First Day Back at Work And Other Stuff

My first day back at work went well yesterday.  They assigned me CCTV and mobile patrol.  That means the first half of the day I stare at video cameras showing all the dormitories and watching for suspicious activities on the part of the inmates.  Mobile parol is where I drove a van from noon until 6pm in circles around the perimeter fence.   Not exactly a physically stressful day, lol.   Everyone seemed happy to see me.  I also ended up going in on the last day of our work cycle, which means after ne day, I now have four days off.  There was only one glitch.  I arrived at 5am, and was told the warden had to approve my return because I’m required by the doctor to wear a support belt (it inflates after I put it on and acts as traction, helping to separate the vertebrae at the herniated discs) and that she might not do so. 

One of the assistant wardens, Warden Flippo, was the first there, and she approved it and let me go to work, so yay for Warden Flippo.  A lot of people don’t care for her, but I’ve always found her to be fair.  She’s just very strict on the rules, which is understandable. And since I try to follow the rules, and own up when I mess up, we’ve never had a problem.

I’ve been feeling a lot of aggravation towards the kids the last few days and I’m not sure if I’m being somewhat unreasonable so I’m keeping mum on most of it with them.  They’re still not helping with the house like they should.  I have to tell them explicitly that it’s their night on dishes, or the front room, or that it’s trash day, etc.   If I don’t specifically tell one of them it’s their turn, it’s left up to me, and it drives me a little crazy.  I usually get agitated and just do it myself and gripe at them afterward, now I’ve told them if they want their cell phones, they better use the alarm function to set reminders, because I’m not going to keep doing it.  If the work doesn’t get done, then I won’t pay for their cell phone bill.

With Brad, it may well be overreaction.  When hecame home last time, I told him I wanted him in school monday through friday from 8am to 3pm with no excuses.  He is ahead on course work, but he never goes for more than the 20 hour minimum the program requires and it irrittes me.  I put this condition in place to get him to show committment, which he hasn’t done.

Also, the boys have a friend, Daniel, who lives up the street. Daniel is twenty, a known drug addict and a trouble maker.  Several months ago, I did a tattoo for him which he did not take care of.  It developed an infection (he worked on a septic tank the next day without any protective gear, then went swimming in a lake).  I told him when it healed to come back and I would fix it, which he did not do.  He then went around trash talking me, saying that I messed up the work, and basically attempting to prevent me gettin local business.  I should add that since he was an acquaintance of my sons, I did not charge him for the work AND offered to fix it for free when he screwed it up. 

Despite the fact that the boy talked trash about me for months, my kids continue to maintain a freindship with him which I find hurtful and offensive.  Whether I approve of a friend or not, they are of an age that I let them make their own decisions on that score, but I feel in this instance that they have decided their friendship with this loser is more important than their relationship with me.  Like I said, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but each time they associate with this guy, it feels like a slap in the face to me.  

Anyway, enough of the negative, let’s go with something positive.  I get to go spend an evening with some friends tonight and relax a little while.  They are a bit younger than me, but we have a good bit in common as far as lifestyle and viewpoint on a lot of things, so I enjoy spending time with them.

I’ve also been sketching a lot, mostly roses, since Sara asked for roses for tattoo art peices.  Nothing finished yet, but soon, soon.

I’m about to start getting ready for supper to have it done before I leave.  Want my kids to eat, even if I currently want to snatch them bald, lol.  I keep telling myself this too shall pass  I just want to make sure I have a valid gripe and am not just in a bad mood, so I’m letting everything ride a day or two.  If it’s a valid complaint, I’ll still feel the same when the aggravation fades, if not I’ll be over it in a day or two at most.  

I hope everyone enjoys their day.