Home Opener

The Braves have signed Ronald Acuna for eight years $100 million. He hit a home run last night. I worry about his effort. He’s taking walks, which is good for a kid his age. Best to lock him up now through age 29, which should be his most productive years. Hopefully he won’t wear down and fade away like Andruw. Will he work on his game during the offseason? Will he keep in shape? Will he be a good citizen? Still plenty of questions to be answered.

I like the striped socks Acuna and Dansby and Folty wore, similar to the old Milwaukee socks. Ozzie needs to get him a pair (I'm not a fan of the white shoes, except in Oakland).

Turns out the socks are made by Stance, and you can buy them here.

Brian McCann received a standing ovation before his first at bat back as a Brave, then poked a single into right center to score two runs. Dude knows how to rake.

Did I tell you work has been busy? Thursday was a first – I called the freight company to order not one hot shipment, not two, but three hot shipments all at one time. Plus earlier in the day I had put in for another hotshot.

 

Worked on stuff until almost 6:40 Thursday evening. Then I went the long way home and made three stops. Bought a pair of pants and a vest for me and two shirts for my dad. Passed on a Braves cap and a golf cap, since I have so many. Was going to stop at Wendy’s but the one on Alpharetta Highway had be shuttered. Got home at 8:50 and fixed quesadillas. Watched some basketball and the repeat of the Braves game.

 

Friday was the last day of the work month. That morning we found out we’d already set the sales record, so any billing today was gravy. Rodney brought in Chickfila biscuits and hashbrowns.

 

Had been on the go for several nights in a row, so Sunday I was ready to crash and not do much. I’d been on a mission to track down a few items at a thrift store. When I go I weave through the entire store, looking for bobbleheads, caps, ties, clothes, and shoes. Always piles on the steps walked.

 

TUE Goodwill Peachtree Corners

WED Goodwill East Cobb, library, Dollar Tree

THU Park Ave Duuth, Goodwill Johns Creek, Value Village

FRI Goodwill east Roswell & Alpharetta Hwy, Salvation Army, CiCis Pizza

SAT Goodwill Marietta, Northside Dr, & Macon, Value Village Marietta, Atlanta Union Mission Store, Park Ave Marietta, Taco Bell, Arbys, Kroger gas.  

 

Friday was busy with month end. Worked until almost six. Had only eaten peanut butter crackers for breakfast and lunch so I supped at CiCis Pizza. Shouldn’t have. Went home and watched two movies: A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, and Mary Steenburgen. Not as bad as I expected., but the book was better. Also Ride, with Helen Hunt and Luke Wilson.  

Ceil wanted me to run up to Whole Foods early Saturday to get her something on sale. She thought it would sell out quickly, so I arrived before 8 am. Since I was out I decided to hit a few thrift stores. Also RaceTrac for a free drink. Should’ve set up an early golf game with Will, but hadn’t thought about it.

 

At 10:15 am I decided to head on down to Macon for my dad’s birthday instead of waiting to go on Sunday like I’d originally planned. Didn’t go home but just hopped on the freeway. Due to spring break, traffic was TERRIBLE. Around SunTrust Park I checked traffic and it said doing through downtown was okay. It wasn’t. Checked again south of the airport. The GPS told me to get off the highway, so I did. But it was telling me to get back on the highway, so I headed west toward Atlanta Motor Speedway, then south on 41 until Griffin. By then 75 south traffic was moving, just heavy. Another wreck at the Bibb County line. Arrived at 1:20.

 

My dad wanted Arbys for lunch. Beef and Cheddar. The onion bun was dry until I added more BBQ sauce. Then chocolate cake and ice cream.

Fixed my mom’s phone. Hung around until 7:20. Traffic was still bad going home. GPS kept saying I was on the quickest route. I might know more than Google Maps I think. Didn’t get home until 10:20 – twice as long as in normal traffic. Fever Pitch was just coming on, so I watched that movie. 

 

Sunday School attendance was down due to spring break. Several mission trips. Larry Ragan shared the wonderful eulogy he’d delivered at his father’s recent funeral. I’ll publish my notes. After church I cooked turkey bacon and made them into quesadillas on the panini press. Laundry, hung up clothes, did dishes. Really didn’t feel like doing much. Watched parts of several movies: Up in the Air with George Clooney, and Destination Wedding with Keanu Reeves and Winona Rider. Popped some corn, but the white cheddar topping wasn’t as good as my usual ranch. On her way back from SC Ceil stopped by to see Anna in Athens.

 

Monday: Ceil cooked chicken and noodles. I folded clothes and watched the Braves game. Also The Neighborhood. Just wanted to sit there, but finally went to bed later than usual.

 

I’ll say it again: busy busy busy here at work. Record month in March. Customer is hand to mouth on many parts. Vendor has manpower issues and can’t produce what’s needed. I spend all day setting up hotshot deliveries, making it hard to get all my normal work done. Also monitor cost variances for the entire Southeast. And they want me to cut back on hours.

 

Tuesday morning I was trying to correct an incorrect shipment. Had specifically told the vendor I could help with a truck if needed. Instead they shipped parts to the wrong place. I had to set up a truck to correct the error and advised the cage what was happening, but they let the truck go without loading the parts. That slipup means parts are delayed 24 hours.

 

Then Purchasing hadn’t wanted to order an item last month, even if it wasn’t going to deliver until May. A lot of our material we have substitutes for, but not this. Now we’re going to run out. Some call them the Not-Purchasing Department. All this happened this morning before our 8:30 meeting. By that time I was so mad that I could hardly talk.

 

Besides that everything is good. Not really. Left work at six and talked 30 minutes with a coworker who’d just been laid off. Looks like they’re finding a new job quickly though.