Afterthoughts: This Past Month

So much has happened already in 2025, that a month like March was needed.  I say that because for the most part March was pretty good.  On to the update.

Saturday, March, 1, 10am and I'm going to the bathroom to take a shower and what do I find?  My aunt is in the bathroom.  Fucking Algorithm!  Why?  Why must this always happen?

Sunday, March, 2, I went to the bathroom this morning, and for once my aunt wasn't there.  I noticed that she had beans on the stove.  I mentioned before how she never seasons the beans, so I went and added some salt.  Little did I know she put extra salt in.  Even she could tell that the flavor was pretty bland.  Well, her additional salt and mine made for very salty beans.  My aunt ended up making another batch without salt to mix with the really salty batch.  That sorta fixed things.  I wonder how much salt she added to the beans, because I only added about two tablespoons.  That isn't enough to make the beans taste as salty as they did this morning.  Of course, she's missing another key ingredient... bacon.  That would make her beans killer.

I went to Gelson's to pick up some stuff, and I got to see the thick Latina that works there again.  She's so nice and thick.

But what am I doing?  I have to remember that it's futile to desire any woman.  My goal is to become immune to a woman's beauty.  It's a trap.  I can't allow any little bit of hope to creep into my world.

And speaking of ladies, there was a lady on tonight's Oscars that really showed off her chest.  She won an Oscar for best documentary short.  But I will remember her for her amazing outfit displaying her equally amazing chest.  Thank the maker.

I was thinking the other day how it's been a while since there's been an earthquake in my area.  Well, tonight we had one, and it was strange.  I didn't feel any ground movement.  Instead I just heard a loud rumble in the distance that got closer, and then went away.  I half thought it was a rocket launch, but then Ilsa texted me saying she felt an earthquake.  I texted TheGirl and she said she felt shaking.  I checked online and got my confirmation a few minutes later.  The quake was fairly close, in North Hollywood.  The magnitude was 3.9.  Strange.

Monday, March, 3, I suppose I didn't have enough to eat this morning, because I was hungry and it wasn't close to lunch.  I was just making my first stop of the day at Montrose and my stomach was already growling.  I decided to get a couple of tacos from Burger King.  Their tacos are not as good as the ones from Jack in the Box, but they are pretty good.  I ordered two, I wasn't sure if I was hungry enough to eat them both.  Yeah, right.  I wolfed them down in moments.

I've been cutting my portions, but I guess I cut them than too much today.  In the long run I will get used to eating smaller portions.  But I'm sure there will be times when I will want more food.

TheGirl said that she was going to take Cheyenne in to the vet tomorrow for an ultrasound to check on the status of her tumor.  We can only hope that it's not too bad news.

After my visit with TheGirl my stomach felt like I had to fart, or so I thought.  I tried to push it out, and that's when I figured out I had to use the bathroom.  The urge was getting worse.  I initially thought I could make it home, but I quickly realized I couldn't.  I made a detour to Bob's Big Boy to use their bathroom.  The walk there was difficult, because I could feel the urge growing.  I felt a lot better after using the bathroom.  As I write this I'm on my bed resting - and farting.  No more loose movements, but I am farting.

A little bit ago I went to the bathroom to make sure I was cleaned out.  I was farting and my aunt called out to me from her room.  She knew I was in the bathroom, yet she called out to me again with an urgent tone.  ARGH!  Meanwhile, she just wanted to tell me that my cousin's daughter was coming early tomorrow morning.  Not pressing news at all.

Tuesday, March, 4, This week's Tuesday Adventure was a mishmash of places.  I first went to the Brand library in order to print out some paperwork regarding my godmother's plaque for her grave.  It's been over five years since she passed away, and I've been negligent in getting her plaque done before now.  But the other day I made up my mind to get this done ASAP.

After going to Forest Lawn I went to Travel Town, and then following that I went to the Train Shop in Burbank.

After my visit to the train shop I figured I would get something to eat before heading off to work.  I've been wanting to go out to a place called Chili John's in Burbank for a while.  Online reviews show that it has a good chili.  It certainly has an old vibe.  The waitress behind the counter gave me the history of the place in about two and a half minutes.  She seemed more interested in giving me a history lesson than taking my order.  That was OK, I liked the history lesson.  Basically she said that Chili John's has been around for a long time, and that the recipe was an old chuckwagon recipe.  She added that they used beef tallow.  That perked my ears, because almost nobody likes to use beef tallow these days even though it tastes amazing.  I finally got my order in and she served me up a small bowl of chili which was very tasty and very hearty.  Is it the best chili I ever had?  It's pretty darn close.  It has a unique texture.  Usually chili has beef that is like little clumps of ground beef.  Chili John's chili seems like it was made with shredded beef.  There was a fair amount of spices that's for sure, I could feel the heat on the top of my head.  The waitress did mention that I would probably feel the heat more as a top of the head feeling rather than like inside my throat, or stomach.  She was right.  It was nice and spicy, but tasty.  I will definitely have to go back there again when I have more time, and this time get the chili with spaghetti, or maybe get a chili burger.

TheGirl sent me a text asking how I was feeling, since I had my stomach issues last night.  I told her that I was good.  Then she said that she had good news about Cheyenne, but didn't elaborate.  She said she would tell me tomorrow night.

I watched the city council announce that the acting director is now the new director of the library.  No surprise since it's known that the city's previous search proved fruitless.  But also, they like her work.  Maybe now we can move forward and not use the excuse that she's only the interim director.

Wednesday, March, 5, When the new children's room opened I noticed how awful the back office was in the sense that it was so stark.  It reminded me of a hospital.  So I decided to print out one of my prints and gift it to the gang upstairs.  Because they don't even have windows in that work room.  Being that it's all white it feels like a hospital to me.

TheGirl told me that Cheyenne's tumor has shrunk from 7cm to 2cm.  We are certainly not out of the woods, but that's great news.  No wonder she continues to be so full of energy.  I mean, she still has cancer, and I suspect that means it could still metastasize.  TheGirl didn't tell me that, but knowing cancer as I do...  Still, this probably gives us more time with her.  More dinners.  More good times.

