mystery shopping

Happy 4th of July to my American friends!  Happy Wednesday, everyone else!

We have no plans for today other than to try to stay cool.  I even forgot to put the flag out until I visited Joey's blog, and he's a Brit!  Thankfully, Magnum was on top of flag displaying today, and we appear to be in the spirit.

Not surprisingly, fireworks are a major no-no this year with all the high fire danger and wildfires burning all around us.  We're used to it, but we usually hear criminals setting things off around this time of year.  This year, I've heard next to nothing. 

That, and the fact that the holiday falls on a Wednesday, makes it feel like sort of a non-event.  Do you take Monday and Tuesday off?  Thursday and Friday?  Just take the Wednesday mid-week break?  Which day to get drunk?

I took Meego clothes shopping last night.  It's not something we do very often at all.  I guess that's one of the blessings of having stereotypical male children who only think about getting clothes when they realize they've nearly run out of them. 

We were at a Aeropostale in the mall, and I was just hanging out because my opinion makes zero impact.  The one employee in the store was SO familiar to me, but I could not place her.  I figured it would dawn on me eventually, but I'm still wondering this morning. 

I asked Meego if he knew her, and he didn't, so I've concluded that she was a student from the high school where I'd worked last fall.  She wasn't in any of my classes, so maybe she was an office assistant or some other peripheral being. 

Or maybe dementia is setting in.  When is the 4th of July?

it's that time of year

I came across this photo that was posted by a local news station

SOURCE

Yeesh, it's of the Spring Fire that has currently burned over 40,000 acres in southern Colorado.  Yes, wildfire season is upon us once again.  There are various other fires burning in the state as is usually the case, but the Spring Fire is a nasty one.  It's near where I grew up, and we've had haze and smoke from it here in Colorado Springs.  I saw the photo, and the first thing that came to mind was, "Highway to Hell".

Yesterday, we learned that inspectors determined that the fire was human caused, and they arrested and charged a man with arson. No other details.

Really, it's so hot and dry out, fires are easily sparked.  But who sets one intentionally??

SOURCE

So with it being the first of July, I and many others are hoping it's a rainy month.

In other news, we hit the mountain biking trails again yesterday.  This time, Magnum and I took Meego with us as he's never truly gone mountain biking.  We also wanted to test out the new bike rack we got.

Our Honda Element is great for hauling two bikes and two people, but what to do with a 3 x 3?  We got this rack, and it handled the three chunky mountain bikes just fine.

It was a nice day for it.  Sunny and not too too hot - and no wildfires.  Magnum and I managed to keep up with Meego on the uphills, probably because Meego spends too much time sitting and playing video games.

He smoked us on the downhills, however, probably because he doesn't think... about crashing nearly as much as I do.   Those bikes can take a good beating.  Me, not so much.

sun's out, dust bunnies out

The excitement of the day is that I rearranged my desk.  Woooo...
Well, I like it anyway.  It's good to change things up every now and then.

Since school got out for summer, I've been tidying and spring cleaning and clearing the mothballs from my brain since I've reopened the tutor biz.  Summer is typically a slow time for tuting since most students are on break and have little sense of urgency to learn anything.

But I'm thankful to currently have one student - a high school senior wanting to get a jump on her college prospects.  And I don't want to get too booked because I do need to work some of the kinks out since clearly, I didn't do any calculus during my recent lunch lady stint.  And while the lunch lady higher ups are floating managerial positions my way, I'm not sure that I will go that route, because now I'm high on speed!

Or... rather... I'm on higher speed?

Within the last month, our internet provider quadrupled our available internet speed!  Our neighborhood didn't rank very high, apparently, but they finally got around to boosting us into the 21st century.

Really, it was fine before for the day-to-day stuff, but I had to put up with gripes from Meego, the gamer.  And when Wolfgang, the gamer, was living here too - I had to hear it in both ears.

"This is the fastest we can get in our neighborhood", I assured them.  Maybe I should've just put a sign on my forehead that said that.

