CaptainPete

I seem to be unable to pay my phone bill using the app or the website. Of course, I could pay it in person or over the phone, but they want an extra $5 for that. The payment system has been slowly getting worse, first it stopped taking debit cards, then Gpay, and now the payment of pals. I can't even log into my account to try. I don't even know what to think... But I'm starting suspect that they're letting all this fall apart so they can make some extra money. I might be paranoid but after the last few years, I will never doubt a company's attempts to squeeze every last dime out of people.

Since I've cleaned up and set up my hobby space, I (of course) didn't start painting minis. Instead, I've started working on some old Wargames Factory WWII Soviet troops I got ages ago. It's slower going than I remember but it's fun to get back into it. Once I wrap these guys up, I might even start building some Gunpla a friend game back in... 2002? 2003?

I'm so glad for the cohesion change. I play Guard/HDF. The old rule was rough for me.

I just read an article that compared ST: TNG and ST: DS9 to Superman and Batman, respectively, in tone, and I don't know how I feel about this...

Well, young boss is on their way out the door. They've been removed from the schedule, demoted, and will be "offered" the chance to end their employment early. There's a phrase I could use, but not on here (you know the one). This week has drained me. Other boss is back from the east coast and is obsessed with finding these things called "pizza logs" in my neck of the woods. I called them a messed up egg rolls or a Hot Pocket with a delusion of grandeur and now he's ordered 100 of them from the manufacturer, to prove me wrong. Social engineering is fun and hopefully delicious.

Like, I don't know, paint minis?

I envy you so much right now... So... That boss is getting fired today. They were supposed to work last night but their fiance called out for them. If they weren't already about to get the boot, that would have been enough on its own. I almost had to work with them, the other boss had to call me and damn near beg me to come in and work with them. And then, as I was heading out, I got the call that they had called out. So long, good luck, don't let the door hit you on the way out! And things got bad last night. As all companies, we have some monitoring app on all of our phones and tablets. Ours, however, is an actual parental control program. And, last night, at a11pm, our parents put the phones and tablets into a curfew. No apps would open. No PTT, no clocking in and out, we couldn't even make a phone call. I had about a dozen people who's phones that were little more than very expensive paperweights. And we're not supposed to carry our personal phones while on the clock. We had to call the tech guy and get him to fix it. From what he said to me, the app had updated and the curfew was default. I'm wondering how much longer we're going to keep using the app. Probably a few more years.

Which one? Eh. It'll all work out in the end. Thanks.

Last night was a beast. Young boss called out, one boss is on vacation, the boss that was working when I came in doesn't have their own vehicle and was almost told that they weren't going to be getting home, and then... This one is a wild one. I see that someone isn't clocked in and call them. The conversation went something like this: Me: Hey, I see that you're supposed to be in about 15 minutes ago, what's up? Them: Did they tell you? I'm in Orlando. Me: What the... You're in Orlando?!? You called? Yeah, I've got nothing on that. Them: Yeah, I called and told them earlier. Me: (other phone ringing, someone else in the background freaking out after hearing the conversation) Okay, yeah, I'll get you out of the shift tonight. No one else mentioned speaking with this person and they're reliable, while this person isn't. And we can go through the phone records to find out if they actually called or not. I had to shift around the few people I had to get that covered, which is why the boss who was there almost had to sleep in the office, and then start dealing with other issues. It was just a hot mess. And then, the one person who was doing stuff, dropped a few bombshells about the young boss (who's already quitting) and now I'm very mad. I had to send an email to one of the big bosses that ended with "I don't feel comfortable working with (young boss) going forward." If I get called about it today, which I probably will, I'm going to just flat out say "only one of us is going to work tonight, you choose, I don't mind having the night off right now." I don't think I'd be able to keep my mouth shut about it, so it would be better than we don't cross paths until they're gone. Oh, and the icing on the cake? Someone called a little over an hour before the boss came in and told me her grandfather died. We knew it was coming but she was trying not to cry on the phone and I was just trying not to cry, too. It took me right back to when my grandfather died. I said something like "okay, so you're taking the day off. I'll get you pulled and we'll take care of it, don't worry." I didn't even ask, just "this is what we're doing" about the whole thing.

