The Bosque

...a pizza delivery driver.

My boss wanted everyone in our department to dress up today. I told her jokingly on Friday that I could either dress up as a disgruntled employee or as a pizza delivery driver. And she actually encouraged me to dress up as a driver.

So, I'm wearing a T-shirt from my shop (we can wear whatever, but I have two T-shirts from my shop, so I usually wear one of those when I deliver), a pair of sweatpants and tennis shoes. And it is fully endorsed by my boss.

I love this country. Coincidentally, I'm delivering pizzas tonight.

Happy Halloween, peeps!

Wolf sent the following over to me as a tie-in to my Rosa Parks Manifesto...from KATC-TV, Lafayette, LA: A "whites only" sign at a barber shop on Moss Street in Lafayette might grab your attention and take you back to the Civil Rights era.

This afternoon, a viewer called our newsroom appalled. We checked it out and found that barber Herbert Leger put the sign up Saturday morning after having to over and over again turn down customers he says he's not qualified to help.

I'm going to assume that Mr. Leger is a well-meaning individual. Did he just not think before he put that sign up? Was he drunk when he put it up? Is he persistently drunk? Did he totally forget about the 1960s?

People never cease to amaze me...

Last week, I got what appeared to be a bill from Frankford-Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia. We've spent a lot of time together over the past year: 2 ER trips, a cardiac catheterization and 10 weeks of cardiac rehab. I was thinking that maybe I forgot to pay one of my ER copays...$35. No big deal.

$2048.40.

It was a bill for my last 10 cardiac rehab sessions...they had been rejected for payment by my insurance company.

I knew that I had been approved for the rehab...30 sessions. And that's all I did. Something wasn't right.

So, I called the insurance company, and they were incredibly helpful. According to them, the hospital used the wrong code for billing, and when it came to the insurance company, they rejected payment because the rehab "was not medically necessary." The woman with whom I spoke, Lauren, said she would contact the hospital, have them change the billing codes and re-bill the insurance company.

Lauren provided excellent customer service, and sounded kinda annoyed with the hospital...e.g. "They should NOT have billed you for the rehab" and "We might have to have them go through provider education again." I was rather impressed. Great customer service should be the rule and not the exception, but these days, you gotta take what you can get.

If I get another bill like this from the hospital, though, I'm gonna have to whup some ass...

Is 31 insignificant? Not in Sycamoreland! 31 is a momentuous birthday! The greatest birthday that there is...until next year!

Happy birthday, baby! I love you.

xoxo

Apparently, Pakistan, the UN and OxFam are pissed at Western countries for not doing enough to help the victims of the recent earthquake in South Asia. From what I heard on the radio yesterday, only one-third of the estimated aid needed has been pledged. And of that, very little of the actual money has been sent. The US has pledged around $11 million, second behind the UK.

I realize that we are a very wealthy and prosperous nation. But let's do a reality check here. I see that:

--The US has given a significant amount of money for last year's tsunami.
--The US gives Pakistan a shitload of aid already.
--The US has had several significant natural disasters occur over the past year, including significant destruction of a major city.
--The US economy isn't exactly fantastic...it's been schizophrenic since early 2000.
--The US is up to its eyeballs in Iraq. At this point, we shouldn't be doing so much heavy lifting, but we still are...perhaps deservedly so. But it's time to put the differences over the war aside. All countries should be working together to make Iraq a great nation.
--Several western nations have apparently offered no aid at all, including France. I'm not trying to pick on France here...that's the only country that was offered as an example during the report I heard yesterday morning--on NPR.

I think the money to take care of the victims' immediate needs will get there in time...the world is not THAT callous. And the US will wind up donating more money over time...Bill and George, Sr. will probably lead the charge. But right now, more than ever, I think we have to take care of our own first.

From the BBC: Los Angeles police sparked a surprising sight when they led away real-life versions of cuddly Sesame Street Muppet Elmo and cartoon hero Mr Incredible.

Impersonators of the well-known characters were arrested for allegedly harassing tourists for tips to pose for photos on Hollywood Boulevard.

They were charged with "aggressive begging"...what the hell?! I haven't read the law, but it sounds incredibly subjective.

I'm a little late...my bad.

My 30th birthday was easily the best birthday ever...seriously. And I've had some really good birthdays...like my 22nd: I got severely stoned and passed out. It ruled!

I started the day with breakfast at Hardee's...a Frisco breakfast sandwich. I wanted to stop at Dos Banderas (a Mexican place near the office) for a breakfast omelette, but I was running later than usual.

