currently listening to: Jeremy Enigk-World Waits 
Starting tonight at midnight, i will be on call for my student conductor trips from Kansas City to Des Moines and back. I will get a call 2 hours before I need to get to work. But, it won’t be so random because i’ll be able to follow online approximately when I’ll be called. Should be an interesting 2 weeks, as it will be a true taste of what I will be expecting throughout most of my career.
Currently playing: Wii Sports 
I finally got my Nintendo Wii today!! I just randomly strolled into a nearby bestbuy and there it was, right on the shelf. apparently that best buy got some late arrivals this morning and I happened to be there shortly after they put them out. There was about 10 left and i think most were gone by the time i finished checking out.
man i was in a whiny sour mood last night. lots better today. so just disregard what i wrote below. well, most of it anyway. actually, just some of it.
i thought of a new requirement for any future lady-friends. They need to be able to do their own taxes. Doing my own is mind boggling enough so I ain’t doing yours for you.
On a related and also positive note, I won’t be paying any federal taxes this year (and therefore getting a full refund)! Horray me!
As someone who hates failure and doesn’t deal with it well, this wasn’t a good day.
In my train simulator training I ran through a Form B track bulletin which protects men and equipment on the track. then I ran past a random red flag without stopping. The tests were extra tricky but either way I didn’t pass it. Its not a mandatory test for keeping my job or anything but its something I should be able to do.
That left me in a sour mood all day.
Tonight I couldn’t bowl well but one game out of 4. Rotten. Sick.
Like I’ve posted before, this is why i’m not great at anything, because i get too pissed when I fail.
Its days like this I wish I had my own place, my place to be away from everyone. soon enough.
I think this is also why I won’t get married. I’m far more afraid of being with the wrong person than I am of being single. Being single is a comfort zone. Its easy, its simple, I don’t have to deal with any B.S.
There’s enough to deal with in daily life, why compound it?
Anyway i’m wandering.
Starting next monday I will be on my student conductor trips for 3 weeks. I will be going from Kansas City to Des Moines…back and forth…and I should be doing most of the work myself, its supposed to be very hands-on unlike the 6 weeks of student yard work I did last month.
OK goodnight.
currently listening to: Arcade Fire-Funeral 
today i passed the final exam to be promoted to conductor with Union Pacific. While I am done with the classroom work, I still have to finish up some student road trips over the next month or so before I offically “mark up”. Marking up means I am free to start working on my own, bidding on jobs based on seniority and whatnot. I should be getting my schedule for the next month or so shortly.
Last weekend I had a blast in New Orleans. Its like one big college town really. Last friday we had some drinks on bourbon street then some of us went to the casino and played craps. We all lost but we enjoyed free drinks for hours.
Saturday of course was the wedding which was at the historic St. Louis Cathedral. From there we paraded down to the reception (it was literally a parade, there was a brass band leading the way and everyone danced and drank champagne as we walked). The reception was at the top of some building with a nice view of the Mississippi river. there was live music and an open bar. Everyone seemed to enjoy that.
All in all New Orleans is a nice place to visit but I doubt I’d live there. I was wore out from just one weekend!
Currently listening to: Jeremy Enigk-Return of the Frog Queen 
quick side note: I really like Mike&Ike’s. thats my favorite candy. keep it in mind for future present ideas.
Friday night i’ll be flying down to New Orleans for the first time in my life to be a groomsman in one of my best bud’s wedding, that being Ryan Laird. He’s already got a house down there with his fiance, he moved last month. Should be fun times, weddings can be well good if you are in them. Least thats been my experience.
In other news I started bowling regularly again, still generally in the upper 160s or so. My overall average since i first started is 149. Last 200 games though is 160. you should see my spreadsheet i keep track of it with, its neat.
currently listening to: Sonic Youth-Rather Ripped 
in topeka all week, working the 8am-noon or so shift. not really doing much on it though…glad this is the last week of student trips. ready to go back to the classroom for a few weeks.
yes i’m bored tonight.
bored enough that i started trying to figure out where i’ll likely end up over the next 6 months or so. after this week in topeka i have 2 weeks of conductor class in kansas city. then after that its conductor student trips (all on the road instead of what i’ve been doing these past 6 weeks which was mostly yard switching jobs-moving cars from different tracks to build trains) then remote control ops training. that will likely last until sometime in late march-early april. all of that will originate out of kansas city.
beyond that i’ll have two choices. get cutoff until there is availability for permanent work (based on seniority)in kansas city, (currently it looks like people return to kansas city 9 months after their hire date) or “borrow out” temporarily to another location. Since it won’t be until the end of july for my 9 months on the job, i will borrow out. because i’m not going to just flat out not work.
Some places that guys are currently borrowing out to include vacation hotspots like:
Coffeyville, KS (right on the KS-OK border in SE KS)
Vanburen, AK (northwest Arkansas about 45 min S of Fayettville)
St. Paul, or Mankato, or Valpark, or St. James, MN (all in the southern half of Minnesota)
Villagrove, IL (mid Illinois) or Chester, IL (southern Illinois)
Illmo, or Dexter, or St. Louis, MO (the first 2 are in the SE part of MO)
Mason City, IA (northern iowa) or Ft. Madison, IA (SE Iowa)
For the most part these are all in the middle of nowhere. not that it will matter, when you borrow out you are working constantly and hardly home. Most guys will pull in 3-4 times as much money while borrowed out compared to regular work.I’ll probably pay off my car just working those 4 months somewhere.
So thats how things are looking…and i will likely not be moving out of my parents until after i’m back in KC permanently. Sometime next fall.