But now, we are flying down the internet speedway!  And now, it can be all about ME.

See, I contract my tuting out to companies who match students with tutors.  They all offer online tuting as well as face-to-face, but my internet was so slow, I stopped taking the online jobs as more bells and whistles were added to those platforms, making the lag so horrible.

So while I'm refreshing my subject skills and tidying my workspace, I'm also cleaning and setting up my virtual classrooms, now that I've got the speed for them.

It's a bit lonely in there at present.   But at least the parking's free.

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Linking up with Mama Kat for the prompt:

4. Write a blog post the ends with the word: free

Or maybe it's:

1. Share a photo that best represents your June

he said his first name was Blue

He showed up at about the time I expected he would.  He looked about like what he should have looked like if he had been truthful about who he was.  I didn't have any reason to doubt, but then, people can be whomever they want to be on the internet.  It's best not to be too gullible.

He's probably right around my age, but that didn't matter.  Age hadn't come up.  My first clue regarding his age was that he emailed me.  Younger ones always text.

So there he was, and really, did I even care if he'd lied?  Not as long as he held up his end of the deal.  It's not like he really knew much about me either.

Ah, another craigslist hookup...

Yeah, I sold another bike.

The old faithful bicycle Bella.  There's a bit of a lump in my throat as I type.  We had some good times, she and I, but I realized it was time to let her go.  So I primped her a bit and flashed this sexy shot of her, basking in the sun

I typed up the ad using words to hopefully bait someone who would truly appreciate her.  And I think it worked.  Just a short time after she went live, I got the elderly feeling email.

"Hi I'm definitely interested so you still have the GF bike?"

He went on to say

"I fix up bikes for underprivileged kids in the community, and college students struggling, as well as for homeless folks to get them a way to ride to work and get jobs. So this could be a blessing on me"

He went on to assure me that he was interested in buying and not asking for a donation.  I emailed him back and we had a bit of correspondence to set up a time for him to have a look.  Every one of his emails ended with "God Bless".

Was he laying it on extra thick, so I wouldn't suspect that his true intention was rape and/or murder?

He arrived driving a tiny SUV with a bike rack on the back. He looked like a biker - not a bicycle biker but a motorcycle biker:  long grey hair in a ponytail, biker beard.  He wore camouflage cargo pants, black t-shirt, and black cap.  Instead of skulls and crossbones and Harley logos, his t-shirt and cap were decorated with crosses and Jesus fish and "JESUS SAVES".

We talked a bit about used bicycles.  He rode Bella up and down the street, putting her through her paces.  We talked a bit more about used bicycles, and I could tell he did, in fact, appreciate Bella and the bargain I was offering.

He gave me the cash.  I gave him some extra inner tubes.

I wonder if I'll see her again?  Maybe when I pedal passed the homeless hangouts?

God Bless.

getting oriented

We took Meego up for his college orientation this week.  A day and a half of figuring out classes and experiencing dorm food and stuff.  While he was doing that, Magnum and I hung out in college town.

Meego told us that about half or so of the orientation kids had parents with them the whole time- except for when counselors made them go away.  I know we could have similarly attended, but Meego didn't feel the need, and I think it's good for him to have that independence.  I've noticed that teens seem less independent of their parents than when our generation was their age.  But it's a different world now.

Anyhoo, Magnum and I had a little over a day to hang out.  This town is known for its bicycle friendliness, earning a "Platinum" rating before there even was such a rating.  Apparently, the powers that be had to create the Platinum category just for this place!

With that, we decided to rent some bikes and experience some platinumness for ourselves.  Upon reflection, I would agree with the rating.


In addition to all the bike lanes and pathways, the terrain is naturally bike friendly because the entire area is so FLAT.  We were still in Colorado, weren't we??  Here in Colorado Springs, bike rides are usually a series of lung-buster uphills balanced with brake-burner downhills.

As such, we got around just fine on these old-people bikes from the rental shop.  I realize now how nicely color-coordinated I was with my rental Granny bike.