My coworkers only learned about my birthday the day before, but they were able to score a "manly" cake: one decorated with Rams items. Of the 9 people in our department, there are only 2 guys: the big boss and me. The ladies didn't want to get anything "flowery." Of course, I wouldn't have given a shit...it's the thought that counts.

For lunch, I had Dos Banderas...chorizo enchiladas. Mmmm!

I got home from work at 5:15...the day had gone quite well. No problems at work; easy commute both ways; both my mom and April had called and left messages, singing me "Happy Birthday"...life was good!

April came over around 6, and I got my presents from her:

--An orange pimp shirt (which I wore to Trivia Night last week)

[img]http://sycamoreland.com/bosque/couple9.jpg[/img]

--A pair of jeans. I like jeans, but haven't worn them in 8 or 9 years...*shrugs*...don't know why.
--The Reverend Horton Heat's just-released Christmas CD
--Two framed photographs of us: one for the office, one for home
--A pair of Jack in the Box boxers
--A scrapbook that covers the last 3 months: I cannot even imagine how much time April put into this...it's my favorite of all the gifts I got.

We then went to dinner at Jasoom, one of my favorite restaurants since coming back to town. As we were finishing dinner, I saw May and Brenda (April's mom) walking in, and I was like, "What the hell?!"

They brought a birthday cake in--a Hello Kitty one!--and April joined them in singing "Happy Birthday." Whoops! :)



(April's mom is retarded. :) )

Afterwards, April and I headed back to my house and had a quiet rest of the night.

Yep...it was perfect. Not one glitch. I only hope that I can make April's as nice...her birthday is Friday. Whoohoo!

Freedom fighters don't get much better than her...from MSNBC:

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday. She was 92.

Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.

Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement."

From the BBC: With 90% of the votes counted, 64% rejected the ban and only 36% wanted firearm sales to the public outlawed.

The proposal to ban gun sales was backed by the government and the United Nations, in a country where there were 36,000 gun-related deaths last year.

Had this passed, the ban probably would have worked as well as similar bans in Chicago and Washington, DC do. IOW, not very well. And given that we're talking about a second world country that is almost as big as the US, and is known for its corruption...I seriously doubt such a law could be well-enforced. It's hard enough for a country like the US to enforce Federal laws.

Well, kinda sorta.

Yesterday, I asked the pizza shop to pull me off the schedule as of Nov. 4th. I'm off the next two Fridays, and someone is working for me this coming Monday, so I really only have one day left to work--Halloween. I'll still be available to fill in here and there, though.

My regular job pays well and allows me to save money. Plus I can probably get OT from there--we've got a lot of work coming up, and I know that the bosses will want to stay on schedule as best as possible. And I start college on December 1st--that's going to take two of my nights, plus the work beyond class. I'd like to have a clean plate, figure out how school is going to go, then if I want to deliver pizzas again, go from there.

I haven't been enjoying delivering as much lately, anyway. I'm tired of driving to shitty neighborhoods only to get stiffed, and business hasn't been so great lately. Plus I spend a fortune on gas, which is starting to bother me. And I've put 16,000 miles on my car in just 7 months...I drive 300 highway miles a week to and from work as it is, plus put in 50-100 city miles a night when I deliver pizzas. And when I deliver pizzas after working an 8-hour day, I am totally wiped out. I don't know how the hell I stayed awake this past Monday and Friday night.

The pizza shop has been very good to me. It was there when nothing else was. And it was a good way to reconnect with the South Side after 6 years away. And I'll still be schlepping pizzas occasionally. But for now, I need a break. :P

Wolf had this fire under control.

Wilma is the righteous hand of God?

The annual Freaks, Geeks, and Goddesses Fest in Key West is being cancelled because of the hurricane's approach. Apparently a similar festival, Southern Decadance in New Orleans, was cancelled by Katrina.

For the second time this year, an Atlantic hurricane is forcing the postponement of a popular homosexual event filled with "unthinkable debauchery."

The annual Fantasy Fest in Key West, Fla., had been slated to kick off today, but the threat of Hurricane Wilma is putting a damper on the festivities, delaying events until after the storm passes.

"We've never had a hurricane interfere with Fantasy Fest, at least as long as I've been here," Harold Wheeler, director of the Monroe County Tourist Development Council for the past 10 years told the Key West Citizen. "In fact, it's just the opposite – Fantasy Fest has always been there to open up our season."

