Half Cooked Lobsters and Bioluminescent Mushrooms

I was rooting around online today looking for interesting tidbits of fun stuff and found a couple articles that just made me happy.

Lobster Caught "Half Cooked" in Maine

This lobster was live caught by a Maine lobsterman. I have never seen a live redish colored lobster ever and was just amazed. Unfortunately, their not going to cook this one so we can't find out how a genetic oddball lobster tastes.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060720-lobster-photo.html

New Glowing Mushrooms Found in Brazil

Glowing mushrooms in the rainforest. How can you not eat these. I mean...come on! What happens if I eat them and I glow! That'd be awesome. My only question is how exactly has no one discovered these yet? They freaking glow in the dark!

and remember kids....
All mushrooms are edible, but some...only once.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061026-fungi-glow.html


Tybo is a steller bread baker...
-steph

Street Gang In Maine

This is why the violent crime rate in Maine is so low....nobody wants to butt in on these guys' turf. Especially with mom on lead.

Going to crash hard this weekend. I have a ton of work to do but probably going to sleep all weekend. We'll see. I will post more this weekend, but the body is hollering at me to sleep. I sleep for 6 hours, am fine for two, then fall asleep at work, go somewhere and sleep for a little while, good for two hours, then fall asleep in class, sleep for a half hour, start some hw, then fall asleep on my p-chem book. Getting annoying.

Home again! Home again! Jiggety-Jig

I'm home. Huge med exam tonight, great big huge p-chem exam tomorrow and through next week. I will post about my amazing adventures maybe tonight if I think the distraction is beneficial. Other than that...I'm just not gonna sleep.

Leaving for ID tomorrow

Here I sit.
6 P-chem Hw sets behind,
P-chem in class exam wednesday
P-chem take home exam wednesday
PL exam tomorrow
PL paper due tomorrow
Money running low
Safe places running out
Sanity a long way off

but,

I get to see my best friend tomorrow
and fly on my first jet
hang out with an amazing family
spend time with real people
heal a little, relax a little
get a good hug
and finally...maybe...be able to have some fun

somehow somehow somehow hold together

here's to chillin' on a mountain sharing the outhouse with friends and big game.
living in the trees where i should be.
will i...should i come back?

Gott sein Freitag danken

Hey everyone. I lost my usb2.0 to mini enhanced cable so the pics on my camera are stuck there for a bit until i find it. This is the problem living mainly out of your car/ friend's places...so many more options for places to lose things. Which is bad...especially now. I have a ton of work to do and no time to do it...so it might be later this weekend before I can post again. Brandon and I might disappear into the woods for a while this weekend I think. Necessary abondonment if you will. Anyhow, I'll keep you posted.

Where not doing biology anymore dorothy....

Last tuesday, I had the great pleasure of participating in physical chemistry lab. Thermodynamic Physical chemistry is the study of molecular level interactions and how they affect macroscopic results. We study in some depth the behavior of matter and the transformation between different forms of energy. Our task for this lab is to measure the potential energy of a piece of pizza and compare the energy content found between supreme and meat lovers. I am sure this is not a question most people just come up with at random. Only a thermodynamic chemist with waaay too much time on his hands could come up with this one. O well.

In order to measure this potential energy...you have to release it. What better way then blow it up? The instrument used to do this is...yes...called a bomb. Some chemist decided that his job was so exceptionally boring that he decided to name a piece of equipment in his lab something daring and exciting to increase the..."romantic" appeal. So, he named a cup in a bucket with a 200 dollar thermometer a bomb. Sigh. Basically, the bomb, the pic to the right, is placed in a tin bucket full of water. This assembly is then placed in a bigger bucket so as to best simulate a closed thermodynamic system. A dried, compressed pellet of sample is placed under O2 pressure in the bomb contacting a small piece of ignition wire. [Da Bomb]
When the time comes, high current is passed through the wire and the pellet is combusted. As the heat moves out of the bomb it passes into the water surrounding it. This temperature change is measured very precisely and can be used to determine the total energy content of the sample. It doesn't even really blow up...it doesn't even sound cool. You get all psyched up for something cause your pushing the go button on a peice of equipment called an Oxygen BOMB calorimeter and then....nothing. Besides the emotional let down you may be wondering what's so bad about this lab.[Me and the ~200 dollar thermometer.] In the four hours we were in lab, we were only able to complete one of our 3 trials. [Me and the ~200 dollar thermometer]
If this isn't frustrating I don't even know what is. By the end I was about ready to take the whole darn thing and throw it down the fire escape. If one of our runs is an incomplete combustion so help me...I hope there isn't anyone actually using the fire escape right about then.

