2017 is gone, and now it's time for Christmas. On to December!

Wed Nov 1, Last night was Halloween. But I was tired after the route and I just plopped. Not that I had any candy to give away anyway. So of course I turned off the lights in the house and just stayed chilled. Not that I had the energy to do anything anyway. I do love the above meme. It perfectly illustrates how I feel most nights.

Dinner tonight was out in the chilly air, out in Burbank. TheGirl and I went to a burger joint that has some decent burgers and some good hot dogs. Our neighbors outside were smoking like chimneys. Which was super annoying, but at least they didn't stay for long. Everyone sucks. Going out will be more lonely, since we will be the only ones sitting outside on the patio because we're bringing Cheyenne along. I don't mind, I rather sit outside.

Thu Nov 2, When I got to the library this morning I noticed that there was a dummy parked on the sidewalk (pictured above). I can't say I'm surprised that this, because I have seen some bullshit driving in this town. The guy driving the car saw me and bolted soon after I took this picture. But his stupidity will now live on here. Fucking idiots can't drive in this town.

I don't want to keep harping on this, but here we have the latest example of Benedict not doing his work the right way. Well, he says that no one notices his good and hard work. Maybe because he does't really do good work. He does everything like this... bad. Laster in the day Misa told me via text that Benedict told her that it was OK to mix books that are intended to go to Central with those that are bound for the branches. Of course they are not, but it shows you his attitude towards this job. He doesn't care that it means more work for others, just as long as he gets away with not doing his job properly.

Today was the day I had to go to the city's mandatory harassment training. But of course I still had to run the route. I went to Pasadena and to city hall, loaded up the van and went to my first stop. By then I needed to have some lunch. So I stopped at the park for an extended lunch before having to go to harassment training. Thankfully the guy conducting the training didn't take the usual three hours that everyone else was telling me they had to wait. This guy finished in less than two hours.

I was on the route super fast, and I intended to finish the route quickly. I didn't stop to talk much. I think it's a good move from now on. I know Benedict doesn't stop to talk. I got out of the training at 3pm, and I was done on the route just at 6pm. I think that's pretty good. It was a long day, for sure.

Fri Nov 3, I entered work and started to go upstairs. But for a moment I found that I needed to stop at the stupid one desk bullshit. And of course the dummies upstairs added something that I needed to see... a map of the library. The library isn't massive, but it is big. One can't get lost there, because of the open floor plan, but one can not find what one needs. That's for sure. So a map of the place isn't such a bad idea. But this map isn't just a map, it's a chronicle of the dummies upstair's dreams.

Why do I say that? On the right side of the picture above you will see a little icon that to me looks like a person hiking. It's not a person hiking, mind you. It's a little icon representing a self-checkout machine. The placement of this particular icon is where there is currently no self-checkout machine. Why? Because the dummies that were doing this renovation didn't think to plan for power to reach that area. This, despite the fact that years ago this area was already deemed to be the area where the self-checkout machine would be located. But yeah, don't go ahead and put power there. And while you're at it, don't have any networking ports there either. It is simply unbelievable at times the stupidity of these people. This is why the stupid sorting machine STILL hasn't been hooked up to power. Because despite the fact that the machine, or something similar, would be installed. No one thought to put some fucking power to that room. And not just any power. It had to be at least 210.

Back to the map. Clearly they are thinking ahead when they can use that area for a self-checkout machine. But the way it looks now, that machine isn't coming any time soon. But it doesn't stop these clowns from thinking to when the self-checkout machines are just super intelligent androids. Why wouldn't these dopes just wait until the actual machines are installed to add them to the map? I'm pretty sure that there will be a bunch of people asking, "Where are the self-checkout machines by the door?

When I got back from Pasadena I started loading the van for the rest of the route when Benedict came up to say hi and then ask me a question. He asked me if the manager at Brand had, "spoken" to me. I wasn't sure what he was asking, but I played it down the middle. I told him, "Oh, I haven't spoken to her in weeks. She usually doesn't talk to me at all." All of which is true. From what I hear from Misa is that Benedict thinks that there is a system-wide conspiracy to keep him down. As my buddy said, "Oh it's not a conspiracy when everyone knows he's a bad worker." This... is true. Benedict asking me this clearly shows he's looking for information, someone to confirm what he already thinks is real. I didn't confirm or deny what he thinks though. So he's left alone to think about what he thinks is already real. Which is fine. This also shows that Benedict is isolated. He had a strong ally when he befriended that administrator. But now that's she's gone he doesn't have many allies. It's his own fault. He hasn't tried to make friends while on the job. He flies through the route and doesn't cultivate anyone as a potential ally. Oh well, that's on him.

The route was pretty standard today. Not like yesterday, for sure. Yet, somehow I took nearly the same amount of time as yesterday. It was because after that harassment training thing ended I flew, I mean flew b the rest of the route. Big time. Today I slowed down a bit, but I do like the idea of doing the route fast. However, when I had lunch I was super sleepy and I took a nap that I didn't intend on taking. It was thankfully not too long. I was still on schedule, but I was WAY ahead of schedule up until lunch.

There is a new girl that works for the library that is amazing looking. I think I might have posted something about her in the recent past, but I can't be sure at this moment. Anyways, here she is pictured above. Her figure is amazing. When I look at her everything that is a man about me can't help but want her. All the primal feelings come to the surface when she's around, and I can't help myself to gravitate towards her.

Sat Nov 4, There's talk of rain tomorrow. Because of that my aunt decided to visit my Godmother today. I dropped her off at the metro station and then returned home to buy some lunch and go home. It was nice to have a day to myself, by myself. Not that I did anything special. I pretty much just sat around watching TV and videos online. It was a good and restful day. *sigh*

Sun Nov 5, My old coworker from the first years I started working at San Marino came in today to cover someone's shift. It's been a long time since I've seen her, though I sometimes contact her online. It's not the same though. I mention this because it was just nice to see her after so long. Last year she got me a nice Christmas present, but I never got her anything back. This year I want to get her something super nice. But what? I say to myself that I'll find her something on my trip up north. But that NEVER happens. I'm terrible at this.