We used to frequent the Dog Haus next to the Warner Bros. studio, but we really can't go there on cold nights.  Certainly not rainy nights, like tonight, because their patio has no cover.  And no heaters.  But, the Dog Haus by the airport has both a covered patio and heaters.  So, we went there for dinner tonight.  The employees there just let us sit inside, since they weren't too busy.  They probably appreciate the business.  I do miss Dog Haus for their so-called Love Boat side.  Which is tots or fries covered with chili and coleslaw.  It's a great combination.

Thursday, March, 6, We are on storytime hiatus at the library this month, which means no MILFs.  But that also means no distractions.  Especially since I'm trying to become a Vulcan.

I went on my usual Thursday after lunch walk around the neighborhood, since it wasn't raining.  It was way cold though, and I left my jacket inside the library.  I didn't want to go back in to get it, so I just put on a hoodie I had in the car.  It was not warm enough to keep me warm, so I kept my polyester work Polo on.  I usually take it off, because I get pretty warm with it on my walks.  But today I needed that extra layer.

On Thursdays Kerri ends her day at Casa Verdugo.  This week she wasn't on the desk because Reneh showed up.  Around closing time she came out of the back office to get the money out of the cash register, when she started poking me in a playful way.  Of course I liked her poking me, but I couldn't show it outwardly.

It rained about a month ago, and back at that time a small amount of water was leaking from a place I patched up last year.  I figured that it needed more patching, so I bought some more patching spray and used all I had.  I was hoping that it would hold.  This week's rain is the first rain since my patch job, and the patch job seems to have held.  The area of the patio I pictured above was wet last time, due to that leak.  But, now it's dry.

Friday, March, 7, There's a new attractive cleaning lady at the Perkin's building.  I saw her last week while I was visiting the Treasury department.  I saw her again today as I was leaving the building.  I'm not going to say she's drop dead gorgeous, but she does have a nice thin figure.  And a nice butt.  She saw that I was checking her out, and she gave me a look.  She's attractive enough that I know she knows I checked her out.

I was driving up the driveway at Brand when I saw in the distance a person that looked like TheNewCute.  As I drove closer the person REALLY looked like TheNewCute.  Just before getting to where she was walking up to the library her face looked way different, but her hair and figure really looked like TheNewCute.  Boy, I haven't thought of it, but what if TheNewCute comes by for a visit and I see her again?  What will be my reaction?  Since she stopped texting me I just think of her as essentially dead.  I mean, I COULD text her, but to what end?

I was finishing up lunch at Brand when I saw TreasuryGirl walking through the gallery.  She had a child in tow.  She still looks good, but she gained about twenty pounds since she worked up in the Treasury department.  She told me how she had complications after giving birth to her first child, and that she asked for leave to deal with those complications.  But, her supervisor didn't allow her leave, so she left the job.  It was good seeing her.  I thought about exchanging numbers, but would she really respond?  Probably not.  Oh well.

There were three boxes of books at Pacific Park that should just go into the trash.  But, because we stupid at Glendale, the branches box up these books and they go to Central to be picked through and triaged.  Grayce told me that Tony didn't take them with him yesterday, even though he could have.  I think it's because these are the same books that I picked up from Adams last week that I took to Central, instead of Pacific Park.  Mainly because they mislabeled the boxes.  So Tony didn't want to take them from Pacific to Central, because they had to deliver them to Pacific the other day.  It's such a waste of our time.  It's funny how he gets angry at such a little thing and then leaves things to me to carry.  This is why I have no problem with me making more money than he does per hour.

Saturday, March, 8, I bought some food for breakfast at IHOP today.  It's nice to see that that pretty waitress still works there.  I mean, I don't come by very often, but it's nice.

Years ago there was a woman that worked at Brand who had a nice big behind.  I hadn't thought of her in a long time.  In searching for a picture of TreasuryGirl I found a picture of Erin F., and that made me check out her website.  She posted a video that shows off her big behind.  I like.  The video is one of her art pieces.  I'm not sure what it's all about, but I do like how her butt makes a couple of appearances.  She's fully clothed, but her tight skirt really shows off her curves.  Wish there were more videos like that on her website.

Sunday, March, 9, I had finished breakfast and was getting ready to go to the market when I heard a knock at the front door.  I looked out the window and didn't recognize the person.  I thought my aunt knew him, so I asked her.  She didn't know him.  In a few seconds he just started walking back out the front yard.  He went back to his car but didn't pull away right away.  He was probably out there for another minute.  I don't know what his motive was, but he left after we didn't answer the door.  Maybe he was casing the joint.  Maybe he wanted oranges.  Oh well.

Monday, March, 10, I drove delivery last week on Friday.  I had a lot of things I had to carry to Central, including things going to the bookmobile.  I didn't have enough time to sort the books for the branches.  I figured, like it always happens, someone from the evening or weekend crew would sort the books.  Well, I was wrong.  All the bins that I left unsorted were there this morning.  The cart was not even moved.  I ended up sorting the books.  I'm not sure what these people on the weekend did all day.  It took me about fifteen minutes to sort the books.  Not that long, if you ask me.  This is why I say weekend crew is trash.  I was telling Grigor the story from this morning when Junior chimes and claims that she sorted the books on Friday.  I tell her, "I have pictures."  Mic drop.  She doesn't say a thing after that.

The news mentioned that there was a series of storms coming this week.  The rain starts tonight, which made me think that the bookmobile gig might be off.  I mentioned it to Krishna, and as I was leaving TheGirl's place I checked my phone and saw the message confirming the cancelation.  Now I don't know what I'm going to do.  I don't have a Tuesday adventure planned, nor do I have a work shift.  Krishna is going to work something out.  Probably so I don't lose my hours.  Honestly, they could just put me back at Casa tomorrow and call it a day.