Don't get me wrong...it is kind of amusing that I can now tell you exactly how much energy is in this piece of pizza but....

I made a realization today. I have finally crossed the line from biology to chemistry. Many of my chem classes prior to this semester have been occupied by biologists from various disciplines. This class, P-chem, is the first class not at all designed to be somewhat condusive to a biological student. The wierd part of it is...I'm not so sure I like it. It's a fact that I am not happy with physical chemistry...this much I know. No one in their right mind needs a thermometer that you read through a magnifying class. You couldn't find a biologist within a mile of this thing. Except of course my lab partner who is the psychotic double major below. This thermometer can be read to the thousandths place. What the heck? I don't need to know that the water inside the bomb is .043 degrees off from room temperature and slowly coming to equilibrium. I...don't...care. I am now coming to the conclusion that spending the rest of my life putting 10 hours a day everyday inside of a lab would, for all intensive purposes, mess me up. I definately still love science...just not the kind where you get to stare at numbers all day and look longingly out the window at the real world. Looking back on my class history, I can see that most of the bio classes I took were really easy for me...and the most of the chem classes I took I had to fight through.....umm....crap? Where was my head? Have I been toying with so the wrong career? Sigh...

Here I go; There I go; Everywhere I go go!

Luckily for me the sun was shining when I woke up this morning. So, my splitting headache had a reason to run away to a more weather burdened high stress individual. Unfortunately, my homework does not share this sentiment. I have enough work to do today to keep me going till ground hogs day at least...if not the forth of july. I' m now going through the list of things and attempting to determine just what I can not do and still pass. I know this is dangerous in more ways than one, but upon the recent discovery that my body/brain is so not geared right now to walk in the halls of academia damage control and preemptive strike patterns are my primary focus. I have plenty to distract me: good friends far away, no money, lots of bills, not really sleeping, forgetting that I can say no (yeah, got that lecture again last night...you'd think I would learn), steady discoveries of who I used to be and remembering who much I loved it, constant reminders of things I would love to leave behind, and constant realizations that when I do I will have lost...when you leave things behind you don't learn from them. The strength is in walking the distance to understanding and "grok'ing" if you will. Anyone can run the course; it takes strength and a little stupidity to walk it. When you've walked the path, been cut up, burned up and hurt, you step back and learn from it and become that much stronger.

On a lighter note I can't seem to keep my pants on. They almost fell off walking to emery yesterday. This is a problem. I put another hole in the belt which has proven largely ineffective. I'm running out of belt...is this good?

Crimson at a Distance

Crimson at a Distance
(revision 2; 9/15/06)

The front has been held, but only by the blood of those most precious. Tired soldiers gaze the gaze of indifference as the ground again rumbles with the enemies renewed offensive. One soldier; battered, bloodied, broken...kneels beside his gently rested rifle and bades his eyes to once again shield him from vistas of death. Marrow laden blood seeps from wounds that won't seem to heal. Air laden with the smell of sweat and fear pass resolutely through his lungs. Spirit torn, heart held together by precious tendrils of love given freely together shiver quietly in the wake of pounding fire. Bullets scream around him, but they find no refuge from their ballistic torment here in this ragged life. Even bullets respect sacrifice.