I had this plan to go to Disneyland today. I was all set. That was until I went on social media and saw that T was at at the park and it was Dandy day. That threw a monkey wrench into my plans. NO WAY I was going to the park on this day. It ruined my plans. I guess I could have still gone, but I didn't want to deal with those dopes at the park. It fucking sucked, because I really wanted to have some yummy Disneyland food. I'll aim for next weekend.

TheDesire posted a photo I took of her back in 2011 on her FB feed. It was one of those "memory" posts that pop up years after the original post. That's fine. I went ahead and "liked" it, but didn't make a comment. I didn't have to. I liked my work. But of course things don't happen in a vacuum.

And then... and then... then TheDesire texted me. You can see above what she wrote. Pretty much wanted to text me over the last year, but she didn't. OK. I felt the same way. Kinda. I didn't feel the need to text her back of course. I was OK not contacting her now. We shall see where all this goes, but it was kinda nice to hear from her after such a long time. I told Vagabundo that I think it's a good idea to keep her on my side as an ally at the library. There is a need to have friends and allies against some of the stupider elements at the library. Like Benedict and AD, for example.

Mon Nov 6, Apparently the flag was supposed to be at half staff on the flag pole. I joked with someone that at this point there was no point in not having it permanently at half staff. It's half a joke, half not a joke. These horrible shootings keep happening and no one seems to be coming up with a solution for this other than putting more regulations on guns. I'm not saying that isn't an option, but that doesn't get to the root of the problem. Yes, curtailing certain people from getting guns will help prevent some of these shootings, but not all of them. And perhaps there's no way to stop all of them. But our culture is a gun culture. We find the solution to any problem at the end of a gun, but that's not where more solutions end. If the problems we all faced were that easy to solve then they wouldn't even need to get to the point of having to be dealt with guns.

For dinner I went to McD's and had the pork sandwich. It wasn't as good as I remember it. But memory does distort some things. But yeah, I ate it and I don't have to again for a while.

The other night I came home and noticed that the string of lights that illuminate the front patio of the house were weak. Not only were they weak, but some of the lights were out, and of course that made it even darker outside. I decided to buy a new string of lights, and after I got home tonight I installed them. Boy oh boy are the new lights bright. Not only are they bright, the light is not as warm. As you can see in the picture above, the lights do illuminate the area pretty well. Slowly I've been trying to get more light around the house. Last year we had that almost break-in, and that was scary. If lights can deter a possible break-in I'll just keep right on buying lights.

Tue Nov 7, I start today with a picture of the upstairs fiction shelves. One in particular, pictured above, does not have a label. There are many others in the library that don't have labels for whatever reason. The ones that are labeled have such small fonts that you have to be right next to them to see the letters. But, what this paragraph is about is a "report" that AD added to last week's weekly email. Some dope wrote a sweetheart "report" on the library for their supposed "library class." I say sweetheart because it was glowing, and of course didn't point out ANY of the problems I have written about here ad nauseam. In the BS report they state, "This space, combined with the clearly labeled bookshelves and materials, made the collection easy to browse." Clearly they didn't pass by this and the many other shelves that DON'T have clearly labeled bookshelves. What a fucking dope. Of course AD choose to highlight this idiotic and naive report, because it says nothing negative. Nothing negative is their motto. They don't want to hear that the bathrooms smell like a sewer. They don't want to hear that the carpet is coming up all over the building. They don't want to hear the laundry list of things WRONG with the library. That's because on the top of the list is Maleficent and AD. This is their shit pile. They own it and they can eat shit.

I took some pictures, but really I don't need to display them here to illustrate that Benedict didn't do his job yesterday. I don't need to show you the money bag that was supposed to go to treasury yesterday. I sure don't need to show you the not consolidated bins in the van. I also don't need to show you the candy wrappers in the van. I certainly don't need to show you the hand truck that was jammed into the side door instead of placed in the van correctly. I don't need to show you this quite frankly because you have already seen it. And you should believe that it was the same today.

My lunches lately have been kinda whatever. I decided to get some guac and chips to add to my lunch and make it a little better. It did. This might have to be something I do more often.

When I got to Casa Vagabundo was taking his break and he mentioned that an email went out saying that Krishna was the interim manager of Pacific and Adams. Of course, as predicted. It's only a matter of time until they make her the full manager. Next prediction that will come true will be TheDesire getting the Casa/Grandview manager job. That will come soon, but not before the end of the year.

Of course Vagabundo and me predicted these moves MONTHS ago. No one ever gets it that we know what we're talking about. We don't just put our finger in the air and see in what direction the wind is blowing. We analyze, we think, and we logically think it out. When we say something is going to happen it's not because we're guessing. It's because we have some knowledge that leads us to the logical conclusion.

Wed Nov 8, As I walked into work this morning I saw a guy in the parking lot with his hood up. I could see that he was checking his oil. I watched as he took the dip stick out and check it and then use a leaf to clean off the oil. I mean come on. Use your fucking shirt, you asshole. Why do people think these sort of actions are OK in any way? Fucking hate people.

TheGirl and I usually go out to our Wednesday night dinner. But the last time we went out one of us brought up the past when TheGirl was living at her previous place. Back then we would sometimes go out for dinner, but most of the time we would stay in. We haven't really done that very often lately, so TheGirl mentioned she would cook for us tonight. The meal was supposed to be pasta with a specific tomato sauce. But, when she went to the store they didn't have that sauce. She bought another sauce and we had a nice dinner at home with Cheyenne and Chan.

