Hitting the road

Well I guess the press towards Xmas is now on. I have never been so busy and wish that I had more time to get all the shopping done as well as the work. Mom did well on the trip up to Albany and dad said she was happy to spend time with her cousin Gladys and the rest of her extended family. With Chanuka coming soon I know that that my kids will make her happy too. I have been trying to think of this time of the year differently. Life doesn't give you many times to slow down and talk face to face. I have mad some calls to have lunch with friends and to just sit and play music too. I hope that all the friends that I have online who read my blog will take this as an invite to e-mail me if your going to be in PA and might have the chance to have a meal or talk. Im going to be on the road quite a bit this week and next but things will settle down after that. Hope to hear from some of you.

Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving gets closer I have begun to think about all the good and bad things that have happened this year. I have lost a good friend, My business is doing very well, My youngest daughter is catching up on all the things that 21 months of being in an orphanage can do, my oldest is now in the gifted program in school, My wife is almost done her PhD. And many other smaller things that are just to hard to remember. BUT the biggest thing that happened this year is the progression of my mothers decline. She cant talk much now and I cant remember the last time she said my name. I am thankful that she seems in good spirit and that she doe still know who I am I think. She still wants to be with the grandkids and she smiles a lot when they hug or kiss her. I still miss being able to have a long talk or ask my mom anything. It is so sad to watch as someone you love declines, but still at this point I am thankful for her still being here. My dad is just being dad and taking care of mom he wont let anyone help really. I am thankful for his strength. Ill be thinking a lot about them as they travel to Albany NY for thanksgiving Ill be in NJ with the inlaws. Maybe next year we will spend the holiday with my folks and my sister.
It is hard to watch the years go by so fast and to know that the ones where the whole family could be together will soon be over. I hope that I can find some HOLIDAY spirit soon.

Too many cables

I thought it was great when a old client called and asked for more cables like the ones I had made him before. Now as I sit to solder the last of 200 connectors I do wonder if I was smart to take on the job. I like the solitude of the kind of work I do. Me and a radio or the TV and I am just fine. Some times Jonie or Steve in the shop makes the time pass a bit faster. But when it is crunch time and Im all alone with the radio it is hard to find the energy or motivation to keep going. Since I have started this blog I do find that I come here to relax and see if I can find a new way to make the time seem to move better. I promise my self a few min on line here if I can just do a few more ends. I look to see if anyone is out there. I hope that I get to hear from someone and that I may get there chance to escape this room I call my shop for just a few min before I go back to the solder and the wire I call my life. By Monday morning there will be 100 new cables ready and another deadline I have met!

The dawn of a new day

I thought I might have just lost the biggest client I have ever had! I was wrong! Sears and Kmart merging may have given me more work then I can handle right now. I don't know why I am happy about this I don't know if the amount of work that they have in mind for me is even possible for my small company to complete. I guess that is just for another day. Today Ill go out and run sound for the advanta meeting and try to finish up the cable order for buck. Pics to follow as soon as I can get my act in gear.

Jeremy

The crunch

well I have a bit of a seasonal problem compounded by the CCE exam my wife is working on. Too much work not enough time and the holiday season shortening weeks. It will soon be thanksgiving and not long after that chanuka and christmas newyears and then things will slow down. I have a installed sound system 2 projects for AGI(I subcontract for them) and 2 sears gigs and 2 or 3 jobs for excelon. I dont want to sound ungreatful but why cant any of them just wait a week or 2 and give me the chance to catch up. More later I promise Ill be in a better mood.

That Christmas feeling

It is too early, no it's ok to put the mall up, well you get the idea. Many people had their say as we decked the mall in DC for the xmas 2004 rush. I think the mall should have to wait till after thanksgiving to do this kind of thing but I dont have a choice I go when they tell me to go! Ill add a few pix later tonight but I do want everyone to know Im home and safe. Ill also tell you all a bit about working on the dark side of the mall. enjoy your day Im going to go do some more "normal" work

The more things change

I was thinking about my trip to DC and the work there is to do there as my cell phone rang. I was told that I can brin a swim suit and work out stuff because the new hotel we are going to stay in has facilities. In the old days we would have asked if it was still close to a bar or if it had a bar on site. Now we ask about the free breakfast the pool and if the rooms are nonsmokeing. Boy how times have changed. I just cant believe Im almost 47 and I still cant believe that we as a group have become so easy. Ah well I do look forward to this job and will be on the road at 1:00 tomm for the great push south.

Going on the night shift

Well for the 5th year Ill be going to tysons corners to hang the xmas display. I don't know why I get such a kick out of going to do this but I do. Im Jewish I have no real attachment to the day other then that I was born on Dec. 25 and it has made my birthday a hard day to get together with friends for the past 46 years. Ill go out and put the lights on the 2 main outside displays and then do the outside doors all around the mall. People seem to like seeing the mall get ready and because of this they tend to be friendly to us as we work Many of the stores will give us food and coffee to get our night off to a good start! Did I mention we work overnight. We are leaving the mall at about 8am and the people are just starting to look around as they come in for work. I guess Ill try to load a few pix of the mall in post during the week if I can figure out how to do it. I hope that if you get a chance you all can look around at the decorations as they start to go up. Then think about the folks who hang them for you and go back to take them down.

Walking

Im diabetic and have had a heart attack, I need to get out and walk for 45 min a day. I just cant seem to get it done the way I used to. I Used to walk with my friend during work but since my friend is not working for me any more I cant use that as motivation to go and walk I also have more work to do with out the help in my shop so I have less time to walk. I didnt realize how lucky I was to have found the kind of work partner I had. This leads me to the thought I have been having for the past few weeks. I need to find a new walking and working partner but I dont know how to begin. I am not easy to get along with I dont keep a neat and tidy shop and I dont want to sit here working with some one I cant talk about anything at all and I do mean anything with! So it is a hard set of shoes to fill especially when you cant hire them full time. I pay well for a part time slot ($20.00) for the right person but the hours are not fixed and the real # of paid hours only yields about 5 or 6 k a year. I dont like to be here alone as much as I am right now and I feel like a part of me is missing. As I read others blogs I see that many people look out upon the web to say I need some one. I need some one even just to talk to maybe I should hire a dog walker to walk me. I just done know but I miss getting my walk with someone to talk to and listen to and laugh with.
thats all for now
jeremy

Been there done that

Well I went to the poll today I was number 139 to vote and it was only 8:45 am. I dont think I have ever been over 50 in the past 20 years that I have voted at this location. I wish I could say that I feel better about all the garbage that is to come. I have heard on the radio about challenges that have been raised here in the Phila. area already. My girls came with me to the poll this morning, I tried to explain what voting was and why it is good for everyone to vote. Then my 8 year old asked if she could and I had to explain that she was not old enough, but when she is I hope that she is still excited about voting.

That strange feeling I've been here before

Well it is the day before we vote and see who gets to run the country for the next four years. I just dont know if I want to see the results no matter how things end up going. I am firmly of the opinion that we will still not know for many weeks and that the ones who will have the final say are old people in black robes and with little left in their heads but dead gray matter. Oh well I hope that when it is all said and done that the war ends soon that my world is safe for my kids and that I still have work to go to each and every day. To all I love be well and happy.