Few men have seen the true horrors this soldier's eyes have partaken. Few felt the rip of pure agony when brother after brother fell beside him, for him. Many more would feel the shocking pain of betrayal before the whims of wise men were satisfied. Dawn caressed open weary tear laden eyes. Only the reassuring hand of a rallying co patriot returned life to the young soldier's limbs. Perhaps this day he would yield. Perhaps this day he would find peace along with his squandered kin. For now, bitter hate and helpless confusion are safely set aside for cold efficient execution.

One round for one life. No longer do his eyes shutter as the concussion roles from the barrel. Unwavering, he chooses each target with his blazing reticule. With little effort he aims for his kill zone and puts to rest another tortured soul. Steaming shells bear his malice. As foe after foe meet the plane of his rifle only one hope remains: that his life be enough to buy those who gave, another chance at freedom.

-Ty

Where am I?

For those of you desperately wondering what happened to me...well here's why. No, I haven't disappeared, at least not yet, just been insanely busy. My schedule looks kind of like this:

Monday
Work: 8:00 - 11:20
philosophy Klass: 11:25 - 12:25
Environmental Science Klass : 14:10 - 15:10
Physical Chemistry Klass: 15:20 - 16:20
Senior Sem: 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday
Physical Chemistry Lab: 13:15 - 16:15
EMT-B: 18:30 - 22:30

Wednesday
Work: 8:00 - 11:20
philosophy Klass: 11:25 - 12:25
Environmental Science Klass : 14:10 - 15:10
Physical Chemistry Klass: 15:20 - 16:20

Thursday
Work: 11:25 - 13:30
Senior Tech Meeting: 13:30 - 14:30
EMT-B: 18:30 - 22:30

Friday
Work: 8:00 - 11:20
philosophy Klass: 11:25 - 12:25
Environmental Science Klass : 14:10 - 15:10
Physical Chemistry Klass: 15:20 - 16:20
Chemical Biology Tea: 16:30 - 17:30

Somewhere in here is the time required for the wonderful tons of homework, extra admin duties at the CET, meetings and pulling hair out sections. I already have a great case of chronic senioritis...this is bad. Combine that with 4ish hours of sleep a night this should be an interesting semester. If I have somehow neglected you please know that it was most definitely not on purpose. I have a habit of filling up my days. I've gotten really good at it. I'm not really impressed at this fact, but I have friends working to break me of this habit. Please don't think I don't want to hang out. Just keep trying, you'll catch me free one of these days.

Progress?

I haven't been able to post for a while due to my computer being all retarded. Classes started last night with my CPR-Pro class which was amazing. Today looks to be much hectic, confusing, exhausting, totally lacking in free food and probably a half dozen other exciting emotions I've totally overlooked. There is hope though. I am now an uncle 2x (boy, pics coming) and the MY CRAFTSMAN HAS BEEN FOUND. Apparently, it was left to rest in a bag of potato gun mayhem as my mom put it. Also, subway is having a 2ft long subs for 8 dollars deal. While life right now is sort of like trying to bail out a sinking cruise liner with a spaghetti strainer...there is progress. Whatever that means.

Mystery Munchies

Today starts a long weekend dealing with wonderful freshman and their ever present parents. On top of that... coming out of a hard summer, staring at year that promises to be absolutely brutal in everyway, closing up a very confusing/wonderful/long day, burdened with a body that can't take the punishment I'm giving it, realizing that I can't be the hero in a game I've never played, amazing friends who's love and support means more than they could ever know, thankful for the awesome family I have, blessed with an amazing God and faced with a life of scattered peices all with meaning just none that I understand...I have only one reaction. I have no idea where this reaction came from...no flippin' clue how I could manage this right now. I'm so exhausted wondering if my alarm will go off in the morning is stressing me out. Out of all this...only a smile adorns my face as I struggle to find sleep. Not a grimace, not a gasp, not an expression of fear and worry, not even a resolute expression of determination...but a smile. Kind of makes ya wonder what was really in those teddy grams I munched on.

