mike - 3, boss - 2

Good evening, i'm Timmy Ticker. And i'm Lance Yardstick. yes that's right, the final score on Saturday, February 3rd, when mike decided he was going to give his boss a taste *dramatic pause with a side of gravitas* of his own medicine...

in the first play of the day, mike had just put on the last wheel on a vehicle and began to exit the shop to pull in another car. Brian, who had the home-team advantage was quick to call him out as he yelled

B: ''MIKE! did you just put on the last wheel on this vehicle?''
M: ''yes. why?''
B: ''when you put on the last wheel on anything, lower it down so that i can see that it needs a torque instead of just leaving it up in the air so i don't wonder what's going on with it.''
M: ''okay.''
M: *thinks to himself* ~well, you sure figured out pretty quick when i had the last wheel on, sherlock...~

well, that was quite a play on Brian's part. he ripped right into mike with that disrespectful barking tone of his, over something just barely important enough to mention. however, the referees have determined that it was a valid play, since it would facilitate the runnings of the shop. mike chose to remain silent on this one, and that proves to be fairly wise, since Brian did have a valid point. M - 0, B - 1

the second play of the day has brian and mike working on a set of four tires involving chrome valve caps, which Brian had placed on top of the tire mounter...

M: ''Brian! did you put these valve caps on top of the tire mounter?''
B: *turns around from balancing a tire* yes.
M: ''well, i like them to be down here *points to valve stem compartment on the tire mounter* so they don't fall off onto the floor!''
B: ''okay.''

a nice play by mike, and quite valid, since he did have to recover two of the four caps from the floor. you know, Lance, i like to call a move like this ''the echo,'' b/c it's an similar force going right back to the originator, slightly weaker but the timing here is important, less than 10 minutes after the first play, so this was all bound to be fresh in Brian's mind. M - 1, B - 1

the third play of the day featured Brian standing on top of the tire partition wall, looking over the whole shop, stacking tires.

B: *grabs the spray bottle filled with soapy water and sprays a few people*
M: *without missing a beat, pulls out the tire lube brush and slings a snot-rope of tire lube right back at Brian.*
B: *smiling/laughing conveying the idea of ''all in good fun''*
M: *mirrors Brian*

now, they have both gained a point in this play, but i like to think that mike earned a somewhat heftier point, since tire lube is a higher calliber projectile than soapy water. i'd have to agree with you on that one, Timmy. That lube is thick, like a mass of mucous, so it really sticks to its target. M - 2, B - 2

the fourth play featured Brian telling Mike to go outside and push carts with him for ten minutes while it was slow. Mike was feeling rather energised from all this competition, so he put on gloves, a traffic vest, and grabbed a rope to push carts. Brian grabbed his coat in addition to those items and headed outside. upon re-entering the tire center:

B: ''you need to wear a coat when you go outside.''
M: ''why?''
B: ''because i've seen it happen, your skin will freeze if you're out there in that cold of weather. If i see you outside again today without a coat on, i'm gonna start wondering if the tire center is really where you're supposed to be.''
M: ''but i used to be out in this stuff all the time, shorts and a tshirt and it never used to bother me before. and here i am now, pushing carts, which is harder work. i wasn't cold''
P: *Paulette, the warehouse manager walks in just in time for Brian to tell her about what Mike just did*
M: *repeats to her what he'd just said to Brian*

well, Brian was scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one. there is actually no policy in place that mandates the presence of a coat on an employee. Mike actually passed up a good opportunity for a few shots at Brian, he could have said ''well, i'm a lot younger than you are, i can handle things like this that you can't anymore'' ohh boy would that have stung! you ain't just whistlin' dixie, Lance! But he also could have told Paulette about the remark Brian just made, since it had no founding in any policy and was somewhat threatening. M - 2, B -2

the fifth and final play of the day has Andrew, a fellow tire installer, balancing a tire, when Brian yells at him for something mildly important. in response, Jesse, another installer speaks up for Andrew and says

J: ''where's your middle finger, Andrew?''
A: *shrugs and chuckles*
M: *censored -- ask mike for details on what he said ;-)*

very well played. Mike sure got a lot of support with this one. you know, Tim, if i were him, i'd be feeling pretty good after a play like that. oh you're tellin' me, Lance! That puts the final score at Mike - 3, Brian - 2, and now let's go to an exclusive interview with Mike to hear his thoughts on yesterday's game...

So Mike, how do you feel about the win?