And I think that was the first time I ever went for any kind of bicycling while wearing a purse.

It was a nice way to learn our way around while sometimes getting lost.






We also managed a bit of geocaching, which we haven't done in a long time since we haven't been anyplace new in a long time.  Really, those things are everywhere.


Cheesy "action" photo.











So it was a nice little getaway and a good orientation for Meego.  While there, I thought back to my own college days.

I won't go into detail, but back then, I wasn't doing any Granny biking, tree treasure finding, or wondering what the cat was up to...

Squirrel

I haven't been strolling around Washington Park in Denver in a long time, but I remember the last time.  I got mugged.  It was quite traumatic.


Really, the squirrels there are a bunch of thugs!  I guess they're so used to being fed by park-goers that if you walk on by them without throwing some food - and lots of it - there's hell to pay.









When I saw this week's prompt at Illustration Friday is "squirrel", I had an anxiety moment remembering that mugging.

But then I was able to shift my thoughts to several years prior when one of the Christmas gifts I received was simply a small grey stuffed squirrel toy from my mom.  I don't remember how old I was, but I remember that I was old enough to almost be too old for stuffed animals.

I asked my mom about its significance, and she said, "I dunno, I just like squirrels".  And probably because of that, I've kept that little stuffed squirrel for a long time.

Squirrels are not that common in the Philippines where my mom grew up, and I remember that she pronounced it funny.  Where I say "squirl", she pronounced it more like "squeer-el"

I thought her strange pronunciation was her Philippine accent kicking in, but I have since learned that the word is pronounced my mom's way in the UK and Australia.  So maybe it's us Americans who can't say it properly.

All this to say that I prefer toy "squirls" to live ones these days.  But maybe the ones in the park have mellowed since my last visit.  After all, that was before the legalization of recreational marijuana.

As I was making this drawing and having these banal thoughts, it occurred to me that my small  tortillon looks much like a marijuana joint.

So, are the squirrels nicer now?  Or have their munchies gotten worse?

And how should we pronounce... that word?

would YOU do it?

Magnum was telling me about some accelerated life testing they have going on at his work.  He referred to it as "the Monster's Inc. setup".

Magnum designs door locks.  That may sound pretty mundane, but just take a moment to think about the abundance of door locks you encounter on a regular basis - residences, schools, museums, hospitals, senior living facilities (right, Joey?), etc...  And they have to work properly.

Actually, they're kind of like shoes.  You don't really take notice of them unless they cause pain... or unless you design them.

So back to Monster's Inc. life testing.  I haven't seen it, but Magnum describes it as a large room with 10 different doors, each with a unique lock.  The locks are put through rigorous testing on fixtures, but this particular life test uses Real. Live. Humans. Oh. My. God.

These humans must walk through each door by actuating the doorlock.  They must do this all day.  They must walk through those ten doors, each with different locks, over and over and over.

They've brought in workers from a temp agency who are paid, I think, $12/hr, and if they last for something like two weeks, they'll get 6-month temp jobs in the factory.  No degree, certification, or experience is required.  They just have to be able to open doors.  All day.

I can't even.

I told Magnum that it sounds like hell as he told me about the number of temps that dropped out after about an hour.

"They can wear earbuds.  They can take breaks as needed...", he went on.  I should note that this test was not his idea.

"It sounds more like a psychological test than a door lock test to me", I observed, and I'm not kidding.

They want around 50,000 actuations per lock.  Magnum doesn't think they're going to make it.  I'm trying to picture this room with people walking around in large circles as they open ten different doors.  They can't even daydream because they have to know what to do at each door - some they turn, some have a lever to push, some have a button to push or twist...

But, he says a couple of the "lock walkers" are still going strong, with smiles on their faces no less.

"Maybe we should have exit interviews when people drop out", he pondered.

"Heck, I'd be more interested in interviewing the people who stay!  Those there are the anomalies!", I said.

Would YOU do it?  What would it take?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

2. Tell us about the last time you broke a sweat.