Tuesday, March, 11, I moved the bird feeders farther under the awning in my backyard in order to mitigate the damping of the birdseed as it falls on the wet floor.  I hope that this helps the birds eat dry birdseed, instead of wet now that it's raining.  I also thought about getting some sandbags to embower the area below the bird feeders to further help with the seed not getting wet.  For now, the seed still got wet, but not as much.  I need to get those sand bags.

I usually try to plan out my Tuesday Adventure, but because of the rain and the possibility of the bookmobile event being cancelled today I was in limbo.  So I decided to go to the California Science Center.  That was a bit of a bust.  I was just there a few months ago, and I pretty much saw everything they have to offer.  Still, I went not knowing if I was going to work today.  Being in that limbo stinks.  I guess I could have just stayed home, but I don't want to be around my aunt.  I don't want to answer any of her questions.

Today was supposed to be a bookmobile day, but the rain caused a cancellation.  Meanwhile, it barely rained today.  But, even without that much rain we probably wouldn't have gotten too many people due to the cold weather, and the threat of rain.

I walked around part of Exposition park thinking of what I might do, where I might get some food.  That's when I got a call from Krishna saying that I couldn't work at Casa today since they already had coverage.  It would be unfair to the person that was covering for me to just be told forget it, go home.  So, Krishna asked if I was OK with working at Adams Square today.  Sure, what do I care?  Now I had to get some food before going to work, but now the time was getting close to my curfew.  If I'm downtown I try to get out of there by 12:30pm at the latest.  Glendale isn't that far from DTLA, but I've hit traffic in the past that prevented me from getting to work in a speedy fashion.  I decided to go to this food mall close to USC.  My first choice was packed with people, and nothing stood out on the menu.  So I got out of line and went to one of the other establishments.  I ordered up a tamale and some watermelon agua fresca.  Both hit the spot.  I wolfed down my meal and headed towards Adams Square.

Working at Adam's Square is a chore, but I rather deal with that than not get paid.  I had my lunch in my car, since the location doesn't have a dedicated break room.  Like I said, it's a chore to work there.  Still, the shift went by fairly quickly.  Krishna found me some busy work to do, a little shifting of the books.  The collection did need shifting.

Wednesday, March, 12, The weather liars were on this morning saying that the upcoming rain will not start until tonight.  But,I did get a little wet on the route today.  My hope was that it wouldn't rain until after I got home, but it did rain while I was on the route.  Good thing was that it wasn't so much rain.  It was mostly during the first part of the route.

I was forwarded an email complimenting me and the rest of the Casa Verdugo bunch... but mostly me.  Here's the patron's email to the new director.

Hello Lessa,

Alexander here.  Dropping a line to say how much I appreciate the staff at the Casa Verdugo Library.  In general, many of them are very helpful especially the past couple of years of getting me various Movies and TV shows and more recently, various books I've needed to do research.

Today there's a staff member who's been most helpful to me the past couple of years.  I don't recall his name.  He's such a great guy.  He's Hispanic like me:) I hope at some point and I don't know how - can we do a petition or recommendation for the Casa Verdugo Library to be open on Saturdays?

With the ups and downs the Entertainment Industry has been going through, I've taken advantage of using the library as often as I can before I land my next gig on a production which makes it very difficult for me to use the library once I'm on a show.

In closing, I just want to say how much I appreciate the staff members of the Library being so helpful in getting me visual and written material that I need for my own creativity.

Best Wishes,
Alexander

Ely, the security guard at Central, is retiring soon.  His last day is either this Friday or next Friday, I don't remember. Two weeks ago he was talking to me about the party the library is throwing for him.  He kept on insisting that I attend.  I told him that I couldn't make it, because I'm working at Casa that day until 7pm.  But he kept on insisting.  So, I just walked away.

It didn't look like rain tonight, despite it being cloudy.  TheGirl still didn't want to sit outside with Cheyenne, mainly because it was going to be cold tonight.  We went to Don Cuco's in Burbank in the hope that they would let us sit inside with Cheyenne.  Thankfully they did let us sit inside.  I ordered the usual two carne asada plate so I could give Cheyenne one of my tacos.  The beans and rice tasted so yummy tonight, I could have had a second portion.

TheGirl was telling me that she feels depressed.  I tried to tell her about Stoicism while we were at dinner, but she is closed minded, so she can't look beyond her nose.  I was trying to convey the idea of the stoics that how we frame our problems will be how we deal with them.  I can't beat her up too much, because everyone is different, and how do I know what she's going through?  How do I know how she feels?  Cheyenne's impending death lingers over both of our heads.  The good news about her tumor shrinking is not something I want to hang my hat on too much.  Because this world isn't just.  Perhaps that's why TheGirl can't see the forest for the trees.  Perhaps that's why I drink.  To forget.  To feel good.

Thursday, March, 13, I wasn't too hungry this morning.  I ate four mini corn dogs and a few tots.  That was enough.

Vivian bought a new Ford F-150 Lightening.  It's a big car.  The top of my roof is slightly taller than her hood.  That's just nuts.  I don't see how anyone can drive such a thing.

I got super sleepy after lunch today.  I didn't go on my after lunch walk today either, because I just felt blah.  Blame the booze I drank after I got back home after dinner.  Boozing it up feels good at the time, but the day after can feel pretty lousy.  Not only am I sleepy, but I'm a little achy.  I could SO use an hour-long nap today.  I told myself a few weeks back that I needed to cut down on my drinking.  And I did - but not for long.  I am drinking less, but I really need to cut it by more than half.  I need to stick to just drinking twice a week.  At most.

I was making a salad for lunch tomorrow when I heard the toilet running water again.  I bought a new valve a few months ago, but the water kept flowing.  I searched to see why the valve would continue to run after all the adjustments and the search yielded that perhaps the water was leaking.  I don't know why I didn't consider that a problem until today.  I finished my salad and then checked the toilet again.  I could slightly hear some water flowing, and I think it's because of the flapper not being tight.  So I pressed down on it, and I couldn't hear any more water flowing.  I went ahead and ordered a new flapper.  I'm obviously going to replace it, to see if that fixes the problem.  I hope.

