Catch up

Well....well....well, I got alota splainin to do. I got on facebook and have neglected the blog. Well, I never did get called into DEFTP, but local 900 brought the last group of us into Wayne Assembly. Since then I signed up to go to work on a temporary long term basis at SRP(Sheldon Rd. Plant). Workin alot of O.T. now; tryin to make up for 5 months of temporary layoff. Also, took a final exam in electronics tonight, my last electronics class, I'm shifting into different gears. Also found out I hadn't requested my transcripts from Michigan Christian after I graduated, so looking forward to seeing what they will do for me as I start working toward an applied science degree. Christmas will be here soon, guess I'll buy gift cards and be done with it!

February

O.K. it's February now, I have succeeded in getting all my Visual Programming projects for the semester done. I have taken 2 out of the 3 tests required for the class; the second test has not been graded yet, but I am confident I aced it. Now all I have to do is read, read, read, and answer the questions at the end of each lesson and unit. After all this I will be ready to take the last test, the final exam. This is class has turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. The first OE/OE class I took a few years ago I ended up dropping, but then this time I had a different teacher too.

Weatherwise, it is supposed to be over 40 this saturday, the 7th. Today is, I am thinking, going to be the coldest day of the week, the forcast I looked at yesterday, showed the high was going to get up to 16F.

Still haven't heard any news as to when I am to report back to work; still have the same news I had before, will report to Dearborn Engine and Fuel Tank Plant in March; I am guessing as time gets nearer I will be notified as to when.

That is my update for early Feb.

January Winter Advisory

OK, the emergency email service I am signed up with, to receive alerts, informed me yesterday that it would snow from friday afternoon until saturday evening:

WINTER STORM TO BRING SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW TO PORTIONS OF
SOUTHEAST MI.

A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DEVELOPING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
PLAINS ON FRI WILL MOVE NE THROUGH THE OH VALLEY ON
SATURDAY. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL AHEAD & NORTH OF THE
LOW AS IT PASSES TO THE SOUTH OF MI. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL
FALL SOUTH OF M-59 WHERE 5 TO 8 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE.WITH LESSER
AMOUNTS FURTHER NORTH. THE HEAVIEST ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO FALL
FRIDAY NIGHT & EARLY SAT MORNING.AS THE LOW MOVES THROUGH
THE NORTHERN OH RIVER VALLEY.

I actually saw the

heaviest snow fall
between 3 and 5 saturday afternoon. I had to get out late this morning to attend an orientation session for a college class I signed up for, so I shoveled the driveway, by the time I was ready to leave I had to shovel a two track out to the street, only about half an inch or so had fallen. I didn't want to pack any snow down with the car. When I returned home a couple hours later I shoveled the whole driveway b4 pulling into the driveway and ultimately into the garage.

I rec'd another email from this service informing me that the snow would taper off at about midnight, well you can read the whole thing:

WINTER STORM WILL EXIT THE REGION EARLY THIS EVENING.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE.TRACKING ALONG THE OH RIVER.WILL
BRING A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW EARLY THIS EVENING. A
SHARP CUTOFF EXISTS & DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE MAINTAINED ALONG
AND JUST SO. OF M 46. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO
3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BETWEEN THE INTERSTATE 96 & INTERSTATE 69
CORRIDORS. SURROUNDING LOCATIONS WILL LIKELY MEASURE AN ADDITIONAL
INCH OR TWO OF SNOWFALL. PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW WILL BE LIKELY
EARLY THIS EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL TOTALS WILL RANGE FROM AROUND
10 INCHES ACROSS PORTIONS OF LENAWEE & MONROE COUNTIES TO 6
INCHES IN SO. CNTL PORTIONS OF SHIAWASEE.OAKLAND.AND
MONROE COUNTIES.

SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO FLURRIES OR LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS PRIOR TO
MIDNIGHT AS THE STORM SYSTEM MOVES EAST OF THE REGION.

451 PM EST SAT JAN 10 2009

WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS
EVENING.

THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10
PM EST THIS EVENING.

SNOW WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING.WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW
EXPECTED. THE SNOW WILL QUICKLY TAPER OFF PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT. AN
ADDITIONAL 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE.BRINGING STORM
TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES.

I was under the impression from an earlier email from these folks that the snow would slow down by 4 or 4:30, when in fact it was snowing harder, as evidenced by the photo's above.