According to its official website, "The 27th Fantasy Fest 'Freaks, Geeks & Goddesses' offers another nutcake romp through the realms of the ridiculous and will not back down in the face of a hurricane. ... Well, maybe we'll have to push it back a few days, but fear not! Fantasy Fest events will still rock the island, just packed into six days instead of 10."

Sounds like one hell of a party.

From Philly.com: With threats of a federal indictment looming over his head, Philadelphia City Councilman Rick Mariano perched on the observation deck near the top of City Hall late this afternoon before Mayor Street and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson talked him down.

Mariano was a member of the Status Quo 5...I never did care for him when I lived in Philadelphia.

As if this year hadn't been bad enough hurricane-wise already, here comes Wilma...from MSNBC:

Hurricane Wilma swirled into the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded Wednesday, a Category 5 monster whose powerful winds and heavy rains already have been blamed for killing at least 12 people in the Caribbean as it bore down on Central America.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said a weakened but still formidable Wilma could make landfall in southwestern Florida on Saturday. Officials ordered visitors out of the Florida Keys.

So...if this thing takes a freak turn and heads towards New Orleans, can we finally put a fork in the city?

And we still have a month and change left in hurricane season.

...is no sound at all, but silence. Incredible deafening silence. Absolute in shock silence.

From the Houston Chronicle last night: St. Louis batter Albert Pujols hit a two-out, three-run homer off closer Brad Lidge in the ninth, allowing the Cardinals to overtake the Astros in a tight 5-4 battle at Minute Maid Park in Game 5 of the NLCS tonight.

The Astros were one strike away from going to their first World Series...one strike.

Then David Eckstein singled. Then Jim Edmonds walked.

Then Albert Pujols took Brad Lidge and smacked the fuck out of him, stomped him into the ground, bitchslapped every Astros fan in the stands, sat down, ate a sandwich and then kicked Lidge's ass some more.

This series is nowhere near over...the Astros are still up 3 games to 2. But the series is back here at Busch tomorrow night...

This town is gonna go nuts...you watch...

Miss April and Miss May womanned the board for this one.

So he asked me to fill in tonight. Not an easy feat seeing as how I was just about to go to bed. And I had to kick my poor little sister off the computer to do it. So we (me & my 16 year old sister) decided to talk about...donkeys drinking beer. I swear it was the first thing that came to her when I asked what I should write about.

Here's how her thought process flowed "You know, that commercial when the donkey wants to be a clydesdale...and he is in a "barn type thing" and is asked why he thinks he should be a clydesdale....He makes his best clydesdale noise thing... like a eeeeeaaaaaaawwwwhhhh. Ha ha ha... And the next thing you know he's strutting with all the big kid clydesdales. And he says "I guess it was something I said". Ha ha, that was such a funny commercial."

Yup, that's what Americas youth are thinking about if you ask them.

:shock:

...I'm going to bed.

From the Phoenix Coyotes website: Phoenix Coyotes right wing Brett Hull announced his retirement today after playing 19 seasons in the National Hockey League. A future Hockey Hall of Famer, Hull leaves the NHL as the game’s active goal-scoring leader with 741, which also ranks third on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list.

I grew up watching Hull play for the Blues. He made this city a true hockey town. If not for him, Savvis Center might not have been built, and the Blues might be in some other town. When he left as a free agent in the summer of 1998, it was probably one of the saddest moments in St. Louis sports history.

Thanks, Brett, for 10 1/2 great seasons in St. Louis. Yeah, you were cocky...and you ran off at the mouth a bit too much at times. But you were a hell of a player...you're headed for Toronto in 5 years.

Damn, that's the third great player to retire this year, following Al MacInnis (who spent 10 seasons here, and retired as a Blue) and Mark Messier.

It sucks when your heroes start riding off into the sunset. :(

From WNWO-TV, Toledo, OH: A crowd protesting a white supremacists' march Saturday turned violent, throwing baseball-sized rocks at police, vandalizing vehicles and stores, and setting fire to a neighborhood bar, authorities said.

Nothing like giving aid and comfort to the enemy, eh?

I was originally going to write about my 30th birthday, but I'm short on time today, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

May's high school is having a trivia night tonight...given my Cliff Clavin-ness, April asked me to be part of their team. How could I refuse trivia and April? How hot is that?! ;-)

I've never been to a trivia night before, but I'm familiar with them. And April and her family and friends turn it into a big party...food, drink, the whole 9 yards. They even picked a theme for the table...the tropics. I am wearing my new orange tropical-looking pimp shirt; April is wearing my University of Maryland Hawaiian-style shirt. Someone is even buying leis. I don't think we're buying any tropical drinks, but there's going to be free beer, and some of us are buying wine. It should be a good time...especially once we start drinking.