Friday, March, 14, I decided to make myself a salad instead of a sandwich today.  It was mostly motivated by having a bunch of Italian dressing in the fridge.  But I also didn't want another sandwich.  I mainly made sandwiches this week, because I was scheduled to work the bookmobile.  Then it rained and the bookmobile event was cancelled.

Just as I was finishing up my salad I felt something in my mouth, like a tiny pebble.  I took it out of my mouth and it looked like a little stone.  I knew it wasn't a stone, but rather a part of my disintegrating tooth.  For the last few years one of my molars has been slowly falling apart, piece by piece.  It's following roughly the same trajectory that a previous tooth took when it disintegrated.  The dentist eventually pulled that tooth.

Today is Ely's last day at work.  He's been working at the library since before I showed up.  I never thought he was good at his job.  When he kept on insisting that I show up for his going away party on a Thursday I wanted to... tell him that I was glad that he wasn't going to be there anymore... that I thought he was lousy at his job... but that I do wish him well.

Saturday, March, 15, I trim my pubic hair.  The question is, who am I doing this for?  I don't have a girlfriend, or fuck buddy.  There is no one on the horizon that will see me naked any time soon.  So why do it?

That is the $64,000 question.  I guess I'm doing it in hopes that IF (that if is doing a lot of heavy lifting) some lady doesn't run from me at the speed of the Flash, that I might could see her naked.  And she would see me naked.  It's not going to happen, since I'm not even trying to find a girlfriend.  I suppose you can say that I'm doing it to be clean.  Yeah... that's the ticket.

I went to the CSUN VITA to get my taxes done.  As per usual I owe the Federal Government $971, but I will get a refund from the state of $222.

My aunt asked me how it went at the VITA.  I told her I owed $971.  She basically asked if I needed money, but I told her that I had the money to pay.  In your face.

I put a reminder on my phone to tell me to not engage while I'm at work.  But I do engage.  I shouldn't.  I need to take my own advice and not engage.  I would have a lot of extra time on the route if I didn't engage.  That's for sure.  There was a time when I could chill in the park, but I don't do that anymore.  I should.

I don't hear the toilet draining water all the time now.  Success!

Sunday, March, 16, I got up fairly early, but my aunt didn't get out of her room until past 11am.  I'm hungry when she wakes up.  And I kinda want to just do my own thing at this point, because I don't want to wait until it's nearly midday to get my day started.

I got up fairly early, but my aunt didn't get out of her room until past 11am.  I'm hungry when she wakes up.  And I kinda want to just do my own thing at this point, because I don't want to wait until it's nearly midday to get my day started.

I got up fairly early, but my aunt didn't get out of her room until past 11am.  I'm hungry when she wakes up.  And I kinda want to just do my own thing at this point, because I don't want to wait until it's nearly midday to get my day started.

I got up fairly early, but my aunt didn't get out of her room until past 11am.  I'm hungry when she wakes up.  And I kinda want to just do my own thing at this point, because I don't want to wait until it's nearly midday to get my day started.

I woke up with the sniffles.  Nothing major, but a little nasal drip.  But only from the left of my nose.  No itchy throat... yet.

There have been a series of earthquakes in Malibu.  There was one on Oscar night, which was like two weeks ago.  I didn't feel this one, but I think I heard it. Moments after I heard a strange sound from the other room I got a text from TheGirl asking if I felt the earthquake.  I hadn't.

Monday, March, 17, Since I still had a drippy nose this morning I figured I should take a Covid test.  Negative.  Still, I have the sniffles this morning.  I was hoping last night was the last of it.

Last week I mentioned the new cleaning lady at the Perkin's building being attractive.  Today I asked her for her name.  It's Alexandra.  She gave me a smirk after I asked her and told her that I had a bet with the treasury people that her name was Maria.

I was loading up the van when a guy approached me asking to be driven to the police station.  He really seemed off.  He asked me again, and I told him that I couldn't because it was a city vehicle.  I told him I could call the police for him, if he wanted.  He was shaky, and was looking around.  That's when I noticed that he had what looked like a piece of concrete in his hand.  I asked him, "The police are going to want to know what is the emergency... what should I tell them?"  He tells me one word... "Murder."  That's when I started to walk away.  I told him that I was going to call from inside the library, because my phone didn't work.  What I actually wanted to avoid was having my call routed to CHP.  All cell calls are routed to CHP and then from there sent to the local municipality.  And I wanted to get away from him.  I got inside and told the police my story.  I think the word murder motivated the police, because within minutes there were easily eight squad cars driving around the neighborhood.  I went outside with one of my coworkers just in case the police wanted to question me.  I could see the squad cars up the street, and in the middle I could see him being handcuffed.  Later an officer came up to the library and I talked to him.  He asked me for the story.  I told him a quick version.  The officer tells me, "Yeah, he confessed that he had smoked the most meth that he had ever smoked before."  I had to laugh a little.

My supervisor asked me about the difference in the time I get back from the route as opposed to my coworker Tony, who drives twice a week.  I pointed out that he and I do the route differently.  I have to go to the treasury department.  He doesn't.  I open the doors in the morning.  He doesn't.  I didn't point this out at the time, but he also arrives half an hour earlier to work.  I also told her that I make a stop at Chevy Chase, and that takes forty-five minutes to complete on its own.  Which is true.  Yes, I'm not going to tell her that I linger at some locations for a bit.  Like today I had a whole conversation with Gitmo about burgers.  Then I went up to Brand, had my lunch... scanned my tax documents... took a shit... took pictures of the hummingbirds, and checked my email.  She seemed satisfied with the answer - I think.  Hey, I actually do a lot of stuff that Tony doesn't do.  I never refuse a delivery unless I have a packed van.  I'm always flexible with my time.  I make special deliveries to and from all the branches.  I regularly have special deliveries.  I am asked by the various managers to move things, because they know Tony won't do it.  So yeah, I may take a little longer but I need that extra time.

