Today we shoveled shit I mean woodchips all morning. Literally, shoveled it into garbage cans and wheelbarrows and dumped in the playground and then had to spread it out. It was the hardest day of the 22 months. My arms were dead and of course, my back is fried. This program sucks. Sure, since Julio's been gone it has been so much better. And when you do it day after day you kind of get numb to it. But they're assholes. The other day I was reprimanded for going too slow and socializing too much w/my work partner. Me. Socializing too much.
Today was tough labor and, while we were given a rest-break, I don't see much difference between this and being on the chain-gang.

wow

A lot has happened. I have worked 8 days straight to get this stuff done by Mon. 5/10 and I am going to make it. Tomorrow is my last day!

Today was really hard. Naturally, I didn't want to go but had to, but that's the same every day.
I couldn't shake the pissy-bitchy feeling. It was unseasonably cool. And my back started out tight and got worse and worse. I had to keep squatting down to rest, or just bending over to stretch. I kept thinking about Julio and what a bitch he was. Suzie, our new crew boss, is completely different. No Trash-Nazi nonsense. And remember just before New Year's when it poured and Julio said we weren't aloud to get under an overhang when it came down so heavy and made us work? This morning Raymond said exactly the opposite.
I think that's as much punishment as the actual work - dealing with the people. People who's only authority in life will be supervising misdemeanor crooks. To say nothing of my co-workers.
There is still this one guy coming that I can't stand. He tried to say hello, but I can't even stand the way he talks.

mmmk

Let me try to stay current - but this was one day last week.
"I think I've seen you here before, right?" I nod. "Yeah. I remember thinking that I hoped they didn't put me with you because you seem so, I don't know, serious or something." Didn't even faze me - I laughed. "Yeah, I know," I say. "Raymond always laughs at me."
He's a youngish Latino guy, says he's 31 but who knows. For some reason, I'm very nice and tolerant of him. He says he's really hungover and needs a beer.
We are doing the southside of Santa Monica Blvd. Its early when we get back to the corner where we started, heading east this time. He wanders into 'the City's Best Burger' or whatever its called and I figure he's 'doing the needful and keep sweeping.
Eventually, he tells me he got a beer back at the burger place. I really had no idea.
"I didn't mean to be discourteous by not offering you a drink back there." He says he's trying to expand his English vocab and 'discourteous' is a big word for him. I let him know I'm fine.
We begin to discuss why people drink alcohol. He finds another place to grab a beer.
He doesn't want to walk past his place of employment, so we ending up wearing down the pavement over the same few blocks, since there was no Julio on our ass.
Towards the end of our shift he introduces himself as Leo. I introduce myself. He asks if thats my christian name like his christian name is Juan but he tells people to call him Leo. I say no, its not quite the same.

So, Julio got a better job w/the City of Glendale and our new 'crew chief'' is a young-ish woman named Susie. The first time I meet/work w/her, I am not in the mood to deal w/her
newness. There are only three of us that day, me & two guys, one of them a fresh newbie, and
I get sent out alone. Yay. I don't want to teach anyone this job I hate. Not today, anyway.
After I screw around w/my clothes and my coffee and don't even make it down to Doheny to turn back, she picks me up to go 'somewhere else'. On the way, we pull-over so she can watch the other two for a minute. Once we start cruising, I feel the need to get some info.
"So, is this your new full-time job?" I ask. The answer is yes. We start talking about the difficulty in finding a job right now and, as we pass destination Fairfax, she asks what I do. I'm in the fitness biz. Oh, she really wants to get in shape. She just had a baby. Has three kids. We pass
La Brea, then Highland. How much do I charge? Where?
By the time we turn around at Vine St., I have a new client for my bootcamp class. Finally, something positive.