Wonderings

Through all our failures there shines a light. Though the source eludes us we press onward harder still. Falling to demons unchecked, we bleed our life blood into the greedy soil. Our tears wash the ground with each blow. Regret and fear reside in our souls as the lives we sought to protect slip away. Stumbling time and again...have we been so foolish as to think we could overcome? Our foe tears flesh he knows better than its bearer. Can there be an end? Have we bleed and lost for so little?


-ty

Wherefore art thou Craftsman?

My life has ground to a halt. My most favorite and most precious screwdriver has been lost. I spent 30 blood and sweat earned dollars purchasing my Craftsman Ratcheting Screwdriver set (that features a soft-grip handle and onboard bit storage in handle with 14 assorted bits) and now it is gone. I searched high and low, left and right, everywhere. Other screwdrivers just can't compare. They just don't have the selective rachetting shaft, the plethora of various asundery interchangeable bits, or the life time warranty. My precious screwdriver. So many memories. Your black and yellow body still springs life into lost and weary screws. I remember when I first bought you at sears. I remember all the furniture, electronics and doors you have given new life to. I even remember when Jenn viciously broke one of your bits...but you still remained my favorite. O craftsman screw driver...COME BACK! I'll never again leave you in the hands of reckless drivers. Never more will I open tuna with your wide edge regular bit! No longer shall I force your torx bits into stubborn hex screws! And I won't ever go back to that stanely again...I promise...it was only that one time....and only because you were packed...JUST COME BACK!!!!

Rainy day to crap on a rock.

For lack of neccessary energy and grammar skills to post anything exciting I give you me after my startling discovery that huge sic nasty thunderstorms go faster than my lawn mower. I am completely and utterly soaked. All for the sake of making a few million blades of grass 2 inches shorter. Is it really worth it I ask?

Upon further consideration it was determined that even while soaked I'm kind of boring. So, I give you a picture of a frog who most definately needs to learn how to hide better.

For those of you who have already become immediately concerned for the saftey of the frog yes...I threw him into the ditch before leaving the station. Only problem is there were lots of these around:
And these:

So, unless you built one of these like I did:

The frog probably ended up as crap on a rock.



Yes, i know crows and geese don't always eat frogs...but I have definately seen wierder this summer. Who knew having a digital camera was this fun? I could have been letting the world know how much of a goof I am years ago!

What a face!

I don't have the energy to make a long entry, so...I will just include a wonderfully happy picture of growing neice and a little poem I came up with today. Deer caught in the headlights? No way. More like....WASSUUUUUPPPP!!!!!!




Under


When darkness falls,
All full of gloom,
There is no light of day.

When spinning wheels,
And clicking heels,
Can no longer save the day.

I fall flat out,
Cry staight out,
Wondering of the day.

I can not drive,
To run and hide,
Kids are in the way.

Like a fish on board,
I flip and flap,
Gasping for the water.

I see the end,
That precious end,
That gets only much farther.

To what end,
For what end,
I can only wonder.

I flip once more
I flap once more,
I think I'll go back under.

One Way, NO, This Way. What way? I like my way.

So, you know those times when all the thoughts and chaotic ramblings that have been bouncing around your head for a long time all of a sudden congeal into a major revelation? Then, it busts and you go chasing it around frantically like a 4 year old after a rolling sugar cookie. The chaos resumes quickly. Thoughts of the summer you wanted not being the summer you had; the man you thought you were isn't the man you are; the man other people see isn't the man you really are; the list of summer things that could never happen in a million years and the life you have that is headed somewhere and you have no inkling of a clue where it's going. In addition, there are those tiny little revelations that you achieve everyday that just serve to confuse everything: wow...that factory beveled edge on that pine board really isn't straight now that I've made the cut based on the measurement using that edge, hammers are meant for nails and errant peices of house construction..not fingers, large holes in "critical areas" of one's pants are useful for working on hot summer days but damaging to one's public appearance, ice packs don't keep your lunch cold if they sit all night in your lunch box, lawn mowers don't run well without gas, hugs make the sun shine a little brighter, days with prayer are harder than days without it, it takes a few minuets to recover vision after mistakenly staring directly at the sun or steel toe boots protect your toes from falling gates and weedwackers only slightly better when being worn in comparison to sitting in the back of your car all day. Through all of these dragon rearing thoughts and mini-revelations a friend sits you down and asks for help and you honestly have no idea what to say...only that God cares darn it and so do I. Another, sits you down and tells you just how messed up you really are...and that it's okay. Wrapping up the conversation with that little bit of a loving comment that bring all the thoughts and chaotic ramblings that have been bouncing around your head for a long time into a major revelation. {Return to top} [Repeat as needed]