TheGirl told me around midday that she forgot that she was going to go do her taxes tonight.  Which meant no visit from me and Chan tonight.  Left to my own devices I decided that I would try Tacos 1986 in Toluca Lake.  They are one of these new tacos joints that make the best taco list here and there.  Well, I wanted to try them out.  Sad to say, the food was pretty flavorless.  Now I will say that I mentioned having the sniffles the other day.  Well, I still have them.  I'm wondering if I lost some of my sense of taste.  The meat was very tender, and the tortilla was good and didn't fall apart.  I'll give them another chance when I don't have the sniffles. I went to check my sense of smell and it seems OK.  Something else that goes against Tacos 1986 is the fact that when I was walking back to the car there was a wonderful savory smell coming from somewhere.  But when I was inside the establishment it didn't smell like any meats.  Not good.

Tuesday, March, 18, Ilsa came out from Fontana to have lunch with me at Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street today.  Ilsa took the Metrolink out to Union station, where I met her.  We walked around Olvera street before it was getting late.  I told Ilsa that I had a curfew of 12:30pm, because I had to get to work by 1pm.  She was OK with that.

I hadn't been to Cielito Lindo in about three years.  They are famous for their taquitos and especially for their tasty avocado sauce.  Ilsa ordered a combination plate with two taquitos, a tamale, rice and beans.  She had me try the tamale, which was pretty good.  I may have to get some for my aunt and me.  Our time together went by fast, and I had to go to work.  Ilsa went to Union Station and had a drink before boarding her train back home.

Our new director sent out an email today pertaining to the cutting part time hours.  For the last few weeks some of the managers have been talking to some of the part timers to inform them that their hours will most likely be cut.  I guess things have come to a head, because she felt it necessary to write the following email.

Dear GLAC Part-Time Team,

I had a request from one of your fellow colleagues to share why some of you have experienced a reduction/change in hours during this Fiscal Year which began July 1.  While each of your experiences is a bit unique, there are some general themes that are affecting our hourly budget which I have broken down below.

In other words the part timers are questioning the motives behind the cut in hours, since there hasn't been any indication of this before now.  Many of the part timers I talk to had no idea there were any budget issues.  I knew, but I'm in the know.  The first indication there were budget issues came a few of weeks ago when the managers started talking about cuts in part time hours.  Many of my coworkers were caught by surprise by this news.  I had heard rumblings of "budget troubles" for a few weeks prior.  I'm not sure how that is, since the budget for the library has been pretty much the same the last few years.  With so many positions not filled I wonder where that money is going.

Vacancies: Over the last few years, GLAC has had a number of full-time vacancies, which leaves extra money to be allocated to hourly budgets.  This year, we did not have the same level of vacancies, with most open positions being filled quickly.

Right off the bat I call bullshit.  I texted Vagabundo that this email was propaganda, and this paragraph shows the totally of their bullshit.  TheNewCute's position has not been filled.  Bundy's position was never filled.  There have been a bunch of part timers that have left since 2020 - 2021, when many of them looked for other work due to Covid.  At the start of Covid the part timers were involved in the curbside pick-up.  But the one week on two weeks off schedule didn't work for many part timers, because they don't get paid when they don't work.  The budget for the library has remained relatively the same, with some increases over the years.  So where did all that money go?  There are fewer and fewer part timers working now than were working here just four years ago.  They didn't rehire many of the positions that left during the early Covid era exodus.  Again I ask, what happened to that money?  Maybe it was used to subsidize the stupid Marketplace books that cost thousands of dollars and are practically thrown out brand new, with one or zero circulations.

Grants: Some hours were supplemented by various grants in the past and/or are grant funded positions.  Some of these grants have ended, thus the additional hours we are able to provide no longer exist.  Grant funded hours are not guaranteed and are dependent upon renewal of the grant, which is not applicable to all grants.

I can't speak to this with much knowledge.  I know that they had two librarians and several interns hired with grant money.  But all of those positions were temporary, good for as long as they had that grant funding.  I think this is a smokescreen to say SOMETHING about why they have less money.  Grant money isn't endless, and anyone reading this would reasonably say that yes, if there's no grant money they can't pay.  However, this still doesn't affect the rank and file part timers, unless they are involved in special projects that involve grant money.  So yeah, this is a smokescreen.

Full-time Staff Movement: As you know, some staff members have moved to other locations within GLAC.  These moves have affected the number of additional hours available to hourly staff at specific locations, sometimes decreasing the amount of available hours at one location but increasing them at another location.

The number of hours remain the same.  Four full time staff members were recently moved, with Jade not showing up to work for the last four months.  But the hours remain the same.  Each of the full timers that were moved still work forty hours a week.  Their locations in different branches does not increase or decrease the amount of hours they work.  So their hours do not directly affect part time hours, because the number of hours has not diminished since the move.  See how they are playing with concepts that have no relevance to the subject of hours being cut?

Bookmobile and Central Library Changes: The opening of the Youth Spaces and launch of the Bookmobile, while beautiful and exciting, also came with challenges to appropriately staff these areas with the funding allocated.  Changes to staffing Desk 3, the floater position in the Children's Room, and working to figure out sustainable service models for the Teen Space and Bookmobile have been a challenge with our current budget.  We have increased our service points but have been unable to increase our budget, needing to reallocate hours to different service points.

More smokescreens.  The new teen and children's rooms were known entities before the renovations.  Once again, the only new wrinkle is coverage of the teen room.  That was "solved" by moving the teen librarian to the teen room after 3pm.  Meanwhile, the people that work in the children's room are already budgeted.  If anything, this paragraph shows admin's incompetence to budget correctly for the services they want to have.  The recent renovations were a year in the making physically, but years in planning.  You're going to tell me that in all that time they didn't inform council that they would need more money for these projects AFTER they opened, not just before?  That's being shortsighted idiots.  But what am I saying?  That is what they are upstairs.  Their failures are now coming to light with this so-called "budget crisis."

