http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow recent pleonast.com entries by user the_shadow en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=613543 I'm not a yankee. It was 80 when we left Houston this afternoon. Now it's 48. I don't like the north. At least I'll warm up tomorrow when I see my grandbabies. Oh ya ... Randall & Lindsey too. I've gone from having a wife and 3 kids to a wife and 6 kids and 2 1/2 grandkids and I get to spend the next couple of days with all of them. :) 2008-12-28 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=608366 Baby it's cold outside. When I started the car to leave the church building last night, the warning display said "Possible Ice". 2008-12-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=606635 Now I have to work. 2008-12-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=604434 I graduate on Friday. Yesterday was my last day of OJT. The topic in class for Monday is Financial Responsibility (Yes, I do work for a government owned corporation). I don’t know what the topics for Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday are. I’m downtown Monday – Wednesday. Thursday & Friday we’ll be at North Houston. We still don’t know if there will be food at graduation (budget cuts). I have to wear a dark (black or navy) suit at graduation. I didn’t even own a suit. I sprang for a new suit. Surely they can spring for food. After graduation, I’m temporarily assigned to Bear Creek Station in west Houston until I can find a permanent job. I’m not taking the early retirement but a lot of people that will get more money than me are. A lot of jobs at headquarters and area have been eliminated. As soon as the displaced people get jobs, they’ll post the leftover vacancies from everyone that retired. I’ll end up with one of those vacated spots in a place th... 2008-11-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=602843 I got a letter in the mail today from the U.S. Postal Service stating that I am eligible for the Voluntary Early Retirement. I can move to Kansas and sponge off my son while I spoil my grandsons. How long will I last on $1000 a month? 2008-11-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=599108 The Fry Road Singing is tomorrow night starting at 7:00. R.J. Stevens, Tim Stevens, Mike Stringer, and Glenn Tomblin will be leading. Come if you can. 2008-11-13 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=597983 That's what I paid for gas today. :) 2008-11-10 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=590899 I took the final test for my school on Monday. This one only had 50 questions. It took 30 minutes to receive the instructions and fill out the name, etc. on the answer sheet. Once again I was the first one to leave the room. It took 15 minutes. Today I found out I scored a 4. Of a possible 16 points so far, I have accumulated 16. Now all that's left is 6 weeks and 2 projects. I don't like projects. Too much like work. If I stay in my current position, I'm eligible to take an early retirement in March. With the new job, I won’t be eligible until the next round of early outs. I’m guessing June. That’s when the first time ever layoffs should begin. I don’t want to be a Wal-Mart greeter so I guess I’ll keep working. That’s all for now. 2008-10-23 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=587141 Quick trip to Kansas over the Columbus Day weekend. I'm still a grandfather. Now I have two grandsons. Yea!!!!! We got to the hospital in Wichita 15 minutes before Dylan was born. I paid $2.49 for gas on the way up in Norman. While we were in Kansas it was $2.70 - $2.79 a gallon. I stopped in Oklahoma City on the way home today and paid $2.49. The Wal-Mart in Norman had it for $2.35. I guess they were celebrating the UT victory over OU. I filled up again in Waco for $2.55. Now I'm home and it's $2.97. BOO!!! Back to work tomorrow. My next test will be on Monday 10/20/08. Eight weeks of class left after that but no more tests. I go back to the doctor Thursday. He'll tell Nancy what I need to do to avoid any more kidney stones. He'll tell me too but I won't remember. I found out this weekend I was given post-op instructions. Apparently I was awake when he gave them to me. I just don't remember. That's all for now. 2008-10-14 http://www.pleonast.com/user/the_shadow?l=5&entryID=582667 When they rolled me into the operating room yesterday, they told me they were moving me to a bed that would not be as comfortable as the one I was currently on. I was already mostly out. All I know is that it was a little harder. The next thing I remember is being in recovery. At one point the nurse asked how much pain I was in on a scale of 1 - 10. I said 100. A couple of minutes later I asked when I could leave. She said when the pain had gone down so I told her it was at 1. I don't think she believed me. At least she could of laughed. I planned on going to work today. At 4:00 this morning I decided to get back in bed instead of taking a shower. I'll work tomorrow. That's all. 2008-10-02