Counterpoint: YES!

She shouldn't be able to. Especially since I just started a new lease, effective on the first of this month. It's really odd that she either screwed this up or tried to sneak it in.

Well, I got tossed in the jail of a popular mirco-blogging site for telling a bad person to "go jump in a lake." Apparently, that's a threat of violence. I was going over the paperwork the apartment manager dropped off, to update the mailbox number for the records, and it looks like she tried to sneak a $15 rent increase into it. I don't even know what to make of it. It could be a mistake, but I don't trust her at all anymore. I might just say I lost it, if she asks, and have her bring me a new one. If it's in there again, then I get to contact a lawyer. As for my cleaning project, I'm almost ready to set up for painting. I had to take my old computer and try to get it to do a factory reset, so I can give it to my dad, but it had other ideas. It's been off for months, so it HAD to update things. It was rather annoying. At least it's done. I'm really looking forward to painting again. I've been trying to find time for it for months, but I kept finding other things I had to do. Now, I think I've got a good plan worked out to get things done. Maybe. Hopefully.

I laughed out loud at this one. Clearly, whoever said this never had a sibling or played in the woods with friends. Ugh. I can't tell if my allergies are really bad or if I'm sick. I woke up coughing and felt sick, but now that I'm sitting up and have blown my nose, I don't feel sick. I just don't know. I think I'm going to take it easy tonight and see what happens. Oh, I do have some news. I got the mailbox key yesterday and called the post office, because the manager and I don't speak to each other, and found out that they'll be putting our mail in our new box, including the stuff we're missing. And I got a call that the young boss, that's been pissing people off, put in their two weeks' notice tonight. It'll suck to have the gap in coverage, but I'd rather have that then what we have now.

Yeah, it's complicated and tough and I have very mixed feelings about the whole situation. My big bosses are currently pushing the DA to go up to Assault II, but they argued that a walking stick "isn't really a weapon." The victim (a boss) responded that it's probably the second oldest weapon. The first one is a rock. I have no idea if he got charged for the damage to the vehicle, but I did hear that he was arraigned. We'll see what happens from this point on. In another, and hopefully final, update on the mailbox issue, we have a new mailbox! It only took *checks notes* ten days! Of course, the boxes are just numbered, not with unit numbers, there's no notice of what's going on, and we haven't been given keys yet. So, effectively useless right now! I am not surprised. Now, I need to spend time getting things moved around because I really, really want to have my painting space set up this weekend.

I hate all the voice speech things. I hate them all. Hate. And most shift premiums are per hour, not per diem. Good luck getting the police to pop those kids. I've got a fun story below... I find Ross to be the best place to find things like this. They're usually the exact same you find it hobby shops and tool shops, but about a third of the price. You just might have to go hunting and stop by regularly. Now, for a story about the police and failure. Okay. I don't know if I wrote about this back when it happened, but back in July, one of our guys was hit in the head with a stick while trying to move a guy off of a building. One of the (outgoing) bosses was there, helping out, and maced the dude. He's popped up here and there since then, and we've called the police, but there's been no arrests. We once called and waited 12 hours to get them to come out and arrest him, but by the time they designed to grace us with their presence, he had woken up and left. Tonight, one of my bosses (the one who recently started getting into minis, I wrote about him yesterday, I think?) went out to remove someone from another building. And it was him. Since we didn't have a good shot of the guy, and it was a different spot in the same area, it didn't click that it was him right away. Plus, he's been hiding from us for a few weeks now. Anyway, boss rolls up, asks the guy to leave and... This guy was not having it. But you know what he did have? A strong walking stick. My boss got clipped in the elbow and absolutely smacked in the leg. The bruise was the size of his knee, no joke. He also busted the truck's front windshield. And you know what he got charged with? Assault IV. The lowest level of assault, a misdemeanor. And, do you want to know the best part? He's back out on the streets. Supposed be monitored by the Sheriff's Office while out on the streets but that program was overloaded before the pandemic. Basically, he got away with it. Even if we can catch him again, they'll just let him go again. I can't wait to see this guy on the news because he's done something very bad...