And I am going to win this motherfucker for the team...as long as I stay fairly sober...

Wolf was rockin' the mic for this Manifesto.

There was another famous birthday this week.

Margaret Thatcher, England's "Iron Lady," turned 80 this week.

She even had enough class to be fashionably late for her own party.

Not a lot of people have the solid brass ones to keep Her Majesty waiting.

But I'll bet she didn't get a cool Hello Kitty cake.

...you can’t have just one!

From CBS News: Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again.

Some thoughts:

--The father must be making a killing in real estate.
--At least they waited 4 years before having their first child…of course, she was married at 17.
--The father is an ex-politician, and is apparently going to run again. I wonder if he supports birth control rights (including abortion).
--This is a family in Arkansas.
--The father's name is Jim Bob...need I say more?

Dear God,

Thank you for helping me to see another birthday.

Thank you for helping me to live another year.

Thank you for helping me to see the follies of my previous lifestyles.

Thank you for helping me to see that it was time to go home.

Thank you for your help in guiding me through a very difficult yet rewarding year.

And lastly, thank you for helping me to see that the woman of my dreams has been under my nose for the past 7 years.

Amen.

Ever since I started working at my job as a temp, there's been this one guy...

He just stands there...

Waiting...watching...

Praying for 4:30pm to arrive...

Every day that I've left at 4:30 (which has been almost every day that I've worked there), this contractor has been sitting next to the time clock, waiting for it to hit 4:30. The clocks in our department run fast, so all of us start and leave about 2 minutes early. That's when I see the time vulture...

I wonder what his boss thinks of him wasting time waiting for the clock to strike 4:30...

Today was my first day at my "new" job...

It was alright. I wasn't nervous, and it wasn't really exciting...after all, I've already worked there for a month as a temp.

I was dragging by the end of the day...lots of information...too much information...head hurts...blecch!

I think it's going to work out fine, though. The people are nice, and the job doesn't seem like it's going to be too bad. I don't have a title, though...none of the hourly employees do. Isn't that odd?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to slumberland...

Let's review what has happened over the past couple of months, shall we?

--Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the US
--Hurricane Stan in Mexico and Central America
--An earthquake in Central America just days after Stan
--An earthquake in Pakistan and India

Good has already come out of the hurricanes here...maybe these other natural disasters will have positive consequences, particularly in India and Pakistan. But at the moment, I can't recall a time when several events like this hit one right after the other.

Wolf, what does the psychic in you say about all this?

From the BBC: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is "deeply concerned" about the plight of African migrants trying to cross from Morocco into Spain.

He urged the Spanish and Moroccan governments to deal with the situation humanely, his spokesman said.

His comments come after six migrants died trying to scale a fence to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

If you're not familiar with Ceuta and Melilla, start here.

Africans trying to cross into Ceuta and Melilla is nothing new. But in the past few weeks, migrants have apparently begun attempting to cross into the enclaves en masse. Imagine if 50,000 Mexicans stormed one of the smaller entry points along our southern border.

And the Africans probably make the Mexicans look wealthy beyond belief...

My original plan for the week was to only work my two regular delivery shifts (Mon. and Fri. nights) and nothing else. I turned down an assignment from the temp agency and day shifts from the pizza shop to tie up loose ends before I start my new job Monday...plus I just wanted to enjoy my last week of freedom, seeing as I haven't really worked full-time since March.

Apparently, I was smoking crack Wednesday. I not only agreed to work Saturday afternoon at the pizza shop, but I also agreed to work at our Affton shop last night.

The pizza shop I work at is one of 4 locations owned by my bosses. They are franchisees of a local pizza chain. Affton is a nearby suburb...for Philadelphians: it's like Bensalem, minus the Latinos and Indians.

I need to work out there more often. I took 16 deliveries and pulled in $73. That same amount of deliveries at my home base would have netted me $50-60. And because things are more spread out and there are fewer stop signs in the suburbs, I wasn't burning as much gas. And the people are much nicer out there.

My only complaint is that it was hard to read addresses on houses. Affton is an unincorporated part of St. Louis County. The County provides basic services to residents, but does not put up streetlights. It'd be a small price to pay to make that kind of money on a regular.