Thu Nov 9, As I was getting things ready for the run to Pasadena I was given seven money bags to take to treasury. I asked the full-timer that gave them to me, "Why so many?" He just said that Benedict didn't take them yesterday. I responded, "He never takes them." The full-timer just laughed. But I knew this was not going to be an ordinary let it slide day. Something had to be done. When I went to treasury they reminded me that the money has to be taken every day (assuming we have money, of course).

When I went back to Central after the Pasadena/city hall run Les came out to ask my coworker something and that's when I let it fly. I told him that I had to take seven bags to treasury today because Benedict didn't even go to treasury. Les responded by saying, "I've talked to him about this in the past." Yeah, well, it didn't take. Just then Achee throws in on the conversation and says, "I wasn't going to say anything, but since we're talking about Benedict I want to add something." She went on to tell Les about how Benedict was throwing bins around yesterday and slamming the door and was generally in a bad mood. Bad isn't the word to describe how Achee said Benedict was throwing bins around the place. In the last couple of weeks I've heard a lot of people say that he is in a bad mood. Ah yeah, because I do know something about this. Benedict talked to Misa about how he thinks everyone at work is a phony and two faced (BTW, these are all qualities he possesses). He went on to tell Misa that he hates the job and didn't expect to still be doing this a year into the job. Ah, what? I know when I was training him that he wanted to use the library job as a stepping stone to a better and full-time city job. All of which don't grow on trees. I've known people that work with me that have actively tried to get jobs outside the library and have failed for over five years. It's NOT THAT EASY. But Benedict thought he would light the world on fire and that by now he would be AD's assistant. No way Benedict. Not only is it too soon, it's also true that he haven't proven himself to be reliable. Everyone now sees what he is... lazy. He has been so blatant about his actions that everyone knows he's not a good worker. He cuts corners. He disappears. He's constantly on his phone. Not good.

And then a story comes out through Les as we're telling him about Benedict that he got in a big row with Krishna yesterday over not wanting to wait for something to be packed in order for him to move it to another location. Delivering things is our fucking job. I may not like it when they give me a refrigerator to take to wherever, but I do it. It's my job. I later talked to Krishna about it and she filled in the blanks of the story. She told me that this wonderful new scanner/copier was to be moved from Pacific to Adams. Not sure why, but whatever. Well, they tell Benedict that he has to take it and he just wheels it out to the van. Krishna said that she rushed out and told him that they had to disassemble it in order not to damage it. To be fair this machine is a piece of shit, but it's an expensive piece of shit. Because of that there should be care given that it's not broken since it is fragile. But Benedict was going to just throw it in the back of the van. He didn't want to wait, despite the fact that Krishna was insisting. He called Les in order to I guess get some sort of an advocate to his reasoning that he couldn't wait. Les of course told him he had to wait, I can only assume. Les did mention that he didn't know why Benedict is always in such a hurry. I should have added that he leaves HOURS before I do, but of course because he don't make half the stops. I did point out to Achee and Krishna that Benedict going to Adams FIRST on the route means that there are no books for him to pick up on a Monday. Mainly because those branches open later in the day and have not had time to process the books from the bookdrop or their pull list. Achee added that Benedict was angry because he mentioned that the police had pulled him over for the third time for not having plates and for speeding. And that they gave him a ticket, but for which offense I don't know. I'm assuming the speeding, because the plates is just a fix-it ticket that wouldn't cost him anything. That's no reason to be angry at your co-workers. But as I just stated a little while back, he's not angry about those things only. He's angry that he hasn't moved up the ranks quickly. Vagabundo points out that Benedict had some early victories. He not only got a nice big raise quicker than quick, he also parlayed his "friendship" with that Stupid Sharon woman into that "event coordinator" job. He really did think he would be moving up the ladder quickly. But Stupid Sharon left and he was only left with his "friendship" with AD. Which I think he messed up with that stupid video that he sent to the ENTIRE library.

After a full day of this I went home and enjoyed just sitting. My buddy got off work and called me to discuss all this stuff from today and he mentioned that I should check the work email. In it was an announcement that Les was going to be moved to Casa and would be the boss there. Wow! This is a demotion for sure. To go from the circulation manager to just the manager at Casa is absolutely a downgrade. And the added bonus, he won't be in charge of Casa and Grandview, but just Casa. Ice will still be in charge of Grandview. Which, I must say, pretty much runs itself at this point. Amazing! They have installed Keyvon to be the circulation chief. Oh maybe this will get us who want Benedict to do his job or leave more traction. Keyvon is many things, but I think that he gets it on some level. This is a good thing, I believe.

Fri Nov 10, I don't even remember the last time I hung out with Dane. It has to have been six months at least. Since today was my day off I decided to hang out with him for a little bit. I went to Pacific library to pick him up. We were just chatting when this dummy comes up asking, "Do you have a driver's license?" I tell him no, Dane says nothing. The guy addresses me, but without looking at me, and says, "Why do people have to pull this racist shit on me... I was talking to him." He's pointing at Dane as he says that, but he really isn't looking at him or me. In his arms, cradled like a baby, is what I think looks like a pipe or a metallic roll. It turned out to be something akin to a metal pipe. He went away, but I was worried he might try something. As he walked around he stopped by a light pole and said something while then hitting the pole with the metal pipe.

After our run-in with that idiot we went off to Burbank. Dane hadn't been there in years and he likes to get out. He talked about a certain bookstore and sure enough we were just around the corner from a bookstore. This thing was PACKED with books. It's almost impossible to know where anything is in this store. Still, it was cool to check out the store.

We continued to walk around Burbank, ending up at city hall (pictured above). I like the city hall building in Burbank, it looks like an old WPA building.

After Burbank I took my buddy and I to get some burgers. I wanted to go to a place closer to Glendale, but we didn't go there. The burgers where I took Dane aren't the best, but they're not too bad. After lunch Dane wanted to go up to Montrose to walk around. We went up and down the main drag and by then I was getting mighty tired. I dropped Dane off at the library and went on my merry way home.