I have no drama to update today. At least, I hope not. I did discover that the city's non-emergency line is now an automated nightmare and I hate it. I am dealing with a serious issue, I don't need to "speak clearly" and have to figure out how to re-phrase things so the Soon-To-Become-Skynet thing can get me the help I need. I swear... In better news, one of bosses got some minis from a KS he backed a while back. Since his partner is a professional art restorer, she's going to paint them up for him. So, we've been having his running conversation and text chain about getting her started on the road down of painting. I've recommended the LTPK from here to get started and using Gesso as a primer, as they also live in an apartment and I'm pretty sure she's familiar with it. Now, to keep trying to make my apartment habitable. It's like playing Jenga but with more breakable items and something I can actually do...

So far, the manager hasn't tried to ding me for the sign. I'll let sleeping dogs lie (lay?) for now. In work drama, oh boy, we got some stuff. Someone is getting fired for something I can't even talk about, but let's just say there's no way we could keep him around after what happened. I will say that it was nothing violent but it's BAD. And one of our best workers put in their notice. She puts in something near 60 hours a week. But they couldn't afford to give her a raise. So, I wonder why she's leaving? Beyond that, we've got a new person that's in my position and she's not doing some stuff and then randomly changing things for no reason I can figure out. It's like, why are you coming into a place and just doing random things without asking anyone? And not even the stuff that doesn't make sense? There's always a method for the madness, I assure you. Then, we had someone that quit, but just came back. And she's just as lazy as she was the first time. I don't want to complain to the bosses about it but I'll probably just find a job somewhere else, rather than try to fix the problems. It's not my job to solve all the problems, if they wanted me to, they could pay me what I'm worth. Now, I have an apartment that's been torn apart and I need to put it back together again. When that is finished, I have promised myself that I'm going to sit down and paint some minis... Or die trying.

Just remember what Ron White says...

It was "hi, neighbors. Your mail is at (post office address and phone number). I'm sorry no one else let you know" in rather big font. It was slightly snarky but not insulting. But, it appears to have kicked over the hornet's nest (I'll get into to it at the end here). It's on my to-do list. I'll be asking on Friday when I do my (now) weekly trip to the post office. Also on my list of things to do. I'm going to be working on the tenants' union with the neighbor, so (hopefully) won't just be me having to do this. Okay, now for the update... I put up the sign and it stayed up all night. When morning rolled around, the manager got PISSED. She ripped it down, sent a nasty text to my neighbor, asking if it was her, and then put a notice up on the effected units. Finally. On a Sunday morning. I'm sure she was happy to do that on her "day off." And, oh boy, this notice is super classy. Here's some quotes: "We were waiting to get clarification from the post office on a few things before relaying information" (They admit that they found it on Tuesday morning, this is Sunday when we find this out) "I wanted to take a moment to to address an issue regarding communication on our property... Notices in the laundry room and now the mailbox without prior authorization... I kindly request that any questions, comments, of concerns be brought to the office..." Translation: I'm getting called out and I don't like it. So. Yeah. I didn't see whatever was posted in the laundry room, but it doesn't sound like she liked it very much. At this point, my neighbor and I are probably going to try to get her removed. She's been getting worse and worse this year and it's time for her to go... Now, I need to work on my apartment. If I got inspected right now, I'd be royally screwed. And I'm betting there's going to be some shenanigans going on shortly. And I haven't even gotten into the work drama that's going on.