The First Good Day

I haven't written much lately but bare with me. I've been pretty crazy the last few days. Things are starting to come back down to something almost like normal but not really...what is normal? I left normal a long time ago. I think I left it somewhere near the locality of Fort-Comfortzone...or in the ditch just outside of town.

Today...was good. Seeing as how the past say three months have been rather rough I'm not sure just exactly how good today was by most standards, but I think today was good. I didn't kill anyone, I didn't break anything, I got my work done, and had a few good laughs. Haven't laughed for a little while...so I will share with you my opportunities to laugh and learn today.

Today was the second day of having only one job. I told boss b I was wearing myself into a hole. He just said yup, let me know when you feel like working again and I'll find something for ya to do. Only God could have made it go that easy. I fretted for what...days if not a week or more about getting done and it was over with no sweat in less than 15 seconds.

What have I been doing with the afternoons and evenings? Well, I've been cleaning my room and sleeping. I am going through everything I own and figuring out what I need to survive and what I don't need to survive. Some stuff is going into file 13, some stuff into the attic, some stuff back under the bed. It is suprisingly difficult to get rid of things. I keep thinking I will always need this or that or I couldn't possibly get rid of that so and so gave it to me. I've just been closing my eyes and chucking. Somehow, my little room still feels really full. I'm not sure why...it just does.

I slept for nine hours last night. Woke up this morning exhausted. I stayed exhausted all day until about 3. Now I'm exhausted again. I think my body is rebelling against this whole actually getting sleep thing.

I'm discovering things that I've forgotten over the past few years. I am now realizing how much I enjoy camping. Not necessarily staying a few nights at Bob's family tent park or what have you...but travelling to some random "sort of named" mountain and spending a few days there. Or going to a lake that is better known by a number than a name. I already have two Mtns picked out: Moose Mtn. and NightHawk Mtn. I'm not sure if I can even get close enough to them with my little car but by golly I'm gonna try. Problem is...I'm running out of summer.

A second thing I have discovered is just how much the few friends I've let get to know me really care. I've been so distracted by other things I almost totally missed it. If I missed thanking you with all my heart for something please accept my humble apologies. Know that I do not forget such gestures.

I saw a few things today that you probably will only see in northern maine, and maybe some random places in the less populated western states. I guess this is the start of my "only in the county" series. The road you are looking at is called Dyer st. It is fairly well travelled and often sees a good amount of commuter traffic throughout the day. This tractor trailor driver needed to get his trailer up against this particular loading dock. The loading dock door is only say 10 ft from the edge of the road. As you can see the road goes through the middle of his trailor. He is blocking the entire road plus most of both parking lots on either side. There is only 6ft or so of the parking lot across the street left for cars to get by. The tractor stayed there about 2 hours...amazing. If you tried this at school you would have every wrecker and police officer within 10 miles racing to the scene. Here...I don't even think anyone thought to call the police. It was quite amusing to watch the reactions of people having to maneuver around the cab for the few minutes I stood there. Most people just smiled, a few laughed...though a few wrapped their lower lips around their forhead a couple times in protest. Yet another reason to appreciate aroostook county.

