<insert witty subject title here>

yesterday, i asked my manager if i could get paid for my vacation i haven't used - that's 10 days (i haven't used a one) at 9.6 hours per day. he said no, because i had a chance to use them earlier in the year... i've been on this job since 28 january or something like that, so i guess he is suggesting i use all my vacation in january. we have something called deferred overtime (DOT) where instead of getting paid your OT, you get the hours off instead, kinda like buying paid vacation. we max out at 75 days and i'm there. i've gone home twice for weddings on R&R (rest & relaxation) which we get 9 days including travel. he's including this because i could've used my vacation here. i had a hard enough time getting offsite in the first place, let alone for the bare minimum time. i actually stayed 2 days extra for the wedding and used 2 DOT days. since i did, vacation = bye-bye. they request we use our vacation before DOT. I WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE HERE A MONTH!!!. i figured i'd have better things to use my vacation on. so that sucks, that's 2/4 years i've lost vacation, but never 10 DAYS!! that pisses me off, but as i say, it's all part of the game. so i lost 1.6 extra hours per day * 10 days = 16 hours = ~$400, guess i shouldn't complain, but that is only EXTRA hours. i'm losing like $2400 total. my manager said he'll give me time off when the job is over but 1) this job is never going to end, and 2)he's not going to be my manager when this job is over. he's taken a new position and is just covering until they find a replacement, i'm sure that will be on his HOT LIST of things to turn over to the new guy.

good news, we got our cards. we needed some cards for emma to make some more progress on the MKVI panel. they were supposed to be here at noon. well, they came through in true indian fashion calling us 10 minutes to quitting time that the cards just arrived onsite (5:50PM) and they want them in NOW!!!. come on. she put 'em in, had some errors she didn't recognized, e-mailed some people, came in today and she fixed it, WOO-HOO, so something finally good.

we've been working 6-8's (6 days/week, 8 hours/day) since i got here. the customer has insisted we are in a CRITICAL phase of the installation for months but they won't up our hours. we've requested this for months but no phasing them. today they sat down and wanted one TA here a couple hours, another here a couple hours, etc. i'm like, listen, we work on schedules, not randomly. of course, if we have to stay late on occasion we will, but we don't just pop in ad out at the whim of the customer. so they gave us a revised schedule today. check this shite out. i've never seen something so messed.

myself (site lead): monday through saturday - 9A to 8P, sunday - 9A to 6P
controls TA (emma): monday through saturday - 9A to 8P, sunday - 9A to 6P
controls TA (carlos): monday through saturday - 9A to 8P
EX2100 TA (david): not working anymore, he's done, bring in a replacement on 25 november 05
electrical TA (adam): monday through saturday - 9A to 8P
mechanical TA (paul): monday through saturday - 9A to 8P

and this is only until 25 november. hey, at least they are trying, it is cute. so me and emma don't have a day off until AFTER thanksgiving, and i know the schedule isn't going to cut back after that. so, looks like i'm in the home stretch... the longest, slowest, most boring, messed up, holiday crushing, lowest hours home stretch i've ever seen, but the home stretch nonetheless.

i appreciate the concern over my mental state from some people who've read my last couple of blogs. don't worry about me, i'm good at turning off. i get pissed, and it is good to blog it out here, but i just don't care anymore. numb works well. i'll get the job done and then turn everything back on to go have fun elsewhere, some where NICE in the world. i have plenty of hobbies: reading, writing poetry, jerkin' off (though i do need to replenish my porn supply), i was trying to learn HTML but the EX2100 guy who was here before borrowed it and accidentally ganked it back to the states after katrina tried to huff and puff and blow his house down. man, that was a good book. so i have hobbies and other things to keep my mind of the dreadfulness of this place. at least i have alcohol, my sympathies to swedishchefdave who is saving all the wildlife he can in peru. 4 weeks on/4 weeks off, but no alcohol. man, and i've seen some of the bugs there, screw that, i got long hair and they like nests. if he knew the massacre i set forth in the name of buddha during the nuclear cockroach infestation we had several months ago, i believe he might de-friend me.

oh, and a belated HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY to any vets who might read this blog and wanna snap my puny pinko neck for complaining about india, especially since they they were taking out charlie in 'nam with stern looks, time out sessions, and fortune cookies... i do salute you, well i would if i saluted, but thanks anyways guys, hope all the off-duties got drunk as hell and had your way with some willing ladies (or whatever gender you prefer). i hope all the on-duties get their chance to soon. really, i'm glad for ya, i'd run to canada... i'm a BIG frickin' target. i'd be the core of OPERATION: USE BIGUN AS A HUMAN SHIELD. we need you to keep the baddies out, we have enough in office already.

SOME NUMBERS: as of yesterday, i'm 80.000% on my way to getting my taxes back, and this is my 100th post. EXCELLENT! i'm nearly a legend.