Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Just Call Him Deuce!

As we were sitting here in our respective rooms watching Biggest Loser & American Idol last night (me: living room, biggest loser; DH & DD, computer room, AI), DH got a call from his best buddy and coworker saying that there'd been an accident at work after DH had left for the day. The company DH works for not only has the chemical blend building where DH works, but a Salt-shack where industrial sized (50 to 80 pound) bags of salt are filled for shipment to the North Slope for use in the mining operations, for sale to the DOT for roads, and even for filling personal home water-filter systems. This is the position DH held years ago when he previously worked for this company. This is the position he was in when he blew out his back.

The company now employs two crews, one day-crew, one night-crew. The night crew came in after most of the day staff had left (DH included) and set to work. The salt comes down through this enormous funnel into the salt-bags, and the bags are then sealed & stacked. There is an augur with rotating blades that sits in the center of the funnel to stir the salt keep it from jamming in the neck of the funnel. Evidently one of the night crew noticed that a piece of salt wasn't dislodging from the neck of the funnel, so stuck his hand up IN the funnel, while the augur was running, and wound up having 3 of his fingers on that hand cut off by the blades. *shaking head* He was, of course, rushed up the street to the ER, while DH's buddy & another of their coworkers sifted through the bags of salt trying to find the guy's 3 missing fingers. *GAG!*

So, DH's friend called last night to warn DH that this has happened & that things would be rather shaken up today at work. So, guess who's now working BACK in the salt-shack for the day?!?! Yep. Dh got sent back to the salt-shack. Never mind that he'd previously blown out his back (and been given the shaft by the Workers Comp. company that handled his claim) doing this job. *sigh* I warned him to keep his fingers away from that damned funnel & augur. He said he doesn't plan on sticking his hand in there. I reminded him that I'm sure the other guy didn't go into work yesterday planning on getting fingers cut off either.

When DH's buddy called last night, they'd just taken the unlucky guy in to surgery and were going to attempt to reattach the fingers. (Because the buddy & the other coworker DID find all 3 fingers in the bag of salt.) *shaking head*

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I just got off the phone with one of the folks at Human Resources to ask what I can do to gain the experience while working my job. She said that I need to BE a library assistant, before I can get the library assistant position. *shaking head* What kind of F****** sense does that make?!?!?! She said that I must have 2080 hours of employment as a library assistant, before I could possibly qualify for this Library Assistant 3 position. At the rate I'm volunteering at the school, that's 14 years of volunteer work. Of course, she said that maybe I should look into volunteering more hours. I reminded her that I'm already working 30 hours a week in at Noel Wien Lib. That doesn't leave a lot of time for volunteer work. *sigh*

And she said that it appears that my job duties as a volunteer Lib. Assist. at the school are the SAME type of duties I already do as a Circ. Page at N.W.L., and that I'd need a higher degree of experience, even though the school considers my duties as Lib. Assist. duties, not page duties. So, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do now. I really don't.

I'm not going to give up on this Lib. Assistant 3 position. No way in hell. That's what I want to do, and someday I'm going to be doing it. But freak!!!! I don't know HOW I'm going to get the experience without a chance at a regular Library Assistant position. I got shot down for that one because I didn't have MS Word or Excel experience, OR at least a year in a clerical position. Even one of my Circ. Assist. coworker, Gabbie, who DID apply for the most recent Lib. Assist. 1 position to open up and DID get an interview, didn't get the position because she just didn't cut it. Which means that her position isn't going to come open, either. (And, Gabbie's position I might have a shot at, if my boss doesn't hate me so thoroughly that she'd block my progression to that job.)

*sigh* I just want to crawl back into bed. Today's starting to look like it could be a crummy day, and I just don't want to deal with it. And nobody else should have to deal with me being in a crummy-mood, either. I know that my mood is up to me, and I'm trying to be hopeful, but it's damned hard to be hopeful and positive when you keep getting shot down, time & time again, for something that you want so freaking badly!

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Oh. DD's appointment with the Dr. went ok the other morning. It's not strep, from what the Dr. said. She thinks it looks like the beginning of a Sinus Infection. But she decided to hold off putting DD on any antibiotics due to the rate at which these things are becomming resistant to such measures. Said she wants to give DD's body another week to fight off the infection on it's own, before she prescribes meds.

That's fine by me, but I'm starting to wonder if it's not time to get DD in to see her ENT doc again. It may simply come down to the need to have her sinuses flushed again. She had that done 5 years ago (this spring), and it made a world of difference in the way she slept & behaved & breathed. That time, the sinus infection just wasn't disappearing after multiple rounds of antibiotics so the Dr. finally just schedualed her for the sinus wash (and removed her adnoids). DD just barely escaped having tubes put in her ears as well, as those cleared up on the last round of antibiotics before surgery was schedualed. Things aren't quite as tough as they were last time, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

We'll see. The Dr. said to give it till this coming Monday (Feb. 2), then give her a call if DD's cough isn't sounding better, and the throat isn't feeling better, and she'll prescribe some antibiotics over the phone (since she's just seen DD). If that happens, we'll just have to take it from there.

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Anyway..... I've gotta get something to eat & get dressed & get headed to work.

Have a Blessed Day!

6 comments:

DirkStar said...

Whoa...

A friend of ours works in a library and it is one of the most ridiculous systems I've ever seen.

Good luck, you'll need it.

Toriz said...

Ouch! Hope they got his fingers re atatched. Who would be daft enough to stick their hands in something with a rotating blade thing in it anyway? *shrugs*

Sounds like a ridiculous system. But then, a lot of jobs have ridiculous systems nowadays. Good luck!

Hope DDs sinus infection does clear up by next week.

whimsical brainpan said...

I'm glad they found the fingers.

"She said that I need to BE a library assistant, before I can get the library assistant position. *shaking head* What kind of F****** sense does that make?!?!?!"
The governmental kind (and notice the mental in governmental).

As for DD, I don't know if you have one but if you don't go to your local health food store and get a Neti pot (need one my own self). That way you can flush out her sinuses at home. I know people who swear by the things.

Celticspirit said...

Yikes!! How scary for that guy at your Dh's work and lucky that it was not your Dh.

I never would have thought it was so difficult to get a library position such as the one you are trying for. I've thought about it in the past how neat it would be to work in a library but now I see how much work it is.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I hope your hubby co worker makes a good recovery.
Plus I hope workman comp doesn't give him crap.

Sometime the workforce amazes me!!!!
I had to fill out a 16 page application for this job I am on now. Plus some of the question was real stupid, like do you steal. "Anyone in the right mind who does stills sure isn't going to admit it" Then they ask when was the last time you got a ticket. They want to know the date and time. "I'm lucky I recall what I had for dinner"

Greg C said...

Tell DH to be careful. It sounds very dangerous. I used to work in a chemical plant and am glad I switched jobs. That cold thing is going around here now cough cough.