The second happening today that made me laugh was an announcement I heard on the radio news. Apparently, a gentleman working for a software company wanted some paid vacation. So, he told his boss that he needed 3 months paid vacation so he could be home taking care of his son with cancer. The company granted him the time. Why not? After the three months, the employee returned to work explaining that the son had died, thus freeing him up to return to his responsibilities at the company. All was good and dandy until the boss tried to send flowers to the dead son's funeral. Needless to say, the hoax was discovered shortly thereafter. The man is now being sued big time by the company. Hokey Mokey!!! If you need time off just tell your boss. Are you seriously that lazy? I can't believe he actually made it three months with everyone simply assuming his son had cancer! And then you try and fake his death when you've had enough paid vacation? Honestly, come on. Your smart enough to make it three months faking your son being sick and you try to wrap it up with death fraud? Why not just tell your boss that he went into remission and is doing great. Why...he's even looking and acting like a boy who never had cancer at all!! What a miracle!!! Buddy, you deserve every bit of what's coming to you. I had to pull over when I heard this on the radio. What a wonderful laugh.

Nice Guys, Dumb Guys and North County Roads

I got this from a friend and thought it was rather amusing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Nice guys don't just finish last, they get kneed in the guts and the nuts, then stabbed in the back, kicked while they're down, shot in the face, then shot in the nads until she's out of mags, and then thrown into a grave she made him dig without his knowledge, and then buried in time for a dance that involves sea of urine unto said grave followed immediately by running off with a guy and forgetting all about you. Even if you were just a little more than friends.

I wish women would save this truly frightening level of what can only be malice for the guys that are the jerks that actually screw them over.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

From my experience this is totally true. While the fore-mentioned account is rather vivid I think it describes exactly what happens to guys when girls abuse lines such as: "God said we should break up" or "I just need to date different people for a while". Many a friend have recieved those .30-.30 rounds to the stomach before and become a sobbing mess at their dorm room desks. It's amazingly hard to know what to say when you see the kindest and most loving guys you know disembowled by an apparently heartless female. People always quote the cliche its better to love and lost then never to have loved at all. In this case...that's crap.

Somehow this tragedy reminds me of other such ironic paralells. For instance, I know about 20 - 30 people who have never taken a turn with more than two wheels touching the ground. They never have to buy shocks because their cars aren't touching the surface of the road long enough to wear them out. These guys are never ever ever ever stopped by police. Then there's me...who gets stopped for doing 8 over. Granted, once they look at the record the just let me go with a smile, but still. I have counted down the meters as idiots pass me on a busy highway while I'm driving the truck with a 30ft trailer on it. Yes, I pass trucks when they are going slow...but I'm usually going the speed limit when I'm driving the truck and these guys seem to think that playing chicken with a semi at 85 mph is fun. Trust me, the semi doesn't care and isn't going to move and I can't stop that fast either...if you mess up or misjudge this move your dead just because you wanted your snot on a burger faster.

I do speed and drive crazy often...but I do my bit on back country roads where it takes a little doing to stay on the road at 70...and there no one else in the car or on the road...except for moose. They usually just watch but every once in a while they run out to join the fun. This is when you find out if your a good driver or not. The half a second that seperates you from getting to know the moose's rear end a little more intimately or waving at him in the rearview mirror is esophagus squeezing to say the least. Its when a good friend gets stuck with the first option do you stop and realize. You grip the wheel a little harder and try to push it out of your mind. You focus on the road and try to outrun the memories and the fears. Northern maine roads are the best for outrunning things. They're long, curvy, hilly, narrow, and remote. Not many other people around to see you screw up. Not many people around to hear you scream as the needle pushes the bottom. I would go faster...but Danielle doesn't do well past 100...and she didn't really appreciate the 120...so I try and keep those speeds for especially trying times and a little flatter roads.

