Posted on Wednesday, 24th May 2006 by Bull
So here I am again.
I’m at work writing this, as usual, passing the time. Standing by to engage. That’s actually a legal term in the workforce. If someone asks you what you’re doing, you say your standing by to engage. For me, its sitting here at my laptop watching movies I’ve seen a hundred times, playing games I’ve already beaten, and writing; with the occasional upwards glance to the outside of the trailer to make sure some redneck doesn’t try to steal a FEMA trailer. That’s what our posts are on this 260 acre lot. There are five posts that we rotate every night, to keep the monotony down. Each post is a used or new travel trailer from FEMA. The entire site at any give day contains over 4,000 trailers. Waiting either to be renovated or sent to another location. Sometimes I think they just move them around from time to time just to have something to do.
Over 500 of these trailers are ones that have already been to the Katrina victims, who didn’t take care of them, destroyed them and/or mutilated in some form or another. This is how they thank the government for trying to help them. By putting burn marks in them, ripping out fixed furniture, leaving wires hanging here and there. These trailers are located in the “Bone yard” or “Area 51″ part of the property. Sometimes they’re just used for spare parts for other refurbishing projects.
One of our posts is in pretty bad shape. I hate going to that post because the wiring is screwed up something fierce. See, every one of our posts is hooked up to a diesel generator, those big tow-able ones with the huge spotlights. These run for four days straight before needing fuel again. I hate that one particular post because in order to properly charge my laptop, I have to play with the electrical breakers in the trailer. If I have the air condition running, and 2 of the 4 spotlights on, it’s OK. My laptop will charge. But, if I happen flip the A/C breaker off, I won’t get the required juice. And then sometimes if the A/C kicks in, the generators reset button will pop out, putting me in complete darkness, and then I have to go reset the generator. All in all, there’s a short in the trailer somewhere.
I stepped outside just a little while ago for a cigarette. And once again I fought off the bugs, incessantly attacking the bright white light from the spotlights. And I wondered, what is a bug’s attraction to light? Because of the previous rain earlier, there were thousands of them; when looking up at them I was reminded of Star Wars, X-Wings chasing Tie Fighters and vice versa, fighting the unending battle to be the first one to get grilled on the artificial hot sun. So why don’t they try to fly upwards to the sun during the day time? Well, I’m sure if they had enough wing power they might try to do so. So instead they bug us (no pun intended), landing and pooping and screwing, for all eternity.
And because my car is white and shiny, and parked next to the trailer, they deem it fit to land on it too. And then they get stuck from the gathering morning dew, and just stay there and die. Until they are whipped off when I go down I-59 at eighty mph.
I also noticed, while I was smoking my cigarette, a moth flying into a spider web. As soon as it landed it paused its flapping, as if to say Shit! And then it resumed, flapping even harder trying to rid itself. I watched this in slight amusement but then frowned when no spider came to claim its trapped victim. The spider had vacated its nest of entrapment, and was long gone. What a waste, I thought. Here was this poor moth stuck in its sticky prison, and he was to die like that. Stuck and unable to move, dying eventually of boredom. I would want a quick death in a situation like that. For the spider to plunge its needle like sucker into my cocooned body, and suck the life out of me, draining me until I fall into the happiness of sleep. *shudders*
Anyways, I think the traveling the world thing is off for right now. The dream is really nice, and I know I will accomplish it one day, but the money has got to be there first. Sure I could survive for about two months, if that. My plan of finding a work and traveling by train were hard realized. In most of these countries, you have to have a job offer first before even being considered a work permit, and then you may or may not make enough money to move out of that country. So, I’ll wait, save up more money, move to Albuquerque New Mexico, and after a couple of years start up an authentic Bier Garten.
A Bier Garten is literally translated to Beer Garden. They dot the entire map of Germany and some of the bordering countries as well, but not as popularly. Your average Bier Garten consists of lots of German beer, sold by the pint, lots of good food, and sometimes a live cover band or maybe traditional German folk music. And that is exactly what I want to start in New Mexico. True enough that most German settlements are in the more North-Eastern part of the USA, there comes the challenge and daring. To put into a state in the arid South-West an authentic German Bier Garten, from which your average cuisine is either Mexican or an Steak house, is truly an enticing challenge. Well, there was the German restaurant in El Paso, and they had wonderful authentic food. But, it wasn’t a bier Garten. Oh, and a Bier Garten is generally located outside. So therein lays another problem. What are the local laws in New Mexico concerning serving beer in an outside environment? What is it for serving beer period? These are things I’ll need to do research on.
And also, the beer is another problem. Where on Earth, besides Germany, can I get German beer? And you can’t sell the stuff here anyway. The alcoholic content is slightly higher, which surpasses the American standards of beer brewing. So, I want to get some of the local micro breweries, see what their beer is like. Make an offer and see if they bite. But no, I’m not the sort to do such things as I have no experience whatsoever in business dealings. Yes, I want to start this business and be the sole owner of it, but I’ll need to talk to people in the know-how, pick their brains. Top two people on the list is my dad and our good friend Marquetta.
I want to position the Bier Garten near the University of New Mexico. I believe there it would make the most business. The entire place should have a 7 foot wooden fence around it, to block out the feeling that you’re still in the desert and to keep the noise of the music in. The entire thing will probably be about one to one point five acres. A kitchen and serving window for all the great food, A stand where everyone walks up to get their beer. Eight bucks a mug, dollar for refills. A stage big enough for a four man band and their equipment. Restrooms for both male and female. And finally, wooden tables and benches, about 16 to 18 of them. Shrubbery and maybe a tree or two may have to be planted. The base floor will of course be grass, which over time will be beaten down into packed dirt (hopefully). There is a lot to think about and talk about. I’ll update more on this at a later date.
Its forty-five minutes ’till 0500, which at that time I have to pack up my stuff and head over to post two, and help the first rover check ID’s as FEMA employees begin to trickle in, until I get relieved at about 0645. This is usually a very quick process that eats the remaining hour and a half up in no time.
OK then, more blogs to come in the future. I’ll play some solitaire and stand by to engage for the next 40 minutes. Bye!
Signing off
-Bull
Posted in Daily Life, Time, Work | Comments (0)
