8 Ball In The Wind

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

busy day tomorrow


Gonna try to kill two birds with one tank of gas tomorrow.  Heading out early to go apply for a couple jobs in Tacoma.  And I figured that while I am there, I should post some fliers for the annual Mt St Helens Memorial Run I organize every year.  I have ulterior motives in taking the fliers though.  It gives me the excuse to stop by some of the smaller bike shops in and around Tacoma that I know.  It's always good to renew old friendships.  The only downside is because of the pissing down rain for the next few days, I'll be driving the Taurus.  But ya gotta do...and all that shit.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Made The Newspaper



Well, it seems my little demonstration in front of their office got a little attention anyway last week.  Just the fact that he made such a big deal in bringing the busses out to block the view of the sign on my bike kind of says it all.  If it wasn't the truth, he wouldn't have tried to hide it.  Until I find a job at least, I am not going to let this drop.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Stirring Up Shit


Ok, when I left off last time, I was getting ready to stage a one bike protest in front of my old employers main office due to the fact he released unrelated private documents of my wife and step-son to an unemployment appeal hearing.  He was actually upset, when the Judge refused to admit the documents into evidence because they were "irrelevent".
Now I am sure there are those who would say; "Since the paperwork didnt get into the record whats the big deal?"  The big deal is this: he doesn't think what he did was wrong.  To him, as long as it gets him what he wants, then he can do or use the files in his "Coaltion" as he see's fit.  This guy doesn't seem to possess the ability to think beyond how things affect him.  Anyone else, is at best secondary, and that's if they are family.  The fact that the documents he released to be submitted into evidence, and thus become public record, contained the social security numbers of my family members, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, and income.  If they had at least cleanesed the records by blacking out the private, "confidential" information I wouldn't be as frustrated as I am.

These are the signs I had mounted between the sissybar and the handlebars on the Harley this morning, when I parked it in front of their offices.  It didnt take long and the same dickwad that submitted the papers drove up in a company vehicle and read the signs.  I was only halfway hoping he would try to rip down the signs, or mess with the bike in someway...but I guess he isn't quite as stupid as I had hoped.  But it didn't take him long to try to block most people from viewing the signs...which is more what I figured he would do.


getting a little close with the bus aren't you?






After he got the 1st bus parked, the Police Chief drove by, and pulled over after reading the sign.  The ex-boss went down the street and talked with him for a few minutes, then walked around the block...Hmmmgetting another bus I wonder?...yep, he sure did.



At first he was going to just nose the bus in next to the bike.  But, I think he remembered the cop was still up the street, and parking the wrong way wasn't going to help him win the cops over.  So, he pulled back out and parked across the street for a minute or so, before heading off down the street to a place he could get turned aorund, then he came back.  Oh, that black pick up...its one of the reporters from the local paper, and he got a bit "uppity" with her as she tried to take pics of the bike and bus parked next to it.

While he was off trying to get the bus turned around, the Mental Health conselor arrived and read the signs on the bike.  I doubt he knew anything about what had happened, but it seemed to slowly sink into the dickwads head that he wasn't going to be able to keep the busses there all day.  Especially after they knew we ahd pulled the car directly across the street to keep an eye on the bike better.

Within 20 mins or so, the bus on the left, was driven off so there was at least some parking space for the clients that were scheduled to come in today.  Shortly after 9:00AM the other bus was driven off to be used on a route...at least I assume so because it was the right time for one to be used. 

After that I had a good 90 minutes of unobstructed view from the street.  I ended up having to go take a piss, and left the wife in the car with the camera just incase anyone caused anyshit.  While I was gone, two of the young women working in the office came out, and took pictures of the bike, the signs, the bikes license plate, the wife in the car, and the cars license plate.  If they had tried to do that when I had been there, I would have taken a picture of them taking pictures.  Since it is only a 2 hr parking on Main Street after 8:30AM, I pulled the signs off the bike and threw them in the car just before 10:30, and rode home.  I had been there for just under 3 hours, and I had at least let it be known I wasn't going to give up on this shit.
The next step, in a week or two, will be to have people actually carrying picket signs back and forth in front of their offices.  I am looking forward to seeing the looks on their muckity-mucks faces, when a perfectly legal protest takes place, and there isn't shit they can do about it.
He is going to slowly stew in his own juices.  And I have no control over what the IRS and other Gov't agencies will be doing about the things he has done.

It might get halfway interesting around here  before too long.

