I added a new photo manager plugin for the blog. It took me way longer to setup than it probably should have. Just shows how ignorant I am when it comes to php code. Anyway, I got it up and working. I just dont’ have many images to rotate thru yet. Guess I’ll have to start working on that. hehehe
There is also a new update out for WordPress itself. I’m too chickenshit to upload it for fear of problems. I’ll wait till the next one comes along before I make the jump.
In the ongoing battle for a raise at work, the city responded to our counter offer w/their counter offer today. They’ve piddled around until the deadline is on top of us so we don’t have much choice. While we didn’t get everything we wanted, we did manage to get an 8% increase out of the deal. The increase takes affect July 1st. It is a permanent increase in our job classification which just means they can’t take it away later.
The sad part is the offer is probably too little too late. We are losing 10 bodies in the next 3 months. This offer may serve to keep 1 or 2 of those but that won’t help our staffing levels one bit. As we move into phase 4 of our training to take over the Fire/EMS function, we can’t really afford to lose anyone. The loss of 10 bodies is going to hit us very hard. Even with round the clock training of new people it simply isn’t enough. The numbers for the latter part of this year are going to be scary.
I’ve been having really odd dreams lately. By odd I mean they’ve become very detailed.
As far back as I can remember, my dreams have always been a bit complex in their makeup. However, they tend to be blurry on the overall details. One or two items of focus can be detailed but the overall feel of the dream is always out of focus w/that surreal dreamy quality. Even in sleep I’ve always known I was dreaming.
Lately, some of my dreams have been so real, so detailed, I forget I’m dreaming. Even the erotic ones. (No, we won’t go there) Not all of them just one or two every so often. Knowing a bit about dreams and there purpose, I’m at a loss for the sudden change. I mean the brain uses our dreams as a sort of clearing house of all the random thoughts, worries, desires, etc floating about in our conscious and subconscious mind. I’m perplexed as to what could have happened in my own life to warrant such a change. While my schedule is a bit busy as of late, life is relatively calm compared to late last year during the breakup and moving fiasco.
Is it something that changes w/age? I can’t recall anyone ever mentioning more detailed dreams as they age.
Thanks to Johnny is a Man for the fantastic link to this post. By far, one of the most eloquent statements I’ve ever read. While a bit on the derogatory side, it summed up a huge chunk of how I feel about internalized homophobia in our community.
(snip)
This Rocco queen is pissing me off. He’s currently trotting out little more than a kernal of experience (along with several dollops of resentment towards the gay community) as evidence supporting the same tired, warmed-over horseshit about how uppity gays who get bashed were really asking for it because they weren’t walking around in a constant state of siege.(snip)
Basically hes saying that gays have gotten uppity, let their guard down, and should simply accept the fact that if they behave too much like fags, they shouldnt be surprised when they get bashed. And how reassuring an argument it is that all you need to do to prevent getting bashed is butch it up, and if you cant or wont conform to the macho code, tough shit.
Having heard the issue of masculinity beaten to and fro like an old dog it’s refreshing to see a better perspective. More and more we (as gays) are beginning to see beyond the shallow confines of the implied prerequisites of being a “man” in this country.
Just thought I’d most some new photos since I’ve been a bit lacking lately. . .
Here is my friend Bobby posing behind the holy reverant photo at Burgermeister. *giggle* Doesn’t he look like an angel? NOT!
And here is moi. *Notice how blurry mine turned out…user error*
Here is a quick shot of kristaki at work. He was groping for some grub.
My last rant, sometime back, about “gay genes” referred to genetics. This time I’m referring to the very stereo-typical version….SHOPPING! I didn’t get many of the “gay” genes however, I got the ‘shopping’ one in spades it seems. So today’s rant is a rare indulgance in the purely materialistic love of shopping!
For the uneducated, there are 3 types of shopping. Oh yes, there are different types. And all this time you thought it was just “shopping”. First, you have necessity shopping or shopping for items like groceries, staples, etc. Then you have desire shopping for items you want but don’t need. The third is merely a combination of the first two. Today was the third. Needing some new housewares, I decided to put the video game down for a bit and go shopping. (Having beat it once, I’m no longer in-thrall to it.) But I digress. I like to check out the discount stores first. Just on the off chance, they’ll have what I want for a fraction of what it normally costs me. As luck would have it, they did. Of course, I didnt’ stop there. Oh no, I also had to have a new Ralph Lauren coverlet, Polo athletic socks, some new towels, 6 flawless (see I do speak gay) new kitchen utensils, and the set of Mikasa glasses I originally went in looking for. All for under 150 buckaroos! Now that’s shopping friends!
Of course, all was not perfect. I didn’t find the Sateen cotton sheets I wanted. I absolutely refuse to sleep on anything less than 600 thread count. Anything under 200, you can usually see thru after the first wash. The 200-500 count usually ends up w/those awful little “beads” after a few washes. Hella annoying. I never mind paying full price if the item is made well and exactly what I want.
So there you have it. My unexciting rant about the joys of bargain shopping.
