It's not the job...it's me!
Jan. 10th, 2001 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpTwo nights ago, I fired up the computer after getting home from work to check e-mail and do some LiveJournaling, but got sidetracked and tired. I went to sleep with the lights still burning in the downstairs office, and the computer lit up and ready to rock.
The next morning, I packed the computer and took it to the office to test a spreadsheet I had designed on a piece of scratch paper during the "in-between" time that occurs during the day. The spreadsheet works okay, but I ended up leaving the Sony at the store, which kept me offline for the rest of the evening. Then again, that was okay, as there appeared to be some sort of network glitch that prevented anyone in town from getting past the local ISP for most of the day anyway. Rumor had it that the problem was very widespread, with tentacles reaching as far out as California.
As it turned out, not having a working computer in the house was a survivable experience, just as was the snowfall that started in the early afternoon and continued on to the evening. It was the first time in 5 years since I'd seen the white stuff fly, and it covered the landscape and everything in it with 4 inches or so of fluffy powder. I'd forgotten how cold it was.
Getting home was a game and a half, since the roads were very slick. Keep in mind that the trick in snow driving is not being able to move - any fool can do that - it's being able to stop (and stay in control while doing both). I accomplished both tasks by traveling 20 mph on a 45 mph road, ticking off the person behind me (a real suicide jockey, who roared past as I turned off the iced highway onto the road home).
This morning, the snow on the ground appeared to confuse Ming, the (Merciless) Peke, who decided not to go for his usual constitutional down the driveway. Instead, he opted for a brisk walk around the backs of the cars, with all of the appropriate, strategically planned stops.
Every day continues to be a learning experience at the store. The aforementioned spreadsheet was designed to help automate the daily financial stuff that must be done to satiate the demands of the CPA, while another whole routine involves the daily dispatch of funds collected on behalf of the USPS.
I did some errands today, one of which involved settling accounts with the CPA, whose office is downtown. Although I passed through downtown on my way here last Monday, I have to admit I wasn't paying close attention to what had changed recently, which is not at all like walking down the main street and stopping to see old and new sights.
On a whim, when I walked past the "Pagosa Hotel Mall," where I rented office space for a ridiculously small sum years ago, I decided to go upstairs and see what the old place was like. My office had been incorporated into a giant suite occupied by a builder, and none of the old familiar tenants were left. While the floor looked the same, the air was filled with a faint odor reminiscent of liniment.
Back down to the street and to the right, I walked past the Jackisch Drug Store, which has occupied the premises, I think, since shortly after the Creation, and where, in August of 1995 (if memory serves) a small brown bear entered the store from the front, ambled down the center aisle, ignoring surprised customers, and then exited out the back door, past a tall stack of soda pop bottles, all without inflicting any damage on persons or property.
After a fairly routine day (which is not exactly the same as a quiet day), I applied myself to the task of disassembling the store's safe, which has not worked for some time, and which has sat, cracked open, since I bought the place.
It turns out that safes are pretty easy to deal with once they are open, which mine was. I used an ordinary Phillips head screwdriver to remove a sheet metal panel from the door, and to remove two screws that held in place a plate that covered the lock mechanism. Recovering the combination took a little time, though I was helped a bit by the former owner, who recalled approximate numbers (and not in order, as it turned out).
After I recovered the combination (and figured out the little two-step that must be done after the combination had been dialed), I set about trying to understand why this one particular lever failed to drop into place when it was supposed to. Finally, I figured out that the spring that normally would force it down was installed incorrectly (how?), so I undid the screw that held the lever in place, reversed the spring, and then tested the whole shebang a couple of times to make sure it worked.
The acid test, of course, consists in actually locking the safe, and then unlocking it again. The unlocking will occur if I, with less than an hour's safe-repair time under my belt, did everything correctly. The box will remain locked if I didn't
I spent a few minutes emptying the safe of its contents, just in case. I then shut the door and turned the lever. Nothing. I pushed harder and found I could lift the door a bit. The door locked. I twirled the combination wheel and tried the lever. All secure.
Now for the acid test.
A bunch of times to the right to bring the tumblers into position, stopping at twenty-<mumble>. Then left past that mark twice to forty-<mumble>, then right again past there to <mumble>teen. Now, (deep breath optional at this point) turn the combination dial to the left one turn.
Click.
Turn it to the right to draw the bolt. Try to turn the lever. It turns. Pull.
Release breath. The safe works.
After a few more minutes, during which I reloaded the stuff into the safe, I again locked it for the night and went home.
Galina should be leaving Texas tomorrow, if all goes well, and she'll be here late Friday. I just got an e-mail telling me that ISS Flight 5A is scheduled to fly early in the morning on January 19, so I'll probably be heading south on the 16th or 17th to work that mission. In the meantime, I'll have to figure out how to keep the store up and running while I'm gone.