M: ''well, pretty good. it always gets my blood pumping when i'm about to defeat a bully's operations b/c i know his mind is weaker than mine. i mean, he's essentially already defeated himself, he's just hiding it. all i serve to do is expose that.''

well, we have time for just one more question, what if you didn't win?

M: ''you know, i've thought about that, and it wouldn't bother me too much if the points aren't on my side. all that really matters to me is that at the end of the day, i'm not the jacka$$ that everybody hates, and that, to me, makes me the real winner.''

very nice. thank you, Mike for joining us for the interview

M: ''my pleasure :-) ''

so until next time, this has been Timmy Ticker and Lance Yardstick. Goodnight.

gotta love Havens Steel ;-)

This is part of an old calendar i saw advertising for Havens Steel Buildings...see if you can spot the funny...oh don't give me that look! You know you laughed the instant you saw it, too!

at mum's compy

courtesy of google maps, Ruby's on the Pier. my Sea Buddy knows what's goin' on.

thank you to all who have posted comments lately. Missiz C, Natalie (b/c u don't want me to call u Miss or Missiz), Missiz Jóní, and if there are any others if forgot, well, sucks to be you. j/k i Y you too. but especially, thank you, Missiz Jóní, for calling and cheering me up (almost) every day :-)

time seems like it's dragging on, and yet a lot of it's passed already. as of right now, i wanna wait 6 months from the day i got here to ask about a transfer. i may be persuaded to wait longer, so if you, dear reader, have some advice for me, please, share it with me.

and this one's goin' out to cali:

To see you when I wake up
Is a gift I didn't think could be real.
To know that you feel the same as I do
Is a three-fold, Utopian dream.
You do something to me that I can't explain.
So would I be out of line if I said "I miss you"?
I see your picture.
I smell your skin on
The empty pillow next to mine.
You have only been gone ten days,
But already I'm wasting away.
I know I'll see you again
Whether far or soon.
But I need you to know that I care,
And I miss you.
(''Miss You,'' Incubus)

IH8MO. 2MuchSno. JustWannaGo Back2WarmSo CaliWithN

IH8MO.
2MuchSno.
JustWannaGo
Back2WarmSo
CaliWithNo
SuchThingAs SNO!
i'd rather live outta my car in CA than the best MO can offer

Softspoken with a broken jaw

Softspoken with a broken jaw step outside but not to brawl&autumns sweet we call it fall i'll make it to the moon if i hafta crawl

Throw me to the wolves

Throw me to the wolves b/c there's order in the pack. throw me to the sky b/c i know i'm coming back...

i went to Dana Harbour again today, but this time, i went on the jetty. these are two pics from the jetty and oi...it was absolutely breathtaking to be standing there, but i had a mission...

i wanted to go all the way out to the end of the jetty. i had to. curiosity and adventure begged me to see it. it was treacherously fun, all the jagged boulders i had to hop around on and climb to and from made it even more exciting! =D

it was about 35 feet after the ''tides may cause high waters'' warning sign that i saw this carved into the rock. you may have to click the pic to see the larger size in order to read it. i thought it was neat :-)

facing the end of the jetty and looking right^

and then looking to the left ^

and all along the jetty, as soon as i got within...15 or 20 feet, just about every kinda bird would fly away. but this one pelican stayed put. i got about 4 feet from him and he didn't move. i snapped a picture, pointed at 'im and said ''thank you! :-) '' maybe i should've asked him ''why the long face?'' *dodges tomato* :-p

i made it alllll the way to the end of the jetty, then turned back around and snapped a pic of the beach near the starting point of the jetty.

at sunset, i took a pic of the boats in the harbour. i can tell this is gonna be a pic i'll look at and really miss being here.

then i headed back out to that cave i went to yesterday. found some shells that i *may or may not have* picked up and placed into my pockets ;-) then i took some more pics of the same area as yesterday's post. all of these pics are the same size file, so click 'em if you wanna see the true size, i just scaled 'em down to fit 'em in here. oi, walking out there is a real treat. the waves crashing against the rocks, the strong ocean breeze that carries the oh-so clean and refreshing smell of the ocean. i'll never get tired of that smell. it's sooo salty you can almost taste it...*sigh*

YYY i really am gonna miss cali.

this one, i debated whether or not to put it in here, since my camera doesn't do too hot at night. but eh, why not, right? this is the harbour with all the boats in it (like the picture above) at night, and the full moon is reflecting off the water there.

oi, if you wanna see all the posts that have pics, then at the bottom of this post, there will be a hyperlinked ''pic'' click that and it'll bring up allllll the posts marked ''pic''