Sat Nov 11, I hadn't jerked off in probably a week due to just being tired or having to go to bed early for work. But last night nothing was going to prevent me from jerking it. I write about it here not to be crude but to just mention it in relation to something I told Dane yesterday. I told him I was tired at one point in the day and he turned around and said, "I'm sure you wouldn't be saying that if I was a pretty girl." I told him that I wasn't so sure about that. Then I added that I'm not even sure what I could do with a woman if I was lucky enough to sleep with one. It's a terrible feeling to feel this tired all the time. Like last night the one above pops up on the website I was on and dammit if she didn't become the "girlfriend" for the night. I had the energy for that, but full on sex with a woman isn't the same as jerking it.

Sun Nov 12, I woke up with a slight tickle in my throat. I was thinking that I had escaped the cold this year, but I guess I was wrong. I usually get sick in October. Which makes it sucky that I might be sick now, so late in the year. Dammit! I took some pills this morning and that really helped me get through the day.

About two weeks ago I bought an inexpensive cell phone with really inexpensive service in order to give it to my aunt so I could track her when she goes out. It worked like a charm today. OK, it did have some issues, but it also helped me know where she was most of the time. I was able to to track her well enough that I picked her up at the bus stop after she went to visit my Godmother and then ran some errands.

Mon Nov 13, I don't usually work the reference desk on Mondays, but today I was asked to cover for the children's librarian. It was chill, because the children's desk doesn't get THAT many questions. I still had a lot of work to do when it comes to my projects. In short, it gave me time to print out the posters for the start of the bookmark contest on Wednesday. But then, I also had to throw in on the circulation desk, because one of the staff was not replaced while she is out on vacation. This meant that I not only had to deal with the children's desk, but then I had to give the adult desk their break, and then still throw in with the one clerk on the circulation desk. It's not right.

No Monday would be complete without playing roughhouse with Cheyenne. Tonight Cheyenne tired out faster than usual. Which was fine, since we did go pretty hard. Pictured above is a very tired puppy.

Tue Nov 14, This past Friday was a holiday. As such I didn't need to wake up super early like a regular Friday morning. I therefore turned off my alarms and slept in a bit. Well, stupid me forgot to reset those alarms to wake me up and I overslept this morning. Thankfully I didn't sleep SO late. I still had time to jump into a shower, but not enough time to eat something. I figured I could get something while on the route. When I arrived at work there were fifteen bins going to Pasadena. It made me wonder if Benedict took any yesterday. To be fair, maybe it "was" a busy day yesterday.

When I got into the van I turned the key to start it and was blasted by the A/C being on full blast. I know I've forgotten to turn it down when I'm leaving the van in the evening.

This is the latest in a long line of these kind of entries in which I mention that the blue bins have not been consolidated the day before. It's a little thing, but the little things count. I've shown here time and time again that I've been able to save one, two, and sometimes three bins for the delivery just by consolidating what is already there. The bin pictured above under the other blue bin only had about five books in it. It's such a waste of bins to not consolidate. But, with Benedict it's a waste of time for him to consolidate, since he's racing to get off work.

Just before I was going to head up to Brand Benedict sends me a text message asking if I have a minute. I called him up. He wanted to know if he could switch a day with me, because he was going to a job interview tomorrow. The job that was intended for Misa. He wanted to shine it on, because he was told that it was Misa's job to lose. But one never knows with these things. I told him I couldn't switch with him since I had to work at San Marino tomorrow, and they needed me. Both true. He went on to tell me that it was OK. He was thinking of shinning it on, but the lady at HR told him it would be a bad idea if he didn't show up. Well, duh! So, he was taking her advice and going to the interview.

Because of my oversleeping I ate breakfast late. Of course because I ate breakfast late that meant that I wasn't hungry during the time I usually have lunch. I finally had lunch at Brand, which was nice to revisit after so long not taking a break there.

As you may or may not know I'm the special delivery guy on the route. No way Benedict could be that, since he abandons his duties. Today they had me picking up two items, one a ladder and the other a tool chest. There was no problem picking up the ladder. That was easy peasy. The tool chest was another thing. First they said they needed the credit card that was used to purchase the tool chest. Of course I don't have it. Then they tell me that they don't have the thing. Something about their system sometimes sending notices before the item has arrived. Yeah, right. Because that's a thing. Whatever, I returned to Central with a ladder and no tool chest. I'll go tomorrow.

Wed Nov 15, When I got home on Monday I thought that I had forgotten my lunch pale/bag in the car. I went back to the car and sure enough it wasn't there. The only conclusion that made sense was that stupid me left it at work in San Marino. Sure enough, I went in today and there was the lunch pale where I left it. ARGH! What a dope. I had to use a ice chest the last two days to get my lunch to work. And, yesterday while on the route I didn't have all the cables I needed to keep my failing phone from dying.

There was a staff meeting this morning, that I totally forgot was happening. But what I didn't miss was our annual staff photo. I waited until the last minute to pop into the picture since in years past I've gone in early and then next thing you know my section has people crowding around and basically crowding me out of the picture. Not OK.

TheGirl and I had dinner without puppy tonight. She wanted to go to her favorite Mexican restaurant, where they serve really strong margaritas. She was telling me how the antidepressants she's on don't allow her to cry. Of course that's the cost of those pills. They even you out so much that you end up not feeling anything. In my opinion that's worse than feeling bad or sad. You can't feel joy without the contrasting feeling of sadness. I would like it if she stopped taking those pills. It was strange, because she was telling me some part of the story of the night of our first official "date." That night was seven years ago this December. We had set up a day where we would go out officially. On date night she received a call telling her that her father had passed away. She wanted to still go through with the date, and her intentions were to not tell me and just enjoy the night. But she broke down as soon as she arrived and told me that he had died. I never got to meet the man I had heard so much about. She repeated to me the fact that she had already told me, that he was told by his caretaker that she had left her husband. In TheGirl's mind that was all he needed to hear. He then passed. All the while that she's telling me this story I'm crying, but she didn't shed a tear. Those pills are bad. She did laugh like a child when we went back to her place and she was playing with Cheyenne.