Well, it's like I've been saying, the weather man is wrong alot of the time.

later.

college class

O.K., I registered for a class yesterday. It was not a class in the field I have, in a previous post, eluded to entering. I sat there, waiting to talk to my academic advisor, looking at the college catalog. It occured to me that this college doesn't have a program for medical imaging; so I decided I would work toward a certificate as a computer repair technician, the reason of course was that I had most of the classes taken already. I only need 4 more classes to recieve this certificate; that may take this year and next depending on whether any of the classes are offered during the Spring Term.

My reasoning is I can do computer repair work on my time aside from work, supplamenting my income, thereby allowing me to gain more understanding of the computing repair industry through hands on experience, at the same time, making extra payments on the pricipal of my mortgage. But I don't intend to stop my formal education with this certificate.

Well, that is all for now.

50th Wedding Anniversary

After perusing my blog archive I decided I needed to post an entry of pictures of my parents 50th wedding anniversary party which we threw for them in Aug. 2008.

Another lay off

O.K., that 7 week vacation turned into a 12 week vacation, ten of those weeks we were laid off, two were vacation weeks as per the previous post.

So, I went back to work the day after Labor day, it was a good summer. Of course the word was out that the Michigan Truck Plant was going to change over to small car production. This would take two years, I found that out from the company and the union so it wasn't any big secret but everyone has their speculations.

We built our last truck on Wednesday b4 Thanksgiving, I had my hands on it at about 8:15 a.m.
So, I have been on layoff(no vacation) since b4 Thanksgiving. On that last day I talked to my union rep. about the plants that I had bid on; he tells me I bid on a plant that wasn't taking bids, they were on the list of elligable plants whose laid off employees could bid on other plants. I was also told that all my bids would be thrown out based upon the reasoning that I'd filled mine out incorrectly.

I called and talked to another union official, who had some papers, probably the bids for other plants, with him at the time of the call, so he told me I'd bid on Dearborn Engine and Fuel Tank. Well, my initial guess is it ain't going to be anything like working in Trim.

I also found out, in talking to someone else, that the union and company are still debating the issue of retooling MTP or not. Well, when I start up at this plant in Dearborn and find that it is alot better than Trim or Paint, I won't want to go back to an assembly plant, but who knows what the future will hold.

I still have asperations of continueing my education, just don't think it is going to be Biomedical electronics, the last class I took made me reconsider; my brain can't seem to wrap itself around the mathimatical requirments for that profession. So, upon doing some brainstorming recently, I think I might see if I am can try for an allied health degree, perhaps medical imaging? Time will be an answer to that question.

I am due to be picked up on my bid for Dearborn Engine in March; I don't know any particulars of that. I think I am going to have to drive down there, b4 I start, so I can figure out the best route. It adds about 5 to 6 miles to my distance to work, but it will depend on the time of day as to how much time it will add, since traffic east and west is heavy in the Detroit metro area, depending on time of day, and to some degree, the closer to Detroit, the more crowded the north /south corridors are as well, again, depending on the time of day, and that will depend on what shift or start time I will begin with.

Well, I praise God for winning this bid. And I am thankful to everyone, and I have no clue as to who or how many, who has kept me in their prayers. I believe that because of my beliefs as a christian that this has not been a stressful time for me.

I also know, even though I didn't vote for the current president elect, that God is in control and He uses all things to His advantage; that is hard for we as humans to comprehend, but then I feel it is not one of our capabilities to comprehend God, but we all need to put our trust in Him.

Time will tell, as it does with all things, how the future president, as of this post, will be judged.

That is all.

Later,

Tim

Nine Week Vacation

O.K., I know it's been a pretty long time since my last post. In that amount of time, I was supposed to go back to the Paint Shop, well, I did, for 1 day, then was informed I would return the next week to Trim. The reason I was going back to Paint was because the company was going to bring tag relief back, well, they canceled it, indefinitely. So, I am stuck in the trim shop. The job that I am doing is the same one I originally started on, with a few changes and an addition, so I am not complaining too much; although, I'd rather be in Paint.

Concerning the Title of this post. We really only have a 2 week vacation, but, because of 30% fewer sales of the big suv's, we have a 7 week layoff period, time to get lots of work done at home. Well, that is all I have this time.

Tim