heard of the first reports for a "real" snow in the north cascades tonight. i have long ago come to the conclusion that i will, in fact, die without snow. just thinking about it without having it gives me a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that i could only describe as longing. sure summer is fun, but given the choice between summer sun and winter snow, i would choose snow in a heartbeat. i have always been fascinated by it, floating to earth in fluffy little crystals. blanketing the earth in a pristine white blanket, soft and harmless. while at the same time anyone who's witnessed the destructive force of an avalanche can give testiment to its obvious lack of harmlessness. i will never by choice live anywhere where it doesn't snow at least in the winter. many of my fondest memories involve snow.
thats me jumping from the 2nd story balcony face-first into the snow :D
thats jess from a different spot (though she did jump from the higher one as well ;)
now that summer is officially over, my thoughts turn to winter again. *sigh*
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
autumn has arrived
well it finally feels like fall. a few weeks ago i smelled cold for the first time, but the "good" weather hung around for a while still. leave are now departing the trees, the faint to sometimes strong winds are getting colder. yesterday was our first real good rainstorm. strong winds and heavy rain really made me wish i had a wood stove. even had to break out the wool socks for the first time in a long while. september snuck by really quickly, or at least sneakily. makes me look forward to winter (as i always do) and hope we'll get some decent snow days.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
not what brown does for me, but what i do for UPS
"write more on our blog!!" "hey! you should post some stuff one your blog!"
*grumblegrumblegrrr*
here's whats "news" for me
so i am officially certified by UPS to be a shifter. for those who don't know: i work and the bellingham UPS sort center (thats where all the brown trucks come from every day) my job title there is Fueler. as the trucks come in with all the shtuff the picked up throughout the day i make sure they get unloaded (which entails me driving backwards between other trucks, usually with only a few inches to spare on either side)
fuel them (yes all near 50 of them) and park them for the night. they all have their specific spots they need to be in to get loaded up for the next day so i need to make sure they're all in the right spot.
i have faily recently been half-promoted. along wiht being the fueler, i am now the backup shifter. they shifter does the same thing as the fueler (but without the fueling) only with the BIG tractor-trailors. not BIG big trailors, ours are only 37ft long
(i think, may be shorter than that) the Feeders (the guys who drive them out on the roads) usually hook up to drag 2 trailers at once (in oregon they'll go 3 long O.o ) 
but i only have to deal with one at a time. anyways, as the trailers get unloaded (we unload an average of 6 trailers along with all the trucks every night) the empty ones need to be moved to make way for the next ones. they come in periodicly during the evening but can only fit in the unload 4 at a time (there's 7 doors, so its [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] to give room to manuever. at the end of the night it fits 7 package cars to be loaded for the next days deliveries) i also park empty trailers on the other end of the building to be filled (after being sorted) 
and sent off to wherever. these are the tricky ones because: A) you're driving a very large thing backwards. and B) some of these spots require parking 2 trailers side by side with 3-5 inches between them. oh and did i mention that that 5 inches is on the side you can't see from the driver seat in the tractor? but i'm apparently pretty good at it :P
here's the really cool part. current fueler pay rate: $11. shifter pay rate: $20 !!!!!!! and shifting is (in my opinion) easier than fueling because there's so fewer things to deal with its much less hectic. so easier job, double the pay... :D
i shifter for 2 weeks a wee bit ago while the normal guy was on vacation so i got pretty good at it, the shifter trainer observed my shifting tonight and said "good job" so now i'm 'certified' whatever that means. i think it means that if i accidentally hit something i don't get fired.
and! tonight (or tomorrow morning however you look at it) i will be shifting for the pre-load (the ones who load up the package cars get all their volume from trailers that come ine from wherever, hence they need someone to mover trailers) this is from 1:30am to about 7:00am as a part time worker i get overtime after 5 hours. overtime=time-and-a-half. also, if i work at the shifter pay rate for an hour during my day i get the shifter pay rate for my ENTIRE day regardless if i'm actually shifting or not. so! i will work the pre-load tonight, and when i come in at 4:40pm to do my normal job, i will be getting paid shifter pay over time, aka $30 an hour. this makes for a very happy Reed.
in the not-so-distant future, the regular shifter will be going to new zealand or something for 3 months. that leave me to be the shifter (he said he's gonna try and get a leave of absense, but doesn't know if it'll work) so i get to work the same hours i normally do (maybe a little longer) get paid twice what i normally do, and have a much less stressful day for at least 3 months.
gonna try and save up for a new desktop computer, hopefully one that can play WoW competantly.
