Wrapping it all up

Yeah I was a little cranky a couple of blogs ago. Things at work were worse than before I left. My vacation is further away in the rear view mirror but I've readjusted. I had quite a few pictures and video clips to look at. It actually calmed me down. I'm finally done with all of them. One thing I did find irritating, what was apparently a hair or fiber of some sort across my lens or some where in the camera that is visible in some of the pictures and video clips. Ah well what are you going to do. If that's the worse thing that happens to me then I'm doing ok.
So in order to finish up with my recent trip to that little slice of peace of mind, 7 miles off shore I give you everything. All the clips and photo's that I haven't shown yet, then I will put this to be trip to bed. I spent a lot of time looking through over 600 shots, plus video clips, not that I found this tedious, I relived every single shot and clip and it's taken almost 3 weeks. They look much better when viewed full screen. Enough babble, here they are.

And just because Arlene did such a good job taking her own pictures I'm posting her slideshow again. Of all the slideshows I made this one is my favorite.

Finito
I'm outta here.

Moving right along

Today (Monday) my friend Dave and I went to the city of Lowell Ma. Though Dave and I are both from the same city, Dave lived in Lowell for about 25 years. Lowell is a fairly large city with a population of about 105,000+. It was a planned city founded in 1820 as a textile and manufacturing center. Located next to the Merrimack river and it's rapids for power it became the birthplace of the American industrial revolution. The city has many canals running through it that powered all the mills and factories. The city went into decline as more and more factories moved south for cheaper labor. By the 1920's it was over. It has rebounded and taken advantage of it's historical significance. Some of the factories have become condos, some museums. Some are still empty or falling apart.    

We had lunch at the Wortham House Cafe'. It's a tavern of some note because a few famous people have bent their elbows there. Jack Kerouac, Edgar Allen Poe and Ed McMahon. One block up the street is the birthplace of the painter James Whistler. You know, Whistlers Mother and so on. I didn't get all the pictures I wanted. We went to the top of a parking garage to get a more prominent view of the city. I asked Dave how many floors the garage was, curious to see how high up we were going to be. He said 5 floors. It turned out to be 6 floors, but that's another story. Any way it was a bit disappointing and the sun was in and out all day with an occasional quick pelting of rain now and then. You can see smokestacks all around. All relics from 100 years ago.

There are beautiful homes and mansions away from downtown. I didn't get a chance to get any shots of them but I will some other time. I didn't get many shots of the factories but some have been rehabbed like the one on the right in the first picture and a close up of the building in the middle left to disrepair.



There are some beautiful buildings in Lowell all relics of when the city was the industrial manufacturing center in the U.S.

Lowell City Hall

Lowell Public Library

The Wortham house Cafe est. in the1880's.

 

The original bar and tin ceiling with original steam powered fans. Now powered by electricity.

 

Whistlers house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An original cobble stone street

One of the canals

Well that was my Monday kiddies. I probably won't be back in front of this screen for 24 hours. I have a very long day tomorrow. So for now, good night, good morning or good afternoon.
I'm outta here.
  

 

What a charming week this was...not.

Let's see, I could be bitching, moaning and groaning about my first week back during this blog. My days have been long. This, of course, was not my choice. Whether it was a sick call, poor scheduling, just not showing up or the hit of the week, a new hire, on the clock for just 10 minutes. Another worker is showing him around. The newbie excuses himself to use the rest room. I leave and he never came back. I don't know what he was being told. For all I know he was told, "Oh and by the way, be careful with the slicer. It can cut your finger off." At least I wasn't there for that one. Both Wednesday and Thursday were straight 9 hour shots. I can't tell you how many times a person has come up to the counter, the deli counter, in 42 years and ask's "Do you have ham for sandwiches?"

Perhaps they're handing out free samples of stupid pills at the door again. I know I know I sound awful. Maybe this person never had a sandwich before or this is her first time shopping for food, but when you deal with the public you will come across all kinds. I work in a very urban area. It's only about a mile to the Boston line and there is definitely a difference in the clientele from an urban area and the suburbs. At one time the city I work in was the stolen car capital of the U.S. I know. Back in the 70's I had my car stolen 3 times there. It is small, 4.2 square miles holding 77,000+ people. 40 years ago the population was nudging 100,000. It has changed since those days and for the better. You still get the locals who have lived there, their whole lives and  people who moved there for it's proximity to Boston and many college students. There are many Asian students. Some who can barely speak English and yet are quite pleasant and are often easier to understand than a local who has lived on the same street for 40 or 50 years. Ah life with the public.

A little peace of mind.

So here I sit Saturday morning waiting to leave for work for my Saturday late shift. I am going to try and weasel out early since I have overtime. I may be able to watch some of the Red Sox playoff game early this evening. Boy did they look good yesterday. I do believe I am going to hunker down on Sunday and not do much of anything.

 

Well thanks for reading my whiney blog entry. Work beckons.

 

I'm outta here... in 7 minutes.

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