Up on my Soapbox

Its 12:27 am

*warning...this post has some salty language,so if you are easily offended....this entry is not for you.

     Summer decided to leave SE Michigan for a couple of days as yesterday we had a massive thunderstorm hit our area with heavy rain,winds and hail. I was at work and as the sky grew darker by the second,we waited for the deluge to hit us. Soon...we could hear the sound of rain hitting our roof....but it only lasted 5 minutes. For the all that sudden dark cloud cover,it was rather anti-climatic.

  My co-workers and I were commenting on the sad size of the storm while waiting for the sun to come out. And come out it did...even while it was still raining.  We continued to work and a couple of hours later,the scene repeated itself but the second round was the real deal...this storm just pounded our area.
It lasted a hour before it ended,we had to put some buckets out because we had some leaking in the store.


I like to take a minute to thank everyone who supported my newest "8 Questions with...." interview with Karen Dumas. This interview not only has gotten the most comments on my blog but is now the 2nd most viewed in my series. I am very grateful not only to Karen but to everyone who took a moment to comment.
My next two interviews,with professional photographer Suzanne West and musician Dave Miller of the band Talky Tina are in the chute and will be online soon.


 Had a weird day...I tweeked my elbow at the job this past week...normally that would send someone to our healthcare clinic but I decided to wait and work out the week because we had a crew working overnight polishing our floors and I was asked if I would stay over to help reset the aisles after they were done. I agreed and so I worked it through. I have had sprained ligaments before but this time its a little different as I think I have pinched a nerve as I have numbness all the way to my fingertips.  Its not painful but I do notice a weakness in my hand so I decided to go yesterday to the clinic but the one closest to us was closed. So my ASM said to go today,Monday. Now I have only been there once in 2.5 years with the company and I had a idea of where it was at...so at 11:00 am I headed to the clinic and promptly spent the next three hours looking for the damn place and that was with even asking for directions. I thought I had overshot it and gotten the street address wrong so I backtracked to where I thought it was but to my chagrin,I was wrong again. Now I know many of you are wondering,use your cell phone and find this place...well that is why I asked three different businesses where it was at...I mean,doesn't a industrial medical clinic have to standout??

 So after fruitlessly driving in 3 big circles in busy traffic looking for this place,I pulled the chute and headed home where I looked up the address and all three businesses had given me the wrong information and that included one using Google Maps!!! I didn't feel so foolish afterwards but I also don't think I have been to this place as I had originally thought.
  So tomorrow morning I will venture once again into the mix to have my elbow looked at. I hope its something that can be dealt with easily as we are headed into our inventory time and we need all the help we can bring to get this done....I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.


Its almost time for my fellow pals to drag me to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" which has been getting decent  reviews and I guess based on pre-sold ticket sales,already has been green lighted for a sequel. I know my fellow fanboys will over the moon to hear this bit of news....but I am on record as not being impressed and while I do think James Gunn is a talented director,I just can't get over with the changes from the source material which I have written about over and over. But you know Disney is going to make cute Rocket and Groot toy figures and cram this film down our throats. But based on the rather underwhelming Spider-Man 2 movie and the X-Men film (which I don't hear ANYONE talking about now) this is not a wise course of action...movies that ignore the audience that made them possible in the first place tend to crash and burn quite loudly (Catwoman and Green Lantern anyone?).
  The one bit of good news is this sudden interest in the Guardians has sparked a new series from Marvel featuring the original GOTG team and I'm pretty happy about that.

Its 2:24 pm - Tuesday

    Just got back from my 2nd attempt to find this medical center,I did my homework this time and was able to finally find it. I got the usual work clinic treatment plan:

1. 800 mg motrin
2. a x-ray (on a sprained ligament,this was not needed but hey,they have to bilk,err,bill my company somehow)
3 Psychical Therapy

I have to admit,my arm was a lot more sore then I thought so being put on light duty isn't such a bad thing but since there really isn't too many things under 5 pounds,I don't know how this is going to work out. I also had my feet looked at and I have corns....lovely,right? But now that I know this,I can go online to find out the best way to get rid of them.
   And one last thing about my TMI trip to the clinic....I am not the only one who has not been able to find this place,it happens quite a bit actually. But next time,I will be ready...I may not have a phone but I do have a iPad...which could have saved me so much trouble yesterday,all I would have had to do is go to a WiFi hotspot and well....look for this place myself....