Just as I was going home Vagabundo texts me to tell me that Bundy was asking him questions about the route and how we handle the money bags. He also told me that Bundy wanted to talk to me tomorrow. Hey, I don't mind telling Bundy all the details that I know about Benedict not doing his work. Funny enough Bundy did get to the central idea that Benedict not doing his job means that I have to do his job for him. Ah, yeah. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Benedict's actions have made him a marked man in that system. Every time he interacts with our coworkers he fucks it up. Could this be the final nail in the coffin? I dare not say, because Benedict is a slippery one. And I suspect that AD is spineless and won't fire him because she get her ass kissed super well by Benedict.

Thu Nov 16, Nothing is going to change with this guy. Every morning I follow him there is always going to be an issue with the bins. Whatever, today might be the start of Benedict's reckoning.

And this is how the beginning of his end might start... the money bags. For MONTHS he's been skipping out on his duty to take the money to the treasury. There are issues about having money for too long and the chain of custody. This is because a couple of years ago there was an audit of the treasury department and they came up with some new rules to make sure the money isn't lost. Well, Benedict ignores all that and just takes the money bags for a ride and then just places the in the green bin we have at circulation that used to be the designated area for the money bags in lieu of a safe during the renovation. He picked the wrong day to do this shit. The guy who notices everything started early today and he giggled when I told him about the eight money bags.

Vagabundo already warned me that Bundy was going to question me by the time that Bundy texted me asking me what time I started work this morning. I told him 8am. He told me he wanted to talk to me. When I arrived at Casa I was ready for my performance. Bundy asked and I answered about the route, about Benedict, and about the money bags not getting to treasury on time. Bundy told me that he was concerned about this and that he had already written AD and Mala. As a side note let me just remind you who is one day reading all this stuff that this is certainly not the first time someone has emailed AD about Benedict. Accusations are not evidence, I keep saying that about all these allegations towards men. However, there is a vortex of around Benedict that points to him not doing his job correctly. It also points to him being petty and vindictive. Having yet ANOTHER employee point a finger at Benedict SHOULD make AD wonder why this continues to happen to Benedict. Either everyone is out to get Benedict or he's guilty of something. I would hope AD makes the logical jump to seeing that he's just not right. Vagabundo never had these problems while driving. The driver I replaced didn't either. Certainly I've never had these problems. And yet in just over a year Benedict has had many complaints about his work. Does it show a pattern? It does to me.

I just wonder what will happen now that AD and Mala know about this from Bundy. Like I just said, these aren't the first time allegations have been leveled at Benedict. And they certainly won't be the last. I told AD nearly a year ago when the whole thing with Jade went down that this guy was not OK. But did she listen? No one listens. Least of all her. I still wonder what will come of all this. Will they just tell him to go to treasury and that's it? Will this flag him in their minds? Most likely they will not want to deal with this stuff and will sweep it under the rug as best they can. That is, until this happens again down the road in a few months.

I was fairly early on the route, and I didn't have much in the way of bins, which made me think it was best to go to Sears right off instead of going back to Central. I went and they gave me the same story that they did on Tuesday. That being that they needed the credit card that was used to buy the items. Last time I was close, because one of the employees was going to override that requirement in the computer. Today one of the guys just told me that there was no way I was getting that item without the credit card. Sure enough, I had to call the library and get Maleficent's credit card number. Just as she she was going to give me the last few digits one of the employees told me that they would override the requirement in the computer. I went on my merry way back to Central with the tool chest. Mission accomplished.

When I was leaving I saw Jade and told him good night. He told me that the treasury department sent the library an email that highlighted the city charter showing that the money has to be sent to treasury in a timely manner. Sometimes that we know Benedict doesn't do. Because yesterday he took the money with him, but didn't take it to treasury, Jade told me. Benedict brought it back untouched and just placed it in a bin we have in circulation. This is NOT OK, and perhaps this is what damns Benedict the most.

Fri Nov 17, When I arrived today I noticed there was someone working on the sorting machine, from this point known as Cerberus. It was just one guy in the sorting room fiddling around the machine. More on this later. Suffice to say it's about time. It has been over six weeks since this fucking thing was installed. I want to see it on so that it can fail.

I went to city hall and there were 6000 fliers waiting for me at the graphics department. Apparently the guy at Central messed up some things and the graphics guy was telling me that they had to do the whole thing again. He added that it wasn't right that the dopes at Central don't proof read things. He continued to say that the people at the library do this all the time, and that it costs REAL money to redo everything. He added that it was not the responsibility of the people at the graphics department to proof their work. They get the file and they print it. That's it.

As an aside, as I was running around from the dock area to graphics I opened the door to the basement and right in front of me was TheGirl's husband... TheHusband. I held the door open for him and he said, "Thank you sir," as he walked past me. Kinda crazy.

When I got back from city hall I saw that Benedict was in circulation. The way he greeted me shows me that they haven't talked to him yet. I figure that they're going to wait until Keyvon is installed at the new circulation boss to have him deal with Benedict. Or they could have Les talk to him again next week. Either way, he'll play "nice" for a while and then return to his old ways. This will mean he will get away with another problem. But wait, because with Benedict there's a problem around the corner.

When I reached Chevy I was already hungry. So I figured that I would have my lunch there. As soon as I arrived some dopey women showed up and got out of their car. They went up to the front door and tried to open it. ARGH, I thought. If they stick around I would be forced to interact with them. Thankfully the dopes walked to the back of the library/fire department. In that time I went inside to heat up my lunch and hide. Just as I was going into the building a van pulled up and a guy got out. I wanted to sign for the package, but I was still afraid that those dopey women would be around and would see the door open. So I just shined it on and went into the kitchen. The delivery guy didn't leave the package. I just hate that even in the supposed sanctuary of Chevy these dopes still manage to disturb my lunch.

