Uncertain Times

Okay. So its been a really long time since I started this blog, and I really wanted to regularly log in to this thing to report on stuff.

I have some really great excuses for staying away for so long. Number one on the list is the upheaval at the Post Office.

I have the unfortunate responsibility of being a Chief Shop Steward for the clerks at the MLS P&DC (San Diego) plant where I work as a clerk. And at the USPS, the mucky mucks, while protecting their own group, are going after the actual mail processors. 104 of them were given letters telling them they are "Excess to the needs of the Installation." That means they want to get rid of these people.

Now, the rules state that no one can be laid off at this time, so what happens next is that they have to find vacant jobs in other postal facilities and crafts to offer the people. All the people have to do is pack up their apartments, or sell their homes, take their kids out of school, and move away to wherever the job is, in 2-3 weeks. Now, who the hell can do this? Could you pack all your crap, put your house on the market, sell it, tie up all your loose ends, and get out of your town in less than a month? Probably not.

So the only other alternative is to stay as a part time worker. The USPS is only obligated to work a PTR 4 hours every 2 weeks, unless they secure an actual position that allows more hours. Out of the 71 people who were actually offered positions, 35 of them stayed as part time people. 18 uprooted themselves, some leaving their spouse and children behind, and moved to where the work was. 17 lucky ones got to stay in San Diego, and all they had to do is trade the mail for a broom and become custodians.

There are still 30 more that the BOSS says have to go. But now everything is on hold, because the Einsteins in mgmt discovered that now they think they have too many part time people, and they now want to get rid of them. Now, I think you can imagine how all the people are going to feel when they find out they gave up a full time job in order to stay in San Diego, and they don't get to stay in San Diego after all? I can describe it in two words: GOING POSTAL. These are not good times.

Also, on a personal note, my 82 year old father-in-law, a great old dude with a flair for cooking and a wonderfully dry sense of humor, is really sick. Pneumonia, requiring lots of hospitalization, rehabbing, etc, and now they discover he has a tumor in his lung, which is causing the repeated bouts of pneumonia. The family is very stressed out over this. We just are not ready for him to not be around anymore. But, we also know time marches on, and time isn't kind to living things. So we've got job uncertainty. The family has health and life uncertainty. I can't really even think straight these days.

Then there is the state of my country. This socialist turn we are taking is going to lead us to dangerous unrest. I could write volumes on why I didn't vote for Obama and hope that he is defeated in 2012. I did have an interesting thought on the precarious situation the USA is in, now that we have a closet communist (or at least socialist)closet Muslim (or at least an African Liberation Marxist)with really bad friends and advisers, sitting up there pretending he knows what the hell he is doing. The thought is this: Everything that is happening worldwide leads me to believe we are headed for World War III. Wonder who is going to hook up with who? Who is going to be the Axis group, who is going to be the Allies group? I've watched Obama bow down to communist leaders, to Muslim leaders, to people he should not be bowing down to. And the bet we can probably all start making is, In about 50 years, are we going to all be speaking Spanish, Chinese, or Arabic? I could make an argument on each one. But who knows what the future brings?

All these things may explain the reason my heart is racing at night, just pounding in my chest. I think its time for me to quit drinking coffee, and just start praying for peace. Because I really am completely helpless, to help the USPS people losing their jobs, to help my Father-in-Law get better, or to help our Country hang on to its constitution and autonomy in the world. About all I can do is get on here and write about things every once in a while.

So, I'll try to do a little better.

The Witness Begins

I remember when I was a kid, I would every now and then start a journal, or a diary. I liked the idea of writing down what was happening in my life. I knew other girls that were doing it, had read stories where the girl in the story kept a diary, etc. It just seemed like a good thing to do. It just so happened that one Christmas, when I was about 12 years old, I got a tiny diary for a gift from my piano teacher. So I had no excuse not to start it.

Well, I knew that I couldn't really write my deepest thought in it, because my nosey mother allowed no privacy in our house. So I had to stick with just the facts. so each day, I would write something like this:
Went to school. It was boring. Got picked on by the class bullies, and got teased by the snobby Italian girls. Went home and watched my brother and sister while my mom made us some TV dinners. Practiced piano for one hour. Got in trouble for sassing at Mom again. Stepped in a wet spot on the carpet, the dog forgot to ask to go out to potty again. Going to bed.

The next day, it was basically the same exact entry. On Saturdays, it went this way: Had my piano lesson. Had to play piano for company. Went swimming. Had pizza for dinner. Mom made brownies.

Sundays: Went to church with my brother and sister. We took a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to visit my big brother in Honor camp. (Which happens to be a juvenile correctional facility high in the Cleveland National Forest.

After a few months of this drabble, I went to read the entries, and was so bored and disgusted with my boring life that I tossed the diary away for good. I knew my life was boring, but to actually see it in print was like forcing yourself to look in the mirror constantly to see how many zits you have. You would just rather not know.

that being said, I am pushing 50 now. There is so much going on these days, I could fill notebooks. Plus, I am not afraid to say what I am thinking, even if its a little rude or unpopular. I noticed the other day, in a conversation with my hubby, that I was having a hard time remembering dates of past events, or names of famous baseball players that I thought I'd never forget. I decided yesterday that I really need to start writing stuff down, if for no other reason but to refresh my memory in the future when I am totally blanking out on things.
So, I will try now, to start back up where I left off back in 1972. Only, I don't thing it will be so boring.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, April 4 2010. It was a nice day. Calm, no rain, nothing exciting. Then, at 3:40, the house started moving, shaking, it felt like being on a boat. And it didn't stop for several seconds. I think maybe 40 seconds. The house started to making groany noises, and I heard a crash of things falling. Then car alarms started going off. I was eating a sandwich, and Jerome was eating soup. We just stopped, looking at everything swaying, the blinds, the ceiling fan, and just said, oh shit, when is this gonna stop? Then it did. We quickly went outside to calm down our newest neighbor, who just bought the house across the street from us. He was afraid his new investment was going to come down. We told him, nah, these old houses have been through 80 years of earthquakes. Whats one more?

But we were really like people whistling in the graveyard. All evening the aftershocks came, and we said, the big one is coming, but when?

The internet, and the evening news told the story: earthquake centered in Baja Ca, 7.2 on the richter scale. Thats even stronger than the one in Haiti that killed a quarter million people about 2 months ago. Calexico and Mexicali had the most damage to structures. Here in San Diego, just minor stuff that we have seen so far. I am afraid the water pipes, sewer system etc, which is crumbling in san Diego, will let us know in the coming weeks if the movement was too much for them to stand.