What a day. As I went through my day I discovered that I have only ingested approximently 270 µg/ml of caffeine today(I am usually hitting ~12,000 - 13,000 µg/ml a day to stay alert) which would explian why I pulled into a work site today and promptly collapsed lengthwise on the seat truck seat for the next 45 min. Luckily, I was the only one there so I didn't have any awkard explaining to do. Equally as lucikly I didn't do that while I was driving. The equipment I use is worth more than my house...no clue how in the world I would pay that one back if I put the truck in sombodie's kitchen. So, I can't decide whether its better to involuntarily sink into unconsiousness or maintain the attention span of a squirrel. The latter one is also difficult to manage. One of the buildings I clean in my second job is a TV station. They have TVs in EVERY room...that building takes way longer than it should.
I did take a cool picture with the phone today. Its a butterfly sitting on one of the trailers. I also have a sweet picture of two flies...umm...yeah...but I didn't think that would be the best thing to post at the moment. Perhaps if I write about a related topic it could make a good object lesson or something.

I know I work too hard. Friends have been telling me this for weeks...but I guess I suck at listening. Bills are a great motivator. I'm running low on money to maintain the caffeine stamina...and the constant flow of adrenaline that has been pushing through my chest constantly for the past month is getting unreliable and spotty, hence today, so I'm not sure what to do. I've tried to tell boss B twice that I would like to get done but neither attempt has worked. The first one I chickened out on and the second one I could not for the life of me contact my him. Sigh. Guess I'm stuck for a while.




Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile
The precious moments are all lost in the tide
They're swept away and nothing is what is seems
The feeling of belonging to your dreams
-DHT

Pride

Pride is like gasoline. A little whiff and it's a good thing. A whole great bunch of it...And all it takes is a dude with a match to send you into orbit. So, a little bit of pride can be a good thing. Small bits of pride promote confidence and strength (which I need right now). Let's just say my pride gas tank was getting low...then tonight I went at it with an acetylene torch. Like I've said earlier I have two jobs. My second job often includes cleaning businesses between the hours of 4pm and 2 am after my day job, which occurs from the hours of 7am and 4pm. I have been holding this schedule everyday for the past month and a half. Needless to say lately, I have been making stupid mistakes that I don't usually make. For example: two of the buildings I clean are located in a small town 30 or so miles deeper into the great northern maine woods than my home town. Yeah I know, more remote than my town....go figure. The great metropolis of Ashland has something like 4 gas stations, one small hardware store, a post office, one police officer, three banks, and four people. What they need three banks for I have no idea. Anyway, I clean the chip steam power plant up the road, and one of the banks. The night started out like anyother night. The cleaning of the plant went smooth. I chilled with the guys in the control room as they laughed about eachother and made light of certain other activities every person I've ever known who does mill work make light of. Once I finally got out of there, ahead of schedule even, I made my way to the bank. This bank is arranged with a small lobby holding an atm in the front, then a locked door leading into the bank itself. I went in, unlocked the door, disarmed the security system, and proceeded to get the tunes pounding and me cleaning. It went great, I was grooving and cleaning and having a wonde...errr...okay time. Then...I made the fateful decision to move on to cleaning the windows. The windows that I needed to clean were in the little atm lobby. Before I let the inner door close, I checked my back pocket to make sure I had keys in them then went on the to windows. Come to find out...the keys in my pocket were not the keys to the bank but the keys to my car. I was now officially locked out of the bank I was supposed to be cleaning. The keys, were sitting on one of the cabinets right beside my cell phone. I had no way to call my boss (who just happened to be on his was to Bangor about 4 hours away anyhow). I had no options. No one wants to let some random guy make a long distance call on their phone and I tried. You'd think finding the policeman in a town with three streets would be really easy...yeah no. I even went "trolling" for policemen and I didn't get any. To keep this entry short, an hour and a half later the bank manager arrived to unlock the door and wrench every last bit of precious pride out of the bottom of my stomach. What's worse is that I only had roughly ten minutes of work left in the bank. I just wanted to crawl under one of the clerks desks and die. My luck if I did that I would accidentally bump the nice alarm button and actually get to meet that friendly police officer that no one in the world knows where he is half the time. In short, my day has been pretty much the most frustrating day I've had in a while.