When I got back from the route I noticed the guy working on Cerberus wasn't around. I also noticed a hugely ugly power conduit running from a new power box to the machine. Could this guy place this fucking conduit in a worse location? Well, whatever. The fucking machine is already a huge eyesore. There's a window that's supposed to allow patrons to look into the sorting room and see the machine work. Of course these dopes cut the hole for the outside bookdrop in the wrong place. This is why the machine has this S curve in the middle of the room. Right where the viewing window is located. Bad design follows bad design which follows worse idea. These dopes can eat shit.

I avoided it last month, but I didn't want to avoid it again... what I'm talking about is dinner with Misa and Vagabundo. I felt bad last time, but at the same time I didn't, because I just want to rest most Fridays. Today I was good. We took Misa to a really nice Italian restaurant in downtown. I've been there with TheGirl a few times and with TheDesire once. It has really good food. The wait was an hour when we got there, so we decided to walk around the Grand Central Market across the street. The market has changed so much over the years. It's now a bunch of food stalls and hardly any produce stalls. It's certainly not the market I used to go to when I was a child.

Dinner was good. Really good. We all shared a little bit from our dishes. The last time I went was with TheDesire and the food was good, but not THIS good. I'm glad we went out and showed Misa a good time. She has faced and will face so many struggles that it's nice to just get away.

Mon Nov 20, Today was the deadline for finishing this current newsletter project. Pseudo supervisor basically told me that she doesn't have the inertia to get this thing going. This, despite the fact that it was her idea and that she sold her board on it. She keeps telling me she wants to change aspects of her life. I think she's burnt out on this job. Dang.

As is the Monday tradition I visited TheGirl on a Monday night. I was a little late because I had to work on the newsletter assignment. But, that doesn't mean Cheyenne isn't going to be ready for some roughhousing. Sure enough, we played. But, puppy got tired faster than in the past. She also goes and plays harder than in the past. So yeah, at the end of the night we have a tired puppy. TheGirl also pulled her blanket over Cheyenne and had a good time doing that. Too cute.

Tue Nov 21, It's so great to pull up to the ticket machine at the parking garage across the street from the library and see the above sign saying that the system is being upgraded. Ah, more like the fucking thing crashed. Everyone is just a turd polisher.

Now we come to the sorting machine, Cerberus. Today marks SEVEN weeks since the thing was completely installed. And of course it STILL isn't operational. Last week they installed the power, but does that mean it's on? Nope. It's still just a hulking shell and a waste of money. That' the important thing to remember. This thing costs money even while it just sits in the sorting room, motionless. It shall be a monument to the administrator's failed policies.

Of course Benedict didn't do a good job with yesterday's bins. Case in point today's bins. Just look at the photo above and check out the books that are sticking out. That is NOT OK. But, it does fit his pattern of not doing his work. I won't bore you with more details, but suffice to say he's a lazy idiot.

Speaking of not doing his job, Snow emailed Jade to tell him about the portable movie screen that needed to be delivered to Grandview today. This is because Benedict didn't want to take it yesterday. The way the story goes, Snow asked him to take the screen to Grandview. His response was that he had already been to Grandview. If he had gone than he's doing the route in the wrong sequence. If he didn't then he's just an out and out liar.

Later I spoke to my my buddy about this whole encounter between Snow and Benedict and he told me that Snow was making excuses for Benedict. The main one that teed me off was her saying that he had a child to look after, and that she, "Didn't want to get him in trouble." Ah, what??? That's fucking bullshit! Not get him in trouble for not doing his job? How else is someone like his fucking supervisor going to know that he's not doing the job unless someone like Snow says something? It's so not fair. In the past I've gotten "In trouble" for fall less serious things than not doing my job. I somehow have to point out to Keyvon or someone in charge that Benedict is stealing from the city by clocking out later than he actually leaves work. I don't have the direct evidence of that. But I know Keyvon has access to such information.

The delivery was unusual today in that Brand had sixteen bins. Most of those were new books. But that amount of bins represented more than half of the delivery today. Once I delivered those books I was able to cruise the rest of the route. It was kinda incredible that I had so many Brand bins. But then again, Benedict doesn't deliver to Brand on Mondays. So of course I get the big delivery on Tuesday.

After all the delivery drama it was nice to just go home. My aunt went to visit my Godmother today, mainly because my stupid cousin fucked her over yesterday. See, the place where my Godmother is needs us to sign some papers. But, because my aunt had such a late start she didn't get to the place on time to find the people that she needed to see. This is why she went there today. Well, the place is relatively close to my Glendale job, so I called her when I got off work and told her I would pick her up. But, it turned out she was already on the bus heading towards Hollywood. I told her to get off soon and to tell me where she was. To make a long story short I had to battle through traffic to reach her an then battle to get home. She was hungry and so was I. She tells me, "Why don't we get something to eat before going home?" I said sure. Where we were to home would have been nearly an hour at that point. So I changed our course and drove us to Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake.

Just after we ordered dinner I received a text from Mala. She wanted to know the details of the route. I was happy to oblige. I told her I would email her the details, because I know that they are more complicated than a text would allow. When I got home I talked to my buddy a little, but then I cut it off because I needed to concentrate on the email. I was so sleepy, but I championed through writing the major details of the route. I wanted to also point out to Mala that the route isn't some arbitrary thing the likes of Benedict should be changing. I went to bed hoping for the best with this email.

Wed Nov 22, This morning I checked my work email and found a response from Mala (pictured above). I like how these dopes don't understand just how much we drivers have to do during the day. There are some details that I left out of the Mala email, and yet there were still a lot of details she had. As you can see from her reaction email she didn't know just how many things we actually do during the route.

As part of the bookmark contest I cut out some figures featuring the librarians, including TheLamp. Here she is reacting to the cut out on display. I think she's been working out a bit, because lately her figure just looks nicer. *sigh*

I think many people have already left town. Or at least in this community. The schools aren't even in session today. That made for a really quiet shift. just how I like it.

