Thursday

First, the latest from the Census.  We are currently assembling binders for VDC, vacant delete check.  It sounds like something that should be done by the Department of Health.  We have to be finished by next Monday.  We've had three different starts to this process.  We started doing one thing on Monday, but the plans changed on Tuesday, and again yesterday, twice.  This time it appears that we have set procedures, at least for a few days, anyway.  Administration has been brought in to help since there is little payroll to be done with no field personnel able to work  Our deadline is next Monday.  We haven't yet finished the first crew leader district; there are eight districts all together.  Even with admin's help, I don't see us finishing on time.

So, the AMFO decided that extending the hours of operation will help to get the job done faster.  The office is now open from 8 AM to 10 PM.  We are still limited to 8 hours a day (so far, they are hoping that Dallas will approve overtime), so we're not putting in any more hours; they just changed our shifts.  We were instructed to come in to work at 1:30 this afternoon, but to listen for the phone in case they called us to come in early.  Now, I can understand that we can get more done if we put in more hours, but I do not see how it is beneficial to extend the office hours if everyone is still working 8 hours a day.  It's not like there is an overcrowding issue that causes production to slow down when both shifts are working.  So why have us come in later?  And if they wanted us to be ready to work overtime, it would make more sense to me to have everyone come in at their regular time, but to be prepared to work late if overtime is approved, rather than wait for a call to come in early.  But, hey, that's just me.

I've never liked noisy places.  I like to work in relative quiet.  And I don't like to listen to anyone talk for hours on end.  But the guys I work with talk non-stop.  They are loud and crude.  They think it's perfectly acceptable to belch loudly and comment on what they've eaten if they say excuse me.  There's the occasional profanity and sexual reference.  But mostly, they talk about video games and things that they think are funny or interesting.  None of which interests me.  And they are loud.  It's like a constant assault.  Finally, yesterday I asked them if they talked that way around their grandmothers.  One of them said yes.  I told them that wasn't the way I was raised.  They finally stopped for a while.  And of course, they could get a lot more done if they focused their attention on what they were doing.  People come in and talk to them, but it doesn't make any difference.  They've been doing this since day one.  I just try to tune them out. 

Second, the ant war.  I've seen a few scouts (and their number is decreasing), but no swarms.  I have to scrub my sinks every time I rinse something in the sink.  And I have to soak my dish rag in bleach water afterwards.  They also like sweaty clothes, so sweaty clothes go directly into the washing machine.  There's nothing like putting on your housecoat only to discover that it is swarming with fire ants.  I've even pulled the stove out so I could clean along the sides between the stove and the cabinet. 

Third, the house was showed yesterday.  I hope we get a buyer soon.

Queenie, Mama would be so pleased with your gardening and canning.  I look forward to peaches.  Well, time to get cracking.