Yup! Just a quicky (for me at least). I had to drop Boo off at the groomers bright and early saturday, and planned on wandering around the area taking photos and hopefully meeting up with E.P.
eyepilot13.deviantart.com/ at Bensenville at some point. But since i was out and about, my mom wanted me to get the oil in the car changed. Since she was willing to pay for it, and i would need to buy a filter, oil, and container to drain it into, plus get the low ass van up on jackstands so i can squeeze under it, i swallowed my pride and agreed. After dropping off my puppy (who was very upset and broke my heart), i looked and called around to find a shop with a decent reputation. After calling and visiting about a dozen places around S-Burg, and realizing that Boo would likely be done soon (and no way am i going to make her wait for one moment longer than necessary!) i gave up, and headed for Proviso to see what was new at my alma mater, see if anyone cool was around, and maybe pick up a new timetable and any swag i could find.
I get to the admin building, which is between the Global II intermodal facility's entrance and the hump leads. A string of really battered but neat cars are sitting at the top of the hump, including some old beat up ex SP junk. I snap a couple of shots off when my mom calls, telling me to just go to "gasp" jiffy lube and let some highschool dropout eff up the van. Fine, whatever. I take my time, swing by the diesel ramp to see if anybody i knew was around (nope), got some photos of power on the West end and some bizarre experimental intermodal trailers (i'll post a pic soon), as well as the spare traction motors, a badly exposed photo of an endcab switcher on the East end of the ramp, and even more traction motor sets. Swung up to Yard 9, snapped some pics of the absolutely ridiculous number of road power being stashed up there, along with some NS power picking up or dropping off a transfer (possibly the road railer train), and one of our old Jeeps, all torn up with a flat tire and a rather nasty gash in the C pillar (how the hell does THAT happen?).
Oil gets changed by seemingly cool and competent techs for once, and i head back east. Stop at bensenville, get stuck by an effing auto rack moving maybe 5mph at best. Arrive at the Metra stop on the East end of the yard, ain't crap going on and no EP. It's just about 1300, so i head east to see what's happening on the old Wisconsin Central. See a rather surly Canadian National MoW crew blocking both tracks and realize nuttin happenin there today! And these guys look pissed about working on a saturday, and i figure they didn't want some fat guy taking their pictures. So i press on down Belmont, looking for anything. Cars, architectural stuff, interesting scenes, anything. Snap a couple of cool storefronts before realizing i am at Harlem! Time was short, so i headed towards home just as i get the call to pick up Boo. So, i set what may be a record time getting to Schamburg from Harlem and North Avenue, grab the pup, and the groomers don't seem too happy. I didn't even get the customary "oh, she was such a good girl!", so i figure she was not cooperative. She still wasn't feeling too good, and even today she is really "off". I think, or at least hope, she is going into an early heat since her sister seems to be. And i think she is just miserable. All she wants to do is sleep and be held. And tonight, she was whimpering and begging me to go to bed early! She never does that! When we headed to bed, she was acting like when she's super excited to go for walkies. She doesn't seem to be in pain, and keeps liking her lower stomach area which seems a little bloated. So, maybe she just needs some chocolate and some sex & the city dvds...
Oh, and super exciting stuff! Got a letter from the UP in the mail, i assumed it was either a request/demand for me to return my issued gear (good luck with THAT!), or notice of an investigation or possibly a lovely note saying "your fired, turn in your crap and GTFO", i was afraid to open it. But, amazingly, it was my new I.D. and federal license! Uncle Pete is grandfathering us old farts as qualified conductors/engineers, avoiding having to re-train and re-qualify us under the stricter guidelines of the new Federal Regulation 49, part 242, which calls for way more difficult training and high qualification standards for new trainmen. I've been shitting bricks trying to get back to work before the mandate went into effect in september or october, which would make it a huge pain the butt to return. But as a federally licensed trainman, it will be damn near impossible to dismiss me for stupid crap. It will cost the railroad way too much money to replace me! And being licensed and qualified (and with an excellent service, safety, and efficiency record), i'd be a hot commodity for other railroads. Plus, the new rule requires two licensed crew members in each locomotive, so the main fear of being replaced by PTC and losing our jobs is a lot less likely (phew!). We should also have better bargaining power when negotiating our contracts with the carriers, meaning it will be harder to push us around. We might also be able to get the federally mandated days off like most of us road crews have been pushing for since probably the steam days. But there is also just a certain amount of pride in being licensed. And my old ID expired this month, making me nervous that i'd be terminated or forced into a physical evaluation or face being let go and unable to go on company property without a valid ID card. But, i'm legal now! That was a huge weight off my shoulders.
Speaking of feeling lighter, i'm very slowly getting into better shape. I need to do some real cardio work though, and build up my upper body. That means joining a gym... I walk a bare minimum of half a mile a day, at a brisk pace, no matter what. If i don't walk Boo before we go to bed, she won't sleep the night, and will usually have to get up at the worst possible time to do her business. So, we both get our exercise. The vast majority of the physical work that you do as a rail is walking, usually on less than ideal surfaces, often at night, and in foul weather. So a little stroll at about 0130, even if we have to wait for a lull in a storm or brave a blizzard, is pretty good for me. Some days i take her sister out earlier, and we will do anywhere from a mile and a half or more, across the fields and up a steep hill or two. But as far as weight training, all i have are a pair of 20lb dumb bells, and not a lot of room to use them. I damaged my rotator cuff cleaning up after the 2011 blizzard, and those relatively heavy free weights make my shoulder act up too easily. Plus, when i get used to twenty pounds, i can't really go up from there. You can only repeat so many reps at 20lbs before it stops working!
Well, enough of all that. Thanks for the faves on the photos i've put up already, and i should have at least one or two new ones tomorrow, most likely. Thanks to my newest stalker,
tomredlion.deviantart.com/ It's nice to meet you! Glad you like my stuff enough to follow me and all that! Damn train pics are going to make me a celebrity soon, i swear! up to 35 watchers i think! Think i went six months or more when i first joined DA without a single follower, and if a photo received two faves i was shocked. Now it's rare when something doesn't get fave bombed. Pretty amazing!