Big Slick

The installing of camera systems went well, although we're not nearly done yet. There's a total of thirty-nine buses, and we're through ten of them. Friday was incredibly slow. Craig did a demo install in one bus so Ed and I could watch, then took off to Bristol, CT to do another job while we stayed in Watertown to work on the cameras. We got almost through two buses, finishing everything except for putting the actual recording box into the holder.

I asked the office if we could leave our tools in Bus 26, and they told me no, 26 was about to leave. So I moved everything to Bus 1, the next one on the list, then checked to make sure it wasn't going anywhere. Nope, every single bus was leaving in ten minutes.

No, wait, Bus 27 is staying - work on that one. So I told Ed to finish up 16 while I put our things in 27. But wait - 27 is actually leaving, but 1 is staying. I moved everything back into Bus 1, Ed finished 16, and we started tearing the panels off 1.

Oh, no, Bus 12 is broken, and we need Bus 1! We screwed everything back together, having accomplished nothing more than drilling a hole, then waited fifteen minutes for Bus 12 to return. Hey, at least we can work on that one, since it's broken.

Craig returned from Bristol just as Bus 12 was getting back. We moved everything into 12 and took down the panels. Uh oh - another bus is broken. We need to get 12 back on the road. Ed and I screwed 12 back together again, joking about how annoying it would be if they suddenly told us we could keep 12 after all.

Hey, guess what - the other bus is going to make it. You guys can keep 12! But we just put it back together...do we dare tear it apart again?

We waited for a bit, listening to the radio for anymore breakdown reports. I texted Craig to ask if he wanted us to do the bus or not, but he didn't reply, so finally I decided that we were going to go ahead and do it. Craig came back when we had the panels down (again), and we got all the wiring run, then packed up and left for the day, rather frustrated.

Saturday was much better, since most buses stay in the lot on weekends. I did five full installs by myself, and Craig and Ed did another five. (I'm not as fast as all that; they kept getting the buses that had all sorts of annoying quirks that required workarounds.) I never thought I would know as much about school buses as I do now. I even figured out how to hot-wire one by accident, as I was wiring in the side panel with the ignition on, and I crossed two terminals with a wrench and the bus flipped out and started honking. I've also learned where the fuse is for the damn alarm.

After getting out of the lot on Friday, we went to see Anne at the vet's office where she works in Meriden, because she said she had a cat that I needed to meet. When we got there, she was in an appointment with a client, so we hung out in the waiting room, all decked out in our stylish holy-shit-yellow safety vests. The girl behind the counter asked if we were there about the cats, and when I said yes, she showed me a picture on the counter.

Anne had said he was a Persian, but I got confused and was thinking of a Himalayan. My first impression of this cat was "Oh god, he's ugly!" I don't like the way Persians look anyway - I can't get over the squished-in faces - but these two had been shaved when they arrived at the vet because they were so matted. Well, their bodies had been shaved. Their heads, paws, and the tips of their tails were as furry as ever, and they looked ridiculous.

Pumpkin won us over, though. He may be the sweetest cat I have ever met. He was completely unfazed by the appearance of three dirty strangers in shiny vests, and in under a minute was purring madly and climbing all over us.

He came from a house with thirty-something cats. Apparently the owner was a breeder, but she died, and all the cats ended up at the vet. She didn't have the resources to properly care for all of them, although they were at least up to date on their shots and physicals. They lived in cages and didn't get to run around and play. Anne said that he had already developed a lot of muscle tone since he came in a month ago, but he still falls over when he plays because his back legs are weak. He's really clumsy, spontaneously falling off tables and chairs, but I suspect that when he's stronger and his whiskers have grown back on the left (somebody slipped with the clippers), he'll be a little more graceful.

The other cat who was there with him could have been his twin, although they weren't litter mates. Spice, however, was painfully shy and wanted nothing to do with us. Besides, we've got three female cats already, and neither of us want any more.

Pumpkin rode contentedly in the car for two hours. He's so accustomed to being in a cage that he walked right into the carrier on his own, then settled down and purred while I drove. When we got to Larry's house to drop off Ed, Pumpkin was curled up on Craig's lap, fast asleep and purring like crazy.

The girls aren't too fond of him yet. He seems disappointed when he goes over to say hello and gets hissed at in return, but I suspect they'll end up getting along. We have changed his name; Pumpkin just didn't seem appropriate. Meet Big Slick.

Busy Weekend

I don't remember the last time I had a weekend as busy as this one has been, and certainly not as varied. At least most of it was work, which is a nice thing to have these days.

Friday Craig and I went to Branford, CT, to one of First's bus yards, to install and repair some radio equipment. He's gotten a partnership with TransVu for his business, so as long as they get all the parts business, he gets all the work to install said parts. We put radios into a truck and an SUV that already had antennas and power; those were super easy jobs, pretty much just screw in the radio and go. We then did a full install in a van, including antenna/coax and power, for which I had to climb onto the roof in the rain to drill a hole and install the antenna. After some diagnostic work on a few buses, which turned out to all be chalked up to "damn ancient radios, get new ones!", we were done.

Saturday I had a job for Elm Farm Bakery's catering service. I'd thought I was bartending, since that's what I did the last time I took a job for them, but when I arrived at Warfield House they said they didn't need bartenders, so I was kitchen staff instead. When they found out I could carry trays, I was made a runner instead of a server. I actually preferred that, because it was an outdoor wedding and it was COLD in the dining room (ceiling, but no walls), and going in and out of the kitchen and putting in so much physical effort kept me warm. After several hours of countless fully-loaded trays, my carrying arm started to give out. All in all, though, it was a pretty good time. Mike is awesome to work for.

Sunday we went to a gun show in West Springfield, and then went to Larry and April's new apartment to install a base station antenna for Larry. We beat him there, and while we were standing outside waiting for him, April poked her nose out the door - with a kitten. She was an orange tabby, no more than eight weeks old, with bulging eyes that took over her face and an adorably pathetic squeak. When Larry eventually showed up, I didn't want to go back outside.

Just as we were about to piece together the antenna, their landlord showed up to do paperwork, so we hung out for another half an hour. We almost left, since we were losing daylight to do the project, but finally Larry emerged from the house, the landlord left, and we got going. It took over two hours just to get the antenna up and the coax run as far as the lightning rod, and by halfway through it was completely dark. All we had up on the balcony was a crappy flashlight that entertained itself by spontaneously turning off when it was needed most, but somehow we got everything tied and clamped and soldered and clipped and otherwise attached. Unfortunately, one minuscule but essential brass pin did break, and the project can't be finished until Craig orders another one.

I felt rather unfortunately useless as an assistant. Since I couldn't lift my left arm more than a few inches, all I could really do was carry tools and hold things in place, which was frustrating since I do know how to clamp and solder and generally get an antenna project together. My arm is feeling a bit better today, though, and I'm hoping I will be fully functional by the end of the week, since I'm working Friday and Saturday with Craig and Ed in another bus yard, this time installing camera systems.