General Motors Dispatcher

     I was driving home tonight after another ridiculously-stressful day at the plant.  I had an itch on my driving foot.   It was one of those itches that make you swerve all over the road like a drunkard because you can't get your shoe off, steer correctly and press the gas at the same time.  You know what I'm talking about.  Anyhow, I drove the rest of the way home sweating because it wouldn't stop.  It was terrible.  After I pulled in my driveway and parked my car, I ripped my shoe off and scratched until I successfully removed my epidermis from my foot.  Sweet relief.

    I sat there in the driver's seat with one leg hanging out of the car, the other leg proped up on the "out of the car leg", my sock dangling from my toes and my head pressed against my car seat.  I started thinking about work.  I do it everyday.  I go there and I solve every problem necessary to keep the operation running correctly.  Everyday, there is a new issue that I'm supposed to miraculously resolve, so it seems.  

     The company I work for is running very lean right now and I know for a fact it is directly related to the fuel prices.  They had a huge pow-wow last month about them.  Ever since then, people within the company have been becoming more and more volitle.  I'll never forget about two weeks ago my boss told me, "Fuel is going up twenty cents a gallon tomorrow.  You make your drivers top off everyone of those tanks."   That's when I knew things were getting tight. 

     There's evidence of frustration that is intensifying by the day.  Just last week a driver manager sent an e-mail in all capital letters to my boss, basically screaming about the fact that we don't have enough drivers to cover our shift.  It's not our fault.  Driver's don't grow on trees and they certainly can't work if you don't hire them.  It looks like the company is spreading itself very thin to try and conserve some money.  They are creating nothing but chaos.  

     To be honest with you, I don't like my job.  There is a certain level of comfort there at this moment, but it's slowly diminishing by the day.  I guess it's because when I leave at 2 a.m. in the morning, I'm already thinking about having to be back at work at 3 p.m. that same day.  I have to try and fit everything I need to do into about four hours of free time.  I leave work with a headache every night. 

      So, I'm still sitting in my car, itching my foot and suddenly as I'm thinking all of this...I had an epiphany.   I really think that oil is ruling my life!!  Oil, gas, fuel, whatever you want to call it...is nothing but trouble.  It is a burden to our civilization.  It's worse than a drug addiction.  We HAVE to change our ways. 
 
      WWO has made me understand the pattern of this society of convience.  The higher the demand for convience, the higher the price.  Until society gets a grip on this factor,  it'll never change.  It's sad.

      WWO has also made me realize that I have abilities that I can utilize in order to earn a living that do not involve oil use at all.  I can write, I think.  If I could do WWO all over again...I'd change many things.  People tell me that I'm too critical of myself and I agree.  I just hope that you enjoyed my story.  I put a lot of thought into it and really worked to make it plausible and realistic.  If anything...it was real to me.

      I'm going to miss this excersize, but it's just the beginning of something great for me.  It's time that I went back to school, put my head to better use and stop letting "oil" rule my life.  Thanks again, friends.  You've changed my life.

And now I command you to keep on rockin' in the ARG world!  =)  

Sincerely,
Melissa Richards        

Current Mood: touched

     This song gives me sort of a political feeling.  I envision a world leader who knows the consequences of his actions, yet continues to do whatever he wants for money,  power or influence upon people.  I suppose the part that really strikes me is the chorus.  If you've never heard this song and you like rock...go to their website then enter it from either one of the options.  Once you're in, there's a scroll button for audio in the upper right hand corner.   

30 Seconds To Mars
FROM YESTERDAY-

He’s a stranger to some
And a vision to none
He can never get enough,
Get enough of the one

For a fortune he'd quit
But it’s hard to admit
How it ends and begins
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
From yesterday, it’s coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message here

On a mountain he sits, not of gold but of shit
through the blood he can look, see the lives that he took
From a council of one
He'll decide when he's done with the innocent

On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)
On his face is a map of the world
(A map of the world)

From yesterday, it’s coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message
he doesn't want to read the message
He doesn't want to read the message here

On his face is a map of the world

From yesterday, it’s coming!
From yesterday, the fear!
From yesterday, it calls him
But he doesn't want to read the message here
From yesterday,
From yesterday,
From yesterday, the fear
From yesterday,
From yesterday
But he doesn't want to read the message
He doesnt want to read the message
he doesn't want to read the message here

=================================================================

                  People NEED to read the messages here.

Current Mood: tired

      Things have been going really well recently.  Branden has been a big help around the house.  He's into gardening and loves taking care of the yard.  We've got a whole truckload of tomatoes growing in our little greenhouse.  He spends most of his time on the internet reading peakprophet's posts and watching his videos.  The information he's aquired is amazing.

       Pauly takes care of the dogs and does his schoolwork diligently.  He's been maturing more and more with each passing day.  I can see the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders and I wish I could alleviate this stress from him.  I suppose it will subside in time.

       As for myself, I've been doing odds and ends like laundry, dishes, cooking.  I also take care of the bills and paperwork.  I'm the only one who has any idea where my parents stood financially so I inadvertantly had to take on this challenge.