  Been watching the Ray Rice circus play out this week in the press. Rice is a football player who knocked out his fiancee while they were in a hotel elevator. He was charged with assault but quickly married because a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband.

   The NFL turned its head yet again on a domestic violence/sexual assault case against one of its bigger stars and only suspended Rice for two games. The dumb fucks at ESPN condoned the violence,led by Stephen the Ass Smith,which after a harsh backlash,was given a paid one week vacation after his half assed apology.
But the one that floored me was the lead in on ESPN radio...."With Rice suspended two games,how will this impact Baltimore's offense"?
  Excuse me???What the fuck is THAT all about??? The man knocked out his fiancee cold,scrapes by with a slap on the wrist by the justice system (remember women,you aren't anything by a babymaker or target practice),a even lighter slap by the NFL and the only thing ESPN is concerned about is how this is going to effect the Raven's offense????
  Its things like this why I follow sports less and less these days,I have no real passion for anything pro related because of assholes who commit these kind of acts to the even bigger assholes who condone it.
Like the knucklehead Ravens fans who gave Ray Rice a standing O when he hit the field..the moral decay of America is continuing to gather more and more steam.

  My brothers and I saw domestic violence up close and personal and it is not pretty. There is nothing to condone or excuse hitting a woman for any reason. When I worked the clubs,I had to break up a few girl on girl fights and yes,I got scratched and even hit a couple of times but never have I even raised a finger against a woman.

  I don't understand the reasoning behind it,if both parties are that worked up....the man needs to walk AWAY and let things settle down. It should never escalate to where violence is introduced. But what more can I say,men are the weaker of the two sexes. Its the truth and until men learn how to communicate with their better halves,Americans will continue to see the rise of violence on women and sadly,some will even give it a standing ovation.


And while I am up on my soapbox....I listen to a local sports talk station as I drive home at night. Selling ads on talk radio is a extremely tough job,CBS owns the radio station I listen to and they are ALWAYS looking for "young bright professionals" who want to sell ads. The thing is,NO ONE really wants to buy a fully produced ad. They will go the budget route and have the personality with the highest listening audience read a ad copy instead of paying for a radio produced one.
  The late night shift is the graveyard for ads in radio,no one buys ads for the 1:30 am spot on Lesson and Leach. Many times,you will hear the host comment on the open lines and try and get you to call in. Open lines mean no one is bothering to call the show,the host is on his/her own until someone decides to call.
Many of the ads are state funded Public Services Ads (PSAs) with a few federal ones thrown in by the Department of Homeland Security.

   But the ones that crack me up are the gambling PSAs...you hear various folks talk about how gambling has ruined their lives and a voice over actor says if you have a gambling problem,call this number. What it fails to do is address that the STATE has created this problem by allowing casinos to invade the state so they can collect a wad of cash...they have led these folks down the road of destruction. I find it sort of twisted the same money the state collects for taxes on the casinos is then used to warn of the risks of gambling! What kind of logic is that?

 Okay....I am off my soapbox. Just had to get that out there...

Alright,I am going to end this....I know this wasn't the most cheerful entry you have read here but not everything is peaches and cheetahs....sometimes even a blogger has to cut to loose a little bit.
For those who stayed in the drift with me on this one....thanks for understanding.


If you are on Twitter,please,follow me @Jinzo_2400


Shout outs

Camille and Mocha - Sending you love and peace
Stephen Clark - thank you for your honest feedback and I will get better.
Pat Caputo and Tom Leyden - Thanks for letting me be a one man army for tiny EMU on your pages.
My friends on the "Plateau"...your support and RTs are just awesome!
Sydney - Glad you are back writing
Ken Helwig - Where do you want the Dodgers to send your broom to??
Ivy - Hope your vacation is going well! Should have asked for a URI sweater!
Tim Teets - Can't wait to see your shirts and your new project
Rachel Thompson - Thanks for giving us a bloggers a voice! #MondayBlogs
The Fluffy Twins - just because
Cheryl - For helping me find my feet
Jessica Clackum - for The Last Ship recaps,I have read them all!