*grumblegrumblegrrr*
here's whats "news" for me
so i am officially certified by UPS to be a shifter. for those who don't know: i work and the bellingham UPS sort center (thats where all the brown trucks come from every day) my job title there is Fueler. as the trucks come in with all the shtuff the picked up throughout the day i make sure they get unloaded (which entails me driving backwards between other trucks, usually with only a few inches to spare on either side)
fuel them (yes all near 50 of them) and park them for the night. they all have their specific spots they need to be in to get loaded up for the next day so i need to make sure they're all in the right spot.i have faily recently been half-promoted. along wiht being the fueler, i am now the backup shifter. they shifter does the same thing as the fueler (but without the fueling) only with the BIG tractor-trailors. not BIG big trailors, ours are only 37ft long
(i think, may be shorter than that) the Feeders (the guys who drive them out on the roads) usually hook up to drag 2 trailers at once (in oregon they'll go 3 long O.o ) 
but i only have to deal with one at a time. anyways, as the trailers get unloaded (we unload an average of 6 trailers along with all the trucks every night) the empty ones need to be moved to make way for the next ones. they come in periodicly during the evening but can only fit in the unload 4 at a time (there's 7 doors, so its [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] [empty door] [trailer] to give room to manuever. at the end of the night it fits 7 package cars to be loaded for the next days deliveries) i also park empty trailers on the other end of the building to be filled (after being sorted) 
and sent off to wherever. these are the tricky ones because: A) you're driving a very large thing backwards. and B) some of these spots require parking 2 trailers side by side with 3-5 inches between them. oh and did i mention that that 5 inches is on the side you can't see from the driver seat in the tractor? but i'm apparently pretty good at it :Phere's the really cool part. current fueler pay rate: $11. shifter pay rate: $20 !!!!!!! and shifting is (in my opinion) easier than fueling because there's so fewer things to deal with its much less hectic. so easier job, double the pay... :D
i shifter for 2 weeks a wee bit ago while the normal guy was on vacation so i got pretty good at it, the shifter trainer observed my shifting tonight and said "good job" so now i'm 'certified' whatever that means. i think it means that if i accidentally hit something i don't get fired.
and! tonight (or tomorrow morning however you look at it) i will be shifting for the pre-load (the ones who load up the package cars get all their volume from trailers that come ine from wherever, hence they need someone to mover trailers) this is from 1:30am to about 7:00am as a part time worker i get overtime after 5 hours. overtime=time-and-a-half. also, if i work at the shifter pay rate for an hour during my day i get the shifter pay rate for my ENTIRE day regardless if i'm actually shifting or not. so! i will work the pre-load tonight, and when i come in at 4:40pm to do my normal job, i will be getting paid shifter pay over time, aka $30 an hour. this makes for a very happy Reed.
in the not-so-distant future, the regular shifter will be going to new zealand or something for 3 months. that leave me to be the shifter (he said he's gonna try and get a leave of absense, but doesn't know if it'll work) so i get to work the same hours i normally do (maybe a little longer) get paid twice what i normally do, and have a much less stressful day for at least 3 months.
gonna try and save up for a new desktop computer, hopefully one that can play WoW competantly.
Friday, September 5, 2008
F A I L !! (but its ok, i have new(ish) weapons! )
so i still fail utterly and completely at keeping an updated blog...
and now, for something completely different!!
i like "less-than-modern" weaponry. not that i don't like guns as much as the next 21 year old male, but thing that don't involve gunpowder require a certain finese(spelling?) i once saw a vidoe of a little asian girl who shot an apple off a guys head, but here's the kicker.. SHE SHOT THE BOW WIHT HER FEET!! not that my new life goal is to learn foot-archery, but its damn cool.