TheGirl and I had dinner, a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. She's going to have dinner with her family, and I'm going on my trip. After dinner TheGirl played with Cheyenne and her blanket. Poor thing hit the furniture at one point because she couldn't see where she was going. It was funny though.

Thu Nov 23, The day of my trip FINALLY arrived. I wanted to get an early start. But of course my old body didn't want to wake up so early. Despite that I was able to get on the road up North by 7:30am.

My first stop on my trip up North was Solvang. I had this idea that I would pick up a sandwich at this place that I've had a couple of meals. But, they were closed today. Online they didn't say they would be closed, but I should have known that they wouldn't be open.

With no sandwich in Solvang I went on my merry way to SLO. When I got there I topped off the gas tank and then went to a nearby Carnegie library. It's no longer used as a library, but I didn't care. I had this notion last week that I would visit as many Carnegie libraries on this trip that I could visit.

By that theme, when I became a little hungry half way up my trip I stopped in Paso Robles to visit the Carnegie library there and get a meal. It is poignant that the first two Carnegie libraries I visited were now taken over by historical societies.

I never thought I would be eating anything in Paso Robles, so this is why I didn't research any good food there. This is why I ended up having McD's for lunch. I had originally thought of going to Wendy's, but they were closed for Thanksgiving. I sense a pattern here. Of course McD's was PACKED with people wanting a meal. To say nothing about the drive-thru. I got my meal and ate it in my car. I didn't want to deal with the local dopes, who looked at me with so much contempt they couldn't hide it.

Once back on the road it wasn't very long before Chan and I were within striking distance of our destination. I stopped in order to take some photos. Especially one of Chan in front of the Spreckles volunteer fire department.

In years past I've found it hard to find a place open in town where I could get a meal. Because of this I decided to kill some time before the 3pm check-in time at my hotel and get myself a sandwich at the local market. It's a good thing I did, because of course I became hungry later in the night.

We finally arrived at our destination!

As has become a personal tradition, I had dinner at the Carl's Jr. in Pacific Grove.

After dinner Chan and I went down to Asilomar beach for a nice view of the sunset. Sadly the clouds did not cooperate with my idea to take a picture of the sunset. Good thing Chan is such a photogenic monkey.

In the past I have retired to my room fairly early. Tonight I wanted to break that pattern by heading into downtown Monterey and walking around. Mission accomplished. I ended up walking to the wharf.

I walked around downtown a bit, but nothing really drew me in.

Back home my family came by to visit my aunt. I know she said that she didn't want anyone coming around this weekend. However, she can't fool me. Unlike me, she actually wants the company of our family. I am glad they went over though.

Chan posing at our room's doorway. It's nearly time for bed.

In the few years I've been visiting Carmel I've had a tradition of visiting one particular restaurant. But, earlier this month the place closed down. I went by there tonight and sure enough the windows were covered. So sad. I had a lot of good meals there.

It was late, but I decided to head down to Carmel beach.

I was the only one down at the beach. I wanted that alone time in a weekend of being alone. I probably had fifteen minutes... tops. But that was enough to recharge my battery. The solitude, the sea, all of that moment filled my body with the resolve to make it another year before I can come back up here again.

Fri Nov 24, I had this idea that I would go to Point Lobos this morning. But, my lazy ass didn't get up out of bed in time to make the trip down there worthwhile.

I didn't stick around Garrapata for long. My plan was to hike one of the Andrew Molera trails to the beach. Because of flooding I couldn't access another trail that I was considering. Dang.

I hiked down to the beach. It was strange that it was so warm. Whenever I've traveled to Carmel during this time of year it's always super cold. Today, it was close to 80 degrees, easily.

The positive part of it being warm is that there were actually girls on the beach wearing bikinis. This one girl, pictured above, kept prancing in front of where I was taking pictures of the beach and the surfers. Thank the maker.

Part of the plan to go into Big Sur was to have lunch at the River Inn. I had a yummy tri-tip sandwich. What was really good was the root beer and of course the view. The sandwich hit the spot, but it also turned into a giant sleeping pill in my belly.

I made a quick stop at the Big Sur Lodge, but after that I booked it to Carmel to chill in my room a little bit. I was just tired. I passed out and came to about an hour later. By then I started to drink.

I drank and turned on the TV. Anne of Green Gables, the sequel was on. It was towards the end. I still have the biggest crush on the actress that played Anne.

I was getting hungry, so I hit the streets to find something to eat. The place I would normally go to, the Mexican restaurant that has become a tradition, is now closed. I walked by it an sure enough it was closed. That place was great, because it was a guaranteed good meal and good booze.

I walked around, tried a couple of places, but nothing really drew me in. I went to the Italian restaurant I visited with TheGirl earlier this year. They told me that the wait would be forty-five minutes. Meanwhile I could see that there were at least three empty tables. Granted, I can't be sure that they didn't have reservations. Still, I thought it was a dick move, so I walked out. I went back to my room and had the second half of a sandwich I bought before I went to the hotel just in case something like this happened.

My belly full of sandwich and booze I contemplated just how nice it was to be here. I do miss this place when I'm not here. But of course I'm also homesick. I also worry about my aunt.

Sat Nov 25, For my second full day I wanted to get some breakfast at a place in Pacific Grove. But, the two places that I wanted to check out were packed. I ended up going to a fast food joint and then driving out to the Point Pinos Lighthouse.

I decided to walk around Pacific Grove in order to take a picture of the library there, which happens to be a Carnegie library.

This woman was one of many that came up to the library only to notice it was closed. It's a universal truth that no one ever knows when the library is closed. My buddy pointed out that since it's a service thing people expect it to always be open. This is true. I know that if the library was open twenty-four hours a day people would be there twenty-four hours a day.

I walked around a bit more and then decided to check out the Carnegie library in Monterey.