Sunny, Windy & Cool

A perfect morning for a slow, laborous walk along Sunset Blvd. We start west of Doheny and head east toward Crescent Heights. Its a nice change. Love the history and flava you get along that strip of Sunset; Upscale, rock 'n' roll and old Hollywood all rolled into one.
There's heavy construction causing heavy congestion heading east right now, too, so I could truly say I was happier to be walking.
Got to work w/my new gay pot-dealer buddy. He makes for good conversation, but it takes him a while to start moving. He likes to start talking first, and he'll just stand there. Today he started telling me about his high-end shop-lifting habit. He ranks up there w/Winona. He walked right out of Neiman-Marcus on Sunday w/a gigantic Gucci tote. Said he dressed to match the bag he thought he'd want, arrived by bus just as the doors opened, went straight upstairs and within 5 minutes exited and caught a cab to his friends' place to celebrate. Got my attention, for sure.
So I try to be polite and work around him to keep us moving, but he won't go pull the can so if I want us to move and not be sooo slow that Julio comes around and sits on our asses all day (which he ended up doing anyway) then I have to do it myself. And sweep the stupid trash. Finally I asked him if he was going to help w/the can so he did.
And nothing has changed w/Julio. Why would it?

4 more hours...

and only 4 hours. My back pain was almost crippling, despite the 3 Aleve. I think they call it 'sciatica'. But its in my guts almost. Feel like I could sleep all afternoon.
The guy I worked w/today was on his 30th & final day. He has been listening to his ipod everyday. Once I thought about it, I had noticed him adjusting his headphones in the van last week. And I believed Julio was as sharp as he thinks he is.
Our two main rules are no phones/no headphones.
Sometimes I feel so innocent.

Had to wait for Commissioner Zuckman(not quite a Judge) to give me the go ahead for another 90 day extension. He did. But if I don't finish by then it transfers to County Jail. Don't feel real well liked in that courtroom.

No Julio for the past several days.

Wouldn't Have Believed It...

Often, because I usually have on a cap and sunglasses and am so into looking at the ground so I don't miss a butt, I fail to notice the signs taped to light posts that we are supposed to take down as well (except for lost pet signs; we are supposed to leave them for 2 weeks, & you know we are
keeping track[?%?*]). But this one was posted between shoulder and elbow level, right in my peripheral vision. On a piece of spiral notebook paper and written in blue pen, it was barely damp and not at all smudged, so it couldn't have been there overnight, not with all the rain.
It read:

BE PROSPEROUS, BE FRUITFUL

In my lifetime I have consumed 382 Snickers bars.

Looking for women with BIG BUTTS to be my sex slave and more.

Leave your name and number and I will call you.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Be sure and question and interview anyone who calls you carefully. Protect yourself. * * *

Ok, WAAAAYYYYY. I stared at it with widened eyes for at least a minute. I looked up for my partner, but he was too far behind me and we were early on our La Brea route and I wasn't sure yet about him yet so I decided to keep the humor to myself and just proceeded to tear the sign down. Odd, to say the least. Creepy, for sure. I could almost feel the author's eyes on my back as they grinned, but what a silly thought, eh?

how i spent my new years eve eve 09/10

On this day, the sky opened up on West Hollywood @ 8:30 in the morning. The kid I was working with had asked in the van if anyone knew if it was going to rain.
"Thirty percent chance. Which means no, here. If it was 70 or 80 %, then maybe," someone answered. And he was right. Often, the initial rain sprinkle is truly a tease and thats all you get.
Since I had on a hat and a hoodie, I wasn't too worried.
But the first sprinkle never stopped, and soon we took cover at the southwest corner of Sunset/Holloway. Its a big corner, and the overhang where we stood was set back from the boulevard, so Julio didn't spot us as he headed east on the south side of the street. When I saw him coming back west, I held my broom up in the air and waved it at him. He waved back. He had been on our asses, parking at the curb next to where we were working, for the past 45 minutes it seemed.
When he pulled up and asked if we were going to stay in the rain, he seemed pissy. It was coming down. I asked the kid, and he said yea.
"Yes, but remember I'm only here until 10:30," I said.
Finally handing over the rain gear, he mumbled "Yea, well make yourself visible".
"Sorry?" I said.
"Make yourself visible. I couldn't see you."
"Okay." I'm a little shocked at his uptightness. Its pouring. I pull on the poncho and hoodie and smile.
"Its almost as if he sets aside his humanity just so he can "do a good job'," the kid had said earlier.
Julio came back and sat on our asses, watching us sweep cigarette butts from the warmth of the van. By 10:30am, my jeans were wet half-way up my calves, my shoes, socks and gloves were soaked.