my dad first taught me to shoot a bow when i was 4 years old. in middle school P.E. when we did the archery unit, i put my target twice as far back as everyone else and still shot better than most. tis makes me happy. while my parents are in georgia and wherever else they might be for the next year, i am in possesion of two of my dad's recurve bows. i also have a decent stock of arrows and the necessary tools and supplies to keep them in good repair. i now just need a place to shot things with out being arrested. Sardis is the only place that comes to mind. i just need to find a good target. will go scouting on saturday to see what i can see.
and now, for something completely different!!
i like "less-than-modern" weaponry. not that i don't like guns as much as the next 21 year old male, but thing that don't involve gunpowder require a certain finese(spelling?) i once saw a vidoe of a little asian girl who shot an apple off a guys head, but here's the kicker.. SHE SHOT THE BOW WIHT HER FEET!! not that my new life goal is to learn foot-archery, but its damn cool.
my dad first taught me to shoot a bow when i was 4 years old. in middle school P.E. when we did the archery unit, i put my target twice as far back as everyone else and still shot better than most. tis makes me happy. while my parents are in georgia and wherever else they might be for the next year, i am in possesion of two of my dad's recurve bows. i also have a decent stock of arrows and the necessary tools and supplies to keep them in good repair. i now just need a place to shot things with out being arrested. Sardis is the only place that comes to mind. i just need to find a good target. will go scouting on saturday to see what i can see.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
[Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del]
if anyone's interested where my silly profile picture came from, its from a web comic i've been following. very funny and geared towards gamers if that tickles your fancy.
CAD comic
its been going on for like 7 years so if you want to read through them all (which i recommend) be prepared to sit at the computer for a very VERY long time (like i did)
CAD comic
its been going on for like 7 years so if you want to read through them all (which i recommend) be prepared to sit at the computer for a very VERY long time (like i did)
alaska-bound very VERY soon...
its monday. we leave b'ham on friday night as soon as i get done with work (stupid work >.<) gonna make the trek all the way to ellensburg in the Blazer without a working instrument panel. i feel very unprepared for this trip. i got the tickets near a month ago so its hard to believe that we still; have a plane reservation. and they won't let you check your flight status until 3 days proir to leaving! ARGGH! we're gonna have to pack the critters, a bunch of plants, all of whatever we're taking up north into the truck and eventually find a way to get it back here. i want to take my knives! (my knife knife, my juice, my sami, and i want to show manch the throwing knife) but i don't know if i should overdo it, i mean if airport security sees 4+ sharp things in my bag (check in bag of course) are they going to be suspicious? will they hold it for inspection? will i get strip-searched? i hate the new "national security" paranoia. workthis week is gonna suck. i'll be outside by myself again so its gonna be hellish and take longer than i want it to. but i gues a bit longer hours added to my paycheck will be nice. i'm not usually one to stress about things (ever) but arrgh!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
long day
long day today.... started with leaving the apartment at 9:30, picking up a redtail hawk and a saw-whet owl from the vets and heading out to the clinic. did the normal morning stuff.. normally.. with the exception of a new patient: a very young bald eagle in very bad bad shape. starving, crawling with bugs. not looking good at all. relatively small saturday crew today with just me jess ingrid and Shayla. anyways, loaded up the trailer with 7 birds and left the clinic at 3:30 ish bound for south whidbey state park. a looong and cramped drive later (6 people and 4 mutts packed into the truck) through some pretty cool scenery especially through deception pass. we arrived at the park just barely on time (6:00pm) they had set up a sound system for us already so that was nice. did have the right hook-up for the CD player though so we had to cut out the eagle song. the show went well, just me and Ingrid handling. twas a really cool amphetheatre, just finished a couple days before according to one of the park rangers. small(ish) crowd of 80 or so. finished the show and left the park by 7:30 or 8:00. drove home. arrived at the clinic at just after 10:00. Dr. Bangert had come out to see what she could do for our new eagle but arrived to find him dead :( i was holding on to a thread of hope for him, but just a thread. disheartening to come home to a dead bird but not entirely unexpected. he was so young. according to the people who brought him in he was only out of the nest maybe a week. he still had a few patches of downy feathers.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
blogging
so yah, gonna try blogging again. hopefully try and update it regularly. will most likely start out slow but ill try and stay with it. as i can get stuff scanned on to my computer i'll try to get some of my art up too.
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