This 'n' that 'n' sumpthin else

My morning started out on the wrong foot. Or the wrong toe.

A few weeks ago, the county picked up all the roadside dumpsters, the kind you always see along the road, about 4' by 6' or so. In place of about eight or ten of them, they put one great big one. It's really cool. You pull open the door, drop your bag of trash inside, and when you close the door, the motor turns on and it immediately crushes the trash. I like it because it stops "dumpster divers," and it minimizes litter around the area which sometimes blows out (or never makes it in!!) the dumpsters. It's cleaner, neater, more sanitary.

As I left for work, I picked up the trash to drop at the dumpster on the way. I pulled into the unloading pad, and went to open the door of the dumpster. Well! It was completely full, and I mean full to exploding! And it more or less did explode when I opened the door! A bag of someones trash fell out and dropped on my big toe! It hurt! And it is still hurting tonight. No, it isn't broken, because it didn't hit right for that. It hit on the edge of the nail, and I'm sure it has bruised deep in the flesh. I can walk fine and all that, but it just hurts, even tonight. What a start to my day.

I got to work and tried to call the company to advise them, but I got one of those lovely phone systems that gave me eight or nine choices. I finally selected what I hoped was the right one, and there was a recording saying that she was in today but away from her desk, and if I needed immediate assistance to call another extension. I did, and got the same message from that person!! I tried the third number given, and when it went to the automated response again, I hung up. I got busy and didn't call again. I will tomorrow.

They did pick up the dumpster today, 'cause on the way home, there was a new, empty (or almost so) unit there. I got rid of the bag of trash, and enjoyed hearing the crusher at work. I don't know why that is so satisfying to me, but I suspect it is because it stops dumpster diving. I'm always uncomfortable thinking of someone going through the garbage. Security, sanitation, whatever, it is just not a good thing.

Late last week, I ordered a new laptop. This one is still working, but it is becoming worrisome. Little hesitations in actions, slower loading as time goes on, a broken key (thanks to one of the dogs jumping on my lap while the lap was hosting the laptop), another key that just quit working a few days ago, etc. I will probably keep it for editing my photos, as the 17" screen is really nice for that. The new one is 15". I decided for portability it will be easier for me to have a slightly smaller one.

I'm very excited about it. When I compared the memory and speed of this one to the new one, it was amazing how much I am "moving up." So I decided to go with the low end of the continuum of choices with the new one. It's still 8-32 times better/faster/bigger than I have now! I don't think I need more!

I've been watching the tracking information on the shipment, and I'm thrilled that it will be here tomorrow! I even got a call from the shipping company saying it will be delivered, and I called to confirm it. Now I don't want to go to work! I want to stay home, wait with drool seeping out the corner of my mouth and lunge into the box when it arrives!! Dang! I will have to go to work and do my tasks with drool seeping out of the corner of my mouth all day until I can get home and then play! Any bets on how late I will stay up tomorrow night? chuckle!

When I got home tonight, I did  a little work in the back yard. I bought some topsoil to even a few places where there isn't enough soil between clumps of grass. I spread about 250 pounds of it tonight. Tomorrow night I will put grass seed in those spots, water it down well, and then on Thursday or Friday, I will cover everything with peat moss and water it in again. By doing a little of this every year, I have almost completed the process of evening the ground, and there is a nice topsoil bed being built on top of the rocky earth that was there four years ago. I couldn't afford to have it professionally done, so taking it a little at a time have worked for me. The soil under the grass is becoming thicker and richer, and the grass cover is almost complete. Unfortunately my first two plantings were washed away and blown away, and the third one was slightly established when a rain washed away parts of it. Finally, it is nearing a healthy state. It has been a lot of work, but the expense has been spread out over four years, which helps. I'll be glad when it is really done.

One last thing ... the job continues to work out. I'm still finding something new to challenge me almost every day, but I'm overcoming it more quickly with each event. I like the job. Right now, there is a lot of organization and revamping how things are done, but that is something I like to do. I like taking something obscure and making it clear, taking something that is in a state of confusion and making sense of it, taking something that has no visible boundaries and defining what it is, where the limits are and making it all work. The geek in me, I suppose! I wish I had that geekiness at home! LOL! It gets left at the office, I think!

OK, long enough that many of you probably haven't gotten this far. I think that is the cue for me to get off here and consider getting ready for bed!  Hasta la vista, y'all!!