My thinking when it comes to Bones is you get what you pay for. However, that doesn't mean that they're terrible. They're a low cost product, which means that they can't be held to the standard of something that costs twice as much. I really appreciate Bones and I use them for baddies, hordes, and just stuff I can throw down on the table quickly. Of course, there's the new USA stuff, which has the absolute worst lines and flash to deal with. Thankfully, it's pretty rare. For the latest on the mailbox drama, I went to the post office yesterday and picked up my one letter and three packages. I was going to ask about the lack of notice but, right after I got to the counter, about a dozen people formed a line behind me, so I didn't want to take up too much time. Since I'll be doing a weekly trip now, I'll have plenty of chances to ask. When the teen was dropped off to help me with my madness, I mean moving things around in my apartment, I got my sign. I put it up last night while I headed out to the convenience store and it was still up the last time I went outside. We'll see if it's still up when I go to work tonight. Okay, I'm tired. I stirred up so much dust yesterday, moving things around, that I couldn't sleep yesterday. I really should do more to put everything back together, but I just do not have the energy...

This reminds me about something I heard recently. Have you noticed that most jobs these days seems to have a sales aspect assigned to them? You go to the bank, maybe just to make a deposit, and they try to sell you on some program or service they provide. You go to the grocery store and they'll try to get you to enroll in some program or another, usually just the "rewards" programs, but not always. I think it's because of how companies have become obsessed with sales in general but not matter the cause, it's annoying. Personally, I like having some paper records for stuff and I rarely sign up for paperless. But my power provider and cell phone carrier didn't give me a choice. In yet another update in the mailbox drama, I was (finally) able to get a hold of someone at the post office. They confirmed that they have the mail, they'd hold the mail until the mailbox is replaced, and that it's up to the property management to replace it. They asked that I pick up my mail once a week, so I guess I'll be adding that to my weekly chores for the next few months. Because they FINALLY replaced that walkway at my apartment, and that took months, so since it doesn't directly effect the apartment manager, I'm sure it's on a back burner. And I found out that my packages are just going to the post office, the "out for delivery" status is automatically generated when they scan it. I have a teen coming over to help me move some stuff around, so my friend (their mom) is going to help me with a ride to the post office later today. Just one more thing I have to do before bed. I'm also making a sign to put up on the mailbox (in the dark of night, so I hopefully don't tick off the apartment manager) and I'm looking up how to make a "tenants' union" at my complex. At least one of my neighbors is fed up with the apartment manager's inability to do things in timely manner, so we're hoping to either oust her or get her to do stuff. I think if we start making the union, it's going to light up the management company's problem tracking like a Christmas tree. That renters would even start taking action like this tells them that there's a serious problem...

The frame is bent to hell and back inside. My box is on the bottom and is hanging partly out of the box when I open it up. Replacing the doors might work as a band-aid but it's going to need to be fully replaced at some point. As for graveyard being bad for your health, it wouldn't be nearly as bad, if the rest of the world would accommodate us even a little bit. Since there "has" to be night workers, there should be sections of apartments, if not whole buildings, that have noise and the like on OUR schedule. Places need to be open later/earlier to help us eat better than fast food and junk food. Not much you can do about the health issues from being up at night. But, there is a solution: Maybe don't have a world where some people have to stay up all night. I would say more, but that's a very long, strongly worded rant that would also touch on things that we can't talk about here... I know it used to be the assistant manager's unit. It's unique because it has a set of double doors. I think it might have been either the original manager's office/unit or maybe an old common room. If it didn't receive mail, because no one lived there/it went to the office, that would explain why they had to slap the A on it. For an update, I reached out to USPS and have found out that my mail is being held at the post office. I tried calling the USPS line and ended up reporting the damage. But that's how I found out that the post office has the mail. HOWEVER, they didn't tell me which one, nor do I know what's going to happen for the packages I have labeled as "out for delivery" right now. I ended up getting sending a tweet (it will NEVER be X in my mouth) and getting a response there. Got the location of the post office but the number they gave me was wrong. I found the right number online. But they didn't know why there's no notification of where the mail is going. And I still have no idea where my package is right now. I have to wait for the post office to open to call over and see if they know what's going to happen... And my Reaper order is suppose to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll know what will happen before then.