Ride Free

Sunday, March 13, 2011

What a fucking DICKHEAD

OK, I don't get this asshole.  First he fucks up, and doesnt realize he overpaid me $200 a month during 2009, and part of 2010.  When he did, he tells me 5 minutes before I am suppose to go drive 150 mile bus route that they fucked up and overpaid me, and he wants to get together with me so we can work out how I am going to pay it all back.  The next day, I have checked a few things and send word that by law, I only have to pay back the last quarters worth, which pisses him off.  But hey, he was the one who should have caught it before it went 14 months.  Well I cash in my sick and vacation pay up until July 1st, which is more than I had to payback, and he agrees.  He doesnt say jack shit about it again...until 8 months later, when I come in to do my evening shift the night before Thanksgiving, an d here is my paycheck already.  It is for HALF what it should be.  Since Thursday and Friday are days off, and no one is in the office on the weekend, I stew for four days trying to get it figured out.  I knew on Wednesday night that the federal withholding tax and FICA were like 300% what they normally were, but didnt realize until either Sunday night or Monday morning why.  He had taken the entire $2,400 that had gone undeclared from 2009, and dumped it into one paycheck as a "draw".  Then took all the withholding and FICA from that total amount (which was almost 3 months wages.  I call the IRS, because this was the ONLY time he had taken ANY withholding out at all in 2010, and was told he had to file undeclared 2009 income as 2009 income and couldn't do what he did.  I passed that word on to my dispatcher, who let him know.  He sends word back that his bookkeeper said he could.  When I came in to start my shift he asks why I was upset with the check.  When I told him it was bullshit, and why, he just kept saying his bookkeeper said he could.  I walked inside the bus barn, and he said something that stopped me dead in my tracks, and I spun around. He was right behind me, on the other side of the doorframe.  Just repeating the same thing, that his bookkeeper said he could.  He wasn't listening to anything, and I was getting to the point I almost punched him. This son of a fucktwat would have called the cops in a heart beat, and I knew it.  So before I did I said I was thoguth wiht this shit and steped outside passed him to catch my breath.  As I was maybe 10 feet outside the door he hollers behind me "Turn in your keys."  So, that means I couldnt do my shift, because I needed the keys to finish up at night.  I stromed past him figuring he was firing me over this whole back pay/undeclared income thing, and turned in my keys.  When I filed for unemployment because I ahd been fired, he tells them I wasnt fired, I quit. Well I appealed, and when it came time for the hearing, he submits paperwork as evidence...most of which is BS anyway...but several pages of it were from the community services side of the business.  They were assistance application forms my wife and step-son had both filled out months before.  They had shit like birthdates, social security numbers, addresses, and so on...so I objected, and the judge ended up not admitting them.  She said they were irrelevent anyway, which put a burr und his ass.  The Judge finally ruled after he testified for about 25 minutes, and then I did for 5 or 6, that I had been fired.  So I get my unemployment, since i was actively looking for work anyway.  Well then friday, I come back froma job interview, and know I have a 1 in 3 shot of scoring a decent Union job, and there is a piece of mail from Employment Security...the fucker is trying to get the judges ruling reviewed.  His request is filled with stupid shit.  Like the fact the Judge changed the Identification for all his exhibits...he had them alphabetically, and the hearings judge already had evidence in numerical order so kept it all numerical....the fact that the Judge said the employer had the burden of proof that I quit and wasnt fired "stunned" him...and more stupid shit like that...so I spent the better half of the afternoon typing up a reply letter ointing out all the stupid shit he was saying.  Including the one question I was hoping he would ask, but didnt think he was dumb enough to put on paper.  "Why did I think 'turn in your keys' meant I was fired?"  Hey, I could have gone on my route without my keys..but I wouldn't have been able to turn in my paperworks, bus keys, cell phone, or lock up and secure the bus yard...so "Turn in your keys." meant I couldn't do my job.  Which means I was FIRED.  Those words are going to bite him in the ass.  Every time he tries to fight this, it just gives me more firepower, to push him releasing shit in violation of the Privacy Act, his "odd" bookkeeping, and his really bizarre tax witholding procedures.  This dude is going to end up stewing himself in his own ego.  Starting on Tuesday, I am going to start building up the pressure on him...I wanna see him blow his cork. 

More on that later.

Monday, March 7, 2011

sometimes ya just gotta ride


T's Bike after he removed the tarp covering it


The night before last we (T & Dave & I) put the rear master cylinder on my 91 softail custom, then adjusted the clutch, and made sure she was all set to hit the road.  While I was buttoning up the bike, we decided if we could get all our bikes dug out of the snow we'd go for a ride.  Well we all dug paths out to the road so we could ride, and made a cold (but fun) run out and did a little small town bar hopping. 

The Bucksnort Pub

Thats mostly one bar per town. So we had to hop towns.  Finally made it back to Morton, and partied at the Bucksnort Pub before I finally headed home. 


T riding in

I tell you what, it was a piece of cake for T to ride down the alley in the snow yesterday...but I did it the night before half blasted...hey, when you just have to ride it doesnt matter what the weather is like.