I recognize that the loss of hours is frustrating and that the current situation feels unpredictable.  While we may not be able to offer the exact hours and locations you prefer, I encourage you all to share with managers and in WhenToWork your maximum availability so that we may utilize you in different locations and to fill in for absences when applicable.  All hourly schedules are temporary ones and are subject to change based upon operational needs.  Managers do their best to keep as consistent and predictable of schedules as possible, but given the many changes over the course of this last year, budget availability and needs have changed, therefore schedules have had to change as well.  I cannot say if hours will return, as much is predicated on the approval of "Services Level Requests" for FY25-26, which begins July 1, 2025.  Once that budget is approved at the June 24, 2025 Council meeting we will have a better picture of what our hours and service levels will look like.

The line, "All hourly schedules are temporary ones and are subject to change based upon operational needs" is meant say that when we need you we really need you, but then we don't there's the curb.

That all being said, any flexibility you have in your schedules and locations helps us try to recover lost hours when possible.

All that being said, thanks for nothing.  Thanks for not asking questions.  Thanks for buying this propaganda.

While I understand that this explanation does not help create hours or replace income I hope that it at least creates a picture of how we got to this point. If you have individual concerns, please check in with your Manager.

In other words, we suck.  We are incompetent.

Thank you all for your hard work and direct questions which help us identify communication gaps and areas to improve.

And as always, any questions, please let me know.

All the best,

name redacted

Fuck you all.

I noticed the other night that the street looked brighter.  I thought that a car was coming, but it wasn't headlights.  It was the new street light that is much brighter than the old one.  I like the brighter light.

Wednesday, March, 19, Some of the dummies that work at Central don't pay attention to the task they are doing. Last week there were a bunch of items not meant for Casa that were in the Casa bin.  This week there were seven items meant for Casa that were in the Montrose bin.  I happen to be reaching into the Montrose bin when I spotted two of the books on top should have been in the Casa bin.  I checked more books and found a total of seven items meant for Casa in the Montrose bin.  That's not a small mistake, that's incompetence.

The Chevy Chase library manager texted me to ask if I could check the lights when I got up to that branch.  Sure.  When I got there the lights were on.  I did a little exploring after having a hunch that perhaps the lights were off because of daylight savings time.  Sure enough, I checked the timer, it said it was 9:20am when the actual time was 10:20am.  Problema resuelto.  Now all the manager has to do is get someone from the city to set the time to the new time.  I really hate daylight savings.

I stopped at Casa to pick up the book bins, and I felt the urge to poop.  But, when I went to the bathroom I had trouble pooping.  I almost never have any problem pooping.  Today was a different story.  I had to push so hard that I felt like my butthole was going to prolapse.  I shouldn't have pushed that hard.  If I was having that much trouble I should have figured it was just a fart, not poop.

When I walked in the door of TheGirl's place she told me to be careful with Cheyenne, because she had collapsed on the floor two times because of her arthritis.  TheGirl gave Cheyenne a pain pill before we headed off to dinner.  She was moving better at dinner.  The biggest fear is Cheyenne not wanting to eat.  That's always a bad sign.  Once at dinner she ate a lot of carne asada.  TheGirl was smart enough to order up a side of the asada without the tortilla, to give to Cheyenne.

With her tumor being smaller I think that gave both of us hope that Cheyenne will be around a little bit longer than we previously expected.  But her arthritis threatens to derail that hope.  All we can do is enjoy the time we have with her.

Thursday, March, 20, I was able to stay in bed a little longer this morning, because I don't start work until 9am.  When I did get out of bed I went to use the bathroom and OF COURSE my aunt is in the fucking bathroom.  Why?  Why must the Algorithm play these games with me?  ARGH!

TheGirl texted me that she won't be able to have dinner next Wednesday, because she is treating her tax preparer to dinner.  And of course he can't make it any other night.  So, we're having dinner on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I'm left to my own devices.  In the past I have used a Wednesday that we don't have dinner as a chance to try some place that TheGirl and I normally don't visit.  I guess I can do that next week.

Friday, March, 21, Some dummy likes to slap my delivery van's mirror to the side.  Sometimes I don't even notice until I'm already driving away from Central.  I noticed today.  I wonder how I could get a camera to record that overnight.  I'm sure if I put a camera in the van it would see a lot of bullshit going on at the library.

When I got into work today I found Grimace checking in books from the bookmobile.  She tells me that she keeps checking them in only to have the routing slip come out every time.  I asked her if she was using the bookmobile login.  No.  No one gave it to her.  Why would they, right?  She's been placed in charge of checking those books in, why would a manager not share the login.  Unless that manager also didn't know the login.  I'm being sarcastic, but that's what happened.  No one gave her the login, but they gave her the task.  I told her the login, and she was able to check the books in.  There was the question as to who was supposed to take them down to the dock, but I don't know anything about that.  I'm not going to volunteer to do it, that's for sure.

Then came the issue of the money.  Grimace didn't have the combination to the safe.  Not only that, but she didn't know that the credit card receipts are not the same as the cash register slips.  I have never had to process the money the way a full-timer does.  I've counted the money, and made sure that the till is balanced.  There is a whole other process after that.  However, all the years going to the treasury department has shown me how they want things.  At the end of us counting the money it turns out that the till was $.65 over.  Over is better than being under.  Always.

After eight years, all the ceiling lights were working this morning at Central.  Let's see how long that lasts.

I hadn't pooped since that awful poop on Wednesday at Casa.  I sure didn't want to force anything, like on Wednesday.  I figured that I would poop when I was ready to poop.  No more forcing.  I was glad that I finally pooped.

I got an email this afternoon reminding me to pay my home internet bill.  It showed that I was overdue.  I don't know why this keeps happening.  I have all my bills in my calendar, but for some reason I keep forgetting to pay my bill.  I have to figure out how to remember better.