I went to the good sandwich shop and bought myself a giant pastrami sandwich. I had the idea to take it back to my room and eat it on the patio. Well, that didn't quote work out. First I had to drive around for at least fifteen minutes. Once I got the sandwich I went to the market to get some soda. Then I went back to the hotel, but every parking spot was taken in their parking lot. I then drove around for another fifteen minutes until I found a parking spot across the street. Then I went to my room, got things ready and then boom, someone sat on the table in the patio. I ended up just eating my sandwich in my room.

It wasn't until hours later that I finally got to sit on the patio table. I didn't eat, I pretty much just edited some pictures for this entry.

Sun Nov 26, And of course the day I have to leave arrives. I do love coming up here, but I'm not sure that I should come back here next year. Coming up here alone is kinda hard. I don't have much energy most days to do so many things. I find that I can go until around 2pm and then after that I just want to go back to the room and rest. Which is fine, it's my vacation. But part of me feels I should be doing something. Then again, who says I should? I should learn how to just enjoy not doing anything on these vacations.

Before I left I decided to head to Carmel beach. I'm glad I did. It was nice to have that last view before I hit the road.

I went to the beach and when I walked back it became harder to walk. When I got to the car I could see why. While cleaning my feet I noticed that my shoe was broken. The other night I noticed it was super torn up, so I actually bought a new pair that night.

I had a notion that I would finish up my pastrami sandwich on my way home. I figured I could stop in Paso Robles and visit the park that had that library. It was good because I could stop there and not only rest and eat, but also use the restroom. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. I ended up getting off the highway and visiting the mission San Miguel. It served the purpose of having a bathroom and I ate my lunch.

I had this idea that I would stop at Andersen's and use their restrooms and fuel up. Well, their bathrooms were closed, so booked it to the gas station and decided that in addition to the fuel I would spend a few bucks and get the car washed. The poor thing was filthy. But not after the wash.

I stopped in Santa Barbara for another meal, but the place I wanted to get food from was packed. Story of this trip. I went to a local park and used the restroom there. I then booked it out of town and arrived home starving and tired. It was a good trip, but I wonder how many more of these long drives I can handle.

Tue Nov 28, The stupid sorting machine, from now on known here at Cerberus, is FINALLY getting power hooked up to it. Not that it's going to be any time soon that the machine will actually be working. And as soon as it is turned on it will be a failure. But, at least the electricians are finally here. Ha!

When I opened the side door of the van I saw the sight above. The hand cart on its side. Clearly Benedict is in such a hurry that he doesn't even have time to place the thing in the proper position. Of course, because I found out later that Benedict sat in the van for nearly two hours after finishing up the route. What a fucking douche.

One of the main consequences of Benedict doing the route all wrong is that the next day I show up, Tuesday, all the branches have bins that are overflowing. The way Benedict does the route he avoids all work. Because he does it in the incorrect order he doesn't have to pick up any books. He shows up so early that most people working the branches haven't even shown up. This is why I show up on a Tuesday and every bin is overflowing. This is not OK.

I've said it here before, but I'll repeat myself. Benedict doesn't pick up the fire station mail on his driving days. This is most glaring on a Tuesday when I show up and all the mail from the weekend and Monday has accumulated. The girl at fire mentions that he drops off the mail, but that he doesn't make ANY effort to pick up the outgoing mail. She even thinks that he deliberately goes to fire when it's her lunch hour. Could be.

And now on to a pleasant subject... ladies. One of the new pages at the branches is absolutely curvy (as you can see above). I'm an old man, which of course just enhances my desire to get to know this wonderful woman. She makes me feel a flutter. I friended her on social media, which is why I have the above picture. But I want more. I want to get to know her. It goes without saying that I would like to know her in a "Biblical" way. That is a TALL order. However, the kid here has done the impossible sometimes. Perhaps it's time to do it again.

Wed Nov 29, I had to do harassment training for San Marino today. Because I have my desk shift at 2pm I couldn't go to the 1pm session at San Marino. I ended up going to the La Cresenta city hall in order to fulfill the requirements set by the city. The new librarian, Becks, was there at the training. The crazy thing is that work called me during the training to ask me if I was OK. Because of course I told them that I was going to the training several times, but no one remembered that. Oh well, whatever!

Work was work. For dinner TheGirl and I went to a burger joint by her place. It's always good times when it comes to TheGirl and Cheyenne.

After dinner, TheGirl drove up the street to check out the Christmas lights. Chan wanted a picture with the lights, so I took the above picture. It's nearly Christmas!

Thu Nov 30, I walked into work and saw some papers on the soon to be former boss' desk. I couldn't help but look. I was in his office looking for some books that were going to be sent back to the bookstore. The above is an excerpt of something that was written on the book. AD is the author of the words. It points out that Mala said what had to be said. Of course I'll show you later that Benedict didn't really change his ways. In short, it looks like Mala is dead serious about all this. I seriously think Benedict's time at the library is limited. But, he's survived this long.

Here are three boxes full of books that I picked up from Pasadena today. Why? Because Benedict didn't take them yesterday. They were left with the outgoing delivery, but of course he didn't want to take them. So of course he left them for sucker me. Oh Benedict thinks he's slick, huh? He's just building his own gallows with his actions.

And last, but not least, we have CDs that Benedict should have just taken straight to Brand. But he didn't take the time to look at the papers and notice that he didn't have to take them into Central to sort. Most CDs go to Brand anyway. It's a known thing. Well, that is unless you're Benedict.

After work on Monday night I went to a burger joint up the street from work and enjoyed a pastrami burger.

While going on a special delivery for work I stepped out of the van and looked up at the San Gabriel mountains and saw how beautiful they looked thanks to the clear air.

I hung out with a friend and we ended up going up to Montrose for a walk. It was nearly sunset and the sign I pass oh so many time when I'm working at Glendale looked nice in the golden hour light.