But tonight, I must go back to the City...delivering to shithole neighborhoods that were once nice and safe. It's all good, though...because I'll still make enough money to make delivering there worthwhile.

My brother took an oral test to become an EMT for the City of St. Louis on Tuesday. I don't know why, but he's wanted to work for the City for quite some time. And when it comes to working for the City, it's more about who you know than what you know.

His test notice finally arrived last week...I think he's been waiting for almost a year. He's known people that have taken the test successfully, and he felt pretty confident that he knew his stuff.

Well, he doesn't think he did very well. He was pretty distraught when he came home Tuesday afternoon...wound up sleeping that entire evening. He'll know his results in the next 1-2 weeks.

So, if you all wouldn't mind throwing out some positive vibes for him, that'd be great.

Tim, if you didn't do well, then you didn't do well. There's always next year. And you still have the jobs that you're currently working. But don't cross that bridge until you come to it...just hope for the best.

And remember...you're my bastard. :)

I've been back in St. Louis 100 days as of yesterday. Let's see how I'm faring thus far:

--I have two jobs (one 9-5'er and one part-time), which combined give me more money than I was making in Philadelphia.
--I start grad school in December, and will have my Masters in May 2007.
--I'm glad to be back home, even though my mom drives me nuts sometimes.
--I'm reconnecting with old friends and making new friends.
--April...do I need to go into detail here? I don't think so.

Yeah...I'd say I'm doing pretty well. Though I miss Philadelphia...primarily because of the food. But I miss some of you bastards out there, too. :)

The fact that so many conservatives are squirming over the nomination of Harriet Miers to the US Supreme Court tells me that I should support her just because of that.

But no...I won't. I'll support her because she seems to be a decent candidate, based on what I've read and heard thus far. Of course, as a liberal, I'd love to see a liberal nominated, but let's be realistic here. Plus, let's keep in mind that Stevens, Kennedy and O'Connor were nominated by Republican presidents...and have turned out to be moderate to liberal.

I think John Roberts will be a decent Chief Justice (for that matter, I thought Rehnquist was alright), and I think Harriet Miers will be a decent addition to the Court. They may be nominees of Dubya, but I think they'll keep both sides in check. These two aren't going to shift the direction of the Court for the forseeable future.

Now if Stevens or Ginsburg goes (they're the oldest justices) during a Republican presidency, then you might see a shift...

...it's going to be a fucking tour!

Tim and I started talking about doing a dive bar tour in St. Louis about 6 months ago. And we'd bring it up on occasion...then promptly forget about it again.

We started talking about it again on Friday, but this time, we put some pen to paper...

I have compiled a list of 62 potential dive bars located in South St. Louis and the nearby suburbs of Affton and Lemay.

The plan is to visit each one, have a maximum of 2 beers and soak up the atmosphere. We'll then talk about them here on the Bosque. Who knows...Tim and I could become the motherfucking experts on St. Louis dive bars! That would rule! Tim's friend Brian has volunteered to assist, and I've dragged April in. It might take some convincing to get Lauren involved...I'll let Tim work on her.

Now, it's a matter of determining what makes a bar a dive bar: types of beers on tap? Food selection? Looks? I dunno...we're gonna have to figure that out.

More to come...

Though the Cardinals are in the post-season, Busch Stadium's last regular-season game is today at 1:15 CDT.

On May 12, 1966, the Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 12 innings to open the stadium. Over the next 40 years, the stadium hosted every Cardinals baseball home game, Cardinals and Rams football games, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, U2, the Moolah Shrine Circus, one of Steve Fossett's balloon treks and countless other events.

Though it is one of the cookie-cutter stadiums from the late 60s/early 70s, it stood out from the rest, thanks to the arches at the top of the stadium; the success of the Cardinals in the 60s, 80s and now and the best fans in baseball.

So long, Busch 2...it's been a blast. On to Busch 3 next season.

13 hours.

47 deliveries.

$191.

Fitting that it would happen on my last day of double shifts for the pizza shop. I was originally only supposed to work 11-2 and 5:30-12, but my boss asked me to stay until 4, and there was no sense in me taking that 90-minute break. I wound up running like 20 of those 47 deliveries between 2 and 6.

I was disappointed that I didn't hit 50 deliveries or $200...had I done things a bit differently, I probably would have gotten there. But 47 and $191 ain't bad at all. And I celebrated by having a few beers with some co-workers at a local dive after work.

Time for breakfast...I'm hungry...