Russia or Bosnia. Some people are so stupid, its not fair that we have to deal with the repercussions of their actions. As Thomas Jefferson said, "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. "