Day 248

While I was taking the trash out to the street this morning, the trash truck arrived. I thought I was going to miss the once weekly pickup again, but I needn't have worried. The driver was struggling to get the robotic arm on the truck to pick up the neighbor's trash. He never could get the arm to work, so he had to get out of the truck and empty the can by hand. The city bought these high-tech trucks several years ago on the premise that they would save money by allowing a driver to pick up all the trash himself without the need for a normal three man sanitation crew. The trucks never worked and most are gone by now, except for a few stragglers like this one. Now, to save money, the city has gone back to the old style trucks with a full crew and reduced trash pickup from twice a week to once a week. By the time I'd finished walking the dogs, the driver hadn't even made it to the end of the street yet. This is the problem with government at all levels. Everyone seems to have a plan to save money or improve efficiency. The fly in the ointment is that none of the plans actually work.

My photo shoot at the medical clinic got canceled today. I wasn't really surprised because whenever I've been to this clinic on a Friday, things are always hectic. I kind of wondered why we were trying to do the photos on a Friday in the first place, but I think that's the day when the most employees are there. Probably more employees are working on Friday because things are busier on Friday. I have a feeling that this photo shoot might end up being canceled again. They were nice to call me though. Often people never bother to tell me that we're going to have to reschedule until I show up on their doorstep with all my equipment.

Sadly, it's not a very courteous world anymore. When I was driving home from the grocery store this afternoon, I saw the driver of an 18-wheeler lean out his window and start cursing very loudly at a women in the car next to him. I don't know what provoked this rudeness, because there certainly wasn't an accident. Both vehicles were stopped at a light. The incident was a little unsettling. That's all we need now are big rig drivers going postal on us.

I'm always glad when Friday rolls around. I got a few things wrapped up this week. A few other things never got off the ground. Either way, I'm not going to worry about deadlines again until Monday. Weekends belong to the dogs. Dogs can be demanding too, but they are not nearly as irritating as people.

Dalmatian of the Day

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