Ah, well, time enough for that and other issues tomorrow. As for now, it's time to take it easy, listen to some tunes, unpack a couple of boxes, and then go to bed.
Cheers...
The next morning, I packed the computer and took it to the office to test a spreadsheet I had designed on a piece of scratch paper during the "in-between" time that occurs during the day. The spreadsheet works okay, but I ended up leaving the Sony at the store, which kept me offline for the rest of the evening. Then again, that was okay, as there appeared to be some sort of network glitch that prevented anyone in town from getting past the local ISP for most of the day anyway. Rumor had it that the problem was very widespread, with tentacles reaching as far out as California.
As it turned out, not having a working computer in the house was a survivable experience, just as was the snowfall that started in the early afternoon and continued on to the evening. It was the first time in 5 years since I'd seen the white stuff fly, and it covered the landscape and everything in it with 4 inches or so of fluffy powder. I'd forgotten how cold it was.
Getting home was a game and a half, since the roads were very slick. Keep in mind that the trick in snow driving is not being able to move - any fool can do that - it's being able to stop (and stay in control while doing both). I accomplished both tasks by traveling 20 mph on a 45 mph road, ticking off the person behind me (a real suicide jockey, who roared past as I turned off the iced highway onto the road home).
This morning, the snow on the ground appeared to confuse Ming, the (Merciless) Peke, who decided not to go for his usual constitutional down the driveway. Instead, he opted for a brisk walk around the backs of the cars, with all of the appropriate, strategically planned stops.
Every day continues to be a learning experience at the store. The aforementioned spreadsheet was designed to help automate the daily financial stuff that must be done to satiate the demands of the CPA, while another whole routine involves the daily dispatch of funds collected on behalf of the USPS.
I did some errands today, one of which involved settling accounts with the CPA, whose office is downtown. Although I passed through downtown on my way here last Monday, I have to admit I wasn't paying close attention to what had changed recently, which is not at all like walking down the main street and stopping to see old and new sights.
On a whim, when I walked past the "Pagosa Hotel Mall," where I rented office space for a ridiculously small sum years ago, I decided to go upstairs and see what the old place was like. My office had been incorporated into a giant suite occupied by a builder, and none of the old familiar tenants were left. While the floor looked the same, the air was filled with a faint odor reminiscent of liniment.
Back down to the street and to the right, I walked past the Jackisch Drug Store, which has occupied the premises, I think, since shortly after the Creation, and where, in August of 1995 (if memory serves) a small brown bear entered the store from the front, ambled down the center aisle, ignoring surprised customers, and then exited out the back door, past a tall stack of soda pop bottles, all without inflicting any damage on persons or property.
After a fairly routine day (which is not exactly the same as a quiet day), I applied myself to the task of disassembling the store's safe, which has not worked for some time, and which has sat, cracked open, since I bought the place.
It turns out that safes are pretty easy to deal with once they are open, which mine was. I used an ordinary Phillips head screwdriver to remove a sheet metal panel from the door, and to remove two screws that held in place a plate that covered the lock mechanism. Recovering the combination took a little time, though I was helped a bit by the former owner, who recalled approximate numbers (and not in order, as it turned out).
After I recovered the combination (and figured out the little two-step that must be done after the combination had been dialed), I set about trying to understand why this one particular lever failed to drop into place when it was supposed to. Finally, I figured out that the spring that normally would force it down was installed incorrectly (how?), so I undid the screw that held the lever in place, reversed the spring, and then tested the whole shebang a couple of times to make sure it worked.
The acid test, of course, consists in actually locking the safe, and then unlocking it again. The unlocking will occur if I, with less than an hour's safe-repair time under my belt, did everything correctly. The box will remain locked if I didn't
I spent a few minutes emptying the safe of its contents, just in case. I then shut the door and turned the lever. Nothing. I pushed harder and found I could lift the door a bit. The door locked. I twirled the combination wheel and tried the lever. All secure.
Now for the acid test.
A bunch of times to the right to bring the tumblers into position, stopping at twenty-<mumble>. Then left past that mark twice to forty-<mumble>, then right again past there to <mumble>teen. Now, (deep breath optional at this point) turn the combination dial to the left one turn.
Click.
Turn it to the right to draw the bolt. Try to turn the lever. It turns. Pull.
Release breath. The safe works.
After a few more minutes, during which I reloaded the stuff into the safe, I again locked it for the night and went home.
Galina should be leaving Texas tomorrow, if all goes well, and she'll be here late Friday. I just got an e-mail telling me that ISS Flight 5A is scheduled to fly early in the morning on January 19, so I'll probably be heading south on the 16th or 17th to work that mission. In the meantime, I'll have to figure out how to keep the store up and running while I'm gone.
Ah, well, time enough for that and other issues tomorrow. As for now, it's time to take it easy, listen to some tunes, unpack a couple of boxes, and then go to bed.
Cheers...