For weeks the tire pressure indicator on the van's dash has been lit.  I thought it was a bad sensor, but today I had the idea to check the tire.  Sure enough, I found a screw in the tire.  I did notice that the tire looked low, and now I know why.  I'll have to go to the garage on Monday to see if they can fix it.

Since float ended last month some of the branches have been sending items to Central to be relocated in the computer.  Because now checking in a book at a certain location doesn't marry it to that location.  Every book now has a home, but there is not enough room on the branches shelves.  That's why so many books are being sent to Central to have their location changed to Central.  This has to be done manually.  It's dumb.  Anyway, there were a lot of delivery bins just sitting there, and I needed them.  So I put the books on a cart and got my bins back.  Because who knows how long it will take the librarians to change the location.

Saturday, March, 22, I did nothing but sleep today.  I had a long night jerking off and drinking last night.  I've said it many times here, those are the only things I look forward to on the weekends.  Well, that and not working.

Sunday, March, 23, After trying to set up this brunch for the better part of a half year we finally got together today.  The we being my old boss from San Marino, Irene, and my coworker Annie.  We went to Granville in Pasadena.  It was good times, and good food.

After coming back home from brunch and the market I went to my backyard and chilled.  Naturally I fell asleep.  I jerked off last night, like I do every weekend.

Monday, March, 24, Last week I saw that there was a screw in the delivery van's tire.  I took the van to the garage this morning to see what they could do.  The mechanic there saw the screw and told me to go to the tire shop up the street to have them replace the tire.  So, I did.  It took them about fifteen minutes to get the old tire off and the new one on.  I went on my merry way, and started the route a little later than normal.

I'm always trying to find new things to eat for my work lunch.  I've had so many different things that are easy to make.  That's the key, they have to be easy to make.  Sandwiches are perfect, because they are easy to make and easy to deal with.  I don't have to heat them up in the microwave.  For this week's lunch I decided to make tuna salad.  But not just tuna salad, but a tuna melt.  I mean, all a tuna melt is the addition of cheese to the sandwich.  Gotta say, I do like tuna melt.  My tuna salad came out good.

Last week when I visited TheGirl told me how Cheyenne collapsed because of her hind leg having arthritis.  Today she was better, but Cheyenne did seem to be a little down.  She wasn't super enthusiastic to see me, but she was wiggling her tail.  Later when it was time to go on her walk she perked up.  Even her face seemed to look a little sadder than normal.  I hope she's not in great pain.  I think I might have mentioned this before in a previous entry, but TheGirl is worried about Cheyenne suffering.  Before it was her suffering from cancer.  Now that the tumor has shrunk she's worried that Cheyenne will be in pain from the arthritis.  It's unfair that Cheyenne's cancer shrunk but that now arthritis could felled her.

Tuesday, March, 25, I'm working this Saturday on the bookmobile.  That means having to not work today, Tuesday.  I'm OK with that.  I figure the Tuesdays I don't work I could go on a longer Tuesday Adventure.  I've been wanting to go to the Queen Mary for a while now.  Actually I want to stay there someday.  I almost took Talia, but that's a whole can of worms that never happened.  And now will never happen.  Like taking any lady, since I'm a bachelor for life.

Still, the boat was fun.  I certainly got my steps in today.  Two of the bars weren't open, so I'll have to return some day when I don't have a curfew to check them out.  Like I said, I would like to stay there someday.  It would be cool to spend the evening at a nice restaurant nearby and then head back to the Queen for cocktails at the Observation bar, and look out over at the views of the city.

It was still a bit early after I finished up with the Queen to go to TheGirl's place.  I decided to head over to the Point Fermin lighthouse in San Pedro.  I was there a few months ago, but I went home and didn't take the tour.  Today I had more time, and it was later in the day.  The house is quaint.  My tour guide mentioned that the lighthouse didn't have to be that tall, because it sits on a bluff that's about a hundred feet above the sea.  The views are nice, and even a little scary.

My maps app was telling me that I had to leave around 2pm in order to get to TheGirl's by 4:30pm.  I thought it was crazy, so I stayed at the lighthouse a little longer.  I checked again and sure enough the traffic was a mess.  It took me an hour and a half to get from San Pedro to Burbank.  I was five minutes late to our dinner date.

It was a rare Tuesday night dinner with the ladies tonight.  We already knew from last week that we wanted to get dinner at the Smoke House.  I had my pre-game drinks on the way to the restaurant and then a couple at dinner.  We both ordered fish and chips and fed it to Cheyenne.  As I mentioned before, Cheyenne seems a little down due to her arthritis pain.  Once she was fed the fish she was in better spirits.  I'll be left to my own devices tomorrow night since TheGirl is having dinner with her accountant.

Wednesday, March, 26, Apparently TheNewCute wrote to her old supervisor at Brand to say hi (see above).  If only there was a way for her to message me directly.  Hmm.  Whatever!  She's had plenty of chances to contact any one of us that called her friend here in California.  But I've said this before.  I digress.

I had the freedom to eat anywhere tonight.  My first choice was Chili John's, but google lady told me that would likely be closed.  I had a couple of other choices, including the Tail o'the Pup in WeHo.  It would have been a dilly of a drive to the westside.  So, I decided to go to Bob's Big Boy in Burbank.  Once there I wanted like fifty items.  I wanted the double stack burger, or failing that the open face turkey sandwich.  But, then the spaghetti and chili was calling me.  Well, it wasn't a good choice.  The chili was pretty bland.  I regretted not ordering the Big Boy hamburger.  Next time.

When I got home I found that the replacement pressure relief valve had arrived in the mail.  I wanted to replace it as soon as possible to prevent more water from leaking.  But even after I replaced it the leaking continued.  Yes, it was less, but it should be nothing.  This might mean that it's the the relief valve that's bad, but rather the regulator valve.  ARGH!