      After I read the post Illianaspeedster left suggesting I review my skills and think of what our community is in need of,  I had a great idea this evening as I watched the birds who were perched atop our mailbox out front.  The mail hasn't come in weeks now and it just doesn't seem right.  I began to think of Paul Revere and the Pony Express.  That's when it hit me.  Just for kicks, I sent an e-mail to the Postmaster General tonight.  I asked them if they thought about delivering mail via horseback.   I even mapped out an entire relay system for our area as well as surrounding areas.  It's a simple network that could easily be set up.  This would generate income for the post office and create jobs for a lot of people.  Excitement is growing inside me as I type because I would LOVE to deliver mail via horseback.  I hope that they respond.

        I have to go now.  I'm having a candle light ceremony for both of my parents tonight.  We miss them so much.  There isn't a second that doesn't go by that I don't think of them.  I hope that they're proud of the progress we're making.

        One last thing...I want to thank everyone for their concerns during this time of my life.  It makes me feel good that someone is listening while I go through all these trials in life.  Your support has given me the strength to continue on.   

       

Current Mood: content

     I've been researching my ideas on how to become more self-sufficinent.  I read more stories and gathered a few ideas.  During my search for "green" power, I happened across a great website that teaches you how to design and build a wind powered generator out of what we would consider to be trash.  That sounds like a rewarding project all around.  Use old trash - harness natural energy!  I like it!  So  I decided that wind power was going to be my first project.  

   I spent my entire Saturday running errands to various hardware and home supply stores to attain the necessary equipment, tools and building materials to modify our house.  It was such a nice day that I didn't mind going for a drive.  I know it will be one of the last outings I get to take before this really hits bottom. 

    It was around eleven in the morning when I embarked upon my mission.  I decided to make my first scheduled stop at Home Depot.  The place was completely packed.  Every single available parking space was occupied.  People had even begun to do what I like call, "Parking Lot Parking Spot Expansions".  They were parked on the concrete lot dividers, on the grass and the sides of the building.  I began to think I had taken a wrong turn and ended up at Wal-Mart by accident.

    People were frantically scrambling to get into the store.  My heart was pounding.  I never did well in crowded public places as it was and here I am walking into what looked like a school of sharks on a feeding frenzy.  As I entered the store, I could feel the palm of my hands begin to persperate.  My muscles tightened as I lay my eyes upon the utter chaos that was in action within the walls of the store.  The people that worked there looked as though they were going to burst at any moment.  None of them were prepared for this insanity and neither was I.  I tried to be as patient as I could with everyone but it seemed as though I was the only one attempting to be polite.  It was truly every man for himself.  I wanted to run out the door, get into my car and drive far, far away.  How I wished I had someone with me so I could have some sense of security!   

     The Nightmare at Home Depot took almost three hours.  I stood in line for almost an hour and a half.  People were talking about the looming shortages.  A man who was three people behind me in the checkout line chirpped angrily about not having enough money for gas because he had to buy supplies to create a garden in his backyard.  A young couple at the cash register one lane over started screaming at each other because their credit card was refused.  The man was blaming the woman for not paying the bill, the woman was angry because he didn't bring the checkbook.  People were irate over the prices in the store.  Everyone there was miserable.

     I left Home Depot around one in the afternoon and proceded to my next stop.  My body was growing tired already and I had accomplished only one goal thus far.  Holding my breathe momentarily, I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.  It wasn't as busy as I had expected it to be.  I felt relieved to know that I'd be able to walk throughout the store without some sasquach sized people squashing me like an ant in a mosh pit at a Korn concert.  Like the ant, I didn't stand a chance in hell either of making it out without getting kicked around.

     When I first walked through the entrance of the store there was a large sign directly in front of me that read: "We are out of ALL produce until further notice.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  There were four security guards standing in a circle in the foyer of the store.  They eyeballed me like a criminal as I walked by.  I'd never seen such a massive store look so bare in my entire life until now.  It was slim pickin's for me.  I grabbed a shopping buggy (one with three good wheels and one extremely confused one of course) to load up on the leftover items they had in stock.  The employees were cleaning up messes left behind by customers during the mass shop-a-thon.  

     I passed by a small billboard that had photos of the young men and women from our area that were stationed over in Iraq.  I recognized a few faces I had gone to school with in the pictures.  I wondered how scared they have to be right now.  The violence over there is hard enough to stomach as it is.  I wished they could come home and be with their families in this time of trouble. 

     Canned soups, canned veggies, and spaghetti sauce were all about gone.  I shoveled a few armloads of them into my cart and continued on my way.  An aisle over from where I was I could here a woman crying and an older woman trying to comfort her.  It was hard to make out what the woman who was crying was saying, but the older woman said to her sternly, "I went through the Depression as a little girl.  We barely had enough food to live on most of the time.  My father worked 14 hours a day for a slap-in-the-face wage but by golly we made it.  It was very difficult and the key to making through the Depression was adapting to change.  Once again, we will have to do just that."  How true that statement was!

     I have to get up in few hours to begin project "Windmill".  I'll let you know how things come along.  Hopefully I'll get some video up for you in the next day or so.  Computer's been rather sluggish these days with servers going down and whatnot.  That's all for now.  Sleep tight...and remember...don't let the economy bite!

Current Mood: cranky