Ok, so that’s normally not something I say often. Let’s face it, Texas doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to being “open minded”. So it is w/no small amount of pride that I offer today’s tidbit. Thanks to Towleroad for catching the story.
Apparently, there is one ‘christian’ legislator who has had enough of all the hate-mongering. They passed the despicable amendment but god love her for calling a deuce a deuce!
I have served in this body a lot of years, and I have seen a lot of promises broken… So… now that blacks and women have equal rights, you turn your hatred to homosexuals, and you still use your misguided reading of the Bible to justify your hatred. You want to pass this ridiculous amendment so you can go home and brag — brag about what? Declare that you saved the people of Texas from what
(snip)
If you want to make your hateful political statements then that is one thing — but the Chisum amendment does real harm. It repeals the contracts that many single people have paid thousands of dollars to purchase to obtain medical powers of attorney, powers of attorney, hospital visitation, joint ownership and support agreements. You have lost your way. This is obscene…“I thought we would be debating economic development, property tax relief, protecting seniors’ pensions and stem cell research to save lives of Texans who are waiting for a more abundant life. Instead we are wasting this body’s time with this political stunt that is nothing more than constitutionalizing discrimination. The prejudices exhibited by members of this body disgust me
It is nice to know there are some respectable folks left in politics. Even in Texas.
*giggle* Have I mentioned how much I love WordPress? The ability to hold comments for moderation is a godsend when it comes to spam control. I rarely get hit but when I do, I get anywhere from 5-30 “comments” in a single session. It is glorious to not have to delete every comment manually. Just select “mark all as spam”, double check for real comments and then it’s as simple as one more click. Bu-bye spam!
I hate Mondays! I really do. Add to that, I was up until 3:30am playing a new video game and you feel my pain.
The weekend was blissfully uneventful. Mostovic and I took in Star Wars on Saturday. He wanted to go to the beach as the weather was beautiful. However, I was being selfish and was having none of that. Actually, Bobby wanted to go too. I know the weather was great but I just wasn’t in a beach mood. I think mainly due to my crazy schedule the past 2 weeks. Hopefully, after this week the madness will return to it’s normal mild state. There were so many things I needed to get done this past weekend. Of which, only one actually got done.
I’ve often wondered why I get this way. Being a typical Aquarian, I tend to be very spontaneous and free-spirited. I hate schedules and rigidity. On the other hand, life has taught me that schedules and structure can be very good things at times. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. I find when I’m overly pressed for time or scheduling I tend to shut down and rebel on my free time. Any thoughts of scheduling stuff on my free time goes out the window. I don’t know if this is merely my subconscious rebelling or if it goes much deeper as a defense mechanism for the id. (Another topic we can save and crack open later when I’m desperate.)
The weekend unfurled completely unplanned and I loved every wasted minute of it. I did manage to get out Sunday and get a replacement keyboard for work. (I have carpel-tunnel syndrome in my left arm and have to use an ergonomic keyboard.) The downside is no one seemed to have any so I spent the better part of the afternoon bouncing all over town looking for a replacement.
This brings me back to the reason I’m so grumpy today. I never could set foot inside a technology store w/o buying something. And it always ends up being more than what I needed. This time was no exception. A long story cut short, I ended up w/a voucher from Best Buy so I put it to good use and picked up God of War for the PS2. I got home around 9:30 and didn’t put it down until 3:30 in the morning. I had to be at work by noon for the day’s first meeting.
I’m cranky. I wanna go home and play some more!
So I had lunch w/Mostovic today. Normally, lunch w/him is great but today I came away angry. We started discussing some of the issues w/my work. Specifically, the work I’ve been doing w/the Union to help get a raise. I was a bit taken aback when he actually began arguing as if I didn’t deserve a raise. Like, HOW DARE I ask for more money in such a rough economy. I guess more than anything it surprised me. I didn’t expect it.
However, during the discussion, it did serve to remind me of the reasons why I’m fighting for a raise. The main one, my job was doubled two and half hears ago and am just now getting a chance to plead my (our) case. The other reason is I value my skills. I’ve learned (the hard way) that if I don’t stand up for my rights no one else will. Sometimes that means a new job and sometimes it just means playing hard ball where you’re at. And it’s definitely been an uphill battle. The city is facing another large deficeit and is looking for ways to save money. So, naturally giving me more money doesn’t figure into their plans. (In case you missed it, I’m a dispatcher for SFPD. Two years ago, we were forced to take over Fire and EMS dispatch as well)
Even before we took over the extra duties, we were the least paid in the nine Bay area counties. Now with the increased workload, we have stopped asking and started demanding more money. At a time when Sacramento’s dispatchers just got a 41% pay increase, I think our small 10% request is not going to break the bank. And considering there is only 1 dispatcher on duty for every 100,000 (yes that was one hundred thousand) people in the city, I think it would be in SF’s best interest to at least try to keep the dispatchers they have.
Remembering this put me back in a good mood and my day has been peachy since!
