So, I've been driving full-time for a week and a half, now. You tend to see interesting things out on the road when you spend that much time looking at the world through a windshield (you also see things in a little bit different light), and I was going to have a post to that effect about four days ago.
As usual, fate had other plans.
My room is littered-- well, filled-- with not quite random junk, including (does quick count) seven currently unused computers... not counting my footrest (an IBM PS/2), or my monitor stand (a VLB 486). A few of them have their outer cases removed, as I was just extracting bit and pieces in order to configure an office computer for someone else. So, when it was determined that I needed to get downstairs in a dreadful hurry, I (not unusually) jumped out of my chair, and hit the floor running.
Alas, the floor wasn't the only thing I hit in that almost-deft maneuver. The cheap, sharp edge of a Pentium-era machine sliced my knee something fierce. The pain was intense, but I was on a mission. I made it downstairs, hopping some of the way, and found myself a chair. You know how the skin on the knee is really thick and tough? I have now seen most of that thickness in cross-section.
Perhaps five minutes after it happened, a shock reaction set in. I felt woozy, 'got sick,' and my hands tingled oddly.
Inconveniently, all of this occurred after normal business hours, so the only option was the emergency room at Medina Memorial Hospital. It was quite busy, but at least there didn't appear to be anything too disastrous going on. Four stitches later, I was more or less mended.
Loyal readers are no doubt left with nagging questions, like "What cool things did you see while driving?" Well, I see a lot of cars, but only a few are interesting. Like a Yugo. It appeared to be in good shape, and I haven't seen a Yugo at all for several years. Let's see... a Chrysler Crossfire, two Vipers, and a GM EV1 electric vehicle.
Others will have no idea what the title of this post is supposed to mean. A lay is a song or narrative poem. The wound bled enough to soak through a couple of wadded paper towels that I had held over it, thus staining my hands. And, most importantly, it's a blatant reference to David Weber's 'war god' series of books. That's a good thing. I recommend reading Oath of Swords at your earliest convenience-- just don't look at the cover art for very long before you read the book, and therefore form your own mental image of what the characters should look like.
Ah, August 17th... otherwise known as the annual junction point of the space-time continuum (if you're anywhere near me).
I spent 12 hours today on the project of raking cut hay. This is a common agricultural activity. The thing is, we don't actually farm anymore. My efforts were for a custom forage harvesting operation. I'll probably even get paid.
Even added with the recent weekend's fun activities, driving a tractor across hay fields at nearly 8 miles per hour for a very long time just wasn't unusual enough for an August 17th. Nope, I had to get a flat tire, thus holding up the harvesting group, which charges (including trucks) about $350/hour.
That, too, was not enough, as the full-time company truck driver that replaced the last one that quit... effectively quit. So, as of tomorrow, I'll be hauling scrap metal all day. The price of scrap is high right now, but is expected to go down next month, so metal is being recycled at a prodigious rate. That expected slowdown, however, will correspond to apple season. Effectively, I am now employed full-time for months, at least.
So, what's all of this nonsense about the ramifications of the calendar? Well, I'll have to explain later. I have to get to sleep early, for a change, because I suddenly have a job. Funny that it should happen today, of all possible days.
Incidentally, I stole the post title from Robert Prather-- without shame, but with great amusement.