Thursday, March, 27, I was super sleepy all day yesterday.  After I got home I tried fixing the leaky valve outside.  It took a lot out of me to get the thing to come loose.  When it neared 10pm I got ready for bed and figured I would just fall asleep like a rock.  But, I didn't.  I tossed and turned, and I felt kinda weird.  I was anxious.  I finally did get to sleep, but then work up during the night.  The rest of my night was OK.  Thankfully I woke up feeling fine.

Friday, March, 28, I have been gatekeeping my aunt's mail for about a month now.  Stupid things come in the mail that give her anxiety, which in turn gives me anxiety.  I don't like that feeling.  It also ruins my evening.  In an effort to curve both our anxieties I have been keeping certain mailings away from her.  Like today, I found one from the state that had a huge headline saying YOUR HEARING RIGHTS.  Just like that, all in bold.  It goes on to say that if she is denied Medi-Cal she can appeal that decision, and so on and so on.  Knowing how she is she would think this means that the state denied her Medi-Cal and that she must now submit an appeal.  Fucking state!  I know they HAVE to send things like this out, but at the same time I feel that they only cause seniors to become worried about things.

I was going up Chevy Chase drive when some dummy in a Tesla felt it necessary to pass me.  There is no passing on that road, because it's curvy.  But, this dummy didn't care.  Typical Tesla idiot.  I was going five miles an hour faster than the twenty-five MPH speed limit, but Tesla dope felt the need for speed.  I say it again... fucking Tesla idiot.

I woke up with the sniffles today.  Again.  I had a bout of the sniffles the other day, but then nothing yesterday.  Today, back to the sniffle-verse.  I don't get it.  Someone said that perhaps it's allergies.  I've never had those, but perhaps I've developed allergies over time.  I understand that's possible.

I went into the Chevy Chase library and found that these dummies took in some donations.  I have to say that taking books to a library is like taking sand to the beach.  I wish people would stop thinking of us as a book dump ground.  The books weren't in bad shape, which is rare.  Some dummies like to dump text books and work books.  Neither of which the library can use.  Fucking idiots.

The schools are out this week in Glendale.  It makes delivery that much easier to the Grandview branch.  I was able to park in front of the library, because there were no cars parked there.  If only that was the norm.  The brats come back to school next week.

My first stop on Fridays is usually the Adams Square branch, but today I made it my last stop.  When i got there the book bin was a mess.  Some dummy put books upright in the bin.  This is an inefficient way to sort the books.  But, some dummies don't get it.  I wonder who it was that did this.

Saturday, March, 29, A few weeks ago when I agreed to drive the bookmobile I knew that I would be working some Saturday events.  Today was the first of the upcoming Saturday events... Cesar Chavez day at Pacific Park.  I picked up the bookmobile at 11am, two hours before the start of the event.  I felt that was a long time, but the time melted trying to set up the whole endeavor.

There are good things about driving the bookmobile, and there's bad.  Good is that it's easy money.  The bad thing is that it sometimes isn't easy money.  At one point the computer I was using died on me.  I had to get Jaclyn's computer to check out items.  The main problem is that we don't have the desktop version of the system we use to check out items, aka Sierra.  I have to use the web version, which is buggy.  Since I can't connect a printer to the computer I get an error message EVERY TIME I scan something saying "No printer."  I KNOW THAT, JACKASS MACHINE.  There has to be a way to not have that stupid message come up EVERY TIME.  The worst thing about the message is that I need to click on "OK" three times before the message goes away.  What's up with that shit?  Totally frustrating.

I don't know why we have to have some random computer that doesn't have the desktop version of Sierra, and how is it that we can't connect a printer to it?  Because the word is that they can't.  Sure.  They don't want to.  The thing is, I was told that we were using a computer that's meant for the public.  BTW, if that's true then why can't we have a dedicated computer just for the bookmobile?  Supposedly they're working on it.  Sure.

The bookmobile has its shortcomings, but it looks good to the layperson.  We had some dignitaries show up to the Chavez event.  I got to meet the mayor, who I think is attractive.  I first saw her some time in the last year and a half when I was at some gallery opening.  I saw that she has a nice body.  You know how I like lady's behinds... hers has a nice shape.  There was also a couple of other representatives there.  One that said she might be interested in having the bookmobile show up to some of her events.  Score!  I chatted her up, while I got Krishna to show up and talk to her.  Since the bookmobile is her baby.

I'm a sucker for pretty Armenian girls, and there was more than one at the event today.  The most pretty was this one girl that works for parks.  I think I've seen her before.  There was also one that was tall and thin playing pickle ball.

Sunday, March, 30, I was anticipating my car hitting 222,222 miles for the last few days.  I hit that milage today as I pulled into the gasoline station.  It's been a great ride.

Monday, March, 31, I woke up with a horse throat.  I didn't feel sick, but my voice was not OK.  I was pretty much this way all day.  As I write this I'm back home resting.  I have a little bit of a runny nose, but my throat isn't so horse.  My snot is clear, which is strange because green or yellow snot means I'm fighting an infection.  But clear usually means allergy.  Hmm.

The other hummingbird came back to the Brand library.  I went to have lunch in the patio and I looked up at the other nest, that was pretty ratty last week.  I guess the little bird was working this weekend, because the nest is now rebuilt.

I was listening to my show when they mentioned that there were baseball caps that were being recalled due to them saying something inappropriate.  The Texas Ranger's cap placed the large T in front of the word Texas.  The T covered the X in Texas and spelled Tetas.  That's the Spanish slang for tits.  Good job, dummies.

I went over to TheGirl's for our traditional Monday visit.  Which goes back to the days we were dating and TheGirl would walk up to Montrose library to visit me.  But then I would drive us home and have a little visit.  The good thing about tonight's visit is that Cheyenne seemed to be in better spirits.  Last week I reported here that she seemed down, because of her arthritis pain.  Tonight she jumped up a little when I came in the room.  I'm super glad to see that she was better tonight than last week.  She's still having trouble